There's a feeling you get when reading a certain type of book. A sense of calm and wonder settles over you, letting you know you are being transportedThere's a feeling you get when reading a certain type of book. A sense of calm and wonder settles over you, letting you know you are being transported to another world. A world that is fascinating and alien and will allow you to completely disappear into it for hours. Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde is that kind of book.
Chromatica is as unique and vivid as Tolkien's Middle Earth or any other created universe you care to name. Only much more humor-filled.
Society in Chromatica is hierarchically governed by what color you can see, and to what degree you can see that color. Purple, yellow, and red are at the top, green at the bottom, and grey, those who can see no color to any significant degree are the much despised but essential working class.
Despite 15 years between books, Red Side Story picks up right where Shades of Grey left off. Eddie Russett who can see more than 86 percent red (87 percent if you round up), has relocated to the remote East Carmine along with Jane Grey, who recently discovered she can see a small degree of green. Their relationship is illicit, as Eddie is engaged to a high-seeing purple, Violet deMauve. Violet detests Eddie, but his high percentage of red will keep the family line from straying into the less desirable blue.
The world of Chromatica is built on the remnants of a previous civilization in a future sort of England. Objects or machines they can't understand are forbidden or ignored under a rigid set of rules that are periodically and haphazardly updated. For example, gloves are forbidden to be worn but required to be manufactured. Bending, evading, or flat-out ignoring the rules is almost an art form. Cause too much of a problem and you may become afflicted with the Mildew, a mysterious disease that seems to affect only the troublemakers.
Eddie and Jane know there are mysteries to be solved about their world and how such an unjust society came to be. They are determined to make changes, no matter how long it takes or how much danger they find themselves in.
Any Jasper Fforde novel is also going to be humorous. Filled with puns, situational humor, and downright amusing characters. Red Side Story has such a compelling plot that the humor sometimes catches you off-guard, resulting in several laugh-out-loud moments. The world-building is incredibly complex and the characters are so compelling you could spend a library full of books just following them around.
The ending of the story is surprising, satisfying, and for me, quite emotional. This would be an amazing duology if the Shades of Grey story ends here. It is also clear that this world has many more stories to tell. I would love to return to this world, but even if there are no more books in this world, this is one of my favorite series of all time.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
If Exiles is indeed the last Aaron Falk book from Jane Harper, then she's thrown him a hell of a going away party. Falk returns to Marralee at the invIf Exiles is indeed the last Aaron Falk book from Jane Harper, then she's thrown him a hell of a going away party. Falk returns to Marralee at the invitation of Greg Raco, a close friend of his. Maralee is the site of a popular food and wine festival. Falk is to be the godfather to Raco's child. Falk had been there a year earlier when 39-year-old Kim Gillespie disappeared, leaving behind her infant daughter in a stroller. No trace of Kim was ever found except for her shoe which was discovered in a nearby reservoir, leading some to believe she killed herself.
Falk agrees to look into Kim's case at the urging of her teenage daughter, Zara, who hopes to use the festival to turn up new clues to her mother's disappearance. Falk learns that the festival and reservoir site is also the location of an unsolved hit-and-run six years earlier that resulted in the death of Dean Tozer.
Falk's investigation reveals the relationships between Kim and her friends who grew up in Maralee, as well as some things that have bubbled beneath the surface for a long time. Falk also reconnects with a woman from Maralee whom he met and shared a strong attraction with when she visited Melbourne. Falk's methodical examination takes him deeper into these people's lives. His investigation will open old wounds as well as create new ones if the truth about what happened to Kim is to be discovered.
Harper excels at evoking a strong sense of place that makes you feel not only that you've seen this part of Australia, but that you know it. She creates a sense of foreboding as characters you grow to like are living with grief and guilt. As the truth is slowly uncovered you experience the tragedy and its inevitability. Nobody evokes pathos better than her.
Jane Harper is Australia's version of Cormac McCarthy. Her novels greatly evoke time and place and her characters are so real that you ache with them. If this is truly where we leave Aaron Falk, then I am filled with both melancholy and happiness for him. Exiles is one of the best books of the year and another in a string of great books from Harper.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Tanya Huff is one of Canada's greatest science fiction and fantasy writers. She is equally adept in both genres and Into The Broken Lands may be one oTanya Huff is one of Canada's greatest science fiction and fantasy writers. She is equally adept in both genres and Into The Broken Lands may be one of her best.
