Patriot

Indomitable Alex Hawke (Royal Navy/MI6), now working with the CIA, takes on dangerous and devious Russians and Cubans, and even the nefarious Vladimir Putin himself, in the newest installment in this series. Bell writes an excellent action scene but is inclined to serve it with a dollop of right-wing politics. Shea has a strong, clear baritone, appropriate pacing, and a dramatic tone that doesn't distract from the story. His delivery of dialects can be entertaining. When Hawke (upper-class English) and "Gator" (a Cajun with a drawl) interrogate Russians (with thick Boris Badenov accents), the effect can be comic. On the other hand, you always know who is talking. F.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

August 3, 2015
A secret mission in Cuba goes awry in the prologue of bestseller Bell’s fast-paced ninth Alexander Hawke thriller (after 2014’s Warriors), but the MI6 agent (and sixth richest man in England) and his pal Stokely Jones, a former Navy SEAL, manage to fight their way to safety. Soon Hawke is back in his Bermuda home, Teakettle Cottage, enjoying his favorite libation, Gosling’s rum. Meanwhile, Brett “Beau” Beauregard, a retired U.S. Army colonel who runs a private security company, orders his minions to target agents he believes have wronged him in the past. One of Beauregard’s men goes after Hawke in Bermuda, and the ensuing battle nearly destroys Teakettle Cottage. Vladimir Putin, who saved Hawke’s life in an earlier book, plays a role that ricochets back and forth between friend and foe. The villain who runs down the CIA director’s pet dog gets her just reward. Better than any writer in the thriller genre, Bell mashes up old-fashioned boys’ adventure with modern military action. Agent: Peter Lampack, Peter Lampack Agency.

April 1, 2015

Even as spies are being assassinated worldwide, from London to Maine to the Cote d'Azur, NATO and Russia are squaring off over the fate of Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia, and everyone west of Moscow is worrying that the Russians will haul out some game-changing new weapons that Kremlin scientists have reportedly developed. Thank goodness legendary MI6 officer Lord Alexander Hawke is on the case. A follow-up to Warriors.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2015
A rip-roaring thriller wherein the hero must protect both his son and the free world from an erstwhile friend. Lord (and Commander) Alexander Hawke is a superrich British warrior whose life Vladimir Putin once saved in prison, establishing a friendship that puts them on Alex-Volodya terms. Over drinks, Putin informs Hawke that the Russians have invented a completely new and powerful explosive, Feuerwasser, which looks just like water-or vodka. Soon it's clear Putin will use this fearsome fluid to intimidate the world and reassert the glory of the old USSR. "He used a thimbleful to vaporize a huge sunken Russian freighter," Hawke says. Hawke decides to help stop the aggression, but the bad guys know his vulnerability-if they kidnap his 6-year-old son, Alexei, they can neutralize Hawke. Alas for Putin, he mustn't have read the author's Warriors, or he would have realized how tough it is to harm Hawke's child. Along the way are colorful characters Crystal Methenny, a vile siren who has cleavage to die for; Spider Payne, an ex-CIA operative gone bad; and Uncle Joe, a Stalin look-alike. Good guys Ambrose Congreve and Stokely Jones are back, perhaps for the duration of the series, although once again fealty to Hawke proves unhealthful for some. Fans of Ian Fleming's novels will love Hawke, even if he's not quite as over-the-top as James Bond. But when Hawke wonders "how the hell to stop a megalomaniac with a weapon like this," his doubt doesn't linger. "Here we go again," he quickly decides. "Alex Hawke, saving the world, one madman at a time," and the English-speaking world knows it can sleep well at night. Loaded with action and driven by a man of improbably admirable qualities, this adventure is a great escape from reality.

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August 1, 2015
The latest in Bell's series featuring MI6 intelligence officer Alex Hawke quickly gets personal. Someone has targeted spies and former allies and friends of Hawke for extermination. Hawke quickly realizes that the deadly assassin is someone he should have eliminated a long time ago. Getting rid of the man known in the business as Spider, however, is only the tip of the iceberg that threatens Hawke and everyone he loves. The conspiracy set against him, he realizes, reaches all the way to Russian president Vladimir Putin, making the odds of survival quite slim. Multiple killers and plots, mixed with the personal ramifications for our intrepid hero, make this a compelling thriller. Some may find the narrative a bit overlong, but, finally, the power of the story holds up just fine, even over 544 pages. Readers who enjoy their spy fiction in which the world seems to be teetering on its axis have another author to add to their reading lists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)