this was a really interesting read, I loved the use of technology to add to the mystery. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot.

I went into "Dragon Head" by James Houston Turner, thinking the story could be like the Jack Ryan series of books, but I was disappointed. This is my first Aleksandr Talanov, and it's going to be my last.⁠
The story revolves around money that went missing, a Hong Kong crime boss, the CIA, Talanov, hackers, and two teenagers that are tech-savvy.⁠
The plot was weak, and I'm not too fond of stories where teenagers do things and fool adults, adults who work for the CIA nonetheless. It's not plausible, and it ruins the mood for the rest of the book. It ruined mine for sure. It's supposed to be a thriller; thrillers are quick, engaging, fast.⁠
This was boring, and the only interesting character is the main protagonist. Not enough to keep me glued to its pages and definitely not enough to read the previous books. "Dragon Head" it's a book that can be read on its own, though, if you want to give it a try. The book would have benefitted ENORMOUSLY from the absence of the teenagers; if I wanted to read a YA thriller, I would have looked for a different book. Turner is a great writer; there is no doubt, I found myself thinking, "This sentence is SOOOO good!" more than once, but the book didn't blow me away.⁠

Dragon Head by James Houston-Turner.
One and a half billion dollars vanishes out of a numbered account into a cyberspace maze. But the thief who stole it lies dead on the tracks of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway, his access codes having perished with him.
Really enjoyed this book. Lots of action. Great story. Some good characters. Although a big book I did enjoy it. I hope there is more to come. 4*.

Money. It’s all about money. Actually, a lot of money (1.5 billion). The boss of a Hong Kong crime syndicate named Dragon Head wants that money and he almost has it in his reaches when he hits a snag. This particular snag requires Talanov, and so “associates” of Dragon Head are sent from Hong Kong to hunt him down and bring him back.

In Dragon Head, Talanov’s story begins in the DC area, where he is going through the process of becoming a consultant to the CIA. The effort is grueling and he and his friend Bill Wilcox are spending hours in interviews and giving testimony with various committee members who are attempting to determine if Talanov’s services are needed. Some are very vocal that they do not believe Talanov should consult. While others believe he could be a valuable asset. It is during this period he goes on a planned vacation to the west coast to visit a friend – another ex KGB agent – who now runs a community center. While there Talanov gets a chance to relax and spend time with the social workers at the center and three foster children/teenagers that his friend watches over. However, it is also there where his two worlds collide as the Dragon Head associates find him and end up kidnapping one of the children to use as leverage.

Upon finishing this book, I realized I had two distinct and separate thoughts and reaction to the story. First, I’ve always seen or thought of spy thrillers as being predominantly plot-driven. It’s about the action and what leads to the crisis, what the bad guys do or plan to do that must be stopped by the main character. Often you get to know the main character’s and find them likeable, but you don’t necessarily spend a lot of time getting to know them and the supporting characters, except perhaps in crisis management mode. So, it was rather nice that there are a lot of moments where you are given an opportunity to get to know characters in the book – especially the three kids, who are still learning to trust that they have a home. I’d wager that the community center is really at the heart of the story because every reason that Talanov has for his actions are driven by his desire to save one of the children from Dragon Head. But for the reader it isn’t all about saving the child, but also about how the three kids stories are intertwined within the thriller.

The other distinct thought and reaction I had to the story is about plausibility with parts that I found were a little hard to believe and other parts that I found a little cliche. Although, I do suspend my belief in thrillers, I still find it a little difficult to believe two of the teenagers found their way onto a CIA spy plane without anyone seeing them and even before our main characters had made it to the plane. How did they know which plane? How did they know how to find the hanger? But this wasn’t the only time I wondered this, there were other moments I thought to myself “would that really happen?” Then, there was the good U.S. intelligence actors vs bad U.S. intelligence actors portion that felt a little unexpected and expected at the same time. Sometimes I felt like that portion was kind of cliche and other times it wasn’t an issue I noticed.

Overall, I found it a nice story, but just be aware it is not necessarily a spy/international thriller where you are constantly in action. A few moments spent out of action where you get to know supporting characters isn’t necessarily a bad thing – some folks like a little breathing room in their thrillers and like breaks from constant action. And don’t get me wrong, there is lots of action within the story that includes murder, theft, chases, airline collisions, being tracked…

Thanks to Netgalley and Regis Books for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Rating: 3 stars

The action sequences are well written and exciting; the locations are exotic; and the last third of the book, when the action takes off, is enjoyable.

