Review: Great Entertainment in this Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 22, 2014
This is the third installment in the Ethan Justice thriller series, and although I liked the other two books a lot, this one satisfies on a higher level. The plot revolves around an English mafia figure named Nelson who is bent on enlarging his territory in southern Spain – drugs, prostitution, murder. Nelson’s idea of fun is getting beaten to a pulp by a prostitute, so you can imagine how he treats underlings who double-cross him, or simply deliver poor performance.Ethan Justice and his girlfriend, Savannah Jones, work for the secret anti-terrorist organization Earthguard. The action starts immediately with a gas explosion and somebody shooting at their vehicle. Ethan’s sister Rachel happens to be in Madrid to put on her first fashion show, and soon it appears she might be a target of the bad guys.Although Savannah Jones and Rachel get on famously, Ethan and his sister bristle in each other’s company. The tension between them is interesting, especially when Ethan finds himself feeling responsible for her safety.The entire story takes place in Malaga, then Madrid and its environs. I loved the car chase scenes and all the technical stuff, using iPads to create local area networks on which a bomb could be detonated – cool stuff like that. But there is plenty of hand-to-hand combat as well, as Savannah has to find a way to survive when facing terrorists and serial rapists. Ethan Justice has many strengths, but marksmanship is not one of them, which makes for some humorous moments.Alternating between Ethan’s point of view and Nelson’s, the book proceeds at a heart-thumping pace. Although I felt I knew how it would probably turn out, there were surprises at every turn, and twice as many surprises in the last fifty pages, just what I like in a thriller.Incendiary is a wild and thrilling ride from start to finish, with that rare balance between nerve-wracking action and snarky humor. It’s a quick read, but one of those rare books that sticks in your memory.