I love a new series and this doesn’t disappoint!

This read is gritty and has some politics but is a fast read. There could be more character development so I would be more invested in the characters but I enjoyed overall.

Thank you Netgalley for the great read!

Exciting and intriguing. I enjoyed the storyline. It took me a little time to get into it but once I was hooked, I finished it in one sitting. Very believable concept in the current day and time. There are so many factions fighting for control of our country right now that we could use a hero like Rob to eliminate some of the more dangerous ones.

good read. could not put it down. can not wait for the next one! hurry........ enjoy all your books. thank you!

First, thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advance Readers Copy of THE RUSSIAN. This is Ben Coes' 1st Rob Tacoma novel, and it's an auspicious start to the new series. Never fear, Dewey Andreas does make a cameo appearance, but the focus is on Rob this time. The Russian Mafia has decided to take out 2 of it's most ardent opponents, and Rob is tasked with taking the fight back to the Russians. In this debut of a new series, Coes' writing is a little more uneven than usual, but perhaps that's because the book is not yet quite in final form. The action sequences and technical details are, as always, outstanding. Based on this, Rob Tacoma definitely deserves his own series, and I look forward to many more Rob Tacoma novels, along with a continuation of the already fantastic Dewy Andreas series.

When two prominent politicians are assassinated after pursuing action against the Russian mafia, the president realizes that it calls for a strong response. Using an unknown codicil to the constitution, he issues an Executive Order allowing a team from the CIA to act on American soil. A task force consisting of two men chosen by the director of the CIA are to find those behind the assassination and exact justice. Before Rob Tacoma can meet with his partner on this task force the assassins strike again and his partner is murdered.

Tacoma has a team to advise and support him with intel, but he is working alone against a virtual army. From tracking the assassins, he must work up the chain to find the identity of Kaiser, the leader of a large branch of the mafia. This puts him in one deadly situation after another.

Ben Coes introduced Rob Tacoma in his Dewey Andreas series. This is the first in a new series that will appeal to fans of Jason Bourne and Mitch Rapp. The action scenes will leave you breathless and eagerly looking forward to the next book in this series. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and also the great author Ben Coes for a ARC copy.

How excited was I when I was approved for a copy of this book, one of my favourite authors,a New York Times bestseller Ben Coes's new series, Dewey Andreas one of my favourite action book stars and now Rob Tacoma.

As the brutal Russian mafia becomes the most powerful and deadly criminal enterprise in the country, the U.S. has a new hero, Rob Tacoma.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, some of the most hardened and capable criminals came to the United States. Over the past two decades, they have created a vicious and fearless underworld, breathtaking in its violence, disturbing in its efficiency, and destructive to society at large. With conventional law enforcement methods unable to stem the tide, the President issues top secret Executive Order 12-4b3 creating a small, deadly team to take on this fight behind the scenes—a kill team.

The head of the CIA’s Special Operations Group, Cosgrove, is picked to head this group and he, in turn, asks Rob Tacoma to be his deputy. Rob Tacoma—former Navy SEAL and former CIA agent—has a special reason to agree. Tacoma was raised by his grandparents after his own parents were killed by the Russian mafia. But before Tacoma can even start, Cosgrove is found murdered in his own home, as a warning from the Russian mafia itself. Now Tacoma is in charge of the team and they have their first mission, to achieve the near impossible: find and neutralize the mob boss behind Cosgrove's death. To do so means taking on practically an army in a battle where there are no rules and no limits the team being Rob Tacoma on his own, with a few backing him from behind the scenes.

Branching off from his bestselling Dewey Andreas novels, this is the first in a brand new series from thriller writer Ben Coes.

Exciting and fast paced, thrilling, with a wide variety of nasty characters, some returning characters as well. Some great surprises, some great action, gripping and tense and highly recommended for fans of action thrillers, my favourite.

Five stars

Having read all 8 of Ben Coes previous Dewey Andreas novels, I was excited when I found out he was starting a new series using the Rob Tacoma character who has occasionally popped up in the other books. The novel begins with a presidential candidate and a senate member assassinated by the Russian mob which leads to the President creating a special CIA task force to tackle the Russian mafia in the USA, Unfortunately the characters in this novel aren't developed well enough and the action moves at too frantic a pace for each characters motivations to make sense and as such this one doesn't quite live up to expectations,

