Claude Bouchard

I really love this series. The characters are like old friends to me. Sounds silly, but it's comforting to know the background of the people when you open up the book and begin to read. One of the great things about Bouchard's Vigilante series is that even if you haven't read the other books, he does a wonderful job of putting the background information into the story so you can pick up any book you want and read without being lost. But really, the best way to read a series is from the show more beginning. And all of these books have been wonderful.
This book is so well plotted, with a multitude of mini plots running around at the same time and coming together just perfectly, I don't know how an author can keep it all straight. But Bouchard does. Not to mention, the ending is just fantastic. I thought it was going one way but it went completely another.
In this 5th book we pick up some more characters that join Chris and Jon in their organization. They are the people you want on your side, the good guys who have no rules to hold them back, the ones the others call when they can't get justice. When a bank gets taken over by robbers, hostages are held and things go wrong, Chris and Jon and their crew are the ones to come to the rescue and they take no prisoners. Gotta love a Vigilante book for sure. Another winner, another 5 stars, and I am onto number 6 in the series. show less

This is not a children’s book – it’s a crime novel, and the crimes are pretty violent. The first in the Barry/McCall series, it introduces us to Dave McCall, police investigator with a problem, and Chris Barry, Executive Vice President of a computer security firm who has a brilliant mind and a sense of moral justice. Barry offers his firm’s services when the police are baffled by the cyber aspects of a series of murders by someone who styles himself Vigilante, and a new crime show more fighting partnership is formed.

I like the pace of this story. Sometimes thrillers these days are too ‘all action’ for me. This allows glimpses into private lives, enabling the reader to get a more rounded view of the protagonists. It also does a nice job of offering you a range of suspects. For readers who like the psychological side of crime fighting, it is very engaging indeed. It kept me guessing, and discarding my own theories as new data was presented, which is what I think all good crime novels should do.

This is a very good crime novel. I saw reviews which criticised certain aspects of it. In my view these criticisms must have been addressed by the author as, in the edition I read, there were no traces of those aspects. It is a well constructed, well written, tense, convoluted and satisfyingly completed story.

It’s no wonder Claude Bouchard has thousands of followers. Now I’m one of them. When can I start book 2 in the series? show less

The gorgeous cover makes me feel I am stepping into EVIL in Thirteen to None by Claude Bouchard. Women take justice and there are no holds barred.

I was soooooo right!

Thirteen to None by Claude Bouchard is the 8th book in the Vigilante series. Even though it is a series, it is not necessary to read them in order. It is also the #3 Kindle Bestseller in Vigilante Justice and I can see why. I have watched and rewatched and rewatched Charles Bronson in his vigilante series. I love it…when show more justice is not served, sometimes it is necessary to take the law into our own hands.

The events take place in a week’s time and Thirteen to None is jam-packed with action. It starts out with a gang of thirteen sadistic killers leaving two burned bodies in their wake. When their men are taken…next on the blood thirsty killer list of victims…three women make it their mission to rescue them.

Thirteen to None contains some great twists that add that extra bit, making a novel stand out from the rest. This shocking thriller has a fantastic cast of characters, whether they are the lowest of the low or some of the most heroic and determined females I have had the pleasure to know. I am amazed at the story Claude Bouchard has created and wonder why I haven’t read his work before.

The storyline was written in an engrossing way, leaving me unable to put the book down until the last page had been read. Stupendous job, Claude! I want more.

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I have always enjoyed a good vigilante story, from Batman, Jessica Jones, really every comic book hero ever, to the more nitty gritty like Boondock Saints. There is something deeply satisfying about a bad guy getting his dues no matter what happens in our broken court systems. Not that I would ever encourage someone to become a vigilante, and I certainly would not want a vigilante targeting me. This is the greatest version of realistic escape that I enjoy reading.

So perhaps I went into show more this with too high of expectations. I wanted to love the story, and instead got meh. This is why I recommend that young women don't get too invested in romantic movies. Rarely are men portrayed accurately, and it makes finding the right guy hard.

Except that this is a book, not a husband, so I can be as picky as I want! Lets start with the positives: I liked how we got to see the vigilante evolve. How he starts out with a signature kill of beating the baddies with a bat (this bothered me at first because it is too much like a serial killer.) and over time he began planning deaths that fit the crime. I liked that we get to see early on why he is motivated to help others and that it is not just revenge, though this got convoluted later. I loved that his wife knew what he was doing and fully supported him doing it. Although, this got convoluted as well and that leads me to the thing I hated about the book.

I get what the author was going for. He wanted a surprise reveal of who the vigilante was. He was mixing thriller with suspense with police procedural. He had too many red herrings and it annoyed me.
The story is told from many perspectives LT McCall, his agent Frank, his expert Chris Barry, Barry's man Carl, and about six other people who are minor characters.... and interspersed throughout is the perspective of the vigilante, cloaking those thoughts in mystery and bland details.

I felt like I was reading a story as poorly thought out as My Bloody Valentine. I knew who the vigilante was, and the red herrings were so painfully set up that it really bugged me. Of course, I am glad that it wasn't like Saw where there is no way you could have known who the baddie was because he didn't exist in the story except for one ridiculously stupid cut. There is that, I suppose.

It did bother me that the vigilante had so many pathological tendencies that are linked to serial killers. I suppose it makes sense because technically that is what he was, but it makes it hard to root for a guy who reminds you more of the BTK killer than the Boondock Saints.

Still, there were moments that were fun. I already got the next two books in the series, so I will inevitably read them and hopefully the story gets better now that the author isn't trying to trick the readers with who the vigilante is. show less