Could you sit idly by if you knew child-traffickers had set up a resort catering to pedophiles? Neither can Pia Sabel.
Building on the first two highly acclaimed episodes, The Meeting and Jacob’s Story, the third episode finds Pia Sabel might have taken one risk too many.
When she discovers a clutch of abused children, she realizes she’s deeper into a murky alliance of traffickers and bureaucrats than she imagined possible. If her agents can’t arrive in time, will she survive the horrendous torture the conspirators have planned for her?
Trench Coats is a thriller released in six episodes. If you like Lisbeth Salander or Katniss Everdeen, you will like Pia Sabel. If you read James Patterson, you'll want to read Seeley James.
On a rainy day when I was ten, I was transported to eighteenth century England where I met Captain Billy Bones, heard the tapping of Blind Pew’s cane, and witnessed the treachery of Long John Silver. When I closed the cover of Treasure Island, I thought to myself: When I make stuff up, I get in trouble. I need to become a writer.
Which was the career I planned on pursuing. Planned on …
At 17, I was homeless, wandering from one minimum wage job to another. At 19, I found purpose in life when I adopted a 3-year-old girl and raised her (she’s 51 now and lives across town). Children need a lot of things that cost money, so I shelved the writing idea and pursued a career in technology, selling products and services to Fortune 500 company executives.
Along the way, I met and married the love of my life. We added two children (now grown and living in LA and NYC) and carved out a life. When I’d made all the gold I could eat, I returned my focus to the career I’d always wanted: writing adventures filled with thrills and mysteries.
My beloved wife passed unexpectedly in early 2024. Now, I spend my time talking to my imaginary friends and hiking a small mountain in my hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. I hope you enjoy the Sabel Security Series, and the characters of Jacob Stearne and Pia Sabel. As of this writing, there are sixteen novels completed and two more in my head. I plan to keep writing them until my mortal ink dries up.
To buy books from my writer-direct site, visit seeleyjames . com
Tough ending. I did not expect that. The story continues to unfold with new twists and interesting mystery. But the ending was hard to read. Mr. James really delivers.
I've rated both previous episodes of Trenchcoats and have been impressed with both. To avoid spoilers, I'll just say that you'll know that Pia is really in danger. Whoever is behind the State Department's vendetta against Pia and Sabel Security is really--I mean really--evil. The thug in charge of conveying her to a secure location for interrogation is someone you'll hate (and hope in the end that he gets his 'just rewards'). And in this episode you'll Identify with Pia more than ever as she experiences 'enhanced interrogation techniques' (read water boarding). Seeley James has done his research extremely well as to the effects on one's body--it isn't pretty and it is not pleasant to read. But that's why they call it torture. Kudos for a great episode!
This episode is more hard-core! Pia proves that she can make mistakes and she may have gotten herself into a little more trouble than she can deal with on her own. This release is darker than the first part of the series, and I like that. The series is driving awareness of child adduction and trafficking. Doing that shines some light in some dark corners that are inhabited by some very shady characters.
This episode has it all, the dark corners, hard choices, desperation, and one heck of a really nasty antagonist running it all. It's a pedal to the metal ride that leaves you wanting episode 4 really, really bad!
I loved this episode. It started with a lot of action (some believable, some not) and ended with a lot of action, with a breather in the middle. The ending was the most intense scene I've ever read. Waterboarding was on the news a few years ago, but I never paid much attention. Now I'm shocked our government ever got involved in it. The story leads up to the waterboarding and it delivers. I have no idea where it's going next, but I can't wait.
One comment that is not really a spoiler: Seeley's description of water-boarding was so vivid I was gagging, and anyone who dares say it is not the most extreme form of torture deserves a personal demonstration.
First I must say that I misplaced this episode of Trench Coats (it went to the cloud somehow and only discovered the mistake after receiving the fourth installment. The error was found, rectified and I've now read this episode ....
