Mark Terry

I received this book through early reviewers. I thought it was an amazingly well done thriller. A raid in Pakistan uncovers an al-queda plot to set off explosions in five US cities in two days. Dr. Derek Stillwater, an agent with homeland security, is assigned to one of several multi-agency teams assigned to track down the explosives and stop the terrorists. The team Stillwater is assigned to is dysfunctional to say the least and Stillwater is a loose cannon himself. As you go through the show more two days with the team you hardly have a chance to catch your breath - the pace is incredible. I found the characters to be well-developed and interesting, the plot incredibly realistic (even scary), the writing style exceptional, and the book impossible to put down. I also liked that Mr. Terry was not afraid to kill off characters that I had begun to develop a bond with because it brought true emotion into the book. I definitely plan to go back and read other books in this series. show less

Thanks to the publishers and the author, for a very professionally produced signed hardback, it looks and feels great. It is just a shame that the plot wasn't up to the quality of the rest of the book. The prose was ok, the characters were gritty if not that realistic, but the plot was dire. Nominally this is the fourth in series of some anti-terror hotshot, but it reads very well as a standalone. I'm unlikely to go back and check whether the 1st in the series is more plausible.

Supposedly show more full of insider knowledge, it felt like a cheap Hollywood adaption of something better, complete with all the clichés. Invincible heroes who grit their teeth and carry on despite being shot, beaten up, set on fire and lacking any sleep for the last few days. That's ok a couple of ordinary strength painkillers and a cup of coffee will see you through. Law and order? due process? Hah. I'm a hero, I can do whatever I like and it's ok. To be fair once or twice other characters reproach him for this attitude, but does he pause? suffer a single moral quandary? or even think twice? nope. Are there any consequences? of course not. It's all about the plausibility, and this just fails, its not how the world works. You can have vigilante style heroes, you can have superheros, but they aren't members of gov. anti-terror teams.

Equally Hollywood stylee, were the visual jokes half way through, no-one runs round a house corner and falls down a cliff. It is totally obvious from the front when a house is built on a cliff edge. Likewise many of the car chase scenes and the fights. And the fire: although the author has obviously heard of smoke poisoning, he's evidently never seen a house fire. The hero had 30s at most to get out of the smoke, not tens of minutes wondering how to avoid a few flames.

The bad guys - and guess what it's a rogue Muslim terrorist group, would never have guessed that - set up a really complex op, involving major distractions in various cities so the main guy can shoot a missile at a minor politician. What a failure of imagination that was. Given the complexity (undescribed) of the distractions you'd have thought they'd be going for a major target, or else the weak attempt with the missile would be the distraction for the very complex dirty bomb scenarios used in the other cities. And since when do terrorists leaders get involved in the actual operations? That's what the suicide bombers and underlings are for. It's all very very weak. Fortunately the hero gets some inspired guesswork without going down a single dead end (despite being days short on sleep), and rushes to the rescue.

There are some positives, a few things were well done. The little girl was well crafted and her responses and her parents were basically believable (even if the dad wouldn't have had those accesses, or even if he had the bad guy wouldn't have known that he had them). The opening incident, despite some very clunky passages, was clever and well set-up.

I prefer my thrillers to be more exciting, with better drama and better tension. This means at least some degree of realism, and some possible chance that the hero might be in danger. As a very fast paced, very light airport story it is readable enough, but it's hardly into the serious category. I'm sure it will make a good film and earn the author a lot of money, but it isn't a good book. show less

I love the terrorist thriller sub-genre so my expectations are high when I find a new (to me) author of these types of thrillers. My expectations were more than met for I was riveted from the first page until the end of the book.

I loved the Derek Stillwater character. He has a gruff personality and knows BS when he hears it, which makes him the perfect protagonist. He is always able to pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat and win the battle. I am excited about getting copies of the show more earlier books in the series to discover more of his exploits.

The Valley of Shadows has every element that makes a great thriller: fast pacing, intricate plotting, action and plenty of suspense. It's the kind of book that I can sit down and relax with. I believe that you will love it too. show less

"The Fallen" by Mark Terry is a suspenseful novel that packs more action into its 279 pages than an entire season of the TV show 24 and whose hero, Derek Stillwater, is reminiscent of a less angry Jack Bauer.

The G8 summit is getting ready to begin in Colorado Springs and with 20 of the world's leaders planning to be in attendance, no expense has been spared to make this gathering as safe and secure as possible. But despite all the precautions, a terrorist group called The Fallen Angels, show more manages to infiltrate the summit and take everyone hostage. The leader of the group, Richard Coffee, has agreed to kill one world leader every hour if his demands are not met and the FBI, Secret Service, US Military and Homeland Security are scrambling to come up with a plan to stop him. Luckily undercover agent Derek Stillwater is on the inside and has no desire to see his old foe win this round. Does one man have what it takes to stop an entire group of terrorists on his own?

"The Fallen" is a thrilling roller-coaster ride from beginning to end with more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. Mark Terry has created a likable and engaging hero in Derek Stillwater and, while this is the 3rd book in a series, it truly stands on its own as a highly entertaining, political action thriller that any reader would thoroughly enjoy. show less