The Broken Lands were shattered by the mage wars. The mages didn't survive but some of their magic did and it runs wild and dangerous there. The Heirs of Marsan are compelled to go there to retrieve fuel for the Black Flame, the key to their power. They are guided by a weapon, called Nonee, that is one of the surviving creations of the mages. The journey is fraught with danger and the outcome is never certain. It will challenge everything they believe about themselves and their history.
The story is told from several viewpoints, both in the present as well as in the past from the journey taken by the previous generation of Marsan heirs. The land is reminiscent of Roadside Picnic in a fantasy setting. The quest is dangerous and unpredictable but it paints a fascinating picture of this land and its history. The main characters are varied and complicated. The more time you spend with them, the more your opinion of them changes. Nonee is the most fascinating character of all and one that I have not been able to stop thinking about since I finished the book. The pace of the story is not quick but it is immaculately plotted. Filling you in on details that continually reshape your understanding and opinion of the land and the characters.
Into the Broken Lands is beautiful, thoughtful, and emotional. It's one of my favorite books of the year and a rewarding read for fantasy lovers.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Former Navy Seal Finn shows up in Iceland in pursuit of three of his former team members who are in Reykjavik on a covert op. Finn's unit was part of Former Navy Seal Finn shows up in Iceland in pursuit of three of his former team members who are in Reykjavik on a covert op. Finn's unit was part of a massacre of civilians in Yemen. A massacre which Finn is blamed for but he has incomplete memories of the night it happened and is unsure if he played any part in it. While Finn is in pursuit of answers, another ex-Seal is in pursuit of Finn, whom he has been contracted to kill. On the night Finn arrives in Reykjavik, a young woman runs barefoot through the city and is found frozen in a pond with a message in lipstick written on her body. Finn is desperate for answers that the covert ops team may hold about what happened in Yemen, but he also finds himself drawn to the mystery of the drowned girl. A no-nonsense police detective, Krista Kristjansdottir is investigating and finds herself working with Finn, even as she is unsure if she should trust him or arrest him. The intertwined plots, as Finn is both pursuing and being pursued on top of trying to figure out the mystery of the frozen girl's death work together brilliantly.
The promise that Webb & Mann showed in Finn's series debut, Steel Fear is fully realized in Cold Fear. The action is intense, the atmosphere draws you in, and the characters are incredible. Not only is Finn a fascinating lead character, with faulty memory and self-doubts, but the surrounding characters are fleshed out in a way that makes them worthy as either allies or adversaries and sometimes both. The suspense is sustained from beginning to end. Webb & Mann throw in surprises all along the way, but every answer feels earned and the climax is both exciting and satisfying.
Finn is an outstanding lead character and I would read an entire book just about Kristan Kristjansdottir. Two books in and I am a fan of this series and will put future installments at the top of my list. This is a treat for thriller and suspense fans and one of the best books I've read this year.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Desmond Aloysius Limerick has arrived and the thriller world is better off for it. The Gatekeeper by James Byrne introduces us to Limerick, Dez to hisDesmond Aloysius Limerick has arrived and the thriller world is better off for it. The Gatekeeper by James Byrne introduces us to Limerick, Dez to his friends, who is retired from a shadowy past with military training. Dez is a gatekeeper. He opens doors, keeps them open, and decides who gets through. Dez just wants to hang around Los Angeles, play his bass guitar with a band and relax. Dez is at the hotel Tremaine when he crosses paths with Petra Alexandris, an expert in international finance and daughter of the corporation's owner. When a team of armed men shows up to kidnap Petra, they run into the one thing they didn't plan for: Dez. Now Dez finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy involving murder, media manipulation, militias, and both internal and external threats to the United States. The one thing that none of them counted on was Dez Limerick.
