What do you think?
Rate this book
Dan Shepherd #4
Hot Blood
The fourth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series.Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. It goes with the turf when you're an undercover cop. Now working for the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Shepherd is pitting his wits against the toughest criminals in the country. But when the man who once saved his life is kidnapped in the badlands of Iraq, thrown into a basement and threatened with execution, Shepherd has to decide whether his loyalties lie with his country, his career, or his friend. Shepherd and his former SAS colleagues realise that the hostage has been abandoned by the Government and that officially nothing is being done to rescue him. And with the execution deadline only days away, Shepherd knows that the only way to stop his friend being murdered is to put himself in the firing line in the most dangerous city in the world - Baghdad.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2007
195 people are currently reading
553 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Leather
245 books1,528 followersStephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. For much of 2011 his self-published eBooks - including The Bestseller, The Basement, Once Bitten and Dreamer's Cat - dominated the UK eBook bestseller lists and sold more than half a million copies. The Basement topped the Kindle charts in the UK and the US, and in total he has sold more than two million eBooks. His bestselling book The Chinaman was filmed as The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan and grossing more than $100 million.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
September 11, 2023
Poor Salman Rushdie. Again I have interrupted my reading of him by finding two Stephen Leather books in my local Charity shop. Yes my village has some discerning readers.
This was my first read of the series with Dan ‘spider’ Shepherd in. Obviously not the first in the series however. He got his nickname from eating a tarantula…don’t ask why. The story is a roller coaster ride and the ending a real wow.
On the book front cover there is a small circle that says - ‘Better than McNab or your money back.’ Bit cruel in my opinion. But I note he is also mentioned in the book. Being shown round a Baghdad prison: ‘See the cell there? He indicated a cell to their left. ‘Andy McNab was held there for a while. The Bravo Two Zero guy. Great book…’ And yes there is a similarity here to McNab. SAS mates. Most characters having multiple broken noses. Plenty of action. Lots of banter etc. But the characters here seem richer and more well rounded. More intellectual musings also on the difference between evil and necessary evil.
In this story Spider and his ex SAS mates travel to Baghdad to save a mate from execution. I connected to the character of Spider. He lost his wife in a car accident some years back and is bringing up a young son. He has left the army and is an undercover policeman in SOCAS the Serious Organised Crime Agency. He also has a strong moral conscience and there is a moral tension in all he has to do. Compared to the other characters like Yokely the US spook - almost a Kilgore like character ala Apocalypse Now.
There is also a clever parallel story about an Iraqi sniper that becomes more relevant.
I also learned that Rendition was invented by England in 1684. Torture had been outlawed in England in 1640, but stayed legal in Scotland until 1707. So in 1684 a suspect in an attempted assassination of Charles II was taken to Scotland to be ‘coercively interrogated.’
Also that I need to spend 15 minutes on each of my journeys to ensure I am not being tailed.
Ok it’s either back to Rushdie or to the next Stephen Leather. What should I do?🤣
This was my first read of the series with Dan ‘spider’ Shepherd in. Obviously not the first in the series however. He got his nickname from eating a tarantula…don’t ask why. The story is a roller coaster ride and the ending a real wow.
On the book front cover there is a small circle that says - ‘Better than McNab or your money back.’ Bit cruel in my opinion. But I note he is also mentioned in the book. Being shown round a Baghdad prison: ‘See the cell there? He indicated a cell to their left. ‘Andy McNab was held there for a while. The Bravo Two Zero guy. Great book…’ And yes there is a similarity here to McNab. SAS mates. Most characters having multiple broken noses. Plenty of action. Lots of banter etc. But the characters here seem richer and more well rounded. More intellectual musings also on the difference between evil and necessary evil.
In this story Spider and his ex SAS mates travel to Baghdad to save a mate from execution. I connected to the character of Spider. He lost his wife in a car accident some years back and is bringing up a young son. He has left the army and is an undercover policeman in SOCAS the Serious Organised Crime Agency. He also has a strong moral conscience and there is a moral tension in all he has to do. Compared to the other characters like Yokely the US spook - almost a Kilgore like character ala Apocalypse Now.
There is also a clever parallel story about an Iraqi sniper that becomes more relevant.
I also learned that Rendition was invented by England in 1684. Torture had been outlawed in England in 1640, but stayed legal in Scotland until 1707. So in 1684 a suspect in an attempted assassination of Charles II was taken to Scotland to be ‘coercively interrogated.’
