Spy and espionage novels are not usually my go-to genre, though I do love the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz. I had previously read Lee Goldberg’s co-authored The Heist and the rest of the Fox and O’Hare series with Janet Evanovich, so whenever I saw one of Goldberg’s books appear on NetGalley, I grabbed it - even if I never quite got around to reading most of them at the time.
As I slowly chip away at my NetGalley backlog, I often check Libby or Hoopla to see whether books have since been released in audiobook format. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that almost all of Lee Goldberg’s backlist is available on Kindle Unlimited in both ebook and audiobook editions, which makes for great immersive reading.
Since many of the books are relatively short - often under 300 pages - I decided to start with the Ian Ludlow trilogy. Between my enjoyment of the Fox and O’Hare books and knowing Goldberg also wrote the Monk tie-in novels and other TV-related series, I had a strong feeling I would enjoy more of his work.
I would describe the Ian Ludlow series as a blend of Orphan X by Hurwitz and David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter series, which I absolutely love. Add in some PG-13 language and content, along with a healthy dose of humor, and that gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Ian Ludlow series.
The premise is fantastic: a thriller writer whose fictional plots keep colliding with real-world espionage and international conspiracies. Is Ian simply a novelist, or is there something more to him? Why does he continually find himself caught in increasingly dangerous situations?
Packed with action, suspense, sharp humor, and entertaining characters, this was a thoroughly enjoyable trilogy from start to finish.
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