Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

Jonathan Grave and the Big Guy usually do hostage recovery work, hired by those who are paying the ransom. This time, it’s personal.

Resurrection House, a home for kids whose parents are incarcerated, is funded by Jonathan. Ryder and Geoff, ages thirteen and eleven, are on their way to the home now that their father was killed and mom taken away by federal agents. The kids are sure of only one thing—their lives are going to suck big time from now on.
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Image Source Pinnacle
The kids aren’t sure what their parents did to get into so much trouble, and no one’s telling them. When their van is stopped enroute, things go from scary to terrifying as the boys are kidnapped.

Connie, their mom, agrees to a plea deal: testify against a drug cartel, get into witness protection, be with her kids again. She’s sure the cartel will never stop looking for her, but it’s better than life in prison—until she gets word things are not what they seem. Meanwhile, the boys are guarded by two men: one scary, the other a psychopath who loves to hurt people.

Jonathan’s problem is how do you find two kids when you have no idea where they are, who took them, and can’t count on government help? He’s sure of one thing. Connie’s between the proverbial rock and a hard place while trying to protect her life, the lives of her kids, and dealing with multiple threats. The more he learns, the more he’s afraid, the threat is not just to the lives of Connie and the kids but to the American public. Now he has to save them all.

This is book twelve of the thriller series. Jonathan is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal which is always go to the rescue, no matter the cost. In this case, readers will see there’s more to Big Guy than intimidation—we’re treated to a look into his home as well as what happens when an adult hurts a child. Gail is along as the voice of reason—to the extent she can be.

Gilstrap provides a well-thought out tale of bravery, multiple threads that weave a tight story with bits of humor throughout. His knowledge of weaponry is shown without distracting from the plot. As always, the closer the reader gets to the end of the book, the faster the pages turn to see how it ends, with reluctance to know it will. The amount of suspense results in breath being held, right up to the last word. This is a series I never miss.

Look for Gilstrap’s new thriller series (in addition to Jonathan Grave, not instead of!) coming in February 2021. Find a teaser chapter in this book to whet appetites for Crimson Phoenix, pre-orders available now.

I was halfway through this book before I knew it, and I didn’t want it to end. This is the twelfth book in the Jonathan Grave series and it is a corker. I don’t like spoilers, so I am not going to say much about the plot, but trust me, it is fast, furious, and utterly absorbing. This book is impossible to put down, so don’t start it when you don’t have a block of time to devote to it.

Jonathan is assisted by his usual crew; Boxer, Gail, and Venice. Other recurring characters also make their appearances, so it you are familiar with this series you will recognize them. If, however, this is your first Grave thriller, never fear, it reads as a standalone, and you will miss nothing.

I love this series by Gilstrap. The characters are interesting, the plots compelling, and the pacing is relentless. I couldn’t pick a favorite if you bribed me with really good chocolate. (I would take the bribe, though.) You cannot go wrong with a Jonathan Grave thriller, whichever one you choose. “Hellfire,” though, is just terrific, and I highly recommend it.

Where have I been? This is the first book I’ve read in this series. I’m coming late to the party…but…what a deliciously written thriller.

Jonathan Graves, with his handpicked group of operatives, is trying to locate brothers who were spirited away from a safe house by persons unknown. The boys’ father was tortured and murdered, their mother is under arrest. The children were taken into protective custody, then disappeared. With their mother not knowing who has the boys, she will not say a word until she knows they’re safe.

While searching for the boys, Graves and his crew uncover illicit drug running, and the possibility of chemical weapons that may make the drug running seem like child’s play.
Gruesome descriptions of how the bad guys manipulate their underlings takes the reader on a wild ride to the other side of the law! What an ominous tale!

Can the boys be rescued before they’re hurt? Are the chemical weapons real or just a tease to get people to cede their operations? Will the boy’s mother work with the authorities if her children are safe?

