The Russian was an enjoyable thriller. Rob Tacoma is an interesting character and there is a good supporting cast. The Russian mafia being involved in organized crime along the Eastern Seaboard is plausible, as is a turf war between different factions. Politicians being assassinated by Russian agents or proxies is consistent with real world events. There was a good build-up of the plot with plenty of action. The cover of the book indicates it is the first book in a new series and the book ends with a cliffhanger setting up the next book in the series. My only real complaint is that after the build-up of the plot, the interactions between Tacoma and the main "bad guys" happen quickly and feel rushed. However, I am looking forward to the second book.

*SPOILER -- I particularly liked the idea of the secret codicil to the Constitution granting the President emergency powers with the approval of a select group of members of Congress.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is my first Ben Coes novel, but it won't be my last. This captured my attention straight away, and I really thought it was interesting. Fast paced.

My only complaint is the ending. The entire book was just a set-up for a new series. Sometimes you know that going in, I did not. So I was just a bit disappointed at the end.

Initially I was a little worried as the author moved on from the Dewey Andreas novels which I loved and could read as much as the author could write. This book was a similar tone to the Andreas series but I really liked the Rob Tacoma series and hope we get a lot more about him. It starts with two assassinations of prominent people who have taken on the Russian mafia. The US sees it hands are tied to handle them on US soil and must find a way to solve this problem. In comes Rob Tacoma, a former high level military man who has a great heart and seems to always do what is right. A well written book with tons of action.
Thank you Netgalley, Ben Coes and St. Martin's Press for the ARC for my honest review.

This is the first book in a new series by the author. I had high hopes for the book as it is the first by the author that I have read, but I found it somewhat disappointing. It includes the normal layout - studly hero and organized crime (of the Russian variety). The book started out really slow (even considering he was building background information on the main characters) and did not pick up the pace until the latter part of the book. Early in the book the author seemed to be fixated on the types of cars that the main character drove which personally did not do anything for me nor did I feel that it added to the storyline. A number of other reviewers enjoyed this book more than I did, so it may be worth a read.

I received a free Kindle ARC courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would provide an honest review and post it on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Ben Coes has done it again with his new action thriller starring Rob Tacoma, former navy seal and Black ops operator. Now a private contractor. He’s asked to help CIA director Hector Calibrisi (from the Dewey Andreas stories) hunt down the Russian Mafia responsible for killing of two U.S. politicians who’ve made business very hard for the Russians. This book was outstanding! It’s loaded with action and Im really looking for this to continue as a series! Dewey Andreas from Ben Coes previous series even makes a life saving appearance. WELL DONE MR. COES!
I received this book from Netgalley.com for an honest Review

Fast paced and action packed! I think if you enjoy books from Lee Child, Mark Dawson, Vince Flynn, etc then this book is definitely for you. The writing was a bit light in descriptions but it made up for it in other ways. I would give it a solid three and a half stars as it is the first in a series so it was setting the stage for the future installments.

Thank you to Mr. Coes, St. Martin's press, and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Russian. This was my first book by Mr. Coes. Rob Tacoma is a former Navy SEAL and former CIA agent that is tracking down the Russian Mob. He also has a backstory related to the Russian Mafia, I do not like to talk too much about characters and their development, It always makes for a better book in my opinion. While saying that I found the characters not that well rounded for my taste. The descriptions of the characters were kind of generic, race, clothes, hair color etc. The Russian certainly has the thriller / spy mentality, but I found it a little to formulaic, Americans good guys, Russians bad guys etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I didn't read anything that set it apart from the genre. If you are military, ex-military, conservative etc, I think you will enjoy The Russian. Thanks again. #therussian #netgalley

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
Generally, I enjoy action thrillers, but not this one. It felt familiar, formulaic and a bit boring. Rob Tacoma, the protagonist, is one-dimensional and the way characters were described didn't tell me anything about them, just the superficials: their dress, their political leanings, their coloring. There was no 'meat' to the people and I wasn't invested in any of them. I'm sure, seeing other reviews, the book will do well, but it was not for me, sorry!

A great start to. New series non stop action twists and turns my favorite kind of edge of the seat thriller,Highly recommend The Russian.#netgalley #st.Martinsbooks.

