This is a Reacher meets The Fugitive, fast paced, action thriller. Although the characters were at times overly simplified and stereotypical, the pace of the action kept me engaged throughout and I read it straight through in one day. I will likely continue to read this series as new books become available. Strongly recommended for fans of action thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an advanced reader copy.

A fun fast paced read. This was my first time reading this author and really enjoyed it. The main character is Frank Ranger who always seems to find trouble starting in Montanta and continuing to main part of the story in Arizona. He tries to do the right thing but it still gets him into trouble and difficult situations.

It was a fun read and I look forward to more in this series. I would have rated it more like a 4.5, not perfect but really good.

Bullet Proof is an action thriller following the adventures of ex-Army sergeant Frank Ranger. The book begins with Ranger shackled in the back of a prison van in Montana setting off to serve a life sentence following his conviction for murder. There are two other prisoners in the van that unexpectedly is involved in a accident and we are left wondering what happened to the three prisoners and two guards. We never find out. The story then jumps twelve months with Ranger, a wanted man being pursued by the FBI and a US Marshall, walking along a back road in the Arizona desert planning to have a short visit with an ex-Army buddy. Taking a roadside break Ranger is offered a ride into the nearby town and a free meal in the local diner. He is minding his own business when a young woman and her son are harassed by a local loudmouth macho drug dealing jerk. Ranger intervenes dislocating the guy’s shoulder and disables his two sidekicks. And so begins local vigilante justice against Ranger and the young woman that is the heart of the story.

The book begins with a lot of promise but the author went off in a direction that I found confusing. I thought we would have a The Fugitive type story with a cat and mouse chase between Ranger and law enforcement. There is almost no reference to him being chased throughout the book. But the plot quickly pivoted to tough army veteran and buddy taking on a corrupt rancher, his spoiled corrupt son, and a Mexican drug cartel. There is action galore between the two factions that is well written.

The plot is age-old: a long-time family rancher has financial problems and will lose his ranch, turns to drug manufacturing, becomes drug kingpin in southern Arizona, controls his small town’s police and politicians, and has multiple thugs to distribute drugs and collect protection fees from the town’s businesses. The rancher and his son are truly bad guys and the author does a great job of describing their evil.

While I enjoyed the action scenes the personal interaction between Ranger and his friend, Donny, and Ranger and the young woman didn’t jell for me. Ranger’s involvement, regardless of his moral values, seemed weak and superficial. I didn’t find Ranger or the young woman he is protecting as particularly well defined characters. Donny turned sniper for pay was better drawn. The dialogue throughout seemed stilted to me—more like a movie script where you could anticipate the final sentence or two.

Would I recommend others to read the book? That’s a definite maybe. I had just finished new books by seasoned storytellers John Sandford and J.A. Jance and comparing Bullet Proof to their new titles is tough and challenging. As an ebook the price is reasonable and makes it an attractive read, but the story lacks edge of your seat can’t stop reading end of chapters, and there was not a single character I was rooting for other than the kidnapped boy. Ranger needs some more backstory and less mental anguish to serve as a serious protagonist. It will be interesting to see how the planned second book in the series builds on Bullet Proof.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to discover a new author (to me) and Bullet Proof.

This was such an exciting read. The book had me on the edge of my seat. I love a good thriller and especially ones that involve a wronged soldier. I cannot wait already for the next book in the series.