Firstly, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! It took me so long to finish this one that I’ve officially fallen behind on my Goodreads reading challenge by 6 books!

I really wanted to enjoy The Forsaken, but unfortunately, it fell completely flat for me. The plot was a recycled mess of clichés — tough guy goes rogue, kills a bunch of bad guys, rinse and repeat. There was barely any character development, and everyone felt like a cardboard cutout of better action-thriller archetypes.

The pacing dragged in parts and then lurched forward without any real buildup. And while I don't expect literary prose in a book like this, the writing felt rushed and uninspired, like it was cranked out without much editing. I also found the dialogue stiff and unrealistic, often bordering on cringe.

If you’re looking for something with depth, originality, or even just a bit of nuance, I’d look elsewhere. This felt like a knockoff of better books in the genre, with just a nothing storyline.

Disappointed, and won’t be picking up the next one.

Rogers has flown under my radar for the last 10 years, but he is definitely on my radar now!

Rogers writing style is so engrossing and vivid that it feels like you are watching a movie or standing right in the middle of the action and drama. This fast paced, action thriller is perfect for those who love characters like Ethan Hunt or Jack Reacher. Even the author wrote that Logan Booth can be: 

      "...deaf, disoriented, concussed, grievously injured: it really doesn't matter. So long as he can will himself to crash forward, that's what he'll do until it's over."

Apart from the compelling action scenes, there is the emotional undercurrent from the main characters that draws you in and takes a strong hold over you. From the past and vices that they are struggling to break away from, to the unlikely friendship that Logan and Alice find in each other. Not to mention the unique characteristics within this cast of players, it will have you not only rooting for the heroes, but some of the bad guys too. But the only drawn back is the main villain was very bizarre to say the least. 

Overall, this is a series that will I strongly keep an eye on and await more adventures from Logan and Alice. 

Thank you to NetGallery and Simon & Schuster for this amazing ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Logan Booth out-Reachers Reacher
For ten years Logan Booth was contracted by a vigilante group to rid the world of truly bad guys. Or so he thought. When it is revealed he had been duped by the CIA, he goes into a deep tailspin of self destruction. And then his best, and only, friend is murdered; suddenly he's on the road to vengeance. But murderer or cleaner, he's a man with a conscience, and recues a homeless drug addict from certain death at the hands of the very people he is after. And so it begins.
The action is white hot and searing, and outrageously over the top. But the pacing of the novel is off - too much pschyco-babble as Booth tries to justify and reconcile his past, his anger, and his desperate need to save himself and others. This 'backstory' is setting the reader up for further episodes of full-on action and mayhem from Booth as he reignites his vigilante aspirations.
If you are into gung-ho action thrillers and near-unstoppable heroes, this book (and new series) might just be perfect for you.
But I'm not in a hurry to jump back into that world just yet.
With thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the advanced book to review read and review.
Three stars

Although this is not a genre I usually enjoy, there was a lot to like about this novel. There is plenty of action, but more importantly, the underlying story is deep. Logan and Alice's stories reflect thought and self analysis. The back story of gangs and housing development is clever, as is the role of the President. The theme of doing the right thing runs through this. Although, despite being perhaps a little unbelievable in places, it does make for a good read, and sets up for a sequel. There is enough in Logan and Alice to want to know what happens next. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC to read and review this book.

The Forsaken by Matt Rogers is an action movie in print. Logan Booth is a rugged antihero with a philosophical bent who has been tricked by the US government into life as an assassin. He has always been proud of the integrity of his personal code of ethics so upon the discovery of this manipulation Logan spirals and is living a bleak, whiskey drenched life as the book begins. As those close to him become under threat he becomes his old self again, a fighter of epic abilities.

The descriptions of the fight scenes are great - this is a real strength of the book. This is not my usual genre but I enjoyed it. The resolution of the book did not seem quite a well developed as earlier on, but this didn’t really distract from my overall experience of the book. The Forsaken really gives a night at the movies experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Disclaimer - CIA/political action is not something you'd usually find in my wheelhouse but I was intrigued by the description.

Multiple POV. Logan is the best of the best assassin the country has. Thinking he was working for the greater good, he finds out he's been kept in the dark his whole career. His vigilante streak firmly settles into place after learning how deep the manipulation of the controlling parties reaches in his own drug riddled neighborhood. Enter Alice, the catalyst to his personal redemption.

They simultaneously try to heal themselves while putting a violent end to the corruption running wild around them.

Logan really grew on me. At the start I had him pegged as a guy that's seen some shit, went off the deep end, and covers it up with all this self serving existential noise. I was quite annoyed for the first half of the book, to be honest. And then his personality did a severe 180 and suddenly he's selflessly helping people to the severe detriment to himself. There wasn't too much flow to his character in these moments. As soon as Thoreau entered the mix, I found everything settled in. There was a surprisingly perfect blend of brutal violence, genuine relationships, and philosophy.

