But if I take that same formula, flip it around and point it at the reader of Jeff Abbott books, then that word would be lucky; because we are bloody lucky that Jeff Abbott continues to share his gift of being able to write edge-of-your-seat stuff time and time again.
Luke Dantry takes centre stage this time as our unlucky hero; caught up in the world of extreme terrorism that will jolt him from his pretty normal life as a 24-year-old university graduate working with his stepfather to conduct research into extremists groups on the Internet. In typical Abbott fashion, the story doesn’t take long to delve straight into the action. The scene is set at the start with the usual suspects of shady characters plotting unforgiving atrocities on an unsuspecting world as a man in a grey suit is the happy recipient of $50m from a wealthy Middle Eastern prince to finance what we become to know as Hellfire. However, what our two bad guys are unaware of is that their little conversation is being listened in to by a British woman called Jane, who is the catalyst for dragging poor Luke into this mess.
Luke’s stepfather – Henry Shawcross; a man who stepped into Luke’s father’s shoes when his real dad was killed by terrorists, and continued to pick up the pieces after his mother died in a car crash – is an expert on predicting how and when terrorist groups will attack. After delivering Henry his latest findings from the online terrorist groups he has infiltrated known as The Night Road, Luke drives Henry to the airport and it is here that his world is about to fall apart.
Upon dropping Henry off, Luke is kidnapped at gunpoint by a desperate man he knows only as Eric. In a haze of fear, panic, and confusion, Luke finds himself an accomplice in the seemingly pointless murder of a homeless man, a bargaining chip for Eric’s own kidnapped girlfriend, and eventually chained to a bed in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Now Luke needs to find a way to escape before the people sent to collect him get there.
What follows is an epic journey across America as Luke tries to piece together the puzzles of his own life to make sense of the madness that has engulfed him, and to work out if he can really trust anyone. Sandwiched in the middle of all the chaos in Luke’s life is the backdrop of random acts of violence as the group funding Hellfire set about using their web of extremists to plot attacks across the country.
Abbott has once again put together an ensemble of characters, dialogue, and plots that screech around corners at a 100mph before taking unexpected turns and near crash experiences. My four and five star rating for Abbott’s material might be getting a reputation for being quite repetitive, but every single one of his books has been a winner for me. Some better than others, definitely, and if I’m being really harsh then maybe compared this one to his other books like Panic and Fear, I might knock the odd star off this one, but I’m not being harsh, this is another bloody good read, and that’s that!
Trust me, this book is good!
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