Hunt the Wolf A Seal Team Six Novel by Don Mann

321 Pages
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Release Date: June 26, 2012

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Military, Terrorism

In Morocco, a bomb goes off at a U.S. embassy. Thomas Crocker is a member of Seal Team Six and is sent to provide aid and security. While on a climbing trip on K2, they meet a couple of Norwegians. Crocker is asked to investigate the kidnapping of Malie Tingvoll, an 18-year-old living in Oslo. The mission takes Crocker and his team to Marseille, France where they find four young women in cages. None of them are Malie. A tip leads them to Karachi and Oman.

This is a fast-paced book, and the action is non-stop. The characters are developed and barely have time to take a breath before they are back into action. It is written in third person point of view. I could not but it down until I finished it. This reminds me of Tom Clancy and Jason Bourne type of action adventures. If you like fast pace action, you will enjoy this book.

I went into this book not knowing exactly what to expect. What I found was a story of the elite men who serve our country, often at the detriment of their lives. These men must be able to depend on each other, unquestionable trust is a must.

HUNT THE WOLF - Don Mann

#1 in the SEAL Team Six thriller series

ACTION-PACKED - 3 stars

Plot - 3 stars - The team is after a deadly terrorist, AZ, but they are having trouble finding and capturing him. In the meantime, they also get involved in another situation surrounding young girls who are being kidnapped and sold as sex slaves.

Writing - 2.5 stars - Although there was a lot of action, right from the first page, I found my mind wandering from time to time because it was somewhat difficult to keep track of everyone. Plus there was a lot going on, much of it pretty gruesome.

Characters - 2.5 stars - Crocker is an interesting main character. He's strong and totally determined, but he's also a family man who has to keep leaving his ultra-understanding family behind while he serves his country. But, boy, he lost some points with me because of his bloodthirstiness. Sure, I understand that you have to be ruthless and determined in his situation, but he seemed to enjoy his work a little too much to be comfortable. And he felt like a loose cannon throughout the book. Although I could understand his frustration with rules and red tape, he use his "instincts" so much that you never knew what the heck he was going to do next. Scary.

Title - 2.5 stars - I'm not exactly sure what the title refers to. If his main target was called "the wolf," I missed it.

Cover - 3.5 stars - The silhouette of a soldier against a flame-bright background. Very striking and eye-catching.

Overall - 3 stars - This book is out of my usual comfort zone so it's hard for me to judge if it's realistic and/or common for this type of plot. I found it to be very brutal many times, and the characters rationalized that they were the good guys so they had a pass on the sometimes horrendous things they did. It was clear that they are determined and sometimes ruthless men. Although it made for an exciting story, it was also uncomfortable and unpleasant for me. The writing occasionally felt a bit awkward, like it was a diary of sorts, keeping track of the day-to-day life of a SEAL, which slowed down the forward movement. All in all, I thought it was fast and furious, although I'm certainly not the usual target audience.

Book source ~ NetGalley

Chief Warrant Officer, Thomas Crocker of SEAL Team Six and his team are on the way for some mountain climbing training in Islamabad when they are given a mission. Intel puts a known terrorist at an address in Karachi, Pakistan. They are to go in, locate, and bring Abu Rasul Zaman out alive. Except the mission goes sideways and after the smoke clears they’re told Zaman isn’ty one of the bodies left behind. He’s escaped. Mission failure. It eats at Crocker as he and his team are dismissed to go do their climb. When he meets up with a Norwegian diplomat on the mountain things take a turn that’s unexpected and now the clock is ticking. Will Crocker and his men finish the mission after all?

Full of action this is definitely a thrill ride with a side of mystery from beginning to end. However, it lags a bit in spots, it’s a tad repetitive in areas, and if you love descriptions of weapons then you’ll definitely love this story. Because each and every weapon is listed each and every time they gear up. In addition, I am not really a fan of Crocker. He seems to be more than a touch obsessive-compulsive about working out and pushing himself – even to the point of hurting himself. Extreme and more than a little alarming. His personality is also a tiny bit sketchy although he gets the job done, I can say that about him. Eat your heart out, John McClane. There are some POV problems, not many but enough to pull me out of the story. Otherwise, this is an adrenaline-loving, white hat vs black hat, save the girl, tale from beginning to end.

If I could give this 3.5 stars, I would. The first book in the series started out slow, but ramped up in the second half. The description was really exciting, and while I'm sure Mann's life as a SEAL was action-packed, it didn't translate to fiction as I anticipated. Not a bad read, just a little familiar.

I AM SO EMBARRASSED ... JUST NOW FINDING THIS ONE ON MY KINDLE/AMAZON. WAS NEVER READ SO NO REVIEW COMING AT THIS LATE DATE. MY SINCERE APOLOGIES.

It was an entertaining book, not really my type but if you like lots of action I would certainly recommend it.

Crocker is a Navy Seal team leader who likes to ‘get the job done’ with minimal mess and minimal collateral damage. He and his team are sent into a covert op to take out Zaman, an al-Qaeda terrorist. They destroy the dwelling target thinking they have accomplished the mission. There are two problems though and Crocker takes them both personally. First, a young girl is killed in the blast. Second, it appears that the primary target was allowed to exit the building in disguise. Although unavoidable, these errors still impact Crocker’s confidence, not to mention the fact that his superiors don’t want to give him a second chance to get Zaman.

Crocker has a thin clue to pursue and, unlike the powers who spend time disputing policies, Croker is a man who takes action. While waiting for more information Crocker and his team head to climb the dangerous mountain of Concordia in Pakistan. The climb keeps the teams’ skills sharp and also provides them cover to be in the country. Before beginning the climb Crocker is asked to help track down a daughter of an important Norwegian official who has gone missing. Crocker’s gut tells him that there is a connection between Zaman and the slave traders who have been taking beautiful blonde girls to deliver them to a ruthless sheikh.

There is plenty of action that keeps this moving at a fast pace. Although the climb is a little off track, I really enjoyed the action, the danger and the excitement of the climb as well as the danger of the hunt for the kidnappers. Crocker is a strong, honorable and steady character. The other team members are not deeply developed although each has their own skills and foibles.

Author Mann creates a reasonably realistic plot with engaging action and manages to convey some philosophical statements along the way. Caution: there is some bad language and, needless to say, violence. I would gladly read more from this author and more in this series.

I picked this up to read through NetGalley. My rating 4.5.