The Birthday Girl by Stephen Leather (MOBI)

Description

Tony Freeman rescued Mersiha when she was fighting for her life in war-torn Yugoslavia. Now she’s his adopted daughter, the perfect all-American girl, and it seems like her past is another country.

But Mersiha has been trained to kill. And when she discovers that Freeman’s company is being subjected to a sinister takeover bid, she decides to help – whatever the risks.

The consequences of her actions are lethal, for Mersiha has unearthed a conspiracy of terrifying proportions . . .

User’s Reviews

Review “Terrifying, fast-moving and exciting thriller.” –This text refers to the hardcover edition. From AudioFile Tony Freeman, arms manufacturer, is kidnapped while on an unauthorized business trip to Sarajevo. Among his Bosnian Muslim captors is 13-year-old Mersiha, whose experiences at the hands of Christian Serbs have turned her into a killer with a Kalashnikov. After Freeman is rescued, he locates the girl, brings her to the U.S., and adopts her. Martyn ReadÕs plummy tones vibrate with assurance and expressiveness, creating mostly believable multidimensional characters. Unfortunately, Read misses the mark when delivering the voice of Mersiha. As the now 16-year-old central figure, his voice becomes high-pitched, sniveling, and squeaky–it simply doesnÕt fit the angry, abused, teenaged terrorist. Even so, this is a worthwhile listen, a thriller that blurs the line between good and evil. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine– Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine –This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ Fathers historically worry that their daughters will be sexually and emotionally misused by boys when they start to date. I don’t think Tony Freeman of THE BIRTHDAY GIRL need worry about his Daddy’s Little Girl, but, rather, should fear mightily for the boys.Freeman is CEO of CRW Electronics, a defense contractor that manufacturers mine clearance systems. On a clandestine mission to fragmented Yugoslavia to sell the devices to the Christian Serbs, Tony is taken hostage by Bosnian Muslims. One of his captors is twelve year-old Mersiha, who, at this early age, has learned how to hate and mercilessly kill. But, Freeman also perceives her as a vulnerable young girl, and, when he’s ultimately rescued, shields Mersiha with his own body and takes in the leg the bullets meant for her. Subsequently, he springs Mersiha from a Serbian-run concentration camp and takes her back to America where he and his wife Katherine adopt her as their own daughter.Flash forward three years.Mersiha is now, to all appearances, a well-adjusted, happy teenager on the verge of her sixteenth birthday. She’s seeing a mental therapist for nightmares stemming from her and her family’s brutal treatment by the Serbs, but, hey, getting therapy is as American as apple pie. She’s step-Daddy’s Little Girl. So, when she discovers that Katherine is committing adultery and CRW’s existence is threatened by expatriate Russian mobsters, Mersiha decides to give her Old Man a helping hand without his knowledge, but with the aid of the Heckler & Koch handgun, a familiar weapon from the bad old days in the Old Country, that Tony keeps locked in the gun cabinet.THE BIRTHDAY GIRL is an engaging read that I finished in three days despite the annoying intrusions of a career and home chores. What prevents me from awarding five stars was its complete lack of subtlety, something I value more highly now than I did when I cracked my first book five decades ago. When the ending involved a pursuit from Baltimore to the Colorado Rockies, and, specifically, the final chase of a hot air balloon by Bad Guys on snow mobiles, it began to read like a James Bond thriller. And I wish that author Stephen Leather could have somehow kept his heroine’s atypical propensities hidden to the reader behind her normal, adolescent facade to the very end, thus providing a jaw-dropping plot twist to an otherwise clever premise. These quibbles aside, THE BIRTHDAY GIRL is one of Leather’s better offerings.

⭐ I found this book enthralling and at the same time disturbing to think that if the attrocities written in the book are true or even close to true every world leader who was in power at the time should hang there head in shame and be publicly named and shamed.However the book is a good read even so at times in my opinion disturbing ( but definitley thought provoking) however it has a beginning an unexpected middle and an end. One of the books I will probably read again in the future.Another Stephen Leather success

⭐ The character of the birthday girl, as she evolved from contrasting environments made you reflect on what is happening in the world as you sit comfortably reading this great tale

⭐ Rollicking violent yarn that is impossible to put down

⭐ Everything you really want to know about THE BIRTHDAY GIRL’s plot has been nicely written by Mr. Haschka. I agree with him that this was a suspenseful thriller and there were a few unexpected twists and turns that will keep the reader hooked. The reason I had to give this novel by Stephen Leather 4 stars instead of 5 was the fact that he used too many British-isms, (e.g., boot = car trunk, rubbish bin = trash can, knickers = panties, etc.) which were distracting. I mean, the story takes place in Baltimore, MD and Estes Park, CO. The father, Tony, is originally from Scotland, but he is married to an American woman and has lived and worked in the US long enough have learned to speak our form of English. Besides, he isn’t the one saying these things…the author is. Granted, the book was published in the UK but I still think Mr. Leather should have used terms we use here. He did, after all, work in Baltimore for a few years himself and is familiar with the lingo. O…and the fact that Tony calls his step-daughter, the sweet and deadly Mersiha, “pumpkin” just about every time he talks to her…even when being chased by bad guys trying to shoot holes thru the two of them…also was distracting. Nitpicking aside, I enjoyed THE BIRTHDAY GIRL and highly recommend it. I don’t think Stephen Leather is capable of writing a bad novel..but that’s my opinion.

⭐ Starts out a little slow but builds up pretty quickly and really heats up at the end. I enjoyed this book. It is a fairly quick read.

⭐ Once again Stephen Leather gives us a great book,fast moving great characters and a brilliant story line enjoyed it no end

⭐ Stephen Leather has a phenomenal way of keeping you attached to the pages the whole way through. Birthday Girl was a phenomenal read of loving and hating certain characters, with a superb way of building the characters in your mind to a point where you feel like you’re right there with them. Superb.

⭐ Good story. Too intense and graphic for my spouse.

⭐ Good srory

Keywords

Free Download The Birthday Girl in MOBI format
The Birthday Girl MOBI Free Download
Download The Birthday Girl 2009 MOBI Free
The Birthday Girl 2009 MOBI Free Download
Download The Birthday Girl MOBI
Free Download Ebook The Birthday Girl