Sly as a Fox

 Sly as a Fox by Wendy L. Koenig is the second novel in the Sylvia Wilson Mystery series. The first novel, On the Sly, was reviewed about a year ago by another person who write for the blog, Curt Remarks, and he provided Ms. Koenig with great praise. I did not get to that book, but I just got my hands on Sly as a Fox and I didn’t put it down until it was finished. As a mystery/thriller, this second novel in the series deserves a WOW. 

Sylvia Wilson is a 24-year-old girl who is tightly attached to her brother who is one year older. She is continuing to recover from the emotional traumas which described in book one, as well as the trauma of having been kidnapped eight years earlier and then having her parents killed by a drunk driver. Even before the death of her parents, she had been a troubled youth who loved to fight even if it meant getting badly beaten up. Meanwhile, her brother was a good guy, one who did everything right. Upon the death of their parents, Sylvia and Aaron went to live with Aunt Peaches who certainly had her hands full with Sylvia.

 

When her brother, who had taken an undercover assignment with the FBI, suddenly went missing, Syl went bonkers as she joined the FBI efforts to find him. He had promised her that he would always check in with her every other day so she would know he was okay, but then she had not heard from him for four days, then eight. She refused the orders of the FBI to go home and stay away from the investigation, and Syl could tell they were not making any progress. It was only with her efforts that Aaron was found although he was being tortured by that time. She was a relentless character. The plot involved an FBI mole who was working for the bad guys, and a string of bank robberies that needed to be solved. Dead bodies were scattered about the entire story, some from Syl’s prior life, some in the present. Koenig filled out her plot with a cast of characters, both good guys and not, so the protagonist came across as a troubled but very talented and brave woman.

 

Now, I get to go back and read book #1. This is fun.