The Dead Yard

   In this blog post, I reviewed Adrian McKinty’s The Dead Yard, the second installment in the Michael Forsythe crime thriller series. This novel will leave you speechless and have you hooked right from the first page. It all started for Michael Forsythe who vacationed in Mexico and hid out from the authorities during the Clinton Administration in the 1990s. Though he had a bounty on his head, he had been recruited by both the MI6 and the FBI to go undercover in a top-secret danger assignment. If he didn’t do this, he would face persecution and spend eternity in a Spanish jail cell. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse. So he signed on and headed to Boston to infiltrate a dangerous Irish cult by saving the crime boss’s daughter from imminent danger. Mission: accomplished. But later, when things turned dicey as he discovered his handler had been killed, he needed to throw suspicion off himself and take revenge on them in a life-and-death master plan to escape for freedom.

This gripping crime thriller is twisted and will give you goosebumps. I cared for Michael, since he’s a diverse character with a prosthetic foot. You don’t see that everyday in any fiction, then and now. I could see he had feelings for Kit, and also for Samantha, his handler, and left him a bit torn. He had to deal with a complicated situation under the circumstances that were thrown at him. The trio locations from Boston to Plum Island and then near Belfast Maine were thrilling and had mesmerizing scenic settings to transplant you on every page. The theme of the story is to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

This dark espionage thriller will keep you guessing for more. I rated this book, four out of five stars, because it was a tad gory. If you love fast-paced crime thrillers with non-stop dramatic action, plenty of intrigue, and heart-stopping suspense, The Dead Yard is the book for you. This is recommended for fans who love crime and espionage thrillers and dramas like Vince Flynn, the Jason Bourne series, and John Le Carre.

The Cleaner

 In  this blog post, I review Mark Dawson’s The Cleaner, the first installment in the John Milton thriller series. This thriller is riveting and would leave you jumping out of your seat. It all started for John Milton, a M15 agent who had been assigned to kill people that caused threats to his government. But with one incident in France, it had changed things and left him a marked man to leave his former job by quitting. Then he met Sharon Warriner, a single mother, who needed someone to help her son Elijah. That’s when Milton came into the picture to help him stay away from drugs and gangs and to take upon boxing with his ally, Dennis Rutherford. He also fixed up a run-down home and became Elijah’s closest friend. But with a target on his back from his former employer and a gangster leader named Bizness, he needed to stay alive and watch his step until someone wanted him as a marked man on the run.

This heart-pounding thriller is well-written and scintillating with every twisted turned. I cared for Milton who wanted a clean slate and needed a break away from his former job, though it might not be so easy. We’ve gotten to know his softer side about helping Sharon and Elijah Warriner out, though he might’ve done more than ruffled a bunch of feathers.The location of London and its surrounding cities would take you places from crime-filled streets to the suburbs. The theme of the story is you can’t run or escape from your past, no matter how hard you tried.

This gripping thriller is off to the great start for this debut. I had no issues with this book. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love thrillers with an espionage angle with non-stop drama, plenty of action, and lots of shocking twists, you’ve love The Cleaner. It’s recommended for fans who love Lee Child’s Reacher and espionage thrillers.

You Can Run

  In this blog post, I reviewed Karen Cleveland’s You Can Run. This adult psychological thriller is outstanding and heart-pounding at the same time. It all started for Jill Smith, who worked for the CIA as a case operations officer, when she received a mysterious phone about her son Owen. If she didn’t put in a request to approve Falcon as a confidential source, they would take her son. When she did, they returned him to her. But that turn of events made Jill leery and wary about who’s watching her son at day care. So drastic times goes for drastic measures: she resigned from the dream job and moved to Florida with her husband Drew and her son Owen. Fast forward four years later, she never told anyone about that phone call, but she couldn’t help looking over her shoulder. Now until Alex Charles, a reporter for the newspaper, had tracked her down after she received anonymous tip about a news-breaking story. Together, they teamed up to find the truth on who’s behind the ransoming demands to publish the story and influencing fake information about a potential war. When they kidnap her children, it becomes personal for Jill and discovers the culprits which hits close to home for her and a fight for survival with an earth-shattering ending.  

This was an amazing and exciting thriller that deals with timely events that you might hear about in the news someday. It makes you second guess and question everything you hear about the media concerning “fake news” reports. I cared about Jill, who would do anything to protect her children, and would stop to nothing to get the truth and the heart of the matter. No matter what it takes, even if it might cause concern in her marriage to Drew. I also adored Alex who wanted to make her late mother proud by following her dreams to receive a Pulitizer award in journalism, even if it cost her marriage to Miles who wanted children. She learned to move and helped Jill in any way possible and also did the right thing by keeping her family out of the press and protecting her sources too.  I loved the D.C. area and the Florida locations—both places had compelling and mesmerizing scenic settings. The theme of the story is no matter what you say or do, you can’t run from your past because it would catch up to you later on.

I loved how it dealt with the timely issue of fake news and the concept of a war from an unlikely source who’s been spewing the truth. Since Karen Cleveland used to work as a CIA analyst, everything appeared realistic and matter-of-factly to read this type of thriller. I loved how she had a diverse cast with Alex being African-American, and how they make a dynamic truth-seeking duo when they teamed up with each other. I couldn’t find anything negative to say about it since this was a heart-stopping jaw-dropping thriller. I rate this book, four out of five stars for no specific reason. 

 If you love heart-stopping thrillers with non-stop action, plenty of suspense, lots of jaw-dropping drama, You Can Run has it all. This is recommended to everyone who loves to  read all types of thrillers, especially those deals with spies/espionage.