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Ben Coes, and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Steeped in politics, both recent and from the Cold War era, Ben Coes is back with a new thriller that is sure to provide his fans with something about which to talk for a while. When two prominent US politicians are assassinated on American soil within minutes of one another, many suspect a planned hit. Tracing the histories of both men back to battling the Russian Mafia, many are sure this is retribution, organized by the powerful Odessa Mafia that has been controlling cities around the country for years. Feeling that there is an ongoing threat within the country that is only getting stronger, POTUS enacts a little-known codicil to the US Constitution, which will permit the ultimate retribution. After receiving the needed approval by a congressional group, a two-man team is assembled to act off the books, hunting for those responsible for the killings. One of these two is Rob Tacoma, former CIA operative who wants nothing to do with the plan. However, when something goes wrong, he sees red and will do all in his power to avenge those slain by these Russians. The hunt is on and there are truly layers of false leads, while Tacoma seeks those responsible, including the elusive Kaiser. There will be blood and bodies, but all that seems minor, as Tacoma is driven, perhaps just as much as Dewey Andreas, who is detached from this adventure. Full of twists and turns, Coes shows that he is in touch with the genre and knows how to spin a powerful tale. Recommended to those who have enjoyed some of Coes past novels, as well as readers who enjoy spy thrillers.

I have long been a fan of Ben Coes and cannot get enough of Dewey Andreas. However, I have to be patient and turn my attention to Rob Tacoma, a minor character in the past who takes a front and centre role here. Tacoma seeks the quiet life, away from the bullets and bloodletting, but seems to be pulled back in when America needs him most. Sounds like Andreas, no? With little time for backstory, Coes injects Tacoma into the middle of this adventure, pushing the limits at every opportunity. With his determination and timely delivery of ‘gun justice’, Tacoma knows what needs doing and acts swiftly. Others around him serve to keep the story going, through the layers of Russians are always interesting to see, particularly the way in which Coes portrays them throughout the narrative. With short chapters and wonderful narrative momentum, Coes pushes the story along. While I cannot completely decipher why, I felt this piece lost a little of the sharp edge with which Dewey Andreas novels have come to be known. Still, I was able to progress through in short order. A great summer read, as the pages seem to melt away. I cannot wait to see what Coes has in store next!

Kudos, Mr. Coes, for another great book. While perhaps not the best, we all need a little downtime, like Dewey!

The Russian by Ben Coes
Ben Coe writes an intense, action laden adventure. This story is not focused on Dewey Andreas but on Rob Tacoma who has been peripherally involved in the Dewey series. The Russian Mafia is taking over organized crime. Th US is their prime market and biggest money maker. The mob takes steps to remove impetus to the government thrust to thwart their efforts. The CIA leads the battle to combat the Russian Mafia.
Coes provides an edge of your seat reading experience. Rob is a kinder more civilized version of Dewey in the Dewey books. In this series he demonstrates that he is just as tough and brutal as Dewey.
The plot is complex enough to captivate and the action is just rollicking.
I really enjoyed the book.

The Russian is an action-packed espionage novel by Ben Coes, his 9th novel and the second one reviewed in this blog. East Coast Don reviewed Power Down in 2013. That began a several book series about protagonist Dewey Andreas, and this is the opening novel in a new series about Rob Tacoma. Tacoma is a war hero who has become a CIA asset – a magnificent fighter who can speak Russian fluently. In the story, the Russian mafia has thoroughly infiltrated the U.S., and the book opens with the assassination of two important American legislators who have been working hard to limit their influence. Tacoma is called in to deal with an impossible circumstance. As noted, it is rapid paced drama. At times, I thought the story was too unrealistic, but I also realize that we are living in hard-to-believe times. So, with a little effort at suspending my reality testing, I got into this can’t-put-it-down novel. Coes has provided us with an entertaining read, perhaps not in the same class as some other espionage writers, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

ARC FROM NET GALLEY

Other than suffering from "SEAL fatigue" this is another series thriller addicts should like.

I have read several of Ben Coe’s books about Dewey Andreas and was thoroughly entertained. This one is about Rob Tacoma who is a character in the Dewey books.
Rob is a former CIA operative and now works in the private sector. He is asked to come back and help with a situation that needs his type of skills. When he goes to see leader of the group, he finds him being killed by Russians It is nonstop action. I enjoyed the book and many of the characters from the Dewey books play a part in the book. Even Dewey.
Some of the scenes were farfetched but it is fiction. If you like a book with lots of action you will like this one. Thank you, Net Galley, I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book

This was a typical “ex-special forces private contractor gets tapped by US government to help them out” kind of story. However, this one is very well crafted, full of developed characters who are quite likable, and an enjoyable read. It is the start of new series but has a character who appears at the end from the authors previous series of 8 books. Thanks to #netgalley for the chance to read and review #therussian before publication.