I REALLY would've liked a bigger insight to the relationship between Logan and Alice. "They met and they kept each other around" just didn't really cut it for me. Not even in a romantic way but a bit more work building some sort of foundation to back up the pull they had to each other would've made this a better book for me.

The Forsaken tells the tale of Logan Booth, who worked as a contract killer for the CIA, which is the first in a new series by Matt Rogers. The series opens with Logan finding out that his employment as a rogue hitman for a group of vigilantes was all a lie, with him really being used by the CIA for covert purposes. This turns his life upside down where he begins drinking and being absent from the world. The premise of the Forsaken is one of Logan’s closest friends is murdered before Logan can save him and he becomes responsible for the homeless witness Alice. The two of them join up to try and find out who murdered his friend and to get revenge, while overcoming their own personal issues.

The book started really well with vivid imagery, allowing you to picture the events that were occurring. For me, the middle of the book was a bit slow, with some confusion about what was happening and trying to pull it all together. However, the pace picked back up at the end and I didn’t want to stop reading to find out if Logan would avenge his friend’s death and save Alice. I will definitely be looking out for the next instalment of this series and would love to know more about the life of Alice.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

‘I killed people for the government …. That’s all I did for ten years.’

Logan Booth has killed hundreds of men, but when he learns that he was a hitman for the CIA (instead of working for a band of vigilantes) he is devastated. Clearly, working for the government is not something Logan Booth values. He thought that he was making a positive difference. But the murder of his oldest friend, Jorge Romero (an investigative reporter) while investigating a political corruption scandal enables Logan to refocus. He is angry, and he wants to know who killed Jorge and why.

Logan finds an unlikely ally in Alice Mason, a homeless drug addict with a target on her back.

Okay. There is no shortage of action in this novel, and I found both Logan Booth and Alice Mason flawed but interesting. For much of the novel I wondered whether either of them would survive.

This is the type of novel that often translate well onto the screen. Action-packed. Fast-paced. Driven, flawed characters.

Noting that this is the first in a series, I am keen to find out what Logan Booth’s next adventure looks like.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
J
ennifer Cameron-Smith

Matt Rogers protagonist Logan Book is a Jack Reacher wannabe. Six ft Thee, degrees in computer science and an expert in Muy Thai, Logna thought he was doing the world a favour as a lone assassin but finding out he was actually working for the CIA broke him. Luckily there is a dead friend to avenge and local bad guys to punish.
The Forsaken is tiresome, derivative action fare which will no doubt appeal to a particular type of reader. I am not one of them.

A lethal bibliophile embarks on a journey back from self destruction to avenge his friend & in the process makes an unlikely acquaintance in whom he finds purpose to seek self redemption all the while fighting his way across NYC as a one man killing machine.

An action packed story from one fight to the next, despite his profession Logan Booth is a likeable character, he demonstrates deep personal reflection in his redemption arc in his own brutish way. Just a big softy at heart you can’t help champion his cause.

An unlikely plot but an action packed ride nonetheless.

Why oh why did Logan have to have a ponytail though? I feel it detracts from his machismo giving a sleazy mafiosi vibe instead. He’s a bibliophile, educated, he’s thoughtful, compassionate, even broody… but a ponytail?

I had little idea of what to expect - an urban adventure I guess. The book has a few rough edges but generally reads like Die Hard or The Professional - an urban setting, with a tough antihero who has a troubled and highly competent violent past, and complex reasons for all his actions.

It was very much an action story, so if you are looking for character development there isn't any. I think the main character has so much happening that I got bored - he is basically a superhero, through his own fanatical devotion to training and mind-over-matter for years. If that is to be believed, then apparently that sort of training can make you ignore broken bones, dislocations, concussion and gunshot wounds. [yeah, sure] While hungover. [yeah, double sure].

I did like how the author connected a lot of strands, to say that every action and choice actually ended up related, even though they didn't at the start, which was kinda cute. But the bad guy was ultimately unbelievable. The author made him too much of -all-the-opposite- to the hero, which is just a caricature.

It seems there is an opening to make a whole series about this main character, which I predict will be how he gets dragged into all kinds of trouble unwillingly but then saves the day while hungover, shot, with a broken bone somewhere. It's like watching the whole Die Hard series in one long go.

It's an airport read, something that doesn't purport to be anything different. It needs more than that for it to be a series, the main character needs more development and the bad guy needs to be less of a caricature and more of a real challenge.

I received an ARC from netgalley in return for an honest review.

#TheForsaken #NetGalley

Excellent action packed with elements of philosophical introspection about life. Quality writing and great plot twists. Loved it. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher.

If you're after a complex and intriguing thriller with a tiny dash if love and a whole lot of philosophical thinking then this is for you!
Logan's (MMC) description and almost superhuman strength and ability to deal with pain definitely gave me Jack Reacher vibes and I was rooting for Alice to overcome her demons from the get go.
The action/violent scenes were done so well that I could literally visualise them as I was reading.
It's gritty, emotional and the character development is amazing.

Logan Booth is a contract killer for the CIA he just didn’t realise who he was working for. Filled with ram packed action Logan is on the hunt for the person who has killed his oldest friend Jorge Romero an investigative reporter.