Also that I need to spend 15 minutes on each of my journeys to ensure I am not being tailed.
Ok it’s either back to Rushdie or to the next Stephen Leather. What should I do?🤣
June 28, 2023
Now that we’re 4 books into the Dan “Spider” Shepherd series I’m getting used to the format of these books. Except for the first entry they’ve all followed the same general idea and Hot Blood is no different. Unfortunately, its sameness has started to make it somewhat stale and predictable and, even more problematic, it takes quite a long time to get there.
Dan Shepherd works as an undercover police officer with SOCA (the Serious Organised Crime Agency) so our first contact with him is under an assumed name where it appears that he’s breaking the law in some way. In this case, he’s acting as an illegal arms dealer providing weapons to criminals.
When a former colleague from his SAS days is kidnapped in Iraq he is called on to take part in a covert operation to conduct a rescue mission. This is a highly questionable mission that can’t be revealed to anyone, particularly to his new commanding officer Charlotte Button. It’s an operation that will take him out of the country and into part of the most hostile and unpredictable conditions on earth.
These two operations which, given he also has a young son at home that he’s supposed to be taking care of, spreads him extremely thinly. And while it would appear on the surface that the action will come thick and fast as Spider juggles two demanding missions, the preparations seem to take forever, action sequences are few and far between and domestic issues tend to dominate. What should be a fast-paced thriller is really anything but until the final 20 or so pages.
A recurring theme through each of the Spider Shepherd books so far has been the insidious danger presented by Jihadi terrorists who represent an ongoing threat to the west. And while this is something that is representative of life in the 21st century, it becomes a bit monotonous when every book in the series seems to follow the exact same formula. Spider has prevailed in the past books…will he prevail this time? Err, I wonder!
The undercover operations Spider’s involved in are often where the interest lies in this series and, although it appears there will be a good, meaty operation involving arms deals, it virtually gets forgotten here. Instead, we’re treated to a drawn-out planned military operation to save a captured man in Iraq who is going to be publicly beheaded.
For a supposed action novel, not a lot happens for a long time as Spider juggles his home life, his police work life and his continuing doubts over whether the means justify the end. For me, there was an air of inevitability about the plot and a sameness to the secondary storylines that continue to tread water from one book to the next.
Given that it’s still early days in the series (of 19 at time of writing!) I’ll continue to return in the hopes that this was simply one of the entries that didn’t quite work for me.
Dan Shepherd works as an undercover police officer with SOCA (the Serious Organised Crime Agency) so our first contact with him is under an assumed name where it appears that he’s breaking the law in some way. In this case, he’s acting as an illegal arms dealer providing weapons to criminals.
When a former colleague from his SAS days is kidnapped in Iraq he is called on to take part in a covert operation to conduct a rescue mission. This is a highly questionable mission that can’t be revealed to anyone, particularly to his new commanding officer Charlotte Button. It’s an operation that will take him out of the country and into part of the most hostile and unpredictable conditions on earth.
These two operations which, given he also has a young son at home that he’s supposed to be taking care of, spreads him extremely thinly. And while it would appear on the surface that the action will come thick and fast as Spider juggles two demanding missions, the preparations seem to take forever, action sequences are few and far between and domestic issues tend to dominate. What should be a fast-paced thriller is really anything but until the final 20 or so pages.
A recurring theme through each of the Spider Shepherd books so far has been the insidious danger presented by Jihadi terrorists who represent an ongoing threat to the west. And while this is something that is representative of life in the 21st century, it becomes a bit monotonous when every book in the series seems to follow the exact same formula. Spider has prevailed in the past books…will he prevail this time? Err, I wonder!
The undercover operations Spider’s involved in are often where the interest lies in this series and, although it appears there will be a good, meaty operation involving arms deals, it virtually gets forgotten here. Instead, we’re treated to a drawn-out planned military operation to save a captured man in Iraq who is going to be publicly beheaded.
For a supposed action novel, not a lot happens for a long time as Spider juggles his home life, his police work life and his continuing doubts over whether the means justify the end. For me, there was an air of inevitability about the plot and a sameness to the secondary storylines that continue to tread water from one book to the next.
Given that it’s still early days in the series (of 19 at time of writing!) I’ll continue to return in the hopes that this was simply one of the entries that didn’t quite work for me.
