A truly diabolical premise with tension crackling off every page. A must-read for all who enjoy intelligently-written stories with great characterizations, and who enjoy surprise twists at every turn. A great addition to this genre, and highly recommended. I'll be reading more from this author!

*My sincerest thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing an ARC at no charge.*

Hi Karen,
My next review is:-

“China Strikes:An Ice Thriller”, written by Matt Rees and published in hardback by Crooked Lane Books on 27 July 2017. 320 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1683311348


On an ordinary summer day, chaos erupts across the globe when thousands of cars simultaneously speed out of control in the United States and Europe. The death toll is enormous, and there is only one thing connecting the crashes--every single car is the same model.

Amidst the bewilderment of the tragedy, (current U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agent. Special Agent Dominic Verrazzano is called to the Brooklyn Detention Center, where Tom Frisch, recently arrested for attempting to assassinate a U.N. President, claims to have knowledge about the mastermind behind the crashes. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and an even bigger catastrophe, involving many more motor companies, is already in the works.

Verrazzano has no choice but to take Frisch with him as he tracks down an enemy that both men know far too well--their old Special Forces commander and father figure. Following leads that take them from New York to Detroit and on to Europe, Verrazzano finally lands in a confrontation that unravels a secret even more sinister than he could have expected.

The Welsh author was a former Middle East foreign newspaper correspondent for 20 years and is therefore something of an expert of the war on terror. This is the second of his series of ICE novels. He is also the author of the award winning Omar Yussef mysteries and a series of mysteries based around famous artists lives.

I found this story rather implausible but it was well told but I just feel that I’ve read a similar theme in another authors book. I’m not sure I care for this blend of fantasy in a thriller like this. Perhaps I would have enjoyed his other series but this one rather reminded me of the men from UNCLE TV series many years ago.

Best wishes,


Terry

This is heavy on the action and light on the characters but it's a fast entertaining read with a basis in possibility. I hadn't read the earlier books so I didn't have the background on Dominic. I'm still not clear on why ICE is involved in solving the mystery of who and why all these cars are hacked but okay-I'll buy it for the sake of the book. There are good guys and bad guys, technology, conspiracies, and all sorts of things that go with this genre. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try it for a decent airplane read.

Wow. Where to start? This is my first time reading anything by this author Matt Rees and I thoroughly enjoyed it so much I purchased his first novel in this series The Damascus Threat to read at a later time.

When I first began this novel the first thing I thought about it is that it felt similar to the Mitch Rapp character in Vince Flynn's series or Brad Thor's Scot Harvath character in his series of books. This is high praise as both are some of my “go-to” author's that I love to read.

ICE Special Agent Dominic Verrazzano is a very likeable hero who is perfect in his inperfection. He is not without a somewhat shady past when he served in a Special Forces unit and was trained to kill enemies of the USA. He is no boyscout but now works to get the red out of his ledger.

This novel is somewhat unique in that there are several bad guys. There are Chinese villains but there are American villains too. I both liked and was frustrated by the ending because as this is a series the ending left you wondering who is the top villain that orchestrated all the other bad guys and is truly the one behind the tragedy that occurs in this novel. As you can see, I don't want to say much about the story to spoil it for other readers who just want to know if this book is worth spending their money and time on.

Ok, so Dom works for ICE which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement which is part of The Department of Homeland Security. His team and the FBI are working together after chaos erupts across the US and Europe when thousands of cars simultaneously speed out of control. The only thing connecting the crashes is that every single car is the same new model and year.

The plot is interesting , the action and pace are exciting. The characters are well enough fleshed out for this genre of book which is action and plot heavy. I do believe as this series endures that the character development of the reoccuring characters will improve.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading this genre.

China Strike is a ludicrous novel. It isn't just that the plot fails but the character development just isn't there. We watch cardboard characters engage in acts that often have no explanation, or when they do, your eyes still go up. While it is possible to hack into a car's computer, the idea that five people who have mysteriously obtained jobs at five different car manufacturers could all find a way to insert corrupt computer code defies belief. Add to that the strange protagonist Vellasquez and his backstory, and it all just crumbles into a failed effort. Readers who stick it through, as I did, might also be yelping at the conclusion. I didn't mention the Krokodil character who seems able to show up anywhere anytime. Really now.