Logan is unaware as to who the perpetrators are but is determined to obtain justice for his good friend. There was a witness to the murder, Alice a homeless woman who is now in immense danger. The two join up together to bring down the culprits but this in no way will be an easy task. Bloodshed and violence will occur as these two unlikely characters come together. We learn more about them as the book progresses and the author did a great job of presenting these very different characters to the reader.

This is not a book for the faint hearted but if you love a complex and intriguing crime story this book is for you. Fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this book!
The characters were fantastic, likeable with growth. The story was compelling and had me waiting until the next time I could read because I just wanted to know what would happen next! The underlying tonws of the book were ever present and relatable. I look forward to the next instalment in this series & definitely recommend for lovers of David Baldacci, Lee Child, Matthew Reilly & Michael Connelly.

This is an action-packed thriller, with an intriguing storyline, and many shocking twists. I was immediately hooked by the premise that Logan Booth had made a career as a contracted killer for the CIA, without having known he was working for them.

The characters, both protagonists and other key players, had excellent depth, and the writing made it easy to empathise with their psychological states, despite their pasts.

I am not usually a huge fan of gory violence, but this book was so intriguing and well-written that I enjoyed it, and felt moved by the protagonists and what they went through. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

So this is going to be a real 'pros' and 'cons' type review, because I feel like The Forsaken is the sort of book that if its your thing, you're really going to enjoy it, but if not - well then the opposite...

(thanks Netgalley for the ARC copy)

The Pros

Forsaken is a very "Jack Reacher" kind of story, Logan our protagonist, is big, brutal, smart but hulk smashes with an ethical purpose. I did enjoy the started twist of the story where Logan has effectively been operating as a CIA hitman for 10 years, but under the deception that he was working for a rogue vigilante group.

The action of the story is visceral and popping, and I think Rogers really sells the character, its hard to pull-off a Reacher-style hero and I think it works in this book. The story is fast paced, and rarely boring and is a killer action piece.

The Cons

On the other side - if the above isn't your cup of tea I don't think this book will be for you. Personally while the character of Logan was done pretty well there was a point where the story and character just became an bit too try-hard for me. It wasn't so much that the MC Logan was an unstoppable physical force, its just that the constant references to his 'clarity' and 'purpose' just got a bit too cheesy, even the villains of the story seem to worship Logan in their descriptions of him - and when he refenced using Bitcoin because its untraceable I think I might have groaned out loud.

The story also suffers that weird trope where the backstory is actually better than the story, story. The first scene where we discover Logan has been duped into working for the CIA is absolute gold, but in the end doesn't actually have really any relevance to the rest of the story - Logan could have been a retired commando, a vagabond Marine, a spy on holiday all the story needed was a tough guy to get mixed up the situation and blast their way through it.

I would have loved to read a book which actually covered Logan's past exploits and then had the twist say in the middle of the book and then the fallout from that would have been intriguing. Instead our story is fairly whoa-to-go violence with a few cutaways to the villain to see some generic look how bad he is stuff, and then back to the fights.

There's also a very very silly twist towards the end of the book which just helps launch the plot into the stratosphere.

All in all, its a fun book very much in the vein of John Wick, Taken, Nobody type movies. I wouldn't pick this up for depth, but for a blast... yep!

The Forsaken is a high-octane thriller that introduces readers to Logan Booth, a seasoned assassin who discovers that his decade-long career was under the covert direction of the CIA, not the independent vigilante group he believed he served. This revelation plunges him into a crisis of conscience, questioning the morality of his past actions. ​

Matt Rogers crafts a fast-paced, action-packed tale that doesn't shy away from exploring the psychological turmoil of its protagonist. The combat scenes are intense and vividly described, reminiscent of the visceral energy found in John Wick or Jason Bourne films. Yet, it's the emotional undercurrents—Booth's internal struggles and his evolving relationship with Alice—that elevate the novel beyond a standard action thriller. ​

For fans of gritty, emotionally charged thrillers, The Forsaken delivers a compelling read that balances explosive action with profound character development. It's a promising start to the Logan Booth series, leaving readers eager for the next instalment.

Logan had unknowingly been working for the CIA for the last 10 years. Once he found out his life started to spiral. He meets Alice and they try to help each other but are they both too broken - only time will tell. Something happens to his best friend and that makes life even worse. This book was fast paced from page 1 and had me keep turning the pages to find out how it would end. This book gave me Orphan X vibes so people who enjoyed that book would probably enjoy this too. Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster (Australia) and Matt Roger's for the ARC of this book which I received for free.

This was certainly a book with a lot of activity. Right from the start there is plenty going on, and it’s not too long before the bodies are piling up.
Logan is a man on a mission. He’s been betrayed, and discovers his adult life has not quite been what he thought. When his only friend is killed, and he feels responsible, he goes on a war of vengeance. Add in an unexpected damsel in distress, and there is the recipe for action. I’d defy anyone to get bored reading this book.