This is one of the best thrillers of the year and an introduction to a character of whom I hope to read many, many more adventures. The action starts with a blast and never really stops. Propelled forward by a character who is funny, charming, and as cool as the other side of the pillow. The plot seems both fantastical and frighteningly plausible. Dez at times uses his smarts to stay a step or two ahead of the opposition and at times trusts in his skills to bull through the obstacles in front of him. He trusts his instincts, his ability to read people, and his internal sense of justice. He harkens back to a hero of the old west, who blows into town, fights for the cause of justice, and then leaves as mysteriously as he showed up.
The Gatekeeper is one of the best debuts of the year and Dez Limerick is an outstanding character. The audiobook is read by John Keating who takes the material to another level and who perfectly captures Dez's character through his vocal interpretation. He had me laughing out loud at parts and sitting on the edge of my seat through the action sequences. His characters are easy to distinguish and his every choice elevated the words. Keating's narration is worthy of award consideration.
This book is destined for my best books of the year list and will hopefully find a legion of fans to spark a long series.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Darynda Jones does everything right in the new book in the Sunshine Vicram series, A Good Day For Chardonnay. Sunshine Vicram was kidnapped 15 years aDarynda Jones does everything right in the new book in the Sunshine Vicram series, A Good Day For Chardonnay. Sunshine Vicram was kidnapped 15 years ago and rescued five days later with a memory full of holes and a baby on the way. Now she is the sheriff in Del Sol, New Mexico, where things are usually quiet, including her love life. A stabbing at the Roadhouse Bar and Grill leaves one man clinging to life and Sunshine’s lifelong crush, Levi Ravender, struck by the car that fled after he intervened to save his friend. Now Sunshine has a whole bunch of interesting going on in her life.
Sunshine has to find the criminals from the bar, figure out why everyone keeps confessing to the 15-year-old murder of the man who abducted her, and figure out why a young boy whose unsolved disappearance she worked on as a member of the Sante Fe police department suddenly shows up on a convenience store surveillance video. All this while dealing with her precocious teenage daughter, Auri, who is convinced the nice old lady who confesses to every crime might actually be a serial killer.
Jones keeps all these balls in the air in a hilarious and entertaining story that never slows down. Sunshine and Auri are lovable characters on their own, but the cast is rounded out with a quirky mix of deputies, well-meaning parents, a handful of villains and some quirky townsfolk. Add in some steamy sex scenes and you have a wildly entertaining mashup!
Lorelei King narrates the audiobook and is the perfect match for the humor and pace of the book. She captures the characters in every mood, adding levity, seriousness, and passion as it is called for. She brings out the sly humor at every turn and really makes the book a delight to listen to.
If you are not already a fan of this series, you will become one. This series is must-read. What a fun book!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Break out all the superlatives because The Pariah by Anthony Ryan is one of the best books of the year and an amazing beginning to a new fantasy serieBreak out all the superlatives because The Pariah by Anthony Ryan is one of the best books of the year and an amazing beginning to a new fantasy series. Alwyn Scribe is the best character I’ve come across since Nona Grey in Mark Lawrence's Red Sister. Alwyn Scribe was cast into the forest as a boy and raised by outlaws. Alwyn’s quick wit and sharp knife see him grow into a trusted member of the gang and skilled spy for the infamous outlaw Deckin Scarl. The Kingdom of Albermaine is in turmoil with a pretender to the throne dividing the Kingdom. An unexpected betrayal soon casts Alwyn’s life further off-kilter and sets him on a course of vengeance. His skills and education are sharpened by his trials and ultimately lead him to a soldier’s life under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain. All the while Alywn’s path is shaped by his pursuit of vengeance.
The narrative employed by Ryan tells you from the very beginning that Alwyn will rise to become much more powerful and deadly than the poor thief we meet in the beginning. This creates an undercurrent of anticipation and excitement throughout the whole story. While Alwyn is the focal point of the story, every single character is fully formed and compelling. Everyone has secrets and there is more to them than meets the eye. Nothing can be dismissed as it may have great importance later on.
The world-building is lush and draws you in from the opening page. You are immersed in this grim world as Ryan draws every sight and sound. Ryan makes you eagerly follow Alwyn with a fast-paced story full of unexpected turns. Battles, betrayals, vengeance, and some mysticism propel you along. This is intelligent fantasy with a cast full of compelling characters that will have you invested and eager to turn the next page.
