NORA BROOKS

Nora Brooks is an agent with the Cyber Division.

We learn very little about that organization other than it is headquartered in Washington, DC, and that it's mandate is fighting any and all cyber-terror threats to the nation whether they come from foreign actors or are domestically produced. As the number of those threats have been growing seemingly exponentially, the operatives working for this group have been very busy. Still, whether Cyber Division is part of a larger, more publicly known Cabinent Department or was more of a budget line-item creation is very explained and for the purposes of the adventures we have of Brooks, not really important. She has considerable legal authority behind her, not to mention use of some very impressive equipment.

Brooks is an experienced operative being 38 years old when we meet her and having worked at the Division for just over a decade. She keeps herself in extremely good physical shape and has not been plagued by waning performance out in the field but she knows it will come. Until it does, though, and to stave it off as long as she can, she makes sure she exercises regularly and eats right.

One fascinating aspect to Brooks' position as the top agent for the Division, an organization dedicated to fighting computer terrorism, is that Brooks is not a hacker. She has a fair knowledge of computers and what they are capable of doing and what those who abuse them can get up to but she would never claim to be anywhere close to an expert. Brooks' skillset lies with people and understanding them and being able to size them up very quickly and accurately. Even more importantly, she knows when it comes to take decisive and definitive action and she is very good at the latter.

In the first adventure, her more experienced partner, whom we never have a chance to meet, is murdered and she has to deal with that loss while handling the mission.

In the remaining three adventures, she has the assistance of a much younger agent named Randall Goodwin, an athletically impressive man who is even more gifted in computer skills so those gaps in tech skills that Brooks has are filled by him. Making the partnership even more effective is the two quickly learn to respect the other and enjoy the other's company. This is good because while Goodwin comes from money and loves the finer things in life - like expensive tailored clothing, Brooks is more likely to be found dressed in black pants and a gray button-up blouse; total cost less than $90.

I pondered for a bit whether the Nora Brooks adventures belonged in this compendium and should I take the time to read them. Obviously because she is here now, I chose yes and I had a really good time with each of the four novellas. Had there been any more, I would just as happily continued to read them because I loved the easy, highly-skilled writing style of the author, Vennetta Chapman, and I really liked Nora Brooks. I especially enjoyed it when her new partner, Goodwin, came on; the two make a great team.

I really wish more authors would take the route of novellas like Ms. Chapman did. Plenty of room to tell an excellent story and not so much as to get bogged down. Well done, ma'am. And if you want to write more about Brooks, well, you will find a welcoming reader in me.