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Adam Black #1

Unleashed

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Meet Adam Black. A man betrayed. A man on a mission. Does anything matter more than justice?

Adam Black, an ex SAS Captain, is randomly attacked while out for his nightly jog in the quiet Scottish village of Eaglesham. But Black does not take the ambush lying down and while defending himself, kills two of the three attackers.

After being interviewed, the police decide not to press charges against Black. Unbeknownst to Black, the men who assaulted him have links to a vicious criminal, Peter Grant, who swears revenge.

Black is not a man to mess with. But neither is Peter Grant and when he begins a campaign of terror against Black, his wife and daughter, Black refuses to be intimidated. But at what cost?

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First published July 28, 2020

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Karl Hill

13 books32 followers

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5 stars
342 (53%)
4 stars
211 (32%)
3 stars
67 (10%)
2 stars
13 (2%)
1 star
11 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for The Cats’ Mother.
2,345 reviews192 followers
August 4, 2020
Unleashed is a gripping vigilante-thriller set in Scotland, by a new author who’s also a practising lawyer. It’s short and violent with no real surprises in the plot, with a tough unstoppable Reacher-type hero. You need to be prepared to suspend disbelief for much of it in terms of characters’ behaviour and what they get away with, but I enjoyed the ride. I received a review copy as part of the Bloodhound review team.

Happily married lawyer Adam Black is out for a run one evening, when he is randomly attacked by Damien Grant, the vicious drug-addled son of a prominent Glaswegian gangster. Black, however, is a former SAS soldier, who uses his lethal skills to defend himself. Cleared by the police, he becomes the target for the Peter Grant’s brutal vengeance, and with nothing left to lose, Black in turn will stop at nothing to wreak his revenge.

We already know from the blurb that something terrible is going to happen to Adam’s family, so I found the first part hard to read while waiting for this to happen. It’s awful but not gratuitous - if that makes sense - and from then on this was a non-stop read for me. There are some fairly gruesome scenes (that’s two books in a row featuring eyeball attacks, ugh), an implausibly high body count, that seems to escape the notice of the police, and later on some nasty torture, but no animal abuse. There is some bad language, if that offends you, but ironically, not nearly enough for convincing Scottish gangster dialogue. Apart from the rather generic American style, I thought it was well enough written, with the right amount of scene setting and character description for this kind of thriller, but limited character development.

I did find it hard to believe that neither Adam nor Peter would foresee the others’ actions nor take more steps to protect themselves from their clearly rather unhinged adversary, but maybe I’ve just read/watched too many of the kind of plots. It’s unclear whether this is the start of a series or a stand alone novel - it ends properly, although Adam inexplicably fails to deal with the senior police officers - one of the other villains responsible for it all, (that’s not really a spoiler) so hopefully that will happen in a sequel sometime - which I’d be happy to read. I’d be happy if the author had the confidence to make his characters more obviously Scottish! Recommended if you like violent fast paced action-revenge stories. Unleashed is published on August 4th.
Profile Image for Linda Strong.
3,878 reviews1,708 followers
August 4, 2020
Adam Black is not a man you would want to mess with. Ex-SAS Captain was trained as a weapon .. he has never lost his skills. Married with a young daughter, he's now living the good life.

On his nightly run, he is attacked by three men. While defending himself, two of the men are killed .. the third is in the hospital.

Police, at first, cannot fathom a man killing 2 men with his bare hands, but after reviewing the camera images, they cannot press charges against him.

One of those men who who killed was the only son of Peter Grant ... a vicious mafia-type criminal who swears revenge against Black. Grant wants Black to feel the loss of people close to him .... and he starts his war of terror by having Black's wife and daughter murdered.

Black is not a man to mess with. He takes no prisoners.

This crime thriller is well written with skillfully drawn characters. It's action packed from start to finish, leading to a very unexpected conclusion. Lots of violence, lots of bodies falling make this a riveting read. This would make a terrific series.

Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Profile Image for Cathy Geha.
4,336 reviews118 followers
August 6, 2020
Unleashed by Karl Hill

Adam Black enjoyed his work as an SAS officer and was incredibly good at his job that required a great deal of killing. Retired from the service he is married, has a young daughter, and works as a lawyer with one of his best friends. Little does he know that running on a cold winter evening under a blood moon will require using his lethal killing skills to stay alive and in staying alive his actions will bring the wrath of a gangster down on his and his family’s heads.

This was an action-packed thrill ride that pitted two men against one another as they both seek justice…or what they perceive as justice.

What I liked:
* Adam: lethal killing machine, loving family man, won’t back down, capable of much – I liked him and was cheering him on throughout the story.
* The writing style including plot and pace
* The action scenes – graphic but not gratuitous though definitely plenty of violence and deaths in this story with a bit of torture, too.
* That the bad guys were eventually thwarted
* Meeting a new author and the character he created
* Wondering if Adam Black will star in more books in the future

What I did not like:
* The ease with which Peter Grant could snuff people out – callous, cold blooded, and evil
* Damian Grant: a low life that was a waste of space
* Most of the bad guys and bad things that I was meant to dislike

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to Bloodhound books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars
Profile Image for Linda Joy.
354 reviews
August 19, 2022
I have a particular set of skills….. lol
Felt like I was watching a very good Jason Statham movie…
A well paced vigilante thriller… if you like that sort of thing… About to launch into book 2.
I love Black🌹
Profile Image for Lynn.
152 reviews3 followers
August 4, 2020
Although this is quite brutal from the start and the language maybe a little “colourful” at times it is completely “in place” in this book.

Gripping right from the beginning this will have you taking sharp intakes of breath at times and at one point almost had me in tears.

Lawyer Adam Black thought he’d left his tough guy life behind him when he left the special forces, but a chance encounter with a group of three men while out on his usual run one night sends his life into a spiral that you can’t see how he can get himself out of.

While defending himself against the three men; using his training and sense of survival, he takes them down easily; killing two of them and leaving one in a coma.

Unfortunately for Adam, one of those he’s killed is the son of the local mob boss Mr Peter Grant. A man who is definitely not one to mess with.

Grant driven by ferocious rage, begins his relentless revenge on Adam, which has devastating consequences him.
Both men are now fiercely determined to get revenge on the other, and as the body count rapidly rises, you know its only going to be a matter of time before the two men end up going head to head.

The ending will have you holding your breath. And is it reaches its conclusion it had me shouting “touché”.

I really liked the character of Adam Black, he is very highly driven; and though in the book you would think he would be completely driven by rage; I really liked how he remains calm and cool throughout. everything.

Great writing, and I will definitely look forward to reading more by this author.
Profile Image for Sharon Rimmelzwaan.
1,456 reviews42 followers
August 5, 2020
Adam Black is happy. He is living a charmed life, a successful partner at a law firm and has a wonderful wife and young daughter at home. Until one night, when his usual jog ends up in a scene of bloodshed and death. Soon, everything that he loves is under threat and he has to resort to long past training and skills to seek the revenge and justice he needs.
An absolutely thrilling read! Fast paced and yes, brutal at times this book grabs you and takes you at an exhilarating speed! I was hooked till the last word!
Thank you to Bloodhound books for the ARC for this book.
1,146 reviews7 followers
December 7, 2020
Gangsters vs Superman

A vicious, random attack on Adam Black leaves the psychotic son of a crime lord and his handlers dead. Black, a happily married lawyer with a young daughter, is also a well trained military operative. But the thug's father wants payback notwithstanding. But despite his money and might he just may have picked on the wrong man.

This is a fast paced, entertaining read. Black is the type of hero you root for. The criminals are, across the board, despicable. If you like David and Goliath tales you will enjoy this.
Profile Image for Grace J Reviewerlady.
2,135 reviews104 followers
August 4, 2020
This is definitely a 'wow' book .. or rather, that should be 'WOW'!

Adam Black is a lawyer, happily married with one child and living in Eaglesham, a village very close to Glasgow. Whilst out for a run one evening he is randomly attacked by three thugs; their mistake - Adam is an ex-SAS Captain and doesn't take the assault lying down. In fact, two of his three attackers die and the third is left severely injured. However, all three have connections to a Glasgow gang leader, Peter Grant, who is akin to the Mafia. They picked on the wrong man in Adam Black, but Grant is not going to let it pass . . .

