ALINA MASCHIK

Full Name:	Alina Maschik
Series Name:	The Exit Series
Codename:	Viper
Nationality:	American
Organization:	CIA
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	C. W. Browning
Time Span:	2013 - 2023

ABOUT THE SERIES

Alina Maschik is an agent with the CIA.

To be a tad less delicate and more to the point, she is an assassin with the Agency. In fact she may be in the top two they have if not numero uno. That distinction would have to be made by her and her friendly competition but since friendly is the key word here and the only real way to know who was better would not be so amicable, it remains a moot point.

Maschik is codenamed Viper and the epithet is extremely well suited. Like the poisonous snake, she can strike with frightening speed from out of nowhere and her "bite" is almost always fatal. If she wants a person dead, they become dead.

The expression "natural born killer" would not, however, apply to Maschik. Before her life with the CIA, a time ten years before the first recorded adventure, she was an average person, engaged to be married and ready to live a normal life. Then her fiancée decided to cheat on her and that ended that relationship. Then her older brother, a Marine serving in the Middle East, died in the line of duty. That changed Maschik and gave her a new purpose, namely to serve like her deceased sibling.

The military took her gladly and found in her extremely good aptitude in the types of things special operations required. They honed those abilities to a fine edge and made good use of her. That brought her to the attention of the Agency who knew a good (or "deadly") operative when they saw one. That is when Viper came into being and for the past few years, she has more than earned that name.

When we meet up with her, she is doing something she never expected or particularly wanted to do - she is returning home. Home to the jerk, now an FBI agency, who played around on her. Home to the two classmates who were like sisters back in the day, one now a bank executive and the other a Fibbie herself, partnered, believe it or not, with the jerk. Thomas Wolfe's line about not being able to "go home again" fits Maschik's situation for when going home after some time, the visitor finds home has changed, and so has the visitor. In the case of Viper, boy, has she changed.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	9
First Appearance:	2013
Last Appearance:	2023


1			Next Exit, Three Miles Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2013 Two years ago in Cairo, Alina Maschik, aka Viper, did something she had never done before - she failed to eliminate her target. Now she has another chance and because he is in the U.S., not getting him this time could mean a huge number of innocents killed. But his location puts him right in the middle of the New Jersey area she grew up in and right in the midst of old friends and old memories.

2			Next Exit, Pay Toll Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2013 Someone had financed the terrorist that Alina Maschik, Viper, had taken out in the previous mission and she is determined to find out who and bring that person down, no matter how powerful the enemy might be. This will prove quite difficult because that reaches into the White House and the traitor is out after Viper.

3			Next Exit, Dead Ahead Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2014 FBI agent Stephanie Walker knows whenever her old friend, Alina Maschik, called Viper in her day job, comes to town, it means trouble and today is no exception. Hours after a fun trip to an old prison made up as a Haunted House, a severed arm is found in one of the cells and that is the start of a very bloody few days.

4			Next Exit, Quarter Mile Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2018 Someone powerful out there knows a whole lot more about covert agent Alina Maschik, aka Viper, than they should and that can mean death for the undercover assassin. She is sent to lay low in her old haunts of New Jersey but that just means the enemy knows where to find her.

5			Next Exit, Use Caution Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2019 The unknown assassin struck very close to home and Alina Maschik is out for justice if not revenge. Unfortunately, to get to that someone she has to stay alive and that is getting very difficult.

6			Next Exit, One Way Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2019 "Two terrorists are at large in Philadelphia, a traitor in Washington will stop at nothing to prevent his past from being exposed, and a master assassin is determined to make him pay for it all."

7			Next Exit, No Outlet Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2019 "Alina Maschik is out of time. As she uncovers the secrets hiding a traitor responsible for countless deaths, that same traitor is moving quickly to silence anyone who stands in his way. When FBI Agent Stephanie Walker becomes the target, Alina does what she does best. But nothing is ever easy in New Jersey. Left with very few options, Viper enlists the help of others to face the biggest challenge of her career. Yet success comes at a high personal cost, and if she fails, those closest to her will die."

8			The Cuban Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2023 Book 1 in the After The Exit series. "As top energy executives across the world begin dropping dead, Viper comes out of retirement to do what she does best: the impossible. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems, especially when the target is her husband. Racing across war-torn Ukraine, two operatives must forget the past and focus on finding the one man who can help locate a deadly foe before it’s too late… and Viper ends up dead for good."

9			The Trouble With Enzo Written by C. W. Browning Copyright: 2023 Book 2 in the After The Exit series. "Viper’s not back. At least, that’s what Alina Maschik keeps saying. But when the head of MI6 requests her services, she agrees to a quick and simple job – plunging herself straight into trouble. Michael O’Reilly has a problem. His cover is close to being blown by the two people who know him and Viper best. When terrorists threaten the largest oil refinery in Europe, he’s more than ready to return to work—even if it means jumping into Viper’s hot water."

MY COMMENTS

I needed a new series to check out and this one's name attracted my attention. It might have been the name that pulled me in but it was the characters that grabbed me and held me. From the first few pages, I was fascinated by Alina Maschik, aka Viper, and I was certain I would grow to like her even more. I was right.

Then as I got to know her friends and colleagues, my interest grew even more. I liked these people - even the jerk ex-fiancé who slowly became not quite such a jerk. I liked Stephanie a bunch though she seemed a tad naive for an FBI agent but that might have just been me. I really liked Hawk. And the Raven.

Now, the two main bad-asses, Viper and Hawk, are far too good to be believable but what made the series a hoot and kept me reading was that I truly enjoyed the fact that they were so good at their job. Not superhero kind of awesome but definitely in the "do NOT tick me off" kind.

When I finished the first book, I knew I had enough info to write about the series but not only do I always read at least two adventures in any series, I could not NOT read the next one. Then the third. Then I was done except I looked again and darned if a 4th wasn't waiting and calling to me so naturally I had to keep going.

If you read the series, and I hope you do, please understand going in that Viper and Hawk are, as I said, too too good. And just have fun with it.

GRADE

My Grade: A

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