This book was prutal. And not really something that I enjoy reading in general, there was just too much violence in it.
Don't get me wrong, the plot and especially Beatrix's character were very good and very interesting but I guess this kind of violence makes me uncomfortable and therefore I did not enjoy the book as much as I could have.
If the terrorists' point of view and the hostages point of view were left out, I would have possibly enjoyed this book more and I could have given it more stars.
I think that this book would be perfect for anybody who likes book about war and about those kind of horrific situations and in my opinion this is more of a men's book than it is women's.
I will be reading the rest of the books in the series but I will have to take a little break before I can do this journey again.

* I received this title from NetGalley ( )

It has been years since I've read an international thriller. The first third of the book or so seemed slow to me, but as the pace picked up to an incredible speed it became obvious that the stage had to be set - in character development, motive, and location.

Most of this novel takes place in the middle east, but it is without a doubt a tale of espionage, betrayal and revenge that could have taken place in any place. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much, but Mr. Dawson did an excellent job of drawing the reader in and keeping them in the story.

I look forward to reading more by this author, and will undoubtedly be picking up Blood Moon Rising, the second in this series. Have also shared the Kindle book with my husband who, I suspect, will enjoy it at least as much. ( )

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

Mindless action in a revenge plot. Good for beach or poolside, I guess. I don't think I'll continue this series. ( )

Beatrix Rose is a special agent cut from the Jason Bourne cloth. She’s a dead shot with any weapon, be it a 9mm handgun, a H&K automatic, a throwing knife or a khurkuri blade. She’s the ultimately deniable operational asset. Beatrix Rose can take on six jihadi gunmen while munching morphine and fighting the symptoms of her increasingly serious illness. What an entire platoon of SEALs might fail to do, Beatrix can accomplish all on her ownsome.

If that’s too tough for you to swallow then look elsewhere for your entertainment. But if you like your protagonist to be unfeasibly accomplished and almost unstoppable, and enjoy stunning slices of near non-stop action, then settle down for a rapid-fire read.

We enter part-way through Beatrix’s story, and find her hiding in plain sight in Marrakech. There’s a fair bit of back-story to catch up on, and while that is delivered in bite-size chunks, a container cargo ship is hijacked – a gripping action sequence which feels far too credible for comfort. The crew and security guys are held hostage, and that’s the trigger for Beatrix to leave her lair. She has unfinished business with one of the ex-soldiers, business which sends her straight into the line of fire…

If some of the characters are supermen, whose abilities defy the suspension of disbelief, then the weapons tech and tactical background to this hardcore op feel thoroughly grounded in well-informed reality. The military jargon is delivered without frills; the descriptive passages just detailed enough to drag you into the theatre of the action without slowing the pace or relaxing the tension.

Like an ongoing TV series, the end of this book is nowhere near the end of the story. This episode closes after establishing the parameters of the narrative and the core characters, with high-level machinations in the background. It’s a breathless concoction of a series of carefully choreographed action set pieces, and the promise of much more of the same to come.

I’d be happy to read the next book in the series, but don’t expect any kind of resolution to the story arc any time soon.
8/10

The full review is over at
https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/in-cold-blood-desert-storm/ ( )

I picked this up as one of Samsung's Book Deals offerings, and have mixed feelings about the book. The first half, except for the bits with Somalian pirates, are excruciatingly dull; while the second half - minus the ending - is exciting, interesting, and hard to put down. And the author gets too focused on minor details too often. I do not plan to pick up the sequel, unless it is in next month's Book Deals. Lastly, I do not fully understand the protagonist. If I had only a year to live, I would spend as much time as I could with my estranged daughter and not on retribution! ( )