This was a highly entertaining and quick paced story typical of one of my favorite authors, Ben Coes. Many twists and turns made the book hard to put down.. It is the first in a new Coes series that I was looking forward to, but was disappointed with the ending related to the villain. It didn’t make sense to me, but admit it is a natural lead-in to the next book in the series.

Will post review in online venues and links below closer to publication. Thank you!

Ben Coes just keeps getting better and better. In 2019 he opted for a twist on the "regular" thriller schedule, and rather than introducing another novel in his Dewey Andreas series, he has written The Russian, a novel for Rob Tacoma. Rob is not a stranger to fans of Coes as he is a character that has been involved with Dewey in previous novels. This book gives readers that rare deeper look into the life and mind of another character in the world created by skilled authors.

As is normal for Coes, and within the genre, the plot appears to be something right out of the newspaper (that is old school for where news was read) or off of the headlines reported by any news outlet. The Russian mob can easily trace its roots to the breakup of the Soviet Union. In the void created by the change in government influential and enterprising individuals, often already in powerful positions, took control of industry and resources within Russia and gave birth to the oligarch and the Russian mafia. With little morals other than the lust for power and money, these individuals and families spread throughout the world and deal in drugs, human trafficking, gambling, and anything else they can find a way to monetize.

In an attempt for additional power grabs, a sitting US Senator and a presidential candidate/Governor of Florida are assassinated for their hard line stance and fight against the Russian mafia in the US. The CIA enlists Tacoma and his skills as a member of a team established to uncover those responsible and take the fight directly to them.

I think fans of Dewey Andreas will enjoy this book and the Rob Tacoma storyline. Coes also does a good job with character setup that anyone not already familiar with the name, and some of his background will be able to enjoy this story and feel up to speed. The book is action packed. In a twist from many novels in the genre, the fight against evil is almost exclusively waged within the continental US, which adds an interesting element to the story.

This book is a great addition to a packed summer line up in 2019. I give it 9.5 out of 10 stars, and look forward to future stories with Rob Tacoma.

I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my thoughts and opinions. I extend my gratitude to them.

Rob Tacoma may become one of the next big action stars as his series progresses. This book does a fine job of introducing Tacoma and his overall mission. I have only read one of the Dewey Andreas books, but I believe Rob may have been a side character in those novels.

Russians seem to be all the rage again as villains and there are many layers of villainy in this story. There is definitely a ton of action sequences and espionage thrills. It's very reminiscent of the Bourne/Bond movie series in that regard.

Sometimes the pantheon of characters gets confusing to keep up with and I would have liked to see a bit more focus on characterization.

Overall, it's an enjoyable action thriller that makes for a fun summer read. I recommend this book and look forward to the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy.

I couldn’t get past the absolutely abysmal writing to get even a semblance of plot line in this chopped-up mess of a book. When I’m mentally editing the second sentence in the prologue, it’s a pretty good indication the rest of the story is in as bad a shape. It read like a James Bond wannabe fantasy scribble in an intro creative writing elective filler course; was expecting to see little drawings in the margins. I made it to chapter two, yay me. Slush pile.

When two American politicians, a Republican Senator and the Democrat Governor of Florida, both well known for their opposition to the Russian Mafia, are assassinated on the same night, it is a call to war for President J. P. Dellenbaugh. Acting on the authority of a secret codicil to the Consitution, he forms a clandestine committee of United States Senators to oversee the actions of a two-man CIA kill team. That team will have but one purpose; to find and eliminate the assassins and those who ordered the murders. The President aims to fight fire with fire by giving no mercy to the Russian mobsters. What follows is a hurricane of betrayal, killing, fast cars, faster jets, beautiful assassins, grisly murders, and ugly murderers. Standing in the storm's eye is one man, Rob Tacoma. He's good at what he does, but will one man be enough?

"The Russian" fills the bill for a summer read; quick moving, filled with unsurvivable violence and bling-filled scenes, it has enough substance to keep your interest, but is not complex enough to overburden your beach brain. It even has a bit of humor; I mean what man would wear a blue blazer with white piping, a red t-shirt, and white jeans in public? All that's missing is the Good Humor Man's cap. Hey, there's also a sequel in the works for next year!