September 16, 2014
Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd is back and this time things take a slightly different turn, to what the readers are used to. Although Dan works for the Serious Organised Crime Agency, one of his old SAS colleagues gets kidnapped in Iraq. Spider, along with other of his old comrades gets together in a risky move to extract their old colleague from Baghdad. Along with the main storyline we see Spider going through many changes. The last book saw him lose his long time boss and mentor, and along cane the new on in the form of Charlotte Button. In addition to his new boss, he is moving further north to be closer to his sons Grandparents. We seem to be witnessing some big changes in Spider’s life, which makes it (as always) that little bit more fraught!
With a brilliant and fast paced plot the story held my interest from the very beginning; I knew I was going to enjoy this latest instalment. Spider has his work cut out and we see him work with Razor (who by the way I LOVE) on one assignment, whilst getting calls from Major Gannon. It seems that one of Spider’s old friends has been kidnapped whilst working in Iraq. It’s down to Spider and his other former SAS colleagues to get their friend Geordie back.
I really liked the fact that we see Spider go into unchartered territory. It makes for a much more exciting read, and as usual Dan gets himself in hot water. We also see the appearance of Richard Yokely who is an extremely shady American who is former CIA. Both he, Charlotte Button and Gannon are fabulous characters who add to the book vastly in my opinion. I cannot wait to read the next instalment and am trying to hold back as my list of books to read list is ridiculous. A brilliant series that I would highly recommend!
With a brilliant and fast paced plot the story held my interest from the very beginning; I knew I was going to enjoy this latest instalment. Spider has his work cut out and we see him work with Razor (who by the way I LOVE) on one assignment, whilst getting calls from Major Gannon. It seems that one of Spider’s old friends has been kidnapped whilst working in Iraq. It’s down to Spider and his other former SAS colleagues to get their friend Geordie back.
I really liked the fact that we see Spider go into unchartered territory. It makes for a much more exciting read, and as usual Dan gets himself in hot water. We also see the appearance of Richard Yokely who is an extremely shady American who is former CIA. Both he, Charlotte Button and Gannon are fabulous characters who add to the book vastly in my opinion. I cannot wait to read the next instalment and am trying to hold back as my list of books to read list is ridiculous. A brilliant series that I would highly recommend!
July 9, 2023
Did not see the ending coming. Wow.
June 8, 2018
A long-winded, circuitous telling that had me nearly wailing in frustration. Hours of listening to the men going over the same old ground, interrogating and getting repeated non-answers from the guy they were questioning.
I must say I'm surprised, going by the number of good reviews, but then this series had been inconsistent for me from the start and I'm one of the minority who found this installment too long with nothing much happening, despite descriptions to the contrary by those who liked it. Despite the slowness of this book, I feel I know Dan well enough from the first 3 books and find him likeable. However, from an action thriller, what I want to find memorable enough to mention in a review is not his wanting to sell his house and buy another and the rest of his domestic struggles (which nearly every review mentions) but the rescue mission. The former, while adding to my understanding of Shepherd, is something out of Women's Fiction but I picked up this series for suspense thrills and action and this was sorely lacking.
I must say I'm surprised, going by the number of good reviews, but then this series had been inconsistent for me from the start and I'm one of the minority who found this installment too long with nothing much happening, despite descriptions to the contrary by those who liked it. Despite the slowness of this book, I feel I know Dan well enough from the first 3 books and find him likeable. However, from an action thriller, what I want to find memorable enough to mention in a review is not his wanting to sell his house and buy another and the rest of his domestic struggles (which nearly every review mentions) but the rescue mission. The former, while adding to my understanding of Shepherd, is something out of Women's Fiction but I picked up this series for suspense thrills and action and this was sorely lacking.
August 4, 2018
Former SAS specialist Dan (Spider) Shepherd gets pulled into a highly risky rescue op for one of his old SAS colleagues. He puts himself up as the tethered goat in a last ditch effort to save his friend and is improbably rescued at the last possible second by his loyal buddies. Too many lucky coincidences for our side, coupled with incompetence and bad luck for the baddies, but fun to hear about Iraq, the Yanks and terrorism from a British point of view. Overall, I’m lukewarm on this series but I’m reading them anyway. Just lucky the author didn’t name his hero after himself. An undercover cop named Dan Leather would have been right over the top, lol!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2022
Suspenseful! Gripping! A terrific read
January 17, 2015
The 4th book in the Dan Shepherd series by Stephen Leather. I only started reading this series 2 weeks ago but I am already half way through book 5 and I can't get enough of it. I really don't like this star rating system and feel it needs to be out of ten to give a better indication of how good or bad books are. I gave it a 4 star rating but it was so much better than a 3 star. The book could be read as a stand alone novel as there are explanations throughout to recap but to get the best experience read in order so that you can feel the characters fill out with all the back stories. I already have already have all 11 books in this series lined up to read in time for the next instalment that is due to be released in July.
March 27, 2012
rating 2.5
It saddens me really that after such a great chapter in Cold Kill that this got me so uninterested. I didn't like the plot this time. However, Leather managed to impress with how he can deliver his characters. I also appreciate how objective he made Dan to be, which is why I like him more now. I truly love this series and I will definitely keep reading it. But this is not my favorite one in it.
It saddens me really that after such a great chapter in Cold Kill that this got me so uninterested. I didn't like the plot this time. However, Leather managed to impress with how he can deliver his characters. I also appreciate how objective he made Dan to be, which is why I like him more now. I truly love this series and I will definitely keep reading it. But this is not my favorite one in it.
August 13, 2009
As usual of the SAS type thrillers build on the sucess of authors like Andy McNab and Chris Ryan, this was filled with plenty of well detailed action, but still lacked depth with a plot that was all to familiar, but still pulled through for a good climax.
April 27, 2019
De nuevo Stephen Leather arma un gran thriller. Buen ritmo, trama que engancha, y temas muy actuales que se agradece. Shepard es un gran personaje, real, humano, con un sentido de la moral que hace falta en el género. Y todo esto sin dejar de entretener. ¿Qué más?. ¡Léanlo!
February 17, 2022
Hot Blood (Dan Shepherd, #4) By Stephen Leather
When one of Spiders former brothers in arms gets taken hostage in Iraq spider is left no choice but to risk a deadly rescue mission and here our story begins.
This book was just too big for Me Over the past 3 books we have seen Spider risk his life but on a small scale with tightly woven stories set largely in the UK however with Hot Blood we get to travel around the globe whilst our heroes put together a rescue plan and this is what I mean by too big.
The intimate story of one Man undercover risking it all amongst some of the harden criminals is lost here in book 4 and I didn't really feel the threat that the previous books had.
The writing is good and the book moves along at a snails pace as Spider tries to juggle family and work life and it still bugs Me why Leather refuses to include chapters in these books, it takes me nearly half of said book to get used to this and I find it really off putting.
The last 50 odd pages was really good but I struggled with it up to then.
I will continue to invest time and money in these books as I feel the Author is a tremendous story teller as I have invested in these and the Jake Nightingale books and all are good reads.
This was still a solid read but just lacked that little something special all the others had.
Worth your time and hard earned cash.
When one of Spiders former brothers in arms gets taken hostage in Iraq spider is left no choice but to risk a deadly rescue mission and here our story begins.
This book was just too big for Me Over the past 3 books we have seen Spider risk his life but on a small scale with tightly woven stories set largely in the UK however with Hot Blood we get to travel around the globe whilst our heroes put together a rescue plan and this is what I mean by too big.
The intimate story of one Man undercover risking it all amongst some of the harden criminals is lost here in book 4 and I didn't really feel the threat that the previous books had.
The writing is good and the book moves along at a snails pace as Spider tries to juggle family and work life and it still bugs Me why Leather refuses to include chapters in these books, it takes me nearly half of said book to get used to this and I find it really off putting.
The last 50 odd pages was really good but I struggled with it up to then.
I will continue to invest time and money in these books as I feel the Author is a tremendous story teller as I have invested in these and the Jake Nightingale books and all are good reads.
This was still a solid read but just lacked that little something special all the others had.
Worth your time and hard earned cash.
February 20, 2017
This is book 4 in the Spider Shepherd series, and crosses into unfamiliar territory. Spider is now working for SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency), and has a new boss, Charlotte Button. His previous boss, Hargrove, has been promoted to a different section. Much seems true to life with the changing situations of the characters. He has even put his house up for sale, so that he and his son can move closer to his parents-in-law. With his usual undercover work things get even more stressful when one of his former colleagues is kidnapped in Iraq.
The tension builds nicely throughout, and good use is made of characters and situations. Some people have likened Spider Shepherd to an English version of Lee Child's character Jack Reacher. Of the two I prefer this series, but that is probably purely down to nationality.
The tension builds nicely throughout, and good use is made of characters and situations. Some people have likened Spider Shepherd to an English version of Lee Child's character Jack Reacher. Of the two I prefer this series, but that is probably purely down to nationality.
November 7, 2017
This is probably worth less than a 3, but I did finish it.
