The plan was to let the two fathers make the ransom
payoff in the valley a few miles outside of Tijuana. Two hundred thousand
should buy their freedom as that is what the kidnappers wanted. At least the dads
know that backup is watching them and ready to help. All they have to do is
give the bad guys the money and get their daughters, Danni and Sophia.
The kidnappers take the money and then want to change
the deal. Instead of giving them Danni and Sophia they offer two other teen
girls. Understandably the dads want their own daughters back. Things go bad
quickly and Delta Force Operator Lee McCloud and his team watch the kidnappers
kill the two girls they had been holding in the van. The dead girls were somebody’s
children who were murdered solely because the dads wanted their own daughter
back. In the aftermath, while they do have a lead to the kidnapped girls,
McCloud and his team are in a world of trouble with the United States Military.
Facing court martial and prison time for himself and
others of his team, McCloud agrees to take a discharge from the Army after
pleading guilty to some lesser charges. He also agrees to go to work as a
contractor attached to some sort of vague shadowy unit pursing various
terrorists and their monies. While they have their own stated agenda, Lee “Mac”
McCloud has his own and that is saving his goddaughter, Sophia, and her friend,
Danni.
NO REMORSE
spans the globe in a complicated read that
touches on sex slavery, organ harvesting, Islamic terrorism, politics, and various
other themes. Numerous characters are involved as are exotic locals, powerful
money interests, and nightmarish weapons. The thriller style read shifts in
point of view of the various characters through the use of very short scenes, constant
action and a minimum of internal narration. Almost no one in this novel can be
trusted as their public actions hide a far different and often devious agenda.
The result is a book that is initially slow to get
started after the opening ransom scenes as all the players are brought out and
explained. Once the pieces are in place the story revs up to high gear by the
middle of the book. At some points the pace is so quick that the very short
scenes feel rushed as the author moves on too quickly to another point of view.
Season thriller readers will also notice that while the characters, often most
notably Mac & Tally ( a computer hacker), display classic clichéd elements
(both are haunted in their own way by tragedy in the past and are damaged loners
ultimately drawn together) the overall read works fairly well as the action
moves rapidly forward on many fronts. The final events seem a bit rushed and rather
over the top theatrical with a state of the art fortress that must be breached,
complex undersea tunnels complete with submersibles, etc. Despite the flaws NO REMORSE as a whole
works rather well and is definitely highly entertaining.
As of this date, NO REMORSE remains the sole
title published by Marq Books. The paperback
copy I received of NO REMORSE contains a twelve page preview of Bait
due out later this year from the author.
NO REMORSE
Ian
Walkley
Marq
Books
January
2012
ISBN
# 978-0-9808066-0-1
Paperback
(also available in e-book)
406
Pages (including preview)
$16.99
Material supplied by publicist PJ Nunn of
BreakThrough Promotions for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
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