CLOSE CONTACT by Katherine Allred

Alien Affairs Series, Book 2

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Date published: June 8^th, 2010

ISBN: 978-0061672439

Science Fiction/Futuristic

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Amazon Link:

Obtained by Publisher

Echo Adams absolutely loves her job at the Galactic Federation but when it comes out she is a genetically engineered person, well let’s just say her lovely life goes up in smoke once the Bureau of Alien Affairs comes into her world. Now she finds out she has abilities she never knew about and she is drafted to be a special agent of all things. Echo has no idea how her life has come to be this way but she knows she has a new job to do; she just doesn’t have to like it.  The question is can she survive this latest job and get a handle on her super powers before she finds herself dead?

I have to point out I didn’t know this was a series until after I read CLOSE CONTACT. But I was happy to say that you don’t need to read book one in order to follow this story at all. It can stand alone though it centers on the Bureau of Alien Affairs as it does in the first book, Close Encounters. The world building is phenomenal. This is an author who knows how to keep her readers involved in the story and with characters that are a class above the same old, same old in science fiction stories. The story is tight, characters are multi-dimensional and intriguing and the story flows smoothly. The main heroine was a flawed character, which delighted me. She had issues and thoughts like we all do and frankly, her being forced to change jobs this suddenly doesn’t help matters. From being a party girl to a special agent who catches and has to exterminate bad guys-well, let’s just say Echo is not very happy at the moment. I love how the author lets us into Echo’s head and see how this new life is taking a bit to get used to. Plus I was fascinated by the GEP’s or genetically engineered humans. The author does a great job in giving us the background on these characters and I enjoyed seeing a bit about book one in the story line.

The one thing I have to mention is the relationship between Echo and Reynard felt a little off to me. Maybe it was because he felt a little flat to me. I would have wished he was a bit fleshed out a little more but overall, he and Echo worked together in the storyline. If you are looking for a fun, wild adventure then I recommend grabbing CLOSE CONTACT and settle in for one heck of a science fiction ride. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed CLOSE CONTACT and can’t wait to read the first book. I look forward to seeing if this author comes back to this fascinating world she has created in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.