The Pariah is an example of the best that epic fantasy can offer and I doubt you’ll read a better book all year. What an opening for The Covenant of Steel series! Put this book at the top of your list. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
There have been some really great books published this year. Then Karin Slaughter comes out and resets the bar with False Witness.
Leigh Collier clawedThere have been some really great books published this year. Then Karin Slaughter comes out and resets the bar with False Witness.
Leigh Collier clawed her way out of her troubled upbringing to graduate from a top law school and work at a prestigious Atlanta law firm. She has a sixteen-year-old daughter that she adores and a husband she loves even after their separation. This life she has built is threatened when she is called in on a Sunday night by a partner in her firm to represent Andrew Tenant, who has been accused of a violent rape and has just fired his attorney on the eve of trial. She can’t understand why he has requested her to represent him until she meets him and realizes how she and her younger sister are connected to him. Now secrets she thought were buried 23 years ago are threatening to come to light. Leigh is forced to turn for help to her younger sister who she hasn’t seen in years.
Leigh frantically searches for a way out of the mess, but at each step the danger becomes greater and a solution further out of reach. Younger sister Callie faces her own demons and knows that finding a way out for her and Leigh is the only thing that matters.
The plot moves relentlessly forward as you get to know more and more about the characters and feel for them each time a new development drops on them like an anvil.
Slaughter pulls you in so firmly that when she drops a bombshell you are literally stunned. She carefully plants the breadcrumbs that lead to an explosive revelation that bursts in your mind and you are instantly able to trace back all the signs that pointed to this outcome in a moment of perfect clarity.
Slaughter writes in a way that is akin to virtual reality. You see through her characters’ eyes, feel what they are feeling and fear what they fear. She doesn’t shy away from describing the evil that people do to one another, particularly to women, and the ways that they often get away with it. Her plotting is outstanding and keeps you racing forward as you hope for the best and fear the worst.
Every year that Slaughter has a book come out, the race is for second place. She’s simply the best.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Once again, Andy Weir brings the goods with Project Hail Mary, his latest novel featuring an inventive astronaut and a thorny science problem. Ryland Once again, Andy Weir brings the goods with Project Hail Mary, his latest novel featuring an inventive astronaut and a thorny science problem. Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship far from home, unsure how he got there, who he is, and what he is supposed to do. Grace’s slowly recovering memory reveals that the earth’s sun is dimming due to a microscopic life form that is draining its energy. He is the only surviving member of a crew which has been sent to a nearby star to find the cause and hopefully discover a solution.
The narrative jumps between Grace’s present situation in the nearby galaxy and the past leading up to the trip which has brought him there. Each time we learn a little bit more about who Grace, a middle school science teacher, is and how he became involved in the project that ultimately sent him into space. The memory fog helps us learn about Grace as he learns more about himself with recollections that come back bit by bit.
Grace needs to find a way to complete a mission that was originally designed for three people and solve the problem in time to save Earth. Nothing is ever a straight line in a Weir novel and a series of obstacles and human error have to be overcome to complete the mission. It takes cleverness, some luck, and some science to come up with a solution. Lots and lots of science. Weir has a gift for making the science both digestible and fun. He even manages to make materials science a lot of fun in this story!
Weir creates characters that find their inner strength and ingenuity, are warm, colorful, and funny. He also describes a multinational group that pulls together for one objective, albeit led by one strong-willed, ruthless character and as they are facing planetwide extinction. The story is full of tension but also heart-warming, funny, and full of fascinating science.
Project Hail Mary is an entertaining ride that will carry you from the first page to the ending that is both unexpected and surprisingly touching. Get in on the ground floor because everyone is going to be talking about this book and you will not regret a moment spent reading it. Highly recommended.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler is the first book in the Burning Blade and Silver Eye series and it is one of the best fantasy books of the year! GyAshes of the Sun by Django Wexler is the first book in the Burning Blade and Silver Eye series and it is one of the best fantasy books of the year! Gyre and Maya are siblings who were separated at a young age when one of the powerful magic wielders for the empire, known as a centarch, took Maya away from her family. This event stoked a lifelong hatred for the empire in Gyre. Now Maya herself wields magic for the same empire her brother seeks to bring down.
