Did not finish. Lots of action without much plot in the first 1/3, followed by silly plotting and pointless dialogue. Shallow, clichéd characters. Ugh

Notes:
31.0% ".... Not really what I'm looking for.... "Gong-Ho" comes to mind. The prose is easy and familiar, without too much cliché."

39.0% ".... or, they could easily wreck what's in the big truck; end of story."

54.0% ".... lots of blather and pointless dialogue to fill pages. And I don't care about any of the characters. Im done.

Published by Scribner on August 15, 2017

Clyde Barr is a philosophical tough guy. His philosophical musings tend to revolve around what a harsh place the world is and how sad it is that he lives in a world that so often forces him to kill people. Barr tells us that he doesn’t “coexist well with people who like to hurt others,” yet he seems to seek those people out expressly so that he can hurt them. I guess the difference is that he doesn’t like hurting them, although that’s difficult to believe since hurting bad guys seems to be his mission.

In A Promise to Kill, the bad guys are bikers who are terrorizing a town on a reservation. The tribal cop won’t do anything about it so it’s up to Clyde. I’ve known a lot of reservation residents over the years, and they’re pretty good at looking after their own. The idea that heavily-armed residents of the rez would let a biker gang walk all over them and need to be rescued by a tough white guy strikes me as fanciful.

It also struck me as unlikely that biker gangs would ally themselves with Middle Eastern terrorists who are intent on attacking the United States and killing millions of people (presumably including bikers) with weapons the bikers are improbably able to hijack. I mean, bikers might rob a liquor store, although brawling is a more typical biker crime, but enabling a terrorist attack on their own country? Treason isn’t high on the list of crimes that biker gangs commit. But heck, people don’t like biker gangs and they don’t like terrorists, so team them up and we’ve got a thriller, right?

As in the first Barr novel, Barr finds himself rescuing women who have been taken hostage. Last time he rescued his sister. This time the bikers have taken a couple of local women, but that’s secondary to the terrorist plot that they are attempting to carry out. Naturally, Barr also has to rescue himself, but only after surviving some beatings to bolster his tough guy credentials with the reader.

Of course, the simplest thing to do would be to call Homeland Security or the Army after Barr discovers the threat, either of which would move massively to stop the terrorists, but nobody does that because … no cell reception? Ah, drive an hour dudes, it really isn’t hard to make a telephone call, even in Utah. The locals are stymied by a couple of bikers who set up road blocks? Seriously? Barr’s plan takes a lot longer to execute than it would have taken to bypass the bikers and call the cops. But if anyone had done that, Barr wouldn’t get to play hero and we wouldn’t have a thriller.

Barr is the prototypical tough guy, a man of few words but many thoughts, always about himself, typically about the many tough guy battles he’s fought. When he does say something, it’s usually a tough guy cliché (“failure is not an option”). He grunts and sighs quite a bit (tough guy language), but he can ride a horse and drive a semi and take guns apart, so his tough guy credentials are clear.

He’s also good at fighting, as he tells us during a number of lengthy fight scenes, a skill he regrets having to use so often despite devoting his life to putting himself in situations that require him to fight. About a dozen times, Barr is ready to surrender to fatigue, but he sees something or thinks about something that motivates him to keep fighting. When a character draws on inner strength once or twice, it’s fine. When a character reaches deep on every other page, the writer is clearly running out of ideas.

I’ve enjoyed many tough guy novels over the years, but as Erik Storey proved in the first Barr novel, Barr just isn’t a very interesting tough guy. Nor is A Promise to Kill a very interesting book. The prose flows smoothly and the story moves quickly, but the plot isn’t particularly innovative or believable and Barr has no substance beneath his tough guy persona.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Erik Storey returns following his debut hit, Nothing Short of Dying (2016)—where the talented new author introduced readers and new fans to the unlikely hero, Clyde Barr.

In this highly anticipated follow-up, A PROMISE TO KILL, Barr returns, better than ever!

An action-packed, intense, adventure where life is anything but simple for Barr. Trouble seems to find Barr no matter how many times life attempts to pull him down. He comes up swinging.

