Even

From Amazon:

David Trevellyan is a Royal Navy intelligence operative who usually works undercover, sometimes with the approval of his masters—and sometimes not. On a seemingly normal evening, he takes a lonely late-night walk between a restaurant and his New York City hotel. A familiar huddled shape in the mouth of an alley catches his eye—a homeless man has been shot to death. Trevellyan steps forward…and a cop car arrives. A split second too late, Trevellyan realizes he’s been set up.
But Trevellyan isn’t worried. He’s a hard man from the shadowy world of Royal Navy Intelligence. He’s been in and out of trouble a thousand times before. But the NYPD quickly hands the problem to the FBI. Trevellyan is sucked deeper into the show more system. And the British Consulate tells him: You’re on your own now, mate.
With no idea who’s a friend and who’s a foe, he penetrates deep into a huge international conspiracy. The price of failure will be death, and the reward for success will be redemption, both for himself and the huddled corpse from the alley. The motivation will be his cherished life-long belief: You don’t get mad—you get EVEN. If Jack Reacher had a younger brother, he’d be David Trevellyan. Lee Child does have a younger brother, and his name is Andrew Grant. A remarkable debut, Even delivers on its own—a tight, fast-paced, modern thriller fueled by adrenaline and revenge.

My Thoughts:

This kind of story is like a chess game, a formalized drama that can only be appreciated as it unfolds, elaborate layer after layer. Younger brother of Lee Child, Grant steps up with this taut, well-written tale that builds with each chapter to the final standoff. Grant starts each chapter with Trevellyan disclosing a little more information about his past or an anecdote from his naval training. These sections gave a tantalizing glimpse of the novel that this might have been and perhaps of future novels to come. He probably has one strike against him already...he's Lee Child's little brother and everyone is going to compare him to Lee. Andrew Grant's writing style has many similarities to that of his brother, and you can see shades of Jack Reacher in David Trevellyan... but even though the novel lacks the punch of the Reacher series, it is in itself worth the time to read. I will certainly give this author another go. show less

Walking from a restaurant to his hotel in New York City, David Trevellyan discovers the body of an apparently-homeless man in an alley. Almost immediately, the police arrive and David finds himself suspected of committing the murder. David realizes he’s been set up to take the rap.

However, the assistance he expects from the Royal Naval Intelligence Service, for which he works, does not materialize and he must find the answers for himself.

When the FBI becomes involved in the case, David finds himself pulled deeper into the miasma of a convoluted investigation. Can he find the answers he seeks, identify the murderer, and clear his name? Or is he setting himself up to become the next victim?

Told from David’s point of view, the show more narrative spins out a complex tale of deception and treachery. Despite a plot that is sometimes difficult to follow, the consistently-building suspense draws readers into the story and unexpected reveals keep the tension mounting. David is not particularly likeable, but readers will root for him to emerge victorious.

Each chapter begins with a flashback to David’s childhood or to his military training, emphasizing a particular lesson learned. It’s an effective device to give readers greater insight into the character. However, this is not a tale for the squeamish as the telling of the tale involves some particularly gruesome events, graphically depicted and guaranteed to be off-putting for some readers.

Recommended. show less

“You don’t get mad – you get even!” Brother of the better known Lee Child, Andrew Grant gives us one of the most blush-making cringe-worthy titles of the year. But title aside this is a thoroughly enjoyable book – although not in the Child style.



David Trevellyan is what is euphemistically known as a Naval Intelligence Officer: when he finds a corpse in a New York alley and is arrested for murder, his British masters disown him, turning him over to the FBI. To save himself he has to expose a massive international conspiracy.



Tautly written, dry, witty and exciting, let’s hope this eminently readable book is the first in a series that will give spy fiction a much needed shot in the arm.

Fast-paced, with an excellent main character; bad guys are summarily and frequently dispatched with violence and speed.., Interesting storyline with many facets that keeps the chase quite complex and compelling. Good start to a series.

People are comparing this book to the Reacher series because the author is Lee Child's brother. If Grant wants to write a book that has the same character as Jack Reacher, then we have to compare the two characters and authors.

The plot is that Grant's character, David, sees a body in an ally, and he goes to check it out. The police come and find him over the body. What David doesn't know is that he's being set up, and he has to figure out who set him up, why, and to clear his name. This plot has been done over and over and over again. Grant brings nothing fresh to the table. Grant has a very dry writing style.

Grant's char of David, seems flat and uninteresting. He could easily clear up the problem, but he doesn't. David seems to have show more a smart mouth and it makes him seem guilty of the crimes that he's innocent of.

Lee Child's books are fast paced with incredible plots, neat twists, fantastic characters, and hooks the reader in. Even, does none of those things. It's easy to see that Grant tries to copy Child's sense of writing style but falls way short. Grant bogs the reader down with a lot of needless description of everything. It was like I was walking through mud, and it was a chore to read.

At the start of each chapter, we are able to get some words or wisdom that David has learned over the years that sets the tone for the chapter. I found this very annoying.

If you feel the need to read this book, skip it. Pick up and book by Lee Child and read about the character of Jack Reacher, and you won't be sorry.

Lee Child does it right, Andrew Grant does it wrong. show less

I enjoyed this, though it seems other reviewers didn't.
My advice? Read it yourself and make your own decision! You can't judge a book by its cover, they say, nor should you judge a book by other people's opinions.
I will be looking out for the next book in the series, he has an eminently readable style, even if there is no over-the-top action.

Disappointing. It started out very well, but the plot seemed to become too complicated, with too many players. And I figured out that a certain character was working for the bad guys long before the hero did. I hate it when that happens. I don't even try to figure that stuff out in advance, but this was just obvious. The book has it's moments, but for such a supposedly clever person, he came across as pretty dumb.