K. J. Howe

To be honest this one is 3.5 stars [for me] but it is not possible to mark it as such so i will leave it as 3.

I wont go into details of the plot - to say anything on the plot is to give away spoilers and I don't want to ruin anyone's experience with the book.

Book has all the markings of the good thriller, plenty of action, interesting locations and twists and turns all over the place. Chapters are brusque, short and to the point, author does not drag out the story by creating story fillers show more that lead nowhere.

What did not click with me are few things [note I say did not click with me, other people might not have problem with it] -

- Mentioning equipment pieces by name and type ID .... I don't know why but I don't like when suddenly equipment gets listed out in the novel because novel suddenly starts to look like an ad. I read thrillers all the time and I truly enjoy [a:Frederick Forsyth|36714|Frederick Forsyth|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1224097067p2/36714.jpg], [a:Robert Ludlum|5293|Robert Ludlum|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208465267p2/5293.jpg], [a:Gayle Lynds|17526|Gayle Lynds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422827292p2/17526.jpg], [a:Tom Clancy|3892|Tom Clancy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407672935p2/3892.jpg] and [a:Lee Child|5091|Lee Child|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377708686p2/5091.jpg] to name the few. These authors tend to show off various hardware (and sometimes software) used in their novels but they don't say it is model AAX 650 with such and such detail. They mention weapons and equipment but not as part of product advertisement. I mean even [a:Larry Bond|19636|Larry Bond|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1341181593p2/19636.jpg]'s novels don't do this and this guy is heavy on providing every possible technical detail on every piece of technology out there. From the beginning it is clear protagonists are rich - if you show that by listing the yacht and it's specs do I truly need to know what watch, suit, shoes and socks they war? I don't. If they own 50 feet yacht I don't expect them to wear I don't know ... wacky juvenile watch.

- Some parts read like what you might call "chick-novel". Again this is not my cup of tea in general. I am not purist by any degree and don't shy from the sex scenes in novels but it should follow the story and be part of it (e.g. Jackal's infiltration of duchess's home while hiding from the police or that Cuban spy from [b:Clear and Present Danger|32669|Clear and Present Danger (Jack Ryan Universe, #6)|Tom Clancy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1291440438s/32669.jpg|5054704] that is courting personal assistant of the US AG). Here, some parts are pretty steamy but they feel like one-time sex fantasies - you have a woman and a man, they love each other and they do some very interesting stuff together ... but in the end it does not play any part in furthering the story line. E.g. Gabrielle's connection to one of the characters did not gain anything through steamy scene on airplane. Their feelings to each other were in the open pretty clear at their first contact in the story.

- Protagonists are presented as a little bit omnipotent. Although I was looking ahead to whodunit part
I did not see any great obstacles for our heroes.

- Too many deaths popping up after the character in question says something in line of "I know who did it! Gimme a sec to drive/fly/sail to you". After a third such incident I was giggling a bit because this looked like a scene from Naked Gun. I mean these are professionals that value information above all but it seems they don't give people much time to actually give them the information.

All in all good thriller. I am now on the lookout for the second novel in the series.

Recommended to all fans of thrillers and action. show less

Everything about The Freedom Broker by K J Howe, spoke to me. I am always on the lookout for strong female characters that are different, that walk to the beat of their own drum and Thea does that in spades. The thrills and chill begin early and never let up.

I don’t feel I did this book justice in my review. For some reason, the words won’t come for the level of feelings I had for some of the characters…not the rich and famous…but the ones caught up in the maelstrom, for the sense of show more truth I felt throughout the story, even though I know it’s fiction. The level of brutality someone can callously inflict on another is indescribable.

All hell breaks loose in Africa.
.
We have action from the beginning…a hostage to be rescued in Nigeria.

Kidnapping is big business. Thea is one of the top negotiators in the world and the only female. Her team is the best of the best. When her father is taken, she will pull out all the stops to save him. There is no way she will step aside and let others run the investigation.

Thea is not so much flawed or disabled, she just has to stay in tune with her body. She has diabetes, but it doesn’t stop her from trudging through jungles, fully geared up, fighting alongside men twice her size.

Bullets are fired, throats are slit, bombs are exploding, bodies are literally falling off the cliffs, a plane crashing, and as the body count rises, so does the mystery for those investigating Christo Paris’ kidnapping.

The brutal torture, starvation and filth the kidnapped endure is only compounded by the mental isolation and helplessness. Professional kidnappers, terrorists, political agendas.

I was stunned at Ares’ true identity. He is wanted worldwide for gun trafficking, kidnapping and murder. This is really bad. Every time HE comes near Thea, I fear for her. When she does figure it out, I wonder what will happen.

Every time I begin to relax, trying to put the pieces together, some danger rears its ugly head and more people die.

An aura of danger permeates every page. We have many convoluted machinations within multiple factions, each with their own agenda. Betrayal…that word does not begin to describe what happens. I keep waiting…waiting…waiting…for her to learn the truth.

The Freedom Broker by K J Howe is one of those books that reads like a true story filled with death and danger. The research K J Howe has done shines through.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of The Freedom Broker by K J Howe. show less

I may expand on this soon, but for now, I'll just say that I enjoyed Skyjack more than The Freedom Broker and that's saying a bunch. Wonderful, convincing thriller, with rich characters, and nonstop action. Too often thrillers get saturated with calibers, gauges, barrel velocities, etc. K.J. Howe seems to know just the right amount to validate the weaponry without taking one out of the story.
Thea Paris #3 won't get here soon enough for me.

Thea Paris skillfully negotiates international kidnapping and hostage crisis scenes.

This time, she becomes the target, as the author expertly captures the absolute terror
on an hijacked airplane in free fall. She and the two orphan boy soldiers she is rescuing from Kenya
are trapped, then landed safely after a really thrilling and unusual cockpit entry.

The pilot has force landed them in a Libyan desert after seeing that his own children have been
kidnapped and are threatened if he does not show more obey. The plot continues with riveting high suspense
even for those who are not usually fans of the thriller genre.

Unfortunately and disappointingly for me and those other tender hearted souls who bravely ventured
into this otherwise absorbing tale, the inclusion of a violent episode of torture prevented further reading. show less