Judgement and Wrath

In this book Joe is hired by a father to get his daughter (Marianne Jorgenson) away from a violent husband (Bradley). When he stays in accomodation next door to where they are staying, he suddenly finds himself embrolied in a far bigger situation when an assassin/ hired killer comes calling on the family intent on wiping them out. Suddenly he finds himself having to protect Bradley and Marianne from Dantalion, the professional hitman, who is obsessive about keeping a record and number of all the people he has killed. He doesn't like to leave behind witnesses... A game of cat and mouse ensues but who is the cat and who is the mouse?

I liked this book from the outset and got me hooked from the very beginning, but if you don't like people show more being killed this is certainly not the book for you. It has a good easy reading style and you do come to care for the main characters. It wasn't important not to have read the first book, but I think you would know more about Joe if you had read the first book. The whole book moves at quite a fast pace and there is quite a lot of action within it.

It is definitely in the Jack Reacher (Lee Child) mould, but I have to say is not as well written and engaging as a Jack Reacher, but then again very few books are! That's a very high standard to live up to! Joe isn't as much of a loner as Jack and has a partner through most of the book, and by the look of it in the other books. However, through parts of this he was very much working on his own.

I would definitely have given the book a higher rating, possibly four stars, if it had all been written from Joe's perspective but through the book it kept chopping and changing, writing chapters from Joe's perspective and Dantalion's perspective. Whilst at time it added more about motivation of Dantalion, I personally found it a bit off putting and at each section it re-wrote the last immediate action from the other person's perspective. Other people may not mind this but I felt it left it a bit stilited. I would be interested to know if it was like this in all books. However, all things considered I did enjoy the book and would happily hope to read more in the series. I read the first couple of chapters of the next book and would have happily read on. If you like Jack Reacher style books it may be worth considering... show less

Structurally pretty much identical to the first book in the series, but the formula works well enough

Joe Hunter is hired by Richard Dean who wants to keep his daughter safe from her abusive boyfriend, but the truth is different and to complicate the story a fallen angel, Dantalion, intervenes.

The narration follows an usual action plot with gun fires, car chasing, and all still alive, with a lot of scratches, until the end.
The best parts of the book are the changing of point of views between Joe Hunter and Dantalion, when the same action is viewed from different angles.
The characters are just sketched and the dialogs between actions don’t keep suspense high.
I preferred less textbook’s descriptions of guns, knifes, helicopters, or how to spy other people.
Although these lacks in the book, action sequences keep the reader clinging show more to the page and the book is readable. show less

I took a chance on this book, I knew nothing of Matt Hilton when I bought this. I have been rewarded with a really well written thriller that kept the pace up nicely. I literally plowed through the pages.

If you like your thrillers then you will love this book.

Joe Hunter is hired by Richard Dean who wants to keep his daughter safe from her abusive boyfriend, but the truth is different and to complicate the story a fallen angel, Dantalion, intervenes.

The narration follows an usual action plot with gun fires, car chasing, and all still alive, with a lot of scratches, until the end.
The best parts of the book are the changing of point of views between Joe Hunter and Dantalion, when the same action is viewed from different angles.
The characters are just sketched and the dialogs between actions don’t keep suspense high.
I preferred less textbook’s descriptions of guns, knifes, helicopters, or how to spy other people.
Although these lacks in the book, action sequences keep the reader clinging show more to the page and the book is readable. show less

Jack Reacher immitiation without the depth of character and humour of Lee Child's creation. Basic plot is predictable.