Initially, the setting of this book attracted me to it. Eaglesham - pronounced Eagle-sham if you live in Lanarkshire (like me) or Eagles-ham if you happen to reside in the posher areas of Glasgow - is within easy distance of where I live, in fact we have family who live there. It's quite a quaint wee place, a bit different from the villages around here. However, the story very soon takes over and the beauty of the setting is quickly forgotten. I spent a lot of this novel with either my heart in my mouth or my mouth dropping open as events unfolded. Let's just say I'd rather Adam Black was on my side than the other guy's any day of the week! Gripping, exciting and pulse racing material, my attention never wavered until I got to the final page and even then I was surprised. A good solid story with plenty of action but with an exhilarating narrative, I was really absorbed in every event and really, really hope to read more from this author. From what I can see, this is a debut novel and what a cracking read it is! Fully earning all five sparkling stars and the highest recommendation to all those who love a bit of action with their suspense.
Profile Image for Stacy .
110 reviews3 followers
August 5, 2020
Adam Black is a man not to be crossed. When Black unknowingly becomes a target of a vicious attack while out on an evening run he does what any specially trained ex SAS Captain would do – he annihilates the enemy. Two of the three men succumb to their injuries but things take on a deadly twist when Black discovers that these men are affiliated with lifelong criminal, Peter Grant. With revenge fresh on his mind Grant targets the only thing that matters to Black, his wife and 4 year old daughter. Black won’t be intimidated but how far is he willing to go to protect the ones he loves?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It’s certainly not for the faint of heart as the fight scenes can be very descriptive but that is exactly what I love. If I can read a sentence and my face distorts with disgust then that’s a win in my mind. The action was non-stop and the emotional roller-coaster never seemed to slow down, even at the bitter end. Well done Mr. Hill. I will definitely be looking forward to reading more of your books
223 reviews3 followers
August 17, 2020
This is an enthralling, fast paced, all action thriller. Without doubt it is a page turner and one you will find incredibly difficult to put down. I had one particularly late night wanting to finish the book before going to sleep. 
Adam Black, a former member of the SAS, was attacked one night and it changed his life forever. Being ex SAS he had "skills" which he had to utilise to save his life. If you don't like violence in a book then steer clear of this one as there is a fair scattering of it throughout. 

I found this book even more interesting as it is set just a few miles from where I stay so could easily relate to the descriptions of the areas. 

As said earlier Karl Hill is on to a winner with this book. 

Thank you to Bloodhound Books for the ARC which I've reviewed voluntarily 
Profile Image for Rebecca Charlesworth.
490 reviews
October 9, 2020
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book as the main character is ex army and thought it would be fairly military based..... but boy was I pleasantly surprised the storyline was great and I do like to see bad guys getting their arses kicked. Adam is a great main character and I would like to say his relationships and interactions make for interesting reading though he does come across as a but what we do see if him and learn of his past made for great reading. The storyline never lets up, fast paced and there is always something happening. It kept my interest and I found I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next, where would the story go and what would happen with Adam. Overall a really good read.
96 reviews
November 25, 2020
Breathtaking thriller of a read!!!

This is THE Best Book I have ever read from this genre by a mile. The plot, the writing style, the short solid sentences just left me needing to read just one more chapter. The cliff hangers at the end of every chapter....And then there's Adam Black. Wow the character has such depth. Family man, Ex SAS.....need I say more. He is absolutely fearless. There are many moments in this book where I had palpitations, but one particular event where I was floored. Don't miss out on this book. You will regret it. It packs a HUGE punch from the first to the last page....Now starting book 2.
Profile Image for Dave Bate.
147 reviews2 followers
September 26, 2020
Simply deserves ten stars, what a read. Completely unbelievable but extremely readable, read in two sessions and even then didn't want to break with storyline. Adam Black, super hero, one man war machine, one man vigilante, just do not fall foul of this happily married family man who is a partner in a law firm and probably would be expected not to say boo to a goose. I lost count of the dead bodies that he was accountable for, probably more than Bournemouth FC get to watch their home matches, (pre covid). Read it ASAP.
Well done Mr Hill.
Profile Image for Bobbi Wagner.
4,998 reviews62 followers
August 4, 2020
I enjoyed this suspensful-thriller. This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. This is a well written story that has characters that bring the story to life. I had no issues connecting with the characters. They made the story easy to read as well as engaging. Black is a man who is attacked one night and ends up killing his attackers. This becomes a story about justice and survival. This is a really great book that I enjoyed and highly recommend.
265 reviews2 followers
December 6, 2020
When there's nothing keft

