Played

by Barbara Freethy

Book Overview

FBI Agent J.T. McIntyre is determined to catch the thief who conned his father and destroyed his family. He wants revenge as much as justice, and he won't let anyone stand in his way-not even beautiful art historian Christina Alberti, whose secrets make him wonder just which side she's on.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451219694
• ISBN13: 9780451219695
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Not a good end

Albeit the reading material is quite good the book's end is almost nonsense. I think both ends written in this book could be better. Nonetheless you'll get hooked with the characters performance and that's good while you read a story. Someone wrote that to read this book you have to read first its prequel but I don't think so.

complex story

I think the first book I ever read by Barbara Freethy was Summer Secrets. After that, she became a must-buy author for me. I do have a couple of her backlist in my TBR pile, but haven't bought them all yet. Played is about a jewel theft. The Benedetti diamonds, including a legendary 97-carat yellow diamond, are set to be auctioned by Barclay's auction house in San Francisco, and the night before the auction, they're displayed at a party--worn by art historian Christina Alberti. Christina is uneasy--she's responsible for the diamond, but hasn't had a chance to examine it personally, and if anything goes wrong, she'll lose the last of her professional reputation--most of it already lost because of her father, notorious thief Marcus Alberti. And that's before FBI agent J. T. McIntyre warns her that the man he's tracking, Evan Chadwick (who first showed up in Taken), is a master of disguise and intends to steal the diamond. Unfortunately, Christina can't be sure her father won't also be tempted. She wants to trust him, but can't. And J. T.'s suggestion that Marcus might be working with Evan doesn't help. Of course, the diamond does go missing, impossibly, and J. T. and Christina end up working together, though at somewhat cross purposes, to find it. They fall in love, complicated by suspicion and Christina's need to clear her father's name. And then things turn deadly. There are wonderful twists and turns in this story, including sleight-of-hand, myriad culprits and motives, family secrets and curses, and both J. T. and Christina have hard choices to make: J. T. between love and revenge, and Christina between her father and J. T. Whodunit isn't all that easy, either, and Freethy's talent for complex storylines really shows here.

Great Read!

FBI agent JT McIntyre is after Evan Chadwick who's after a priceless diamond. Christina Alberti, who works at the auction house, gets caught up in a mystery that hits surprisingly close to home, and she discovers that J.T. is not the only one with secrets. I loved this sequel to TAKEN. Evan was as diabolical as ever and J.T. and Christina were a sexy, fun couple and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.

4 stars

Christina Alberti finds her world turned upside down after a legendary diamond comes into the auction house at which she works. Two thieves, one of them her own father, want the gem that comes complete with a curse and a tie to her own history that will take her across the world to solve the mystery. It will also bring her into the sights of F.B.I. agent J.T. McIntyre, a man whose life was destroyed by the other thief and who knows all too well how dangerous that man is. He is not sure if Christina is a pawn, an accomplice, or a potential victim, but he's going to stick close to her. Before long, there is no other place he wants to be. **** Suspense and passion come together in this multi-layered story that keeps you riveted from the moment you begin the book. The twists and turns don't let up for one second. You won't be sorry if you read this one. ****

One Terrific Read!!

PLAYED is a terrific read, a real page turner. I couldn't put it down once I started reading. There were lots of twists and turns and surprises that I didn't see coming. The romance with Christina and J.T. was well done and it was nice Christina had secrets of her own which made the story even better. It was nice to read a story that had both a strong romance and an intriguing mystery. a great sequel to TAKEN.