The Troika Dolls

Stevie Duveen doesn’t fit the mold for a globe-trotting troubleshooter, but the diminutive, brainy heroine of this ambitious, if sometimes overly convoluted debut thriller from Darling (B Model: An Embellished Memoir) receives ample opportunities to show off her own brand of expertise. As a risk-assessment analyst for London-based Hazard Limited, Stevie handles tasks like advising publicity-hungry movie star couple Douglas Hammer and Sandy Belle on measures to protect their infant son, Kennedy-Jack. But when Stevie agrees to a request from her friend Henning to come to Moscow to talk with Valery Kozkov, head of the Russian Central Bank, she becomes involved in an impossibly dangerous situation. Kozkov’s teenage daughter, Anya, has been kidnapped, and Stevie lets her concern for the girl override her better judgment, sending her on a collision course with ruthless Russian gangs. Stevie’s physical and mental abilities are put to the test, as are her romantic choices, in this enjoyable series starter. (Jan.)