Crime thriller at its best. A man lost his wife and child in a violent way. Now he's unleashed his inner monster and there's one one goal in his mind. Making those guilty of the murder of wife and daughter. Nothing will stop him not even his own death if it become necessary. What a journey! I couldn't let the book down and now I'm looking for next installment in the life of captain Black.
128 reviews1 follower
December 17, 2020
I have never read any of Karl Hill's books before but what an amazing story and so full of ducks and weaves and not really knowing what is going to happen next. The end was terrific, I could not put the book down and I have now gone on to his next book. I hope that there are more of his books available as they are a thrilling read. Definitely recommend as a 1st class read and a sitting on the edge of your seat book. Thoroughly enjoyable and pulse-racing read.
31 reviews
December 15, 2025
good until the end

And a black played an awesome character throughout the entire book. Until the very ending when he got beat up by a 75 year-old guy, I don’t care that the guy looked 55 or kept active and was a boxer blah blah blah. He was still 75 years old, so the author turned a really really really great book for the entire 7/8 of the book and absolutely destroyed it with the ending just a shame.
1 review
August 12, 2020
Clever start and then pulls you in as each chapter unfolds.A number of twists that keep you on your toes and a surprising ending.

Very clever plot with lots of twists and surprising characters.
Also gives you a realistic insight as to how the real world operates which is quite scary.
The kind of book you think you know who is who doing what but fool of surprises.
192 reviews2 followers
December 4, 2020
Did someone say action thriller?

What a ride! From page one til the last paragraph you are caught up in a ride you can’t get off. The characters were unbelievably great, the story so well written, I m still trying to catch my breathe. Anyone who’s a fan of action thrillers will not be disappointed. Adam Black is a new hero I plan to follow. Awesome read!
1 review
August 10, 2020
Pulls you in and doesn't let go for a moment - I rarely find a book I can't put down, but Unleashed really is that book. Exciting, heart wrenching and well written with a hero you equally fear and root for. I really didn't want the book to finish. Fingers crossed for a follow up
1,181 reviews6 followers
December 12, 2020
Great Story

The advertising blurb which said if you read one book this year then this is the book you should choose. They were not wrong. Action from start to finish, a great character and an excellent story. Can't wait to read the next in the series.
Profile Image for Stuart Harvey.
43 reviews
January 8, 2021
Adam Black a new tortured hero

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The central character is believable and you sympathize with him all through the book. So much so that you want there to be a sequel.
4 reviews
August 5, 2020
Really enjoyed the book, I live in Glasgow so all the locations were familiar and i assume there will be a follow up book
352 reviews4 followers
August 7, 2020
Action packed from the very start. This was a new author for me and I really liked his style. It was almost impossible to put the book down. A well deserved 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2 reviews
September 5, 2020
Enjoyable read

Really enjoyed this. Well written and flowed well. Not for the faint hearted, lots of violence but that's what I like in a book!
1 review
September 10, 2020
A thriller that thrills.

A seat of the pants read. Definitely a page turner, the main character is indestructible and needs to be. Excellent
3 reviews
July 18, 2021
Excellent introduction to Adam Black

Well crafted story and a great introduction to the world of Adam Black. Looking forward to see where his story.
107 reviews
July 25, 2021
Gripped from the first page to the last. This is the first of Karl Hill books that I’ve read and it certainly won’t be my last.
23 reviews
January 31, 2023
Fast paste action at it's absolute best. Couldn't put it down. Couldn't wait to get stuck into the other books in the Adam Black series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews

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