Not as good as the first book but I liked the romance aspect between J.T. and Christina. ( )

Played is the sequel to Taken (I would suggest reading it first). Played was a real page turner. The book was full of plot twists and surprises. The most shocking for me was towards the end of the book when Christina’s family history was revealed. Huge surprise there.I really liked both lead characters. Christina and J.T. had tons of chemistry, but their relationship was not forced. I have to mention the villain in these two novels, Evan Chadwick. Barbara Freethy developed one crafty character. He always has an ace up his sleeve. Though, I thought he was a lot more vindictive in Taken.One other interesting aspect of this novel I’d like to mention is the title. “Played” kind of has a double meaning (I think it does anyway). Played can refer to Evan and how he really uses people and gets into their heads, basically plays mind games with them. But, “Played” could also refer to Evan being tricked by the better thief in this novel, Christina’s father. I won’t say to much more for fear of giving the plot away, but if you read the book you’ll get my meaning. A good, well-rounded novel. I totally recommend it! ( )

Played is about FBI Agent JT who is determined to catch the theif/con man who ruined his family. Christina is working at the auction house that is selling a rare diamond. It turns p missing and they must work together to catch the criminal. A good story that keeps you guessing who the con-man is. ( )

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.

I can't wait for her next book, Silent Run, next March. ( )

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