Storey has created an edgy tough main character with strong morals and honor . . . and a heart of gold.

Men and women readers alike will be drawn to the setting and this strong and intriguing character. I actually like him better than Lee Child’s Jack Reacher.

As we pick up from the last book (can be read as a standalone); however, would recommend reading the first book to get the proper intro into this complex character. However, we do learn a bit more about Clyde in this installment.

Traveling across Utah, with a new mare and a reluctant mule named Bob, Barr spots an old man’s truck in the ditch. He, of course, stops to assist. His heart. His cell is dead. He needs to get him to a hospital.

He hops into the truck and takes him to the hospital. An old Ute from the nearby Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. They connect. Heart problems. Myocardial infarction. He would be dead without Clyde Barr.

Lawana and her son. The three of them – grandfather, daughter, Lawana and grandson, fifteen-year-old- Taylor all lived at the family ranch. They needed Barr’s help. He offered.

He had worked on a lot of ranches and he, of course, did not tell them all the work and places he had been. Clyde likes this woman and family.

Barr settles into a routine on the ranch. . . until the Reapers. An outlaw bikers club. All white.

These men were full of menace. The Reapers called him a "bumpkin" and told him to go play with the Indians. He was threatened and warned. Thousands of lives were at risk.

Taylor’s dad had died in Afghanistan, as an army captain. He was going to help run the ranch while his mom ran the local clinic. He died trying to save his men. Soon Taylor had confidence in him. He looked up to Barr. However, Barr had some proving to do to earn his mother’s trust.

He wants to protect the reservation and fight for those he cares about.

Barr soon learns that the family name was a corruption of the name of their great war chief ancestor, Nicaagat. He’d let his warriors in one of the last actions against the US government, right before his people were forced out of the mountains of Colorado and into the alkali desert of Utah.

The memories surface. His rough childhood, the wars he had fought in the third world, and his time behind bars because of a mix-up between the Mexican government and the cartels, and the people he loved and lost along the way. One who was especially important.

He thought he had left all the chaos behind when he came back to the States more than a year ago. But apparently, he was mistaken.

Whatever tranquility he had felt when he first entered town had entirely disappeared. This was the kind of thing Barr had tried to avoid since coming back, after being released from prison. However, his strong sense of protecting the underdog had a way of bringing him to the center of trouble.

Will Clyde ever go back to normal or will he be broken? Will the boy, the grandfather and the daughter want to him to stay around? Would he ever belong? He wasn’t Ute. He was an outsider.

Barr liked to live on the edge. He missed it. He loved it here. Like a wild animal. The most beautiful, smartest, and the toughest woman he had ever met. He liked this family. Was it time for him to move on?

. . . Does Lawana deserve more than he can offer? Does Barr need to be out there in the wilderness?

. . . “Somewhere along the way, the empty spaces became part of who I am. It’s where I’m at my best.”

WOW, a powerful story. Well written with in-depth research, Storey knows the great outdoors and the wilderness, reflective throughout the novel. His style strongly reminds me of Charles Martin (another favorite author), The Mountain Between Us and Water from My Heart. Martin (not a crime writer); however, both talented authors possess their own unique individual style; however, they both write stories about the rugged great outdoors and strong tough characters (men) who connect with equally strong dynamic women and children.

There is always a memorable story which creates a nice balance. A fated encounter, strong bonds, connection, a tug and pull, heartstrings, choices, and consequences.

Also for fans of John Hart (another favorite), C.J. Box, Lee Child, Ace Atkins, David Joy, William Kent Krueger, and Craig Johnson.

Highly recommend this gripping and suspenseful series and this gifted newfound master storyteller. Can’t wait to see what’s next for Clyde.

A special thank you to Scribner, NetGalley and the author for an early reading copy. I also purchased the audiobook, narrated by Pete Simonelli for an entertaining performance. Move A PROMISE TO KILL to the top of your list. Movie-worthy!

