Cover Image: Hunt the Lion

Hunt the Lion

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Member Reviews

This thriller is exactly what needed after reading some young adult literature. Sam Callahan is being set up, but why? You will not put this book down!

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Enjoyed the first book better. This book was okay but found it lacking in the suspense. Keep wondering when the book would excite me as much as the original one did.

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This is the third book in the Sam Callahan series. I was lucky to read the first two when they came out. This one was provided by Net Galley.
Sam is talked into a mission in Russia. He keeps everything secret from Natalie his fiancé and his boss.
The mission goes wrong and everyone is killed. Sam uses all his old skills as a street thief to get away. This part of the book was full of action. And the entire book is well written.
Natalie is attacked back at home in Washington. She uses all her skills to figure out what is going on and to help Sam. There is a twist about Sam’s family too. He goes and finds Tommy his old hacker friend.
This has a lot of action. It can be read as a standalone but since I had read the first two books, I enjoyed it more.

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To kick things off in grand style, the author flung me into a heart-pounding escape through the unfamiliar streets of Moscow. There was little time to catch a breath. The world's most notorious assassin, the Gray Wolf had a job to finish - covert-operative, Sam Callahan. Be forewarned, this CIA thriller comes with a knockout punch.

Reluctantly, Sam found himself part of a clandestine CIA operation in the former Soviet Republic. The plan was to steal some vital data from a well-guarded mansion and then get out of Dodge. He swore to himself it would be the last mission. Those very words had been uttered before.

On the other side of the globe, his fiancée, Natalie, had been nervously pacing the floors. For the first time in his life, Sam found someone who meant everything in the world to him. He was painfully aware that taking on this secretive operation would be putting their relationship at great risk. In over his head, he admonished himself for accepting this perilous assignment.

For a full month before heading to Russia, Sam had trained in a nondescript warehouse in preparation for code name, Black Heron. An exact replica of the targeted mansion that he was to break into had been constructed inside it. By the time he was ready to leave, he knew every square inch of the dwelling. He was well aware that training and actually being there would be entirely two different things. For one, at his real target, there would be armed, well-trained security guards that would not welcome his trespass. They wouldn't hesitate to shoot on sight.

The team of Spooks assembled in Moscow. It was zero hour and time for Sam to put his training to work. If ever anything could go so terribly wrong - it did. The operation turned into a complete disaster. The entire CIA team that had been monitoring Sam's every move had been wiped out. They had been gunned down in what was supposed to be a safe house, save one, Marcus Pelini, the team leader.

Sam barely made it out of the fortress in one piece. He had come under heavy fire and was now literally running for his life. At the time, he was unaware that his team had been murdered. Now, there was no one to fall back on. What seemed like the worst tragedy turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. The storyline shifted into overdrive.

The fuse had been lit. From this moment on, the well-written escapade took an amazing twist that propelled Sam into some of the most dreadful, life-altering state of affairs that anyone could possibly find themselves in. It was the worst of times.

The narrative took a chilling 180 degree turn that grilled out some of the most stomach-wrenching scenes imaginable. By this time, putting the Kindle down was no longer an option. The pages swiped by in blinding speed. A dramatic ending that I never saw coming came at me with a mighty roar. It's guaranteed to knock you off your seat.

Now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty. When it comes to CIA series, the most memorable ones to me were the Mitch Rapp series written by the immortal, late Vince Flynn. I've not found a writer of his caliber until I had the good fortune to stumble upon this exciting novel by Chad Zunker. Keep an eye out for him. He's a talent to be reckoned with in the near future, actually, make that now. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking an adrenaline-filled ride of your life. Buckle up.

I send my gratitude to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Once again, Sam Callahan gets almost everyone he knows and talks to killed. That's not a spoiler. It's just Sam.

This installation of the Sam Saga worked much better for me than the last one. I do like Natalie less and less though. If Sam doesn't get her killed eventually, she will probably get him killed by showing up in places she has no business going.

Great twist in the end of the story. I was sure I knew the traitor, and I am so glad I was wrong.

Recommended for fans of political thrillers.

Chad, please give Sam a few years of normalcy with Natalie before he gets chased all over the planet by assassins again??

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Headline : An interesting spy drama
Stars : 4
This is the third book in the Sam Callahan series and it was a good read. Whilst I found references to previous escapades a touch irritating I am now interested in getting hold of the first two books.
The mission was a personal one, driven by the father he never really knew. The outcome has a twist on family that I won’t spoil.
This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Note :
I intend to provide the above on Amazon when the book is released on 4 September 2018.

