The #Bookvent Calendar 2021 – Day Twenty Three

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2021

My day twenty three #bookvent pick is from a series which just keeps getting better and features one of my all time favourite action heroes. Whether drawing the thrills from a legal, political or action based angle, it really does give readers it all, packed with tension, characters you can root for and stories which are drawn from the headlines and carry a depth of worrying authenticity. Certainly this is the case with this latest book, that sees our hero unexpectedly reunite with a face from his past. A high stakes, attention demanding read, my twenty third pick is …

No Way To Die by Tony Kent

A deadly threat. A ghost from the past. And time is running out…

When traces of a radioactive material are found alongside a body in Key West, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the crime scene. This is not just an isolated murder: a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees.

The threat hits close to home for Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the terrorists’ bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past.

Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction across the country.

I do love me a bit of Joe Dempsey. Luckily for me, with No Way To Die Tony Kent has treated readers to a whole lot of Dempsey and a lot more beside. Tense, action packed and full of threat, mystery and misdirection, this book grabs you from the opening pages and rattles every last nerve as it takes you on one heck of a bumpy ride as Dempsey attempts to prevent one of the most devastating acts of domestic terrorism ever witnessed. I love how Tony Kent pulls us into this story. You know from the beginning that something is a little … off, but it takes a time for the whole picture to become clear. Even as the facts slowly emerge, I felt my spine tingling, knowing that there was someone very clever, very manipulative, pulling the strings. It’s just that underlying sense of something darker, something just out of line of sight, that permeates the narrative and really kept me focused and intrigued about what I was reading. The author has played a blinder, letting readers in on the secret just a fraction before Dempsey sees the light, but in such a deadly game, that fraction of a second is all it takes for everything you think you know to be completely blown apart, and to very spectacular effect. Characters are something the author excels at creating and I love Dempsey as the all action, duty driven former soldier. Supporting Dempsey this time around are also some very strong, very fabulous, and very high powered women taking centre stage. Whereas once upon a time this kind of novel would be awash with testosterone, two very key players are rocking the XX chromosomes and really making waves in Key West. Special Agent ‘Don’t call me Bambi’ O’Rourke of Homeland Security and Agent Nicki May from the Department of Justice. O’Rourke’s personality made me laugh at times, but she has been written perfectly. Never any question over her authority, but it was an understated commanding of the scenes in which she appeared that really made the impression.

There is a level of violence which underpins parts of the text, but never played out in a gratuitous way. Tony Kent brings the action to the page in an almost matter of fact way – quick, sharp, exact and over in the blink of an eye – much as you’d expect when you realise quite who is involved. I loved how Tony Kent used the tension and history between certain characters to inform and enhance the story, and loved watching the conflicting emotions within Dempsey as he tried to put his preconceptions aside and work out just who to trust. Understandable if you know just who it is he faces, and just where the threat is really coming from. Every inch of the narrative is packed with tension, every interaction carefully worked and each conversation loaded. It’s a heady but truly effective mix. If you like action packed, high stakes, high tension reads, stacked with brilliant characters, tight plotting and a truly addictive story that will keep you riveted from start to finish, you need to read this book. Heck the whole series. I bloody love it.

You can read my full review of No Way To Die right here.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen