Monday, February 6, 2017

Red right hand by Chris Holm

Red right hand is the sequel to The killing kind and while it can be read separately I recommend reading the series in order before reading anymore of this review as there are ***SPOILERS*** about what happens in The killing kind in this review.

You life can change in an instant, and in the case of one man it changes for the worse when he is caught up in an act of terror.  Frank Segreti walked away from his criminal past when he walked into the FBI to confess his sins and bring down his former employer, but he died when the safe house he was in was blown to kingdom.  It was a blow to the case because they hadn't finished debriefing him, but it was also a more personal lose for the agents involved in the case because federal agents died in the same explosion.  Years later a family trying to recreate an old family photo inadvertently drags Segreti back into the public eye when they capture him on their home movie - quite impressive for a dead man - but now his life is in danger once again.

FBI Special Agent Charlie Thompson was drawn into the Segreti case through an odd stroke of luck, and now she is being told to stand down rather than following up on the case and trying to bring Segreti in.  In an act of desperate inspiration, and most likely career suicide, Agent Thompson reaches out to hitman with a conscience Michael Hendricks.  Hendricks may be the only chance Segreti has of making it out of this mess alive, and the only chance Agent Thompson has of getting Segreti back into the fold safely to testify against the Council.  If Hendricks accepts the job he will be waltzing into an active disaster zone crawling with cops and federal agents that would love to bring in one of the FBIs most wanted criminals.  The bad guys have the power and enough weaponry to take on a small army, but Hendricks is determined to bring down the Council no matter what the cost.

I read The killing kind last year and immediately put my name on the holds list for Red right hand because I couldn't wait to see what was next for Michael Hendricks and the people in his life.  Chris Holm writes well, keeping his story moving at a blistering pace that doesn't leave you time to get bored or distracted because the next piece of the puzzle or next explosive action scene is just over the next page.  While the story is fast paced, it is not shallow - you still have time to make connections to the characters, and over the course of the novel you get a feel for who the different people are and what makes them tick.

If you like to read books that are well written, have enough detail to keep you interested but not so much detail that you drown in facts and descriptions - then you will probably love this series.  I don't usually stray too far into the action genre, more paddling in the thriller/crime end of that particular genre pool, but there is a lot to like here.  I have to confess that I was more than a little bit miffed (and then laughed) when I read the blurb on the front of the paperback edition from The Sunday Times which describes it as "Roaring tough guy fun" because although Hendricks is a tough guy this is not a book the guys should have all to themselves, there is a lot for the girls to like here too!  Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for another book in the series.

If you like this book then try:


Reviewed by Brilla

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