Wednesday, 24 August 2022

PAUL HEATLEY - HARD TO KILL (2021)


Synopsis/blurb…

One man can’t start a war. But he can end it.

Laying low in Mexico, Tom meets Carmen who is searching for her little sister Rosa, recently abducted and trafficked by a vicious gang. Tom sees that Carmen is likely to get herself killed and decides he is duty bound to help her.

The hunt for Rosa pits them against a terrifying Mexican cartel and ultimately leads them back to the US and a criminal conspiracy to open a vast stretch of the border for the trafficking of guns, drugs and women.

The cartel leaders stand to make billions, but Tom’s relentless one-man campaign is making them nervous, so they bring in some elite talent to solve the problem. Meanwhile, Tom’s old enemies in law enforcement realise he’s back in the US and send a hit team to finish him off.

Caught between cartel sicarios and ex-military assassins, Tom will need every one of his formidable skills if he is to survive his deadliest adventure...

Hard to Kill – book 3 of the superb Tom Rollins action thriller series. Perfect for fans of Lee Child, Jason Kasper & David Archer.

Another enjoyable Tom Rollins thriller from Paul Heatley with the third in his series of six (so far).

Here Rollins takes on a Mexican drug cartel and their US partners on both sides of the border while trying to rescue a trafficked girl from their clutches. Events are complicated by his former Military unit colleagues - still pissed off at Tom for bailing on them overseas - taking up a contract hit on him. Hell, they’d happily do him for free.

Character, pace, action, story line, a little bit of romance, some back story, and a decent outcome. It did everything I needed it to. 

I liked it, though as with every bit of fiction I’ve ever encountered, you need to set aside a bit of disbelief at the door and just go with the flow. Three down, three to go, though undoubtedly Paul Heatley will have # 7, 8 and 9 penned and on the book store shelves before I get back to the fourth!

Blood Line and Wrong Turn have been enjoyed before. Snow Burn is next.

4 stars from 5.

Read – August, 2022

Published – 2021

Page count – 338

Source – review copy from Net Galley

Format - Kindle

6 comments:

  1. It does sound as though this has quite a solid pace, Col, and good timing, too. Unfortunately, it's probably timely, too, as this sort of thing (the abduction) does happen. It's the right setting, too, for this sort of story. Glad you enjoyed it.

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    1. Margot, I do like a plot that is fast moving and is well executed. Sad to say, I think it has its roots in reality. The border area has scope for a lot of criminal activity in a few areas of illegality. Plenty of people taking advantage of others people's unfortunate circumstances and situations. It adds up to a lot of victims.

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  2. It's an enticing book description for sure. Good review!

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    1. Thank you. I hope you enjoy it if you give it a go.

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  3. Not sure about the disbelief thing. Maybe I'm a sucker, but think there have been plenty of books where I've been totally taken in. Sounds like another cracker from Paul.

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    1. I don't mean 'disbelief' to imply as a criticism. It varies between books for me. I suppose the element is present here when you access the odds of one man (with a couple of helpers) vs organised drug cartels and gangs and highly skilled and trained military personnel. Like you, I'm a big fan of Paul's work.

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