I recommend this novel for those who really don't like Russian criminals, and because the author has a large family to support.

St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley are to blame for the hash I have made of this review because they gave me the ARC on which it is based.

I am back and forth on this one. On the one hand, The Russian was a fun, fast paced spy novel. On the other hand, I feel like I have severe deja vu because this story is all too familiar; it's been told many times before.

I am a sucker for a good spy novel; Daniel Silva is basically my best friend and the early Vince Flynn novels kept me reading for days on end. Both authors brought unique perspectives to the genre and while I enjoyed reading The Russian, I just don't feel as though it was original or special in its story or plot.

Rob Tacoma - elite warrior and US soldier - has been tasked with taking down the Russian Mafia. A faction of the mafia is being blamed for the assassination of two prominent US political figures and a high level operative who was tasked with taking them down. Now, with bodies piling up around him, Rob is the only person who can be trusted to see that the Russians meet their revenge. After Rob receives clearance from congress to work through the CIA on US soil, he gets to work finding the men that caused mayhem on the country.

Again, overall, this was a super fun and fast paced book. I found myself not able to put it down but I still just didn't think this was special compared to the dozens of other spy novels I have read. I would read more of Ben Coes as Tacoma is going to be a series and I do hope he brings some variety to his next work.

Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of The Russian in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the story but in kindle format it was impossible for me to read. No paragraphs and just random sentences. I realize it’s a draft but at least it should be in normal book form. Perhaps in other formats it’s better. If I’m doing something wrong please give me tips to read the book.

This is the first book featuring Rob Tacoma (after 8 scintillating books featuring Dewey Andreas) by Ben Coes, and he has not slowed down one iota! Two high-profile members of the US government - a senator and the governor of Florida - are executed within minutes of each other. Both politicians are known for their outspokenness on the Russian mafia, and the President and his cabinet decide that extraordinary measures are needed to stop this threat to America. Tacoma, ex-Navy Seal and CIA agent. now working for an exclusive private contractor, is brought in by Hector Calibrisi, head of the CIA, to partner with another former Navy Seal, Billy Cosgrove, to operate within the US to find and eliminate those behind the assassinations and the threat to the country. But before they can team up, Cosgrove is killed. Tacoma walks into the middle of the killing scene and is able to capture one of the attackers, which begins a frantic, dangerous operation to stop those up the ladder in the foreign organization. As always in Coes’ books, the action starts on the first page and is non-stop. Tacoma is a protagonist the likes of Dewey Andreas in Coes’ books and Mitch Rapp, Scot Harvath, and Gabriel Allon. And I think the ending of the book portends some interesting future books in the series. This is another don’t miss from one of the best authors in the thriller genre today. My thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

Coes book 2 for me. Same as one. Hokey. Character and plot "lite". Just like the first book I read, Bloody Sunday, the first half the book was really annoying with a lot of tripe like constant, ridiculous fashion statements every time the main character makes an appearance. I was almost to the point of starting a drinking game every time i saw the words "dirty blonde hair". Geesh. I could fill this up with specific examples of problems but why bother. If you are stuck in an airport and someone left this on the seat, it will relieve your boredom. Other than that, just not worth time. Sadly, I think Coes has the chops but is somewhat lazy and is just turning this rot out to make a quick buck.

Review by 2shay..........🌟🌟🌟..........

I’m a sucker for books about the military or ex-military service members, so this one felt perfect for me. Unfortunately, it fell a little short. From the beginning, there were too many scene changes, too many point-of-view changes and far too little character development. I learned more about weapons and various aircraft than the people.

There is a lot of action, and that’s what kept me reading. I was rooting for Rob Tacoma all the way, even though I found his skill set a little over blown. I did learn a little about his military training, but it was mostly about the brutality he was forced to endure.

In fact, the whole book is brutal and cold. With a single exception, there is no perception of feeling at all, about all the death or anything else. Does Rob have a girlfriend? Has he ever? Does he have a friend with benefits? Is he gay? Who knows? We weren’t told.

Still, the book is readable and will be perfect for those who shun stories with a hint of emotion. If you’re that reader, pick up a copy and...

Enjoy!

Arc graciously provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary

Ben Coes is back with a fantastic new series starting with The Russian. Well constructed characters, plot, and action sequences.