When Carver finds out that Rich Polaski, a man he served with in the SEALS, is on an NSA watch list, he goes to warn him out of a sense of duty.
He arrives in the small town of Bickham, Illinois, a spotless town with almost zero crime, no chain stores, and an aesthetic from a time long past.
That's because the local police run the town like it's their own little kingdom. They take what they want, and no one stops them.
Rich is their latest victim. They used civil forfeiture to take his home and fifty thousand dollars he'd been saving for surgery. But apparently, that wasn't enough. Carver finds out they also plan to take his life.
Carver's arrival stirs up the hornet's nest and puts him on a collision course with the local constabulary. It's a dangerous game, but that's nothing new to him. They're about to find out the hard way that the stakes just got higher.
And the next thing forfeited might be their lives.
Springs everything on you and then tries to tie everything together in the last 25 pages. Also, a lot of the motivations aren't credible. Also, scopolamine doesn't really work like that.
This book starts out with a bang, which seems to be the signature riff of this author. Carver comes to town to warn a brother-in-arms that he is on a Government watch list. Even though Carver and Rich Polaski don't get along, due to how Rich's military career ended, Carver felt like it was his duty to give Rich a warning. But Carver is too late. When he arrives in town, he finds that Rich's house and all he owned has been taken from him. That's not all he finds; there are crooked cops, questionable aid shelters, a hit man, and then - Jericho comes to town! No spoilers here, but there is so much going on, so many threads weaving together. I could not see that ending coming at all! This book kept me from adulting for most of a day, as I hated to put it down. If you like thrillers, be sure to grab this one. Better yet, start the whole series, the first one, Dead Before Dawn, is what hooked me in, and each book gets better!
Carver's finally back at the beach but he's being watched. Someone (from the NSA) is supposedly bringing a message from his friend Liana that a he & a buddy (Rich Polaski) from the Seals are on a watch list.
He's got to warn him -so he's off to Illinois to the beautific town of Bickham -a place with no crime, no box stores and some seriously weird vibes. Turns out the entire place is corrupt and the cops take whatever they want from whomever they want (but usually there's a reason).
Carver's sure Polaski doesