I have just flown through these first 3 books in this series. For the characters, these events all take place in the space of a few weeks. Ty is now safely with his mom, Secretary of Defense Charlize Montgomery, in a secure facility in Florida where there’s still electricity and communications with the outside world. Raven Spears continues to work with police chief Colton in Estes Park, Colorado. The white supremacist leader, Fenix, is still out there and still a threat.

One of my favorite story lines in this book is where Big Al, Charlize’s body guard, is given the chance to go find and rescue his sister. She’s his twin and his last remaining family. Al lost his wife and kids in the initial strikes and he can’t let his sister go. Turns out she’s got a drug problem and that opens a little can of worms; how to justify the man power & supplies & risk to locate her and bring her back to the secure facility? All sorts of great questions came up as we followed Big Al on his personal mission. They go through gang-controlled streets, bump into an abandoned kid with a LotR complex, and then have to see about a drugged out sister. Who is worthy of the very limited help available? People like Charlize and President Diego have to the make those calls on a big picture level. Big Al has to make those decisions in the moment on the ground on a smaller scale.

Meanwhile, in Estes Park, roving bands of violent looters become an issue. Some of these looters are drug addicted. Redford’s gang is the most troublesome of these looters because they are organized. The body count rises and police chief Marcus Colton is pulling his hair out trying to keep Estes Park safe. Mayor Andrews and her lackeys aren’t helping matters. A schism has developed between these two groups, but both want the best for Estes Park. I was very pleased to see that police detective Lindsey Plymouth had a bigger role in this book. Raven’s attempts at flirtation were a secondary thing but provided some much needed humor for the story.

Colton knows that Estes Park needs allies. Between Niles Redford’s gang, General Dan Felix (leader of the white supremacist group Sons of Liberty), and the influx of refugees, Estes Park could easily be over run. Lindsey and Raven are sent to Storm Mountain to meet with the local preppers group led by John Kirkus. Colton believes he can make a good alliance with Sheriff Thompson of Fort Collins. There is more than one betrayal and I was shocked and a little distraught over how things turned out for some of my favorite characters. Estes Park is in so much trouble!

I’ve really gotten attached to this story despite the ladies having a backseat to the men. Charlize, a retired fighter pilot, hasn’t gotten into the pilot’s seat yet. Lindsey shows promise but hasn’t gone out hunting or scouting or tracking solo like the men do. Raven’s sister Sandra is still a competent nurse at the hospital but doesn’t do much other than patch Raven up. Martha, a minor character from Book 2, is a doctor but hasn’t done much other than bleed a lot. I just need a bit more from the ladies to make this series rock. After all, Colorado is known for it’s hardy, independent, capable women. 4.75/5 stars.

The Narration: Bronson Pinchot continues to give a great voice for Raven and for Colton. His voice for President Diego continues to grate a bit. Pinchot’s female voices are feminine and his kid voices work well too. His calm creepy voices also work really well for our multiple bad guys. 4.75/5 stars. ( )

Trackers 3, like its predecessors in this series, takes readers on a wild ride...one that may actually happen in the very near future. There is so much going on and the author does a fantastic job at showing different POV's in a country ruled by chaos after an EMP attack by the North Koreans.

Eastes Park still suffers from turmoil in its leadership ranks - thinking more of their personal goals than the safety and welfare of the people and town. Since rescuing the Secretary of Defense's son from the Skinheads, she has rewarded the small town with containers of food, water and other supplies to help get them through the winter. Unfortunately, this gesture puts a bullseye on the town and is attracting marauders and gangs to come and get what they have for themselves.

Albert Randall, the Secretary's bodyguard, is given permission to travel to Charlotte and rescue his sister - if she's still alive. He is accompanied by two soldiers who try to keep him safe during his search. He learns that she is still alive, but getting to her requires that they sneak past two notorious street gangs who are battling one another for control of the city and also looking for the trio to avenge the deaths of fellow gang members. It soon turns into a deadly mission - one in which Albert may not survive.

The town sheriff, Colton, travels north to seek a partnership between his group and those in the nearby town. Clearly, the residents of Eastes Park don't stand a chance in trying to hold off marauders on their own...they're getting picked-off daily and their ranks are dwindling. Meanwhile, Raven and a female deputy also travel north to another well-known camp of patriots to ask for their help. They are double-crossed and things don't go so well from this point.

I have to admit that I was disappointed to find that book 4 isn't published yet and I'll have to wait until 2018 to see what happens next in this last book of the series and what becomes of all the characters I've grown fond of. I've already purchased the next installment and my Kindle will be watching for its delivery.

Great job Mr. Smith! So far, you've captivated me during the last 1000 pgs. of this story. Looking forward to completing this epic saga.

John Podlaski, author
'Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel' and 'When Can I Stop Running?' ( )

My original Trackers 3: The Storm audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

🏆🎧 ABR Reviewer's Choice Award Winner

There is nothing more frightening than reality. Nicholas Sansbury Smith knows this and uses it mercilessly. In Trackers, Smith has created a series that could mimic our future if North Korea acts as threatened. There are no monsters and no evil greater than ourselves; Smith weaves a story that demonstrates too close to the reality of what would happen!

Trackers 3 is the next installment of Senator Charlize, Albert, Colton, Raven and the town of Estes Park. Each character is faced with a new issue; a new danger or a new mission or a betrayal of epic proportions. Decisions come fast and hard; some make it, some don’t. Smith shows us how gang mentality plays out – whether it is Latin Kings or Nazi-Racist survivalist the end is always the same – death, destruction and the summation of all things wrong with humankind. While I could give you a taste of the storyline, I fear I would not do it justice and I might reveal too much. Suffice it to say, this book takes you places where fear is too real and not where you expect to go.

Smith is relentless in his creativity and packs each line with action, fear or some other emotion that leaves one bug-eyed in anticipation of what’s to come next. I have listened to Smith’s books beginning with the Extinction Series moving on to Hell Divers and now Trackers. Smith, in his writing, is not only entertaining and terrifying; he is detailed in every aspect capturing our fear and twisting it more and more until we are breathless.

Bronson Pinchot, the narrator, is magnificent! Pinchot becomes completely engrossed in the tale capturing Smiths vision and gives us a stunning performance. Pinchot is smooth transitioning effortlessly to the next intense action. Together, Pinchot and Smith are formidable!

NOTE: Have you ever wondered where people get their ideas? It should be known that Smith used to work for the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management … maybe he knows something we don’t …

There were no issues with the audio quality or production of this audiobook.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author. ( )