First, I want to say thanks to Ryan for letting me do a guest throwback review over here at The Real Book Spy!
Second, let me share a little about myself before I get into the review. My name is Stacy Reller and I am mostly known for running @VinceFlynnFans on Twitter. Vince was very supportive of other authors and I love carrying on that tradition of helping get the word out about other authors. There is room for everyone. And in the last couple years, we’ve had some fantastic new author debuts in the genre.
I created the @VinceFlynnFans Twitter account about five and a half years ago after attending my first Vince Flynn signing and finding out he didn’t have a Twitter account, and that there were no fan-created ones either. I decided to create a place for fans to connect, and we’re now nearing 6,000 assets (aka followers).
I have met so many fabulous people and a few close friends, including Ryan. I am so thankful to not only Vince Flynn but to all the other Flynn fans out there. Vince definitely has the greatest fans!
Now, I bet you figured that I would be doing a Throwback Thursday review on a Vince Flynn book. Well, Ryan already has you covered with a Term Limits (which is my favorite!!) review. Of course, there are many other Vince Flynn books to choose from, but I’ve decided on another author for this review.
Since Flynn was the first and only author I read in the genre when I started the Twitter account, I never knew how to answer when fellow fans would ask me who else to read while we were waiting for the newest Mitch Rapp book to drop in the fall. So, I would retweet it out for others to make suggestions. In doing so, their replies would always be (in no particular order) Brad Thor, Ben Coes, Daniel Silva, Brad Meltzer and, among many others, Brad Taylor.
I named Brad Taylor last because he is the author for today’s Throwback Thursday review, as I will be reviewing his debut thriller One Rough Man.
(Side Note: On my own blog, I do “reviews” on Thursdays called Thursday Reads. I typically just repost the blurb from the dust jacket/back of the book. But for this one, I decided to do it in the format that Ryan uses for his reviews.)
The Story
The Taskforce is a clandestine group that has been set up to eliminate terrorist threats before they are materialized. Pike Logan is the most successful operator on the Taskforce, until his wife and daughter are murdered while he is away on an operation. Suddenly, his life is flipped upside-down. Without a job, he turns to drinking and finds himself living on a sailboat.
One night after a bar brawl, he meets college student Jennifer Cahill. Meanwhile, in Guatemala, Jennifer’s uncle has been searching for a lost Mayan Temple which he believes contains a chemical compound that holds the answer to what wiped out the Mayans a millennium ago. After finally locating the temple he’s, unfortunately, kidnapped and killed by a Mexican smuggler.
The smuggler sends two men after Jennifer, but lucky for her, Pike saved her. She was then able to convince him to travel with her to Guatemala, in order to help clear things up and to save her uncle. But things end up taking a turn when two Arab terrorists steal the newly discovered compound with plans to use it as a WMD.
Can Pike and his new “partner” Jennifer save the day?
Why I loved it
While I’m of course drawn to Pike, you cannot forget about Jennifer. She is a very strong female character and while she is just a college student and definitely not in the same league as Pike, she can hold her own. She’s also become a very valuable asset to him. I loved the little bit of archeology and history that Taylor mixed in, and the journey that Pike finds himself making in this book is very interesting and intriguing.
Why you should read it
This is an action-packed thriller that knows how to throws punches. Brad Taylor has definitely made his mark in this genre. And lucky for us fans, he writes two books a year.
If you enjoy Vince Flynn and Brad Thor, you will most definitely enjoy Brad Taylor!
Book Details
Author: Brad Taylor
Pages: 432 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: February 17, 2011 (Order now!)
Note From The Real Book Spy:
Stacy is one of the nicest, friendliest people I know. I met her when I started following her Vince Flynn fan Twitter account, and we bonded over our mutual love for Rapp and Vince. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her, and working with her–as we share the social media load by tag-teaming our Mitch Rapp coverage! If you’re not already, follow her!
Additionally, I could not agree more with everything Stacy said about Brad Taylor and Pike Logan. Taylor is one of my favorite authors, and Pike is one of the badest dudes in print. If you’re not reading Taylor’s series, and you like shoot-em-up thrillers, you’re missing out. He is, unequivocally, the king of the military thriller genre. Whether it’s this one, One Rough Man, or another of his books, grab one and dive in if you haven’t already!