JDCMustReadBooks

This is the second novel by Erik Storey involving the Nomadic character Clyde Barr. Barr has roamed westward and finds himself coming across a fallen ill, elderly Ute Native. the new adventure starts as Barr tries to do the right thing and get the elderly man to medical help. Trouble soon starts when Barr encounters the Reapers, a violent motorcycle gang that has seemed to take over the area for a yet unknown reason.

To find the help the man needs, Barr postpones a confrontation with the Reapers and moves along, soon to meet the family of the Ute native. Barr then agrees to help the family while the man recuperates and slowly erodes their skepticism over Barr's good nature.

Barr further gains the attention of the Reapers after interceding when a Native youth becomes one of their victims. This then starts Barr's journey toward confrontation while trying to find out why a motorcycle gang would settle down in a barren land of few resources and even less law and order.

Storey has created a good series for summer reading peppered with interesting characters and story lines.

A Promise to Kill is the second Clyde Barr novel by Erik Storey. Erik Storey has created a fascinating character in Clyde Barr who is a little like my favorite hero Jack Reacher.

Clyde Barr is a rough and tough outdoorsman who has been around the block a few times. A former mercenary who worked all over Africa and Latin America, Clyde just wants to live off the land and have a peaceful life but trouble keeps finding him. Clyde is working on a ranch in a Ute community in desolate area of the Four Corners. The Reapers motorcycle club has ridden into town and are terrorizing the community. Is this just a simple case of a restless rogue motorcycle club or is something more sinister going on...

Lots of action and twists and turns in this action filled thriller. I enjoyed it immensely. We got to know Clyde a lot better in this book and understand him better. He is a fighter of justice. And a lone wolf who is sometimes ruled by his heart.

Great tale. Already looking forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommend A Promise to Kill.

Be warned up front that this is more graphically violent than the Jack Reacher novels, although it is written with the same spirit and thoughts. Barr takes on a lot in this installment in the series- but you can't expect him not to. I liked the setting, I liked Lawana, thought the bikers and terrorists were entirely plausible, and generally found it to be a fast, action packed read. This, like the first book, would make a good movie. The characters are well if briefly drawn, there are some surprises, and Barr, while occasionally a bit over the top, can be relied on to come through for the good guys.

This is the first one that I have read of this series, but it is fine as a standalone as the backstory to Clyde Barr is provided. This is an adrenaline fuelled book with Clyde in the Jack Reacher tradition of the loner, with a traumatic backstory, unable to settle, full of empty spaces that have him restless in search of remote landscapes, and driven by the need to keep moving. Here he is in the Utah desert, finding an elderly native man in need of urgent medical help. Clyde takes him to a clinic, meeting his daughter, Lawana, a committed medic for her community, and her son, Taylor. They are in dire need of a hand on their ranch and despite misgivings, accept Clyde's help.

Clyde settles into his job easily, but unsettled when he sees that a biker gang, The Reapers, is abusing the reservation and its people. He takes a backseat until he sees a boy being violently assaulted. The reservation cop is unable to intervene and has no powers to arrest white people who commit criminal acts. With outside agencies reluctant to get involved, the community are forced to tolerate the gang's infractions. Things escalate once two native girls are taken by the gang, Clyde is not going to leave well alone, and organises their freedom with the help of locals like Colorow. However, Clyde becomes aware that there is a much darker reason for the presence of the brutal and murderous biker gang. In a story that sees rising tensions, the local community held hostage, a rising number of dead bodies, Clyde finds himself at the centre of efforts to ward off devastating consequences with the help of a rag tag group of men that include a Brit.

This is a fast paced, action packed, suspense driven thriller. It is a battle for good and evil with all guns blazing, requiring heroics amidst a background of a defenceless isolated community. Clyde provides the kind of hero who will do anything to protect and save people. There is not the nuanced characterisation in this book, but that is not the aim. We are given a well plotted, tense, suspenseful, and harrowing thrill ride. This is for those who enjoy a light hearted and entertaining quick read thriller. Many thanks to Scribner for an ARC.

