Vanishing Act (Alias)

Customer reviews:

European Intrigue, 2005-06-14
In this installment of the Alias series, rookie spy Sydney Bristow is undercover as the assistant of famous magician Trevor Raven. Works of art just happen to be stolen in the cities where the tour stops, so Sloan tasks Sydney to keep an eye on Raven's employee - and suspected villain - Victor Romero. Noah Hicks, Sydney's hunky on-again, off-again boyfriend is also on the mission, and the two of them get to spend a little time alone.

In my opinion, this is the best book of the Alias series. There is more fast-paced action and mission interactions between Sydney and Sloan, like an episode of the TV show. The mysterious Rimbaldi is also implicated in the works of art being stolen.

Intriguing but predictable, 2004-10-05
In Vanishing Act, Sydney is on a mission in Europe. Her day job and cover is an assistant to the famous illusionist, Trevor Raven. Raven's show is on tour through Europe. Whenever Sydney is not busy with a show, she is supposed to watch and research the doings of Victor Romero, one of Raven's employees. Slowly, Sydney figures out what is really going on behind the magic show. Just when she thinks she has everything figured out, Sydney demonstrates her innocence and naivete in this book. She is just too trusting. This time, her trust of others places her in grave danger.

I like this book because it shows a very human side of Sydney. She has steadily gained confidence on her missions as described in the Alias series of books. This time, Sydney misjudges and blows her cover. She may be able to overcome the ordeal but how will this experience affect her trusting of others in the future?