'Alien Diplomacy' Katherine "Kitty" Katt #5 by Gini Koch

Received from the Author

From the BLURB:

Being newlyweds and new parents is challenging enough. But Jeff and Kitty Martini are also giving up their roles as super-being exterminators and Commanders in Centaurion Division while mastering the political landscape as the new heads of Centaurion's Diplomatic Corps. Enter a shadowy assassination plot and a new set of anti-alien conspirators, and nothing will ever be the same...

Katherine ‘Kitty’ Katt isn’t fitting too comfortably into her new role as Mrs. Martini. Ever since Jeff became an ambassador, Kitty has had to swap her favourite band t-shirts for frocks, and learn how to host dignified soirees instead of her much preferred rock-fests. But Kitty is trying – she is attending a ‘Washington Wife’ class and learning the proper way to meet and greet Russian dignitaries without embarrassing Jeff or her fellow countrymen.

As hard as being a perfect little wifey is for Kitty, she and Jeff have both found their feet as parents to little Jamie (affectionately known as Jamie-Kat). Baby Jamie is doted on by the whole of the Centaurion Division, not to mention her friends in the C.I.A. and her powerful royal (and deadly) grandparents.

But all is not well in Washington. The President’s Ball looms, and on top of learning how to dance, avoid enraging the Koreans and needing to pick out a killer (but classy) dress, Kitty and Martini are hearing rumours that there’s going to be violence at the Ball, against an unknown target.

Assassins are swarming Washington, and already Kitty and Jamie have been caught in the crosshairs . . . but are they the targets?

‘Alien Diplomacy’ is the fifth book in Gini Koch’s explosive space opera ‘Katherine “Kitty” Katt’ series.

Gini Koch’s beloved sci-fi series has hit so many high-notes in recent books that fans could be forgiven for thinking that things might calm down in this fifth instalment . . . after all, how could Ms Koch possibly compete with some of the jaw-dropping, pedal-to-the-metal helter-skletering plots of yesteryear? ‘Alien in the Family’ included a wild wedding, while ‘Alien Proliferation’ welcomed the birth of a much-anticipated alien-human bubs. Some may think that ‘Alien Diplomacy’ is the come down, if you like, from all those larger-than-life plots and story thrill rides. But fans should not be deterred or concerned, because Jeff and Kitty are not settling into sedate family life just yet . . . not when assassins are descending on Washington and Jamie-Kat is showing every sign of being an above-average A-C baby.

I got the Long-Suffering Doctor look. "You, Jamie, and Jeff are scheduled for tests today."
We were? "Tests? What tests?"
He gave the Long-Suffering Doctor sigh. "The standard tests we do monthly to ensure the three of you are ... progressing properly."
"Oh, you mean the ones where we make sure we're still more like the X-Men than the Thing?"

The central focus of ‘Diplomacy’ is on the rumour of an assassination attempt, planned for the President’s Ball against an unknown target (though common sense points to the president. . . ) but when Jamie and Kitty get caught up in the assassination plot, everybody starts second-guessing the original targets.

This central ‘whodunit’ storyline is pretty intense, and will keep you guessing. But as well as offering up an adrenaline shot, the plot also serves to introduce readers to Jeff and Kitty’s new Washington setting (what with Jeff being an ambassador and all). We learn just how badly Kitty is fitting into her post-pregnancy time off . . . floating between ‘Washington Wife’ and a ‘Mummy and Me’ class. It’s safe to say that our girl Kitty is missing the good old days of screaming Aerosmith while pumping some fuglies full of lead (and hairspray). I loved the fact that just because our heroine got her happily-ever-after (complete with handsome hubby and sweet baby girl) it doesn’t mean she wants to stop kicking ass. And ‘Diplomacy’ is really about Kitty’s push-and-pull, between her duties as a wife and mother, and her urge to be out in the field watching Jeff’s back and saving the world.

‘Diplomacy’ continues to expand on Koch’s fantastical world. We meet a great cast of new characters like the mysterious Malcolm Buchanan, and we revisit some old favourites (including Kyle and Len, reformed football players, now bodyguards). We also meet someone from Kitty’s past, her old sorority sister Caroline Chase, who has some hilarious stories to share about Kitty’s college years;

Caroline stared at me. "You married a space alien?" she asked finally.
I gave her a bright smile. "Jeff was born on Earth. He's a legal U.S. resident with all the rights thereof. And he's a prince." Hey, it had mattered to my other sorority sisters.
Caroline shook her head. "You never change."
"I didn't date aliens before!"
"Or royalty. However, if there was a way to work in the bizarre naturally, you were always our go-to girl."

And for those of you who were cheering and fist-pumping at the revelations in ‘Proliferation’, concerning Christopher’s character . . . rest assured, Amy is sticking around and there’s a very sweet scene towards the end of ‘Diplomacy’ – I love these two!

Gini Koch’s fifth ‘Katherine “Kitty” Katt’ is a wonderful instalment in this kick-butt series. Our girl Kitty may be happily settled down with a (sexy) ball and chain, she may be loving motherhood and ‘Mummy and Me’ time. . . but that doesn’t mean she isn’t hankering for an ass-kickin’, and ‘Diplomacy’ is really all about her conflicting emotions between being a mother and being a hero. Another awesome instalment in an incredible series, and proof-positive that even when the story includes diaper-changes and poof baby bodyguards, Koch still has plenty of action and adventure for Jeff and Kitty!

5/5