Love this sophomore effort in a wonderful new season. Fans of CJ Box and Lee Child will be sure to check this out.

I'd rate this between 3.5 and 4 stars.

If you like your thrillers heavy on action and a little lighter on plot, check out A Promise to Kill, the second book in Erik Storey's series featuring mercenary-turned-drifter Clyde Barr. Storey knows how to write some great action scenes, and this book has lots of fighting, battles between good guys and bad, situations in which a female character saves the day (just like real life, more often than not), and even a little terrorism.

Clyde Barr is a solitary man, but one who understands the meaning of loyalty. It's not so much that he never shies away from a fight, it's just he is very committed to making sure that the little guy, such as it is, doesn't get taken advantage of. It was the hallmark of his time as a mercenary of sorts in Africa, the Middle East, and South America, and he paid the price for it at one point, with a stint in a Mexican jail.

Barr is wandering in the Utah desert, alone with a horse and a mule, planning to clear his mind and do some hunting. He runs into an elderly Native American man from the nearby Ute reservation who is in the throes of a medical emergency and rushes him to the hospital, despite the man's reluctance to be off the rez. At the hospital, he meets the old man's daughter, Lawana, a doctor at the reservation's clinic, and his grandson Taylor. Seeing that they're in need of help at the family's ranch, Barr agrees to stay on to help until the man is on his feet again. Although Lawana doesn't quite trust him, she is in desperate need of help.

It isn't long before Barr notices the reservation is in some trouble: a group of bikers has overrun the place, filling the community with fear and violence. The one tribal policeman can't do anything about it because he can't arrest white men, and the government won't get involved in cases like these. Despite his instincts to try and solve the crisis and send the bikers on their way, Barr tries to lay low and focus on working the ranch, but it isn't long before the bikers attack a local boy, and send Barr's temper skyrocketing. Lawana warns him not to make trouble, but avoiding trouble isn't what makes him tick.

As Barr and some local tribe members prepare to do battle, he discovers that the reason the bikers have taken over the reservation and refuse to stay isn't just a penchant for violence and a need for power: there are more nefarious elements involved, and the threat actually ranges far beyond the reservation itself. When his actions put Lawana and Taylor in danger, Barr knows he must act and act quickly, but is this an enemy he can beat? Can one man really protect an entire town? Will the members of the tribe rally around an outsider?

I really enjoyed this book and read the entire thing in one sitting on a plane ride. The action sequences really kept the story rolling along to its conclusion, and while I wasn't surprised by much of what happened (and wondered if one whole plot element was even necessary), I was pretty hooked anyway. Storey writes really good thrillers, also evidenced by the first book in his Barr series, Nothing Short of Dying (see my original review).

As I mentioned earlier, the book doesn't spend a lot of time in backstory, which suits this book well. This is one you can pick up even if you didn't read Storey's first book in the series. This type of drifter-ish character, like a Lee Reacher, is always fascinating, and Storey has definitely created a memorable member of that group. If you like this genre, check this guy out.

NetGalley and Scribner provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

ARC received from: Netgalley

Rating: ★★★★½

One-Sentence Summary: Barr + Native Americans Vs Bikers + Terrorists

Review: Like so many films and TV shows nowadays, this is one of those books where you just have to suspend reality in order to get maximum enjoyment.

Likelihood of a hostage situation in small town America: Very small (hopefully). Does it make an interesting read? Darn right it does and probably a very good film to boot!

Clyde Barr is one of those Jack Reacher-type characters that lives a nomadic existence and is someone you would want to have on your side during a fist or gun fight. In this book he makes a few friends on the Reservation and is willing to go the extra mile when their town is besieged.

I am very hard to please when it comes to fiction books written in 1st Person POV but I couldn’t imagine this book any other way.

Hope we don’t have to wait another year for the next book in the series.

This second book in the Clyde Barr series is even better than the first! The author has managed to create a new character, with his own unique style and personality, and I for one love it! I predict a very successful future for Mr Storey and this fantastic series. Good stuff!!!!!!