In Stevens’s debut novel, The Informationist, Vanessa Munroe’s current case might be her last. Having spent her life distancing herself from her sordid childhood in Africa, Munroe has based her career on the skills she acquired there. She is an informationist and linguist with the ability to blend into any country and obtain the knowledge sought by her high-paying clients. Her current client is a distraught father whose daughter, Emily, vanished four years ago in Africa. After Emily’s safari group finished its tour, she decided to travel more with two men she met on the tour. Of the three, only one returned. Emily disappeared and the last man who saw her now resides in a mental institution. Munroe is intrigued by what previous investigators might have missed, but she is not prepared for what awaits her in Africa.” Library Journal. Monroe is a model of emerging action women, not unlike the heroine in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo