#BlogTour Robert Ludlum’s – The Treadstone Resurrection by Joshua Hood

Today it’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Robert Ludlum’s The Treadstone Resurrection written by Joshua Hood.

Coinciding with the much-anticipated return of the Treadstone series – released by Amazon in January 2020 in the UK – and with the 40th anniversary of the first Bourne book, The Treadstone Resurrection is the latest instalment of the franchise. Picking up the baton from Robert Ludlum, Joshua Hood is an author and former Airborne Division fighter, whose real-world experience and combat training makes him the perfect writer for The Treadstone Resurrection.About the Author

Robert Ludlum (1927 – 2001) was the author of twenty-seven novels, each one a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 225 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into 32 languages in 50 countries. Among his best-sellers were The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971), The Osterman Weekend (1972), The Matarese Circle (1979). He is most famous for the Jason Bourne series – The Bourne Identity (1980), The Bourne Supremacy (1986) and The Bourne Ultimatum (1990). The series was adapted for TV in 1988, for a film featuring Matt Damon in the lead role in 2002, and for a brand-new TV production from the writer behind Heroes and Chicago Hope in January 2020.

Joshua Hood is the author of Warning Order and Clear by Fire. He graduated from the University of Memphis before joining the military and spending five years in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was a team leader in the 3-504 Parachute Infantry Regiment in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, conducting combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. From 2007 to 2008, Hood served as a squad leader with the 1-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan for which he was decorated for valour in Operation Furious Pursuit. On his return to civilian life he became a sniper team leader on a full time SWAT team in Memphis, where he was awarded the lifesaving medal. Currently he works as the Director of Veteran Outreach for the American Warrior Initiative.

Follow @joshuahoodbooks on Twitter, Joshua Hood on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit joshuahoodbooks.com, Buy The Treadstone Resurrection

About the book

Working as a cabinet-maker in rural Oregon, Adam thinks he has left Treadstone – the CIA Black Ops programme – in the past, until he receives a mysterious email from a former colleague, and soon after is attacked by an unknown hit team at his job site.

Operation Treadstone has nearly ruined Adam Hayes. The top-secret CIA Black Ops programme trained him to be a nearly invincible assassin, but it also cost him his family and any chance at a normal life, which is why he was determined to get out. Everything changes when he receives a mysterious email from a former colleague, and soon after is attacked by an unknown hit team at his job site rural Oregon.

Adam must regain the skills that Treadstone taught him – lightning reflexes and a cold conscience – in order to discover who the would-be killers are, and why they have come after him now. Are his pursuers enemies from a long-ago mission? Rival intelligence agents? Or, perhaps, someone inside Treadstone? His search will unearth secrets in the highest levels of government and pull him back into the shadowy world he worked so hard to forget.

Review

The Treadstone Resurrection is the first in the Treadstone series, which is going to be one heck of a series, if this one is anything to go on. The release coincides with the return of the Treadstone (tv) series on Amazon (January 2020 in the UK) and also with the 40th anniversary of the first Bourne book. I can’t believe it has already been four decades!

It’s fair to say that Operation Treadstone has left more than a mark on Adam Hayes – it has destroyed any semblance of a normal life he once thought he could have. The side-effects of the manipulations and changes that make him the operative he is, ergo a highly trained ruthless assassin without any compassion, make living a normal life impossible. His mood swings and violent outbursts have made his wife and child put plenty of miles between himself and them. The other physical side-effects are kept at bay by popping more pills than a hardcore addict.

He has a target on his back, but he has no idea why. All he knows is that a team of well-trained killers are determined to take him, and anyone who helps him, down. By down I mean kill. They have no idea what they have just triggered, because when Hayes gets his teeth into something he doesn’t stop until he is the last man standing.

It’s an action thriller with military and covert operations at the core of it.

One thing is for sure it starts with a bang – continues at an alarmingly fast pace and ends with a bang. Joshua Hood absolutely does the Bourne/Treadstone/Ludlum legacy justice with this first instalment. The plot, writing and the majority of the scenes benefit from the fact the author is a former Airborne Division fighter and brings real life experience to the story.

The authenticity he brings to the table is equally as important as the moments of frustration and sheer rage a Treadstone operative feels, whilst captivating readers with the hardcore action scenes.

Buy The Treadstone Resurrection at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Head of Zeus pub date 25 Feb. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Absolution by Paul E. Hardisty

It is my pleasure to host the BlogTour for Absolution by Paul E. Hardisty today. Absolution is the fourth book in the Claymore Straker series by Hardisty, and by Jove it does not disappoint. Looks to me like Hardisty is just getting warmed up!

About the Author

Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent 25 years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen before the outbreak of the 1994 civil war. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). He is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.

To connect with Paul E. Hardisty follow @Hardisty_Paul or @Orendabooks on Twitter

Follow Hardisty on facebook.com/paul.hardisty.9

Buy Absolution

About the book

It is 1997, eight months since vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker fled South Africa after his explosive testimony to Desmond Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In Paris, Rania LaTour, journalist, comes home to find that her son and her husband, a celebrated human rights lawyer, have disappeared. On an isolated island off the coast of East Africa, the family that Clay has befriended is murdered as he watches.

So begins the fourth instalment in the Claymore Straker series, a breakneck journey through the darkest reaches of the human soul, as Clay and Rania fight to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances and murders, and find those responsible. Events lead them both inexorably to Egypt, where an act of the most shocking terrorist brutality will reveal not only why those they loved were sacrificed, but how they were both, indirectly, responsible. Relentlessly pursued by those who want them dead, they must work together to uncover the truth, and to find a way to survive in a world gone crazy. At times brutal, often lyrical, but always gripping, Absolution is a thriller that will leave you breathless and questioning the very basis of how we live and why we love.

Review

Hardisty has stepped up his game since Reconciliation for the Dead (Claymore Straker #3). The flow of the story, dialogue, plot and interactions between characters – everything has been taken up a notch to create a read par excellence in this fourth book of the Straker series.

The story switches between two characters throughout the duration of the book. We follow Claymore as he is tracked and hunted for speaking out against heinous crimes, and Rania who feels compelled to track and hunt those who have taken her loved ones from her.

Rania’s account is written as if she were writing a letter to Clay or having a constant inner dialogue with herself, with Clay and often even with God. Clay’s part of the story is written in the here and now, as a story would evolve naturally.

It gives the reader a feeling of being in the midst of intense action scenes one minute, and then switching to this nostalgic, almost apologetic intimate dialogue in the next minute. If you have ever read or seen The English Patient, you will understand what I mean. The only difference is The EP wanders from past to present, whereas this takes place simultaneously in the same time period, but in different countries at first.

Hardisty is without a doubt honing his skills as a writer and a storyteller. Absolution is an extraordinary venture into the action genre. It brims with political intrigue, sins of the past and betrayal, and the tension is as taut as a wire strung with the deadly intention of a hidden assassin.

The beginning lures the reader in with the mellow warmth of the beautiful setting, which is quickly interrupted by persistent enemies and ruthless collaborators. The pace goes from that of a hesitant uncertain gazelle to a lion stalking its prey with a dogged stride, until the characters collide with unexpected violence and irreparable consequences.

Hardisty can take his place up there with the best of them with Absolution, it is an exceptional read.

Buy Absolution (Claymore Straker #4) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Published by Orenda Books. Visit orendabooks.co.uk

Kindle released 30th March 2018  Paperback release 30th May 2018

Read my review of Reconciliation for the Dead

The Claymore Straker series:

Buy The Abrupt Physics of Dying (Claymore Straker #1),

Buy The Evolution of Fear (Claymore Straker #2)

Buy Reconciliation for the Dead (Claymore Straker #3)

#BlogTour End Game by Matt Johnson

Today is my turn on the BlogTour for End Game by Matt Johnson. The good news is that it is a new book by Matt Johnson, the bad news is that this the last part in the #RobertFinlay trilogy.

About the Author

Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for twentyfive years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1993, and one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital. Hidden wounds took their toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism. One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition. His bestselling thriller, Wicked Game, which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger, was the result. Deadly Game and now End Game, the final book in the Robert Finlay series, once again draws on Matt’s experiences and drips with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor.

You can connect with @Matt_Johnson_UK or @Orendabooks on Twitter, Facebook or at mattjohnsonauthor.com

Buy End Game here

About the book

Robert Finlay seems to have finally left his SAS past behind him and is settled into his new career as a detective. But when the girlfriend of his former SAS colleague and close friend Kevin Jones is murdered, it’s clear that Finlay’s troubles are far from over. Jones is arrested for the killing, but soon escapes from jail, and Finlay is held responsible for the breakout. Suspended from duty and sure he’s being framed too, our hero teams up with MI5 agent Toni Fellowes to find out who’s behind the conspiracy. Their quest soon reveals a plot that goes to the very heart of the UK’s security services. End Game, the final part in the critically acclaimed Robert Finlay trilogy, sees our hero in an intricately plotted and terrifyingly fast-paced race to uncover the truth and escape those who’d sooner have him dead than be exposed.

Review

End Game is the last in the Robert Finlay trilogy by Matt Johnson. It fits comfortably into the Andy McNabb style military-action genre.

What really gets my goat is the deference one has to show to superiors in the military and the police force, as pertaining to the story. I understand neither organisation functions without the proper hierarchy and without obedience or rules there is chaos, however when you get a complete and utter tool like Mellor it makes the loopholes in the structure more evident. Some people are just morons, end of, even if they have higher ranks or hold more powerful positions. They seem to become almost untouchable and allowed to get away with any behaviour, no repercussions for the powerful, which then makes a mockery out of our democratic system.

I just needed to get that off my chest.

The brotherhood of man in military type environments, especially if they share traumatic experiences in war zones bond in a way outsiders will never completely comprehend. Having each others backs is paramount, and that sense of loyalty and support lasts beyond the boundaries of being in the same unit together. So it is fair game to say Finlay is willing to go to any length to help his old brother-in-arms when he is arrested for killing his girlfriend.

The whole thing appears to be an elaborate set-up to hide the fact certain people are trying to hide a bigger conspiracy, and it is no surprise when Finlay gets dragged straight into the middle of it.

Johnson gives his stories a flair of mystery, and combines it with the action and knowledge of a military action adventure. It’s what sets it apart from that genre, because he caters to the crime and thriller readers at the same time. I can’t wait to see what comes after this trilogy.

Buy End Game at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read Deadly Game by Matt Johnson

Blog-Tour: Reconciliation for the Dead by Paul E. Hardisty

Today it is my turn on the Blog-Tour for Reconciliation for the Dead by Paul E. Hardisty. It is a fascinating read, and yet also one that may make you sit back and ponder it, especially when you read the historical note and acknowledgement at the end of the book.

About the Author

For the past 30 years, Paul E Hardisty has worked all over the world as an engineer and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, and rehabilitated village water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Yemen in 1994 as the civil war broke out, and in Ethiopia as the Mengistu regime fell. In 2015, his first novel, The Abrupt Physics of Dying, was published to great acclaim – it was shortlisted for the CWA Creasy dagger award for best thriller or crime novel in 2015, and was one of the London Telegraph’s 2015 crime books of the year.

Lee Child called the sequel, The Evolution of Fear: “A solid, meaty thriller. Hardisty is a fine writer and Claymore Straker is a great lead character.” Paul is currently working on the third Claymore Straker novel, a prequel set in Apartheid era South Africa. One of his short stories, Blue Nile, will shortly appear in an anthology entitled “Sunshine Noir”. He lives in Western Australia, and is a keen outdoorsman, triathlete, and martial artist.

To connect with Paul E. Hardisty follow @Hardisty_Paul or @Orendabooks on Twitter or on facebook.com/paul.hardisty.9

Buy Reconciliation for the Dead

About the book

Fresh from events in Yemen and Cyprus, vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker returns to South Africa, seeking absolution for the sins of his past. Over four days, he testifies to Desmond Tutu’s newly established Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recounting the shattering events that led to his dishonourable discharge and exile, fifteen years earlier. It was 1980. The height of the Cold War. Clay is a young paratrooper in the South African Army, fighting in Angola against the Communist insurgency that threatens to topple the White Apartheid regime. On a patrol deep inside Angola, Clay, and his best friend, Eben Barstow, find themselves enmeshed in a tangled conspiracy that threatens everything they have been taught to believe about war, and the sacrifices that they, and their brothers in arms, are expected to make.

Witness and unwitting accomplice to an act of shocking brutality, Clay changes allegiance and finds himself labelled a deserter and accused of high treason, setting him on a journey into the dark, twisted heart of institutionalised hatred, from which no one will emerge unscathed. Exploring true events from one of the most hateful chapters in South African history, Reconciliation for the Dead is a shocking, explosive and gripping thriller from one finest writers in contemporary crime fiction.

Review

When it suddenly dawns on you that the story is more than just a fictional plot or the creative imagination of the author in question. It’s actually worse when you realise that even the most talented weaver of stories hasn’t got a thing on the actual depths of inhumane behaviour and unimaginable cruelty real humans are capable of.

South Africa has a very turbulent and volatile history, especially events that took place in the 20th century. I think, like many countries, there is plenty of revisionism going on and selective amnesia seems to be a problem. Apartheid, genocide, land dispossession and the South African Police, who were little more than a murder squad during certain periods of time in history.

Claymore Straker is an interesting character. He doesn’t try to excuse his actions, in fact he feels such immense guilt that he finds it difficult to find any peace at all. Clay is a soldier, a killer who follows orders, and yet he is also a man with a conscience. He often tries to do the right thing, despite putting himself and others in danger.

