Noah Boyd (1943–2011)

Charming FBI agent Jack Kincade, a formerly bright light of the agency, has become somewhat dimmed. Disillusioned by changes in the Bureau, he now drinks Pistol Pete’s Vodka in a run-down motel room with his faithful companion BC, a border collie. He applies his skills toward bank robbery to support a gambling habit. “The faster his life spiraled downward, the less he found the need to hurry.�€?
Then a distraught father places a bomb under the Cook County Jail to get the attention of show more the FBI. He demands action on a three-year-old case: the kidnapping of his daughter. The new no-nonsense SAC Roy K Thorne doesn’t miss much, and sees that a spark of talent remains in Jack. He fans the flame when he challenges Jack to apply himself to solving the problem.
Ben Alton is a determined black agent who has overcome poverty and battled prejudice, and now is recovering from the loss of a leg to cancer. “If his career had taught him anything, it was that success had little choice but to surrender to endurance.â€?
Upon returning to duty he is relegated to solving the bank robbery cases that Kincade has been conveniently ignoring. To distract Alton, Jack involves Ben in the kidnapping case and unexpectedly finds camaraderie and teamwork that enable them to quickly resolve the case. As they banter Alton remarks, “We’re all two people-the one we’d like to be, and the one we settle for.â€?
But then they discover a dangerous hidden adversary who continues to taunt them. This is a book that works on many levels, with captivating characters and enjoyable dialogue, a fast-paced plot and insightful observations. show less

Not having read The Bricklayer, I was somewhat intrigued by the jacket blurb and bubbling praise for Agent X. The premise wasn’t particularly original (ex-FBI agent is called back to help on a special case), but in the hands of a new author I was hoping for a fresh take on the idea.
Unfortunately, Agent X really failed as a sophomore novel in a number of areas and the quality of the overall story suffered greatly as a result. The author, Noah Boyd, is an ex-FBI agent himself, but he show more wasn’t able to capture any of the real life details you would expect with a writer who has that experience.

The plot is an over-the-top spy mystery with so many (very unlikely) plot twists and dead bodies that by the end I just wanted the story to be over. While I can suspend belief for a rip-roaring action story, this one just did not measure up. The book opens with Steve Vail, the main character, solving a kidnapping while seemingly on a coffee break. A few keen insights and he is able to solve the crime and capture the kidnapper in a dozen pages. This was a prelude to how the rest of the book unfolds with Vail jumping frenetically from scene to scene.
Boyd manages to wrap some interesting puzzles into the narrative, but these can’t carry the storyline.

The problems with this book really fall into three areas: dialogue, characters and plot – which doesn’t leave much. The dialogue is this novel is frankly horrendous. Every other line sounds like adolescent banter and it never lets up. The sexual innuendo and double entendres get very old and had me cringing in so many places.
The characters were forgettable and very one dimensional for most of the book. The “relationship” between Vail and Kate Bannon was stiff and unnatural and felt forced into the story. Vail himself is portrayed not only as always being the smartest guy in the room, but the ONLY smart guy in the room.

As far as the twisting plot, there were just far too many times when the action didn’t make any sense. Boyd may be able to develop a better writing style in future books, but the action scenes here were dry and unexciting.
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of books like this on the market and many of them are better. I would not recommend this book for the experienced reader as it will leave you disappointed. show less

This is the second time in a row I’ve read a book just to finish it, not because I wanted to finish it. I won “Agent X” in the Early Reviewer program, so bought Boyd’s first book, “The Bricklayer” to prepare myself, since it has mason and part-time FBI agent Steve Vail in both books.

As with the first, “Agent X” was too convoluted, too long, and with too little character development. Vail can seemingly do no wrong and all the other FBI agents around him can do nothing without show more Vail’s direction. The sexual banter is silly and pushed, the action eye-rollingly unbelievable, and the coincidences too far-fetched.

Vail’s ability to figure virtually everything out with apparent ease is ridiculous. He stops by a police precinct while they’re scrambling to find a missing boy at a children’s marathon. Within a few hours (and completely on his own, of course) he solves not only the mystery of the day, but one of four years earlier. Poof!

Characters like Preston/Child’s Pendergast have an uncanny ability to solve crimes, but he’s a much more cool character than Vail. I get the feeling like Boyd’s read authors like Preston/Child, DeMille, Flynn, etc. but just doesn’t have the ability to get anywhere near them. I think he’s trying to make the complexity of the plot the real character, and that just falls flat. show less

"Agent X" involves Steve Vail being brought into yet another FBI case. Agent Bannon tried to have a relationship with Vail but it wouldn't work. Vail still shows up on New Year's and ends up helping the FBI find some government employees who have sold secrets to the Russians. Meanwhile, Vail also comes across an old friend who needs his help on a missing FBI agent. Vail still does not respect authority and breaks the rules throughout the book. He divides his time between his friend's case show more and the case with Bannon and is trying to get Bannon back into his life throughout. There are lots of actions scenes and twists and turns as Vail and Bannon attempt to find all the people who have flipped on their government.

I was incredibly entertained by Noah Boyd's book. I loved the dialog between "The Bricklayer" and Agent Bannon. The conversations between the two characters was well developed and very realistic. I enjoyed the moments in the dialog that made me laugh out loud. It allowed for the stress and tension of the story with a little humor to take some edge off.

I do not feel that the continual rules that Vail (The Bricklayer) breaks to be realistic but it was sure entertaining and suspenseful. I never knew what Vail was going to get himself into next. I always knew that Vail would find a way out but it was exciting to figure out how he was going to escape yet another shootout.

I had some idea who was the guilty party but I had no idea how or why that person would be involved. By the end of the story I was anxious to find out how all the pieces fit together. That helped keep the suspense up even though I had an idea of who was guilty. I do not think it took away from the book because of the questions that were always left unanswered until the last minute.

Overall, I really enjoy this book from an entertainment aspect. It was a fast, suspenseful read and I will definitely look into future Noah Boyd books. I love being on the edge of my seat during a book and Boyd definitely delivered during this story! show less