Cobra Pose by Susan Rogers & John Roosen

Two amateur sleuths unravel a viciously clever scheme to destabilize Australia and rob it blind in Cobra Pose by Susan Rogers and John Roosen, the second installment of their fast-paced Yoga Mat Mysteries series.

When Elaina’s father drops off the map following a cryptic phone call, she turns to her freshly returned lover, Ric, for his specialized help. Their hunt soon reveals that her father’s disappearance is linked to an imminent cyber-attack that could ravage global markets. Elaina’s courtroom-sharpened wits and enlightened yogi mind combine well with Ric’s pragmatic perfectionism and spycraft-level problem-solving, making their interactions authentic and charming, while unexpectedly vulnerable.

The extensive detail related to technology, from banking software and cyber-hacking to voice analyzers and government firewalls, adds authority to this fiction, aided by believable dialogue and rich character dynamics. At times, however, the storytelling is technical to a fault; the prose could be less declarative and more descriptive, with more focus on the significance of interactions, rather than the physical movements of characters and their direct observations. There are also quite a few moments where disbelief must be suspended, but that’s a necessary part of the escapist pleasure this book delivers.

All told, Cobra Pose is an entertaining, high-stakes thriller that will appeal to tech junkies, conspiracy fans, and mystery aficionados alike, while the steamy bond between the two leads will more than satisfy readers of modern romance.