Review: Decent Thriller with a few flaws
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 31, 2013
*** mild spoilers possible ***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.Overview: It's an okay book. The hero gets in a lot of gunfights, so the phrase action-packed fits well. However, the plotting and pacing could use some fine tuning. There are so many gunfights interspersed with boring sit-down chats with the boss, the businessman, or the partner of the day that a summary of the book outline could read Fight #1, Chat #1, Fight #2, Chat #2, ... etc all the way to the end where Justin's sitting in his boss's office getting his next mission handed down from on high.Character Notes: This is admittedly my first Justin Hall book, so perhaps the other two have developed him more as a character, but this being my first experience, he had no depth. Therefore, he felt like a cookie-cutter action hero. We know little about him besides the fact that his girlfriend's Anna, his partner's Carrie, and he's a hot shot Canadian agent man. I do like the fact that he's not completely bulletproof, but still, Justin doesn't have the realistic streak like John Wells or the iconic charm of James Bonds.Romanov's kind of unbelievable. He's a rich business who had a shipment of missiles go missing so he turns to a Canadian S.A.M. who happens to be our hero, Justin, to recover them? Doesn't the guy have a list of people who work for him that's a mile long. There's some effort put into explaining why it has to be Justin, but it simply doesn't seem plausible.Carrie's more of a token female than a partner. She's there to be a good sounding board and to provide timely rescues when our heroboy gets himself in trouble, but other than that, we know little about her.Plotting and Pacing Notes: There is a lot of action, so if that's your thing, than you'll probably enjoy the book. The amount of firefights puts a soldier's life to shame. There are probably a dozen different occasions where something blows up or shots are fired. If this were my life, I'd be seriously re-evaluating the career choice. (Unfortunately, the parts that don't involve shooting or running or blowing things up are almost deadly boring in my opinion. You could chalk that up to this genre not being my first love or my overanalytical mind picking apart each plot point.)Conclusion: If you're a Justin Hall fan or a fan of quick, things-go-boom type stories, give this book a go. If you prefer deeper characters and more intricate plots, try Alex Berenson's John Wells series. If you're the type who loves to compare things, try both. They each have their high points. This being book three in the series tells me the author must be doing something right. The fact that it falls under the "not my thing" category for me, doesn't necessarily mean you'll share that opinion, so try it out for yourself.