I’ve found a new author and what I think is a fabulous series. I’m going to head back to the first book and get caught up! Who’s with me??

This book is the 12th in the Jonathan Graves series by John Gilstrap. There are two ways for me to look at this review, the first is as a first time reader of the series, and the second is as a reader of the full series.

Therefore as a first time reader I would say that this book is firmly in the action/adventure category and serves up a story about a team of hostage rescuers that are tasked with returning abductees. The story follows a natural course of the team having to figure out how and why the abductees have been taken, this leads into a secondary mission for the team.

From the point of view of having read the series to date, the above is true, and with the addition of some additional character building to the main characters. There are some points that may be a bit confusing to new readers as they relate to previous elements of the series, but this shouldn't cause too much of an issue as they are briefly explained.

Overall the story is very good, and the research by the author about the details can be seen in the descriptiveness of the book. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.

This review is based on a free digital ARC copy provided by NetGalley. My views are provided based on the book content only.

I must confess that I have missed all the previous books in this series, my bad. Now after reading this one I have to make it up and go back to the beginning and read them all. It's a great cast of characters and I hate reading out of order but, stuff happens. I must thank #Netgalley #Pinnacle and #KensingtonBooks for giving me this great adventure. I really enjoyed reading #Hellfire by John Gilstrap and I can only recommend that you also try him.

This is very good entertainment, with lots of action and excellent characters. The story is well written, but the plot seems to have a few minor logical errors.

Hellfire is the latest Jonathan Graves thriller from John Gilstrap.

"Two boys are kidnapped on the way to Resurrection House and the drivers are killed. It looks like they're being held as leverage. Jonathan and his team gear up to find and rescue the boys. What starts out as a mission against cartel violence turns into something much worse..."

Just when you think it's a standard rescue, Gilstrap mixes some chemical weapons in with the drug mules. And things get even crazier. Boxer has a moment where he's a heartbeat away from losing it. There's a new temporary member of the team. Venice is still the best hacker there is. Boxer gets to use his high tech drones. And Digger has to decide on what's the greater good. Packed with the action we love from Gilstrap. He also makes us question the ethics of what it means to do the right thing. And the many shades of gray. Another great action book from Gilstrap. Great to take to the beach this summer

When it comes to hostage rescue, one name stands out above the rest: former Delta soldier
Jonathan Grave. He leads a team of elite rescue specialists that are second to none. He even founded a school, Resurrection House, for the kids of parents that run afoul of the legal system. Grave and his team now face their greatest challenge yet: finding the two sons of a mother arrested for her involvement in a Mexican drug cartel. They were taken while on their way to Resurrection House, their two escorts brutally killed. Time is running out to discover what the cartel is planning and rescue the kids.

Hellfire by Jonathan Gilstrap is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride from the first page to the last. This happens to be the first one of the series I have read and am already making plans to start back with the first one. If this book is any indication, Gilstrap has created a cast of characters that will keep readers coming back as long as this series continues. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 4/5 stars.

* A copy of the ebook is the only compensation received in exchange for this review. *

Jonathan Grave, the main character in John Gilstrap's Hellfire (Pinnacle 2020), Book 12 in the Jonathan Grave Thriller series, is one of those tough guys you hire to do the impossible. Between him and his high tech highly physical team, there isn't much that can stop them. At least not forever. In this case their job was to find two brothers--Ryder and Geoff Kendall, ages thirteen and eleven, who were kidnapped on their way to foster care after their father was killed and their mother arrested. They then became poorly-treated pawns in a case against the cartel as these vicious bad guys to persuade their mother to do what would serve their purposes. It might have worked except that during the kidnapping, they killed a priest who was a personal friend of a personal friend of Jonathan Grave, and the boys were on their way to a home set up by Grave's to care for boys like them. When the priest running the home called Jonathan for help, he of course agreed. What he didn't expect was that finding the boys would involve stopping a chemical attack against the US. 