Two storylines, one following each of the siblings, paint a picture of the empire and its history from opposing viewpoints. Maya and her mentor seek to use their gifts to better the lives of the empire’s citizens and protect them from the dangerous creatures leftover from the war between the now-departed Chosen and the Ghouls. Maya has largely avoided the politics of the empire but when that no longer becomes possible she is desperate to prove that the beliefs of her mentor's faction are the only way forward. Meanwhile, Gyre knows that the Ghoul nearly defeated the Chosen once before. He is desperate to find clues and potential weapons in the ruins of an ancient Ghoul stronghold. With their secrets, he hopes to bring the empire he hates to its knees. Swirling plotlines bring them ever closer to one another with stakes that ratchet up page by page.
Wexler has created brilliant characters in his main protagonists of Maya and Gyre and surrounded them with a treasure trove of other compelling characters. His world-building is fascinating, creating a thriving civilization built from the destruction of an old one. This creates the feeling of a very lived-in world as well as one with a tangible history. Alternating chapters between Maya and Guyer paint a complex picture both of the current empire and the one that came before it. Each character's story is so compelling that you hate to leave it at the end of the chapter and then you are immediately drawn into the other's story.
Wexler storytelling is filled with vivid characters and action and intrigue leaping off of every page. It is almost like two books in one. Everything works in this story and Wexler doesn't strike a single false note. Ashes of the Sun is destined to be one of the best books of the year and the start of a powerful new series. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is simply fantastic!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ...more
“A man stole my dog. I went after him. Bad things happened. I can never go home.”
Thus opens A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher“A man stole my dog. I went after him. Bad things happened. I can never go home.”
Thus opens A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher, one of the best post-apocalyptic books of the last decade at least. This book tells the story of Griz, who lives in a world with barely any people left. When a rare visitor comes to the island Griz lives on and leaves with his dog, Griz doesn’t think twice about taking off in pursuit.
“Dogs were with us from the very beginning and of all the animals that walked the long centuries beside us, they always walked the closest.
Griz is fiercely loyal to family, and dogs are family. Griz’s world is mostly empty of people and all the conveniences that modern society takes for granted. People get by on what they can do for themselves and what they can scavenge from the wreckage of the old world. Griz narrates his pursuit into a world that is only familiar from books. Survival in this world will take every bit of determination, luck and courage that Griz can muster.
Fletcher sets the mood with the very title and reinforces it from the opening line. The tension, excitement and worry crackles on every page. Seeing the world through Griz’s eyes shines a light on all the things that are important in our world as well as which things endure and which fade away.
Griz is a compelling narrator with a distinctive voice. The story is deeply moving and you’ll frequently find yourself reading it with your heart in your throat. Fletcher explores not only his depopulated world but what it means to be human.
Ultimately this is a story about the importance of connection, whether in a world crowded with people or a world nearly empty of them. This book has the potential to be a classic and a book that you will want to read, reread, and then read again. One of the finest examples the genre has to offer.
I was fortunate to be provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
“There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. Because if we’re not loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?”...more
Two brothers drive out to the fence line separating their cattle ranches in the remote Australian outback. The third brother lies dead at their feet. Two brothers drive out to the fence line separating their cattle ranches in the remote Australian outback. The third brother lies dead at their feet. So begins The Lost Man, the latest thriller from Jane Harper. The unforgiving Australian heat will kill a person in hours so everyone knows to always be prepared; keep water and supplies in your vehicle, and stay with your vehicle if something goes wrong. So how and why did Cameron Bright wind up alone and dead lying next to the infamous Stockman’s grave, miles away from his truck?
Nathan returns with his brother Bub to the ranch and a family he has been growing apart from. The ranch is home to family, an old ranch hand who has been around since the beginning, and some seasonal help. The grief has scraped everyone raw, but Nathan begins to wonder if someone there pushed Cam to this fate?
Jane Harper paints a picture of the scorching Australian landscape that seeps into your skin. She populates it with complex characters that will both shock you and make you despair for them. She holds your attention with every page, every sentence, every word. She draws you in tight with the opening and the discovery of the body at the Stockman’s grave. Then she slowly pulls back revealing more and more of the country, the lives of the people who live there, and the situation that has led them to this point. Gradually peeling back the layers of the characters that will have you guessing and changing your mind all the way to the end.