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This is the third book in the Sam Callahan series. Although I didn’t read the first two books, I think this worked as a stand alone. Overall, I liked the story and it was well thought out and well written. It is definitely a thriller with non-stop action. Sam is a lawyer tasked by his father, a CIA agent, to complete a secret mission in Russia for the CIA. Things are going well until his team is betrayed and it seems that everyone involved even remotely has a target on their back. Sam is on the run and trying to regroup with his team before everyone is killed. Meanwhile, Sams news reporter fiancé, Natalie, is also under attack in the states and is trying to uncover what is going on. I think that if I had read the first two books I might have had more insight into the characters, the depth of their emotions and the motivation for their actions but I still enjoyed the story. There are some minor details that could be fixed for example, how was Sam able to travel with what would have been a soaking wet passport after his jump into the river in Moscow. Another detail that wasn’t explained was how Sam and Tommy were able to get money to travel all around Europe on the occasions they took public transport and stayed in hotels. Those are minor complications compared to the whole body of work. I probably won’t read the first two books in this series but will be interested in the fourth. I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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This is the first book I read by Chad Zunker and I simply loved it. The book is fast paced action thriller. I have not read the previous 2 books in the series and got the free copy from Netgalley for this one.

The main character Sam signs up for a secret mission . The mission goes horribly wrong with most of the team members being dead. Sam had to use his wit to stay alive. On the other hand his GF Natalie is shocked to learn that Sam is in Moscow when he was supposed to be in London for meetings. She starts her own investigation after someone tries to kill her ans her friend.

The ending of the book has another surprise which is something that I would not have guessed of.

Overall the great read.

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I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Hunt the Lion from the author, Chad Zunker, before it was published. All I had to do was give an honest review of the book. I was very happy about that since I have read both of the previous Sam Callahan books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I hoped that this new book would be as enjoyable.
It definitely is! At the opening of the book, we learn that Sam has finished law school and joined a firm. However, he is again involved in some covert intelligence activities, though he has doubts about his decision. Because this is Sam, of course things don’t go as planned. What ensues is a multi-country trip to try and get to the bottom of what is going on. As in previous books, Sam ends up as a target and has to use the street skills he developed on the streets as a homeless teenager. I don’t want to get into too many details since part of the fun of reading these books is to never know what is going to happen next.
Hunt the Lion is an exciting page-turner that I read in just a few days. I had to stop when life interfered. The characters that the author has created are well-formed, with personalities that you can identify with. This book continues that kind of writing.
If you haven’t read Chad Zunker’s previous books, I recommend that you do so. Hunt the Lion can be read on its own but since there are continuing characters besides Sam Callahan, the whole story will make much more sense if you read them in sequence.
Do yourself a favor and buy this book. You will provide yourself with several hours of enjoyment.

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Hunt the Lion is the third fast-paced spy thriller in the Sam Callahan series written by author Chad Zunker. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advance copy. I highly recommend it.

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I have added Chad Zunker to my list of favorite authors. His Sam Callahan series gets better with each book. The biggest pluses for me are: 1) No "F" bombs at all. In fact, there is not a great deal of objectionable language in his books. And 2) Though the books are part of a series, they stand alone quite well. Mr. Zunker finishes the story, unlike so many authors seem to be doing now. I hate getting to the end of the writing only to find that it isn't really the end of the story and that I must purchase the next book in the series to find out what happens. The Sam Callahan books are full of action with great character development. The only negative for me is that sprinkling of sentences missing the conjunction "and". Finally, read this author's bio! It is tremendously inspiring.

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This was another excellent read. I can't wait for the next book. There is enough a tion to keep you readinvinto the night, way into the night.

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An intriguing spy thriller as Sam Callahan is back, not big into his law practice as he wanted to be, but saying yes to another mission with his long lost father. With his investigative reporter girlfriend in the dark, Sam starts a 'quick' plan to assist the CIA. He is in Russia, doing his part when there are several large leaks and the whole team with him is found murdered in the safe house except for his father. He is missing and Sam has to use all of his street smarts and skills through several countries while being hunted by a never say die assassin!
Sam is hunting for the truth and trying to find his father, the Lion, again. Afraid to check in with his girlfriend he has no idea that she is going through a disturbing affair herself! The fast-paced action with wonderful characters spurs you to keep reading, as you feel love, fear and friendship in scenes that you are in, right beside Sam as he spies a young boy after breaking into the target house and helping him back to bed, thinking the boy reminds him of himself when he was young...
The story is enthralling, and adds enjoyment when the girlfriend has to get out of a tough situation that she is in, using what Sam has taught her with great results!
I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and author Chad Zunker, who I thank for a marvelous adventure, and I am able to put my thoughts in this review so others may experience this wonderful story!

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Sam Callahan is at it again. The third installment in this exceptional series finds our protagonist entering an impenetrable complex in Moscow, and the action is only beginning. While he is making stops all over Europe to find out what’s happened to his team as well as the ever-elusive “Lion”, fiancé Natalie is going full-speed in Washington, D.C., fleshing out her latest exposé and avoiding an assassin. Add in corruption within the Intelligence community and you’ve got the formula for a great novel.

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