I liked this book. The plot was well thought out, the action was fast paced and the characters were well fleshed out. I know this is a new series but I think many of these characters must have appeared in another series by the author because it felt like there was a lot of back story that I didn’t know because I haven’t read that series. This works as a stand alone but the reasons behind some of the characters feelings should have been explained more. Some examples of this are Katie’s feelings for Rob and also her feelings for Igor and Igor’s feelings for Katie. Anyway, I liked the story but there were some annoying parts. Including the brand names of cars, aircrafts and products was annoying. If someone is an agent heading to kill someone else, I doubt they’d be driving a flashy car like a Porsche or a Lamborghini. Writing about the cost of housing or how much money was being made was superfluous to the story. I don’t care how much the house costs or that someone has three more like them all over the world. It didn’t add to the story and seemed a bit too much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed the book, a good story, and a strong character. I will look forward to the next one. While there may have been a few shaking my head moment the plot held up. In my opinion, Coes writes a good story.

I was excited when I saw this author had a new book in a new series, more excited when I started reading this one and saw that it had characters we knew from the Dewey series.

This book really put Rob through the wringer. I like that people believed in Rob, but at times it seemed like they were asking too much of him. Yet Rob stepped up each time and did what was needed. By the end they all knew more, but now Rob has been exposed, which can't bode well for him.

I’ve read, reviewed and very much enjoyed all seven of this author’s books featuring Dewey Andreas; and after finishing these books, I was immediately ready to volunteer (at least in terms of my reading time) to go out with Andreas on his next mission. My anticipation of the next “Coes Book” stemmed from my expectation of being treated to another highly exciting, torn-from-the-headlines plot-driven, action-filled thriller featuring a complex, well-developed main character, and a cast of well enough developed secondary characters. One of the secondary characters I got to know pretty well is Rob Tacoma, who is the main heroic character in The Russian, the first in a new series by Ben Coes.

Having finished The Russian (which was provided to me by Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review), my bottom-line opinion is that while it fast-paced and held my interest, it was my least favorite book by Ben Coes.

One primary reason for feeling this way is that while The Russian is filled with virtually non-stop action from beginning to end, I found Coes did a below-average, somewhat lazy job in developing both his main character and, especially his secondary and tertiary characters. Though I’m exaggerating a bit, too often characterizations were limited to little more than a character being described as tall or short, thin or more full-bodied, good-looking or ugly, etc. As such, I never came to care much about the characters — including Rob Tacoma, with whom, as mentioned above, I was already somewhat familiar.

My second primary reason is that, unlike in previous books whose plots I considered to be complex with an above average amount of surprising twists and turns, I found the plot of The Russian to be much more simplistic and less interesting in scope, more limited in regards to surprising plot twists, and somewhat formulaic and predictable.

Despite these areas of comparative disappointment, The Russian did hold my attention throughout and had A LOT of action; and so, while maybe not with the same level of anticipation as in the past, I’ll likely be a reader of the second book in the series featuring Rob Tacoma.

#The Russian #Net Galley

I've heard really good things about Ben Coes although I'd not managed to pick up any of his books. I received an e-ARC of this one from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I'm so glad I did.

It's an action packed sprint from start to finish! Really well written, action is very descriptive and enough details about all the characters that you feel like you're starting to get to know them....but it's not like you're sitting there reading their bio. There's way too much going on and way too much to get done to waste that kind of time. You can tell that there is backstory between all the characters (although this is the first of a new series). It's not distracting and didn't make me feel like I'd missed something -- it did make me realize I need to sit down and read the other books and now I will because this one was such a quick, fun read.

If you like action and thrills, want something that you can enjoy for the fun it is, this is a good choice!

Ben Coes’ The Russian introduces a Rob Tacoma, a new hero a little different from the Dewey Andreas I’ve loved so much. Rob has to deal with Russian Mafia in the US and elsewhere, with lots of action and intelligent plotting. How to get the CIA to operate on US soil, how to use modern surveillance tech in the heat of battle, and how to create a new supervillain are all very cleverly handled in this page turner.

Ben Coes is an excellent thriller writer. This new series, and his new hero, Rob Tacoma, is the equal of any Special Forces character written about today. The plot is sophisticated, challenging and all too real. Having the “bad guys” be the Russian Mafia is a nice change of scenery from the villains always being Middle Eastern terrorists. If the thriller genre is one you enjoy, this book won’t disappoint.