But a lot of disbelief has to be suspended to follow the plot (2 adolescents sneak onto and stow away on a CIA jet? A Hong Kong gangster finds a community center in San Francisco faster than CIA analysts?), many if not most of the characters have the emotional maturity of toddlers, and those characters' decisions are often baffling.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3257890973

<b>I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</b>

Dragon Head is an Aleksandr Talanov novel. Genre- Thriller. So, here's the tea.
The Hong Kong crime boss aka Dragon Head wants money. 1.5 billion dollars. He does stuff that gets the US involved. USA points finger at China and the (almost) squabble. Apparently, Dragon Head needs Talanov (who has no idea of what's up) to access the money. The CIA wants to interrogate because of shenanigans. Oh, btw he needs to save a little girl in the middle of this. Can he?

What grasped my attention about this book is that the MC is in the dark about what's going on. You see, I love to see how characters react. So the premise of the book really intrigued me. I actually found this thriller a bit thrilling so there's that.

As always, I will just point out my likes and dislikes. Beginning with the dislikes, in order to leave it in a positive note.

- The Beginning. I disliked the beginning of the book. The first 10 chapters specifically. The first chapter being the most annoying for me. My problem with it is that the direction in which a character moves is WAY too specific. I really don't feel like knowing if the character is going left, then right, right again then left again. And this specific line makes me want to scream for some reason.

"A few dings on his bell caused pedestrians to stop long enough for him to bicycle across the side walk into the bicycle lane, where he turned left and began pedaling with the flow of traffic."

On the note of the first chapter, Wu Chee Ming's name is repeated in like... Every other line. Please just use pronouns. This chapter makes me appreciate the existence of pronouns.

- Pacing. I'm sorry but I feel like is a MAJOR factor that makes a thriller thrilling. Long sentence in a supposedly (preferably) faster paced scenes are not appreciated. I really enjoyed some scenes while I felt estranged in others. There isn't much to say here so let's just move on.

- The Repetitiveness. This makes me outraged. Some of the phrases are REPEATED. SO. MUCH. Example- "Talanov and Bluetooth did the same." Is repeated 3 times in a paragraph. I didn't bother to record the others.

Onto What I liked.

- The Characters. OMG the characters. I lived Jing Fei and Kai. What I love more is the relationship between them. It's safe to say I loved almost ALL of the character dynamics, but here are my favorites-
- Friendship between Alex and Zak.
- Banter of Alex and Jing Fei.
- Relationship between Zak and the three kids.
There's nothing to love about the relationship of Zak and Emily, but I seriously found it interesting.


- This book has a solid rising action. I was on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down. Desperate to know what happens next and to know how it will all play out in the end. Truth to be told, the pay out was really great. Not everyone comes out squeaky clean. I was dreading that they would. But they didn't so I loved that. (I'm a terrible person, I know)

-The Climax. I obviously loved it. Nothing new about it. But what IS new is how the author pulled it off. It was like a roller coaster. So here's what's up: we follow different threads of plot through different POVs. Each of these reach it's own climax at different points in the story. I was NOT expecting that. This left me <b>shook</b>.

In conclusion, here's there of my personal pros and cons. It's 100% my subjective opinion. Read the book if you're interested. Happy reading :D

Dragon Head by James Houston Turner

3*

Fast paced thriller set in the world of Hong Kong's criminal under world. Money is missing lots of it. Dragon Head Hong Kong's crime lord wants it back and Talanov a former KGB agent who now works with the CIA might have the answer only he doesn't know it.

To persuade him to do what they want both the CIA and Dragon Head threaten his nearest and dearest. Can Talanov save them all and also do the right thing?

Not my normal type of thriller but I enjoyed it and it kept my attention but didn't blow me away. There are previous Talanov books and I think knowing the back story would help with the relationships in this story and the complexity of the character.

Tamarindo

@sunnybookreview received a free copy for an honest review

I found this book very l-o-n-g in the reading...chapters seemed interminable in length. Plot, characters and local were believable.