Harper is at the forefront of a new wave of thriller writers coming out of Australia and she is at the top of my must-read list period. She describes an Australia that I’m not sure an actual visit could impress on me any better. The characters are complicated and tragic, the plot a slow steady burn that doesn’t let you up for air until it reaches its final, devasting conclusion. The Lost Man is destined for bestseller status, another slew of awards, and is likely to be on top of my list of best books of 2019. Highly recommended.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ...more
“It is important when killing a nun to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.”
If an opening line like that doesn’t reel you in, then I don’“It is important when killing a nun to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.”
If an opening line like that doesn’t reel you in, then I don’t know what will. That is how Red Sister, book one of the Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence begins.
From this stirring opening, we flash back to the main narrative which takes place at Sweet Mercy convent. Nona is saved from the end of a hangman’s noose by Abbess Glass. But Nona has made rich, powerful enemies and even if they dare not breach the walls of the convent, the danger they represent is always present. The Convent teaches girls to be deadly. Along with learning history and the religion of their world, the girls are taught hand-to-hand and weapon skills. They are taught how to make and hopefully how not to die from poisons. Some of the girls possess rare gifts, which also must be honed and trained.
Nona fears that her secrets are too terrible and that their discovery will cost her her friends. Friends have been rare enough in her life that she puts great stock in them and holds them precious, even as trust is harder to find. As Nona’s training progresses, she begins to have a better understanding of the world and an idea of her place in it. With her innate skills and the training she has received, the world is about to become even deadlier.
Mark Lawrence has written some of the best epic fantasy of the past decade. With Red Sister he embarks on a new series in a new world and he has topped himself once again. The characters are strong and vivid and his descriptions of scenes and events is both brutal and beautiful. The plot moves along briskly from beginning to end. Nona and the young novices of the convent are front and center, but the nuns who teach them are every bit as strongly written. I would read a whole book just about Abbess Glass. Lawrence brilliantly describes events, or portions of events, from Nona’s perspective. He returns to these events, viewing them from a different vantage point or offering more information that changes your interpretation of them until you are gasping with amazement.
The audio version of Red Sister is narrated by Heather O’Neill who does an amazing job with it. Her accents, intonation and pace perfectly complement the story. When a great narrator is paired with outstanding material as it is here, the experience is transcendent. This is an outstanding story and I can’t think of a better way to encounter it than through this audio version. This book is going to wind up on a lot of “best of” lists at the end of this year. The next book can’t come fast enough. Highly recommended.
I was fortunate to receive a copy of this audiobook from the publisher. ...more
Matthew Betley set the bar high with his debut action thriller, Overwatch, a year ago and now with his second novel, Oath of Honor, he’s completely blMatthew Betley set the bar high with his debut action thriller, Overwatch, a year ago and now with his second novel, Oath of Honor, he’s completely blown the lid off the joint. Oath of Honor is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in the last year. Best in the last 5 years. The action starts on page one and simply doesn’t let up.
The action starts when a piece of top secret equipment is stolen from the U.S. Government in Alaska. A high-tech piece of satellite hacking equipment that must not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Logan West and John Quick are hot on the trail and once again are racing across the U.S., Europe and the Sudan in a race to stop a global conspiracy aimed at the United States and its interests. The involvement of Russian, Chinese and North Korean elements make it especially difficult to unravel.
Betley excels with cinematic action pieces. Battles on a North Korean freighter, an off the books prison in the Sudan, a cemetery in Khartoum and a mining facility outside of Las Vegas are among the most thrilling. Painting a picture that propels you along and takes your breath away is an exhilarating experience. Betley does this time and time again. The pace of this story is so fast it may burn your hands.
In Logan West and John Quick, Betley has created strong likeable main characters that make it easy to believe why others would walk through fire for them and why they do it for each other. He is also adept at adding new characters such as Cole and Amira who quickly become integral parts of the story and the team. As good as each of the first two books have been, the ending teases at much more excitement to come.
Matthew Betley is no longer chasing the pack of thriller writers, he’s leading it. Oath of Honor is one of the most exciting books you’ll read this year. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book. ...more
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