Showing posts with label Thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thriller. Show all posts

Tuesday 13 June 2017

The Piper's Promise: Book 3 In The Ridge Walker Series (The Ridge Walker Adventure Series) by Alex Breck

I'm a sucker for a freebie and that's how the following book ended up in my lap. It is the third in the series. I don't think there is much point now of reading book 1 and two as the writer has given a few reminders about the previous books. Not enough for me to know exactly who every one is but enough to take the surprise out of the first. I gave it 4 stars and would urge anyone who likes high octane thrillers with a black ops plot to start at book one.

Ridge Walker finds himself in unfamiliar territory (Japan), when his friend Thad is accused of a murder he didn’t commit. He is out of his depth after making some questionable decisions and underestimating a ruthless killer. Luckily Thad has a powerful dad, but not even he can anticipate what waits for him in Japan. This was a high octane thriller with some nail biting scenes. I Liked the scenes set in Scotland, it is clear that the writer has a fondness of the Scottish Isles. The problem I had with the book was that I came into the series at book 3. I had not grown into the characters and some seemed to be a bit too unlikely, especially the diamond dogs. Alex Breck does fill us in about the characters pasts but a lot has happened in the previous books and I would recommend starting at book one.

Wednesday 5 April 2017

Trafficking: (Powell, Book 1) (Volume 1) by Mr Bill Ward

One thing I love about being a reviewer is just picking up books without knowing anything about it, apart that it is from an indie author. I've not read anything mainstream or of the best seller list for a long time. They do say variety is the spice of life and I certainly got some spice in this thriller. The last book I read did not have anything more racy in it than a kiss. This one had your reviewer blushing a number of times. Not for the fainthearted and I give it 4 stars.
Trafficking: (Powell, Book 1) (Volume 1) by Mr Bill Ward on Amazon.com


Trafficking is a gritty thriller that highlights the plight of women that get lured to Britain with non-existing jobs and end up in the sex trade. We meet Afina, a young Romanian women who goes to Brighton with the promise of a well-earning bar job. She finds out the brutal truth as her passport is taken off her and she is raped. This book is also an introduction to the character of Powell a man drawn into Afina’s dangerous world when his daughter becomes a tragic victim of Afina’s escape attempt. Powell is a man with a tragic and dark past. He has worked for the government in the past and his training kicks in when he decides to trace his daughter’s assailant. There are so far 3 books in the series and I think this is a promising start to a series for fans who like their thrillers fast paced and are not averse to graphic scenes of sex and violence. Powell is a man with a number of different facets to his character that will make him a good lead for a series. I think Afina will feature in the next book. She seems plucky enough as she didn’t just accept her lot; she tried to get away from her gangsters. I wasn’t too sure about the other characters in the book and could have done without the lesbian frolicking. It seemed a little too flippant for the rest of the story. Book 2 is going to take us to Saudi Arabia and a different story line and auxiliary characters will be a good thing. All in all a fast pace and thrilling read.
 


Saturday 1 April 2017

Shell Game: A Contemporary Thriller by K.H.Bixby

As I had a couple of days holiday and a 4 hour train journey, I had time to read. So here is the review of one thriller and I'm halfway through the next. This one was quite innocent in its tone, no sex or swearing. But it did have some scenes of torture which came as a bit of a shock considering how the rest of the story was handled. I gave it 4 stars.

A young boy loses his closest family and is taken to New York by his uncle. They are Jaharin, a fictional ethnic group without statehood. When oil is discovered on the land they inhabit; their powerful host is ethnic cleansing without the world noticing. We catch up with the young boy Sami many years later and he now works in finance.
This story has many elements which make this thriller seem eerily familiar; one group of people oppressed by a more powerful group, the world turning a blind eye to a small ethnic group. And the all-powerful oil and financial companies that put money before people. Sami is a sympathetic character; he has made a success out of his life despite difficult beginnings. Money and a cosy life has not made him immune to the plight of his people and I can understand his need to help the Jaharin, even though the way he does it isn’t legal. The romance between Sami and Sarah is developed slowly and with a somewhat innocent touch. (Rather refreshing to not have any sex scenes!) The pace of the book is slow and steady but keeps the reader engaged. The only criticism I have is that the scenes of torture come as a bit of a shock (I had to skip a few pages as I can't stomach animal cruelty even if it is fictional), it contrasts sharply against the innocent romance of Sami and Sarah and the warm relationship between Sami and his uncle. It does however illustrate that even though life might seem comfortable and cosy, brutal reality (like the Syrian conflict at the moment) is never far away.

Tuesday 12 April 2016

The Lafayette Campaign by Andrew Updegrove

I do like a good conspiracy thriller now and then, and this one has a good dose of humour and satire to make it an entertaining read. I gave this 5 stars.
The Lafayette Campaign by Andrew Updegrove on Amazon.com


This is a tense political thriller with a healthy dose of satire, also a very entertaining read. Frank Adversego is a computer expert that is called upon by an un-named US government agency when they have a suspicion that someone has hacked the electronic voting system. Some unexpected results in the republican preliminaries have set alarm bells ringing in Washington. Frank sets to work figuring out how the hackers got in, but gets distracted by a young French student that keeps crossing his path. He soon finds out that he can trust no one and that he is alone in stopping the presidential election from being rigged. The Lafayette campaign is full of surprising plot twists and turns, but at all times disturbingly believable. This is a clever piece of storytelling that combines politics, technology and human emotion.
Frank Adversego is an interesting character with a fascinating job. He is also very human. We get to see his more vulnerable side; he is middle aged, lonely and wants to get in better shape physically. Frank is not one of these uber geeky smart tech wiz- kids that annoyingly spot straight away how a cyber-hack was done. Frank like most of us stumbles about in the dark for a while and is at times too trusting. But he is also diligent and committed and with hard work he solves the case.
I read this book during the 2016 primaries and caucuses which fitted perfectly with the story; I even started wondering if Mr Updegrove was clairvoyant so closely matched his story with all the shenanigans in the republican primaries and the unexpected rise of DT. This is book 2 in the series and I haven’t read book 1 (not yet but hope to soon), but it stands on its own and can be read out of order. Frank Adversego is certainly a character I want to revisit.