On a side note, I really enjoyed the banter and relationship between Clay and Eben. The two of them are on the same wavelength when it comes to justice. Eben just tends to be a wee bit more reckless. They have a bond, a brotherhood, which is often formed between soldiers in dangerous situations.

Hardisty has only taken a small section of that history and of the political unrest of South Africa and combined it with a fast-paced and heart-wrenching plot. It is also brutal, violent and not for the faint of heart. At the same time the author has managed to create characters, who evoke empathy, which is quite extraordinary considering the hardcore events that unfold around them.

Reconciliation for the Dead isn’t just a story, it is a stark reminder of South African history. Without delving too much into the plot and revealing any spoilers it is a cracking read, and it is and was a shocking plan. What is even more disgraceful is the real lack of restitution, despite the reconciliation. Criminals who deserved a firing squad walked away scot-free.

When it comes to military thrillers authors often can’t find the right balance between the cold hard facts of war, weaponry, logistics and the storytelling. Well, let me tell you Hardisty doesn’t have any problem at all in that regard. He strikes exactly the right tone in both areas. This is a captivating and poignant read, and yet it is also one that made my soul weep for humanity.

Buy Reconciliation for the Dead at Amazon Uk or go Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read my review of Absolution (Claymore Straker #4)

Street Soldier by Andy McNab

Sean has chosen the path of least resistance by joining and being part of the criminal gang on his housing estate. He takes the rap and a prison sentence to ensure his brothers in arms go free.

It is quite easy to forget that Sean and his fellow prisoners are in a detention centre or prison for juveniles. They are all hardened by their upbringing and tend to put on a dog-eat-dog facade to maintain some semblance of authority amongst their peers.

They are not quite adults and yet have ended up in an environment that isn’t suitable for the meek, the depressed or the faint of heart. When Sean is presented with an opportunity to change his luck and his future he doesn’t hesitate to grab the chance

On a more positive note this scenario is a way of rehabilitating teens with no other alternative than gang-life or a life of crime. A chance to teach them skills and responsibility instead of them spending a lifetime in and out of prison.

The question is whether you can teach an old dog new tricks or will Sean automatically slide back into a life of crime and end up back on the easy path.

It is a YA read, and aside from a few swearwords it is also suitable for older teens. The whole premise is supposed to be the subliminal message that even if you make a serious mistake there is always a way forward. You just have to choose to make a more positive impact in life. Sometimes you have to pick the road with the bigger obstacles instead of walking down the easy road.

Buy Street Soldier at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

This is the kind of story, which attracts the type of reader, who is looking for a bit of heartbreak with their romance. I have to say the characters are still quite young and the story leans towards the teeny side of YA.

Avery covers quite a few important issues, such as omitting the truth to keep someone safe and the way grief is dealt with individually. In the midst of all the heartache, tears and general drama there are some rays of light.

Would you make the same choice to keep someone safe and from unravelling if they are in a combat zone? Knowing or assuming the truth might just break them or be the one thing that takes their attention away from more important situations. The kind of situations, which may just cost their life or others lives.

Was Kelsey’s choice wrong? I think there can be some debate about that, because I think her decision was instinctive, altruistic and made with the best interest of Peter in mind. Was it also about holding on and not being able to let go of Michelle? Absolutely, but I don’t believe Kelsey was aware of it at the time she made the choice.

Is it predictable, well yes, but I think many who use that particular word tend to forget the fact romance readers really do like a specific pattern to the stories they read. Predictable then becomes exactly what I needed and what I wanted to read today.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

End of Enemies by Grant Blackwood

A fairly ambitious spy thriller with a ‘save the world from complete annihilation’ plot. It starts out quite well with a great opening chapter, which suggests quite a ride.Instead it suffers slightly from overzealous plotting. Not that the premise wasn’t interesting, the story was just a little improbable at times.

Everything just falls into Tanner’s lap. No matter how difficult the situation or how extreme the circumstance. I don’t mind when the pieces of the puzzle all slide into place in a story. I do find it a different reading experience when it seems as if someone has bitten off bits of the jigsaw puzzle pieces to make it fit right.

The fact Tagaki knew where to find the submarine wasn’t explained sufficiently for my liking. Taking into consideration that it had remained a secret for many decades, and for some reason the Americans didn’t think it was important enough to look for, and yet all of a sudden someone just happens to tell Tagaki.

I do think the spunky adventurous and secretive military narrative will appeal to quite a few readers though.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.