CHASING OTHELLO: Book 2 of the Cleopatra Chronicles by Tina Sloan – International Mystery, Action & Adventure, Global Thriller

Chasing Othello by Tina Sloan has lies and spies, betrayal and espionage, love and hate, all wrapped up in a story that grabs the reader on the very first page and doesn’t let go until the last.

Forty-something Cleopatra is shattered after discovering that one of her best friends was a terrorist who had planned to blow up Pearl Harbor. When she discovered his intentions, she was forced to kill or be killed. Her Krav Maga training allows her to win that battle.

Shattered by the betrayal, Cleo retreats to her father’s estate in Dubai, only to find out  she  is pregnant at age forty-four.

Life on her father’s vast estate is a respite, but when her ex-lover is shot in the process of bringing down yet another terrorist, Cleopatra returns home to Honolulu with her now two-year-old daughter, only to discover that she is the target this time.

There are deceptions and red herrings aplenty in this compelling thriller.

The CIA focuses on the terrorist while the mastermind of the plot hides in plain sight. He has his sights firmly fixed on Cleopatra long before anyone knows that she is in danger. The tension ramps up high as the clues are painstakingly pulled together by a movie director who thinks that Cleopatra’s secrets might be a great hook for his next movie.

The story is told through multiple first-person points of view. The narrative focuses in turn on each of the main characters, from Cleopatra to her former lover’s wife, to his newly-fledged CIA son, to the film director, to the mastermind. Each voice is distinct, and the flip from perspective to perspective keeps the story moving at a breakneck pace, while providing a plethora of clues to fascinate along the way.

Chasing Othello is a thrill ride from beginning to blistering, bittersweet end.

Readers will laugh, cry and cheer as Cleopatra Gallier manages to save her own day – with a bit of help from the CIA – and find her own way to happiness after much danger and death.

She should enjoy her peace while she can, because there are plenty of hints at the end that storm clouds still gather on her horizon. Readers who have fallen in love with her and her world will be left eagerly anticipating what those storms might bring in her future.

This story begins where the first book in the Cleopatra Chronicles ends and is more than friendly to newbies who want to jump right into this second volume – although once someone has visited Cleopatra Gallier’s world they will be itching to return – if only to see what details they missed.