This is a great series and this book especially good. It's an intricate plot with a lot of moving parts but Gilstrap is an expert at keeping everything building until it is ready to explode. Highly recommended if you like thrillers where good vs. evil is at stake.

I like these books. Not great literature but a page turner that keeps one reading.

Jonathan Grave runs a home for children of incarcerated parents. 2 young boys were kidnapped on the way to the home and their escorts, a former cop and a priest were murdered. Jonathan and his crew set out to rescue the boys. In their quest, they find out why these 2 boys were targeted. Their mother is in prison and the kidnappers want to blackmail her to keep her mouth shut.

Tie in terrorists with chemical weapons and Mexican drug cartels that make this a fun, quick read. The ending makes one believe that there will be big changes in the next book which will be interesting!

Jonathan Graves is back in his umpteenth adventure with his stalwart companions - Boxer, the brawn in this trio of heroes, and Venice, the technology wizard. They're tasked with finding two boys who were kidnapped while en route to Resurrection House, the sanctuary Jonathan built and funds for children of incarcerated criminals. Who took the boys isn't clear but one fact is - their father may be dead but someone is pressuring their equally culpable mother, who's under heavy guard in a federal prison, to keep her mouth shut about the cartel boss who formerly employed her or risk her sons ' lives. And just to ratchet up the tension, there's a bigger threat to national security than illicit drugs that makes this mission more important than the lives of the kids
I've enjoyed this series, but it seems to be running out of steam, and the author's somewhat right wing politics are getting in the way of the narrative.
Try Gilstrap's backlist for a more interesting read.

Hellfire by John Gilstrap is an entertaining adventure story. Jonathan Grave created a company, Security Solutions, to help those people lthat are in danger. He has several talented people on jhis team. It canbe said that they take the law into their ownhands but do whats right to help people who are in danger. In this book they try to save two young childlren who have been kidnapped. There is a lot of action but Jonathan and his gang save the childlren and prevent the bad guys from blowing up several trains.
This is an easy and entertaining book to read. Though the children were in danger everything turns out ok.

John Gilstrap's Jonathan Graves is one of my favorite characters.. Each of Gilstrap's books start off with a bang and do not stop until the very end.

Scorpion and team are out to rescue 2 kidnapped children in this crazy thriller that may involve the Mexican cartels, jihadists from Chechnya and a couple called the Blue Birds. WOW! Action packed, snappy dialogue and so much more.

I highly recommend this book.

Another rollercoaster ride thriller I couldn't put down!

Two young boys are en route to Resurrection House after SWAT kills their dad and arrest their mom Connie but never make it there. Jonathan Grave and his Security Solutions crew search for the kids and assume the Cortez Cartel kidnapped them to use as leverage to keep Connie from testifying. They learn Connie's husband wasn't just some small time drug smuggler for the cartel, he was involved in torture and was an enforcer for the distribution network. Someone other than the Cortez Cartel is using that same network to get chemical weapons into the US. Jonathan and his team race to save the kids and prevent a deadly attack on US soil.

A superbly written story with lots of action and fair amount of bloodshed. I really liked the different perspectives: the boys in captivity and Jonathan and crew's hunt for them.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

Love love love this crew in this series! This book was phenomenal and so much fun to read. Of course, I'm a bit of a junkie in genre and cannot get enough of this particular crew of people. I'm a big Boxers fan. I think he has the right idea when it comes to those who wish to hurt children. But then I want skills like all of them so Ven, Dig and even the legal chops of Gail. A total home run.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jonathan Grave and his team are back and better than ever! When brothers bound for RezHouse are abducted, it sets the team in motion. The boys' mom is incarcerated, and the team feels the boys were taken to affect her testimony. Lots of action as the boys' captivity and escape attempts are described. The team's efforts to locate the boys is a circuitous journey with lots of blood spilled along the way. As the story unfolds more bad guys add to the mix. Very little action from "Wolverine" and the FBI in this episode.