My problem was that when I read a book, I want to be able to believe that I should be able to do what the characters can do. I couldn't with this story. eg The main character can be taken from the UK to Baghdad, and there get information from a terrorist that no one else could, and then return back to the UK within 18h and carry on with his normal job?
Also, the author really went overboard in trying to explain concepts used by both the good guys and the bad guys in places.
My problem was that when I read a book, I want to be able to believe that I should be able to do what the characters can do. I couldn't with this story. eg The main character can be taken from the UK to Baghdad, and there get information from a terrorist that no one else could, and then return back to the UK within 18h and carry on with his normal job?
Also, the author really went overboard in trying to explain concepts used by both the good guys and the bad guys in places.
February 25, 2017
I have read half a dozen in the Spider Shepherd series during the last few months. I awarded this one only three stars because it did not match up to the previous ones I have read. This story did not grip me and it took me much longer to finish than the other books.The story seemed to lack momentum but picked up to the expected excitement level during the last seventy pages. I am glad that this one was not the first which I read in the series as it may have deterred me from reading the others.
May 23, 2017
The actions begins almost immediately and that grabs your attention. The planning and every detail build up and it gets your mind racing and thinking "well what's going to happen next", then the most unexpected event takes place and shocks you completely, but still you carry on reading to see how it all plays out. In the end when he finally saves Mitchell, yet another unbelievable twist comes and Mitchell is dead...
A good book to read, but not one of my favorites.
A good book to read, but not one of my favorites.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2018
Good read, as always!!!
I'm a big fan of anything containing military, assassins or spies. This book has them all. Been a big fan of Stephen leather, read all of his books, can't go wrong. I especially like the spider Shepard collection. If you like Vince Flynn or Lee Child there's a very good chance you'll like these!!!
I'm a big fan of anything containing military, assassins or spies. This book has them all. Been a big fan of Stephen leather, read all of his books, can't go wrong. I especially like the spider Shepard collection. If you like Vince Flynn or Lee Child there's a very good chance you'll like these!!!
September 6, 2017
Brilliant again this author never fails to impress me with his books and when you think they couldn't get any better they just do,, I can't wait to read more from this author and I am on the sixth book
July 13, 2018
As always , the shepherd books are fantastic and this one doesn't disappoint
The plot is wonderful crafted and the story telling keeps you enthralled.. Nice that spider got layed, continuing the back story of the series.
The plot is wonderful crafted and the story telling keeps you enthralled.. Nice that spider got layed, continuing the back story of the series.
August 4, 2018
I felt that book 4 in the series was a little stale, good story but lacking pace and the weaker of the series so far; builds on previous character loyalties and the intertwining stories. This wont stop me reading the next in the series tho.
August 11, 2018
Another gripping story by Stephen Leather
A totally gripping story very believable story line with plenty of action and gripping till the end . Just wonder what the next one will be like in the order Shepherd series .
A totally gripping story very believable story line with plenty of action and gripping till the end . Just wonder what the next one will be like in the order Shepherd series .
March 19, 2021
I struggled to read this book. I have been totally enthralled with every Stephen Leather book up to now but this one was disappointing. However, I finished it and am now about to start the next book in the series
August 25, 2024
Continuing saga of “Spider” Shepherd. This one is very good. Good characters and nice flow between the novels in series. Personally I listen to the audiobooks and the reader does a good job of vocalizing characters to keep interest.
August 16, 2017
As long as you don't try to analyse this book, it's a fun, fast-paced thriller. I actually have some sympathy for Dan Shepherd, something that I've missed in some of Leather's other books.
December 26, 2019
Very enjoyable read!
March 24, 2020
Not bad - the Chinaman was better
Lost its way in the middle a bit, but rallied to a typical Leather finish - I’ll keep reading him
Lost its way in the middle a bit, but rallied to a typical Leather finish - I’ll keep reading him
May 18, 2020
I just enjoy Stephen Leather's books. Fast paced interesting and expressive in many ways. Visualise, every page. Never lets you down as a reader. would highly recommend all his books.
May 28, 2020
Really getting into the swing of these books now. Ended up holding my breath towards the end.
July 22, 2020
Hot Blood
Excellent read with twists and turns that make it difficult to put down. I would highly recommend it to fans of action stories.
Excellent read with twists and turns that make it difficult to put down. I would highly recommend it to fans of action stories.
September 7, 2020
Such a great series ...edge of my seat the whole time Highly recommend
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews