Original Sin: Lucy Parks is a stay-at-home mom, simultaneously raising her three-year-old son and trying to hide the fact that she used to be James Bond. Well, that's only sort of true: in her former life she was known as Sally Sin, a spy for the US Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction, an action-packed thrill ride of a career that allowed for exactly no social life whatsoever. When Lucy met her soon-to-be husband Will, she quit the Agency and dedicated herself to full-time normalcy. The story is an entertaining mix of Lucy's current pleasantly mundane life and her memories as a spy, which could have been directed by Michael Bay. Though I had trouble buying the relationship between Lucy and Will, as they appear to have pretty much nothing in common, I got a kick out Lucy's struggle to maintain calm as the madness of her former life comes back to haunt her. This book is a fun ride.

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To Sin Again: We rejoin Lucy, aka Sally Sin, the daring spy turned stay-at-home mom. As she deals with the stress of choosing the proper kindergarten for her son, her former employer (the US Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction) taps her on the shoulder because their director has been kidnapped and she has been requested by name to ransom him. And, well, it just wasn't that interesting.

Part of my trouble with this book is the way Sally's spy agency is portrayed. Her boss routinely puts her in dangerous situations by needlessly declining to give her all the information she needs to do her job. This isn't just bad management; this is bad intelligence. I guess if this had been some eccentric millionaire who had somehow obligated Sally to him, that might have been different, but a government agency taking this tack doesn't make any sense.

There's also this surrounding story about the identity of Sally's father and her mysterious childhood and I'm sure this sort of stuff will be revealed later in the series, but I doubt I'll pick up any more of the books. I'm not really invested in the characters, and this is the sort of story where you need to care what happens to the people involved, and not just how the plot turns out. ( )

I just adored the first book in the Sally Sin series, as did everyone to whom I recommended it. So I was quite surprised to find out that the second book was only available coupled with the first in a compilation called Spy Mom.

Now this was fine with me because I am the type who re-reads earlier books in series before proceeding to the next, but it doesn’t seem to bode well for the future of the series. And it really is quite entertaining.

“Sally Sin” is the pseudonym of an attractive young woman now known as Lucy, who spent nine years as a spy for the “United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction,” or USAWMD. When she met Will Hamilton, she quit the service, or thought she did, to become a wife and mother. But Simon Still, her former boss, continues to call on her from time to time to help unearth illegal arms dealers.

Sally's earnest and ingenuous husband Will doesn’t know about Lucy’s other life, and this role-reversal version of the movie plot for “True Lies” makes for many comedic moments.

While Will is at work, “Sally” tries to juggle preschool and play dates and potty training for her son Theo with dangerous assignments involving international terrorists. And much to her dismay, she keeps encountering handsome and enigmatic Ian Blackford, the man "most wanted" by USAWMD, who shares much in common with Sally, including an undeniable attraction.

In this second book, Sally is called back into service because Charles Gray, Director of the USAWMD, has been kidnapped, and the ransom caller insists he will only negotiate with Sally Sin. Sally proves motherhood has not slowed her down, even if she finds herself lecturing bad guys about wiping their hands...

Evaluation: These two books, Original Sin and To Sin Again, will have moms laughing out loud over Sally’s attempts to have a secret life while taking care of a three-, then (in book two) five-year-old energetic son. The spy operations are interesting and dangerous, but still quite humorous. This is a delightful series and I’d love to see it continue. ( )

Already reviewed the first of the two novels, Original Sin, last year. I had to pick this collection up to read To Sin Again, the second Sally Sin adventure. Lucy Hamilton's son Theo is almost ready for kindergarten, necessitating interviews and worries about where she and Will will send him to school. The last thing Lucy wants to do is hear from Simon Still and dredge up more of her past life as Sally Sin. But with Director Grey's well-being in the balance, she doesn't seem to have much choice. McMullen makes great use of Lucy's past memories as Sally to drive the present day story forward. There are great, quirky San Fransisco sites and characters and a lot of intrigue as Lucy/Sally delves into her own past to make connections with this present. This book was as much fun to read as the first and I certainly hope we haven't seen the last of Sally. Especially since I still think her British neighbor may be hiding a secret past too. ( )

Book Review & Giveaway: When Beth McMullen notified me that Book #2 in her Sally Sin series was going to be published, I got really excited. We reviewed Book #1, Original Sin, when it was published and I loved that book. I had been eagerly awaiting Book #2, To Sin Again. Then Beth clued me in that she planned to publish a 2-book compilation titled Spy Mom, to would include Book #1 & #2 for everyone who missed out on Book #1. To read the rest of my review & enter to win 1 of 4 copies, go to http://popcornreads.com/?p=4214. ( )