I enjoyed the first two episodes and this one was no different. My attention riveted on my kindle, totally unaware of anything going on around me - something that isn't unheard of, but rare. I couldn't wait to see just what was happening with Pia since her kidnapping.
I have read some of the reviews and have my own ideas on a why a few things were handled the way they were, however since saying anything would involve spoilers, I'll keep them to myself. I was very interested in the method (for lack of a better term bucket torture) that was being used to try and force Pia to cooperate and tell the information that was wanted. It was the first I'd read about it and so well told that I could not only picture it, but feel it. The only problem I actually had, was the little girl being shot - or for that matter, any of the children. It probably was a "necessary" part of the story, however, I hate the idea of an innocent child being hurt - be it in real life or a story. The end was unexpected. It not only left me a little on the edge, but also wary of what was next for not only Pia but Patterson.
As usual Mr. James has done a great job of leaving us (or at least me) wanting more. Since I downloaded the fourth installment of Trench Coats yesterday I will be reading it tonight!!!
As the series continues, Pia Sabel is suddenly plunged into a dark and evil stronghold by herself; this time, her "controlled" capture goes from outsmarting the bad guys to a wicked twist into the captors hands. Pia, in balancing her life between the children she is trying to save and the lives of the "pawns" of the bad guys, becomes a defenseless victim of abhorrent acts and this episode leaves us hanging from a cliff by one finger needing MORE! I continue to be impressed with Seeley James' use of the knowledge of MK projects the US endeavored in during the cold war, and how that legacy has "played forward", unfortunately, into our modern day "war on terrorism". A brave choice, in my opinion, as is addressing human trafficking, esp. that of children, and modern uses of torture. This episode takes you from triumph to heart ache, and I highly recommend you grab the first book in this series and keep going! I didn't want to put any episode down - they all finished too suddenly for me! However,that is the beauty and finesse of putting a novel into a series of novellas as highly energized as a Pia Sabel novel! Hurry with the next episode, Seeley!!!! 5 stars - let's keep the action going!
I enjoyed this thriller for its well-paced plot, vivid description, and believable characters.
The action starts right away. Since part of the story has happened before the book begins, the beginning could have been confusing, but the author weaves enough background into the narrative so you understand what's going on. The plot twists are unexpected. Characters are sometimes not what they seem to be.
The description of places is deftly done without slowing down the story. And the story covers a lot of ground, from an isolated island to Washington DC, from the Azores to a town in Romania. The description of the action is riveting. It pulls you through the story pretty much nonstop. And it's credible. (The scene where Pia is water boarded is so credible it's scary.) The heroes have skills, but they don't perform superhuman feats. And they can be wounded like actual human beings.
None of the characters are the kind of ciphers you sometimes find in thrillers. I won't forget Pia, Jacob, or Tania anytime soon. And I definitely want to read more about them.
This was a tough episode. If you're as big a Pia Sabel fan as I am, and you've noticed that she's never lost a fight, mostly due to the surprise-I'm-a-woman-who-can-fight factor ... this story has a surprise. She's been searching for trafficked children since the first episode and finally finds a few of them but events make her face hard choices about how to protect them.
The tough part is the ending. This episode has the most amazing take on waterboarding I've ever read. When the CIA scandals broke years ago, I thought little of it, but there is a scene in this book that brings it home. I have a bad habit of chewing my t-shirt while reading intense scenes and this time I about ate the whole thing.
The ending left me hanging a little too much. I knocked it down a notch because I would have liked a little more closure. I guess that's to be expected with a serial but that's how I felt.
Sorry if this has spoilers in it. I tried not to give anything away.
The ending was really disturbing. I usually skip over violent sections, like the ubiquitous rape scenes that are in every book these days. You can figure out what the author's trying to do without getting too deep into the details.
This one was different. It was like driving past a bad accident in your neighborhood. You have to watch. In this case, you have to read. Well done. The rest of it was drawn out and a little far fetched, though not as far fetched as say, James Rollins or Dan Brown, so I could overlook a few implausible parts.