BOOK REVIEW
If you want to read fast-paced, nonstop, adrenaline-surging action, I suggest you pick up this book. Before the first couple of chapters have ended, there is a shootout, poolroom brawl, rooftop fight, and an explosion. That's really the premise. Keep you hooked on action. The result is a speedy, entertaining read that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially as a palette cleanser following the more intense and emotional read of The Interpreter from Java which I finished at the end of last week.
I was given this book as a Christmas gift, so it's been waiting patiently on my shelf to have its moment to shine for a few months.
Our protagonist, Alex, is an ex-copper turned private bodyguard. Sarah needs a bodyguard, after a stint in witness protection turns into an attempt on her life. Julie is the one who hires Alex, on behalf of her employer, the National Crime Agency (who appear to be fairly rubbish at their job!). We follow the twists and turns, through car chases, helicopter chases, foot chases...lots of chasing and escaping. Julie investigates the bad guys, finds out who to trust, and tries to come out on top. By the end, our hero sails off into the sunset to prepare for book two.
I was pleasantly surprised that there was no random falling in love between Alex and one of the women he was dealing with. How people find the time to knock boots while being sought out by the ultimate bad guys always baffles me so this was a refreshing take. People can, in fact, work with people of the opposite (or same) gender and not fall in love with every one of them, who'd have thought such a concept could exist in a book :) There's plenty of time for that as the series progresses but I am glad that Alex isn't a James Bond character who falls in love with the lady of the moment every single time!
There was a decent attempt to add some personality and build the characters, but the focus was very much on action, a delve into the deep recesses of the human psyche this is not - though that's exactly what I feel was intended. The book is the first of a series so I suspect that Alex's character, in particular, will be given more depth and backstory as the series progresses. There's enough there to work out that he's a decent guy who's had a rough ride, he's lost his wife so seeing that story be padded out and resolved would be interesting.
Overall I found it an engaging read that pulled me in from the start. A nice, fast-paced, read that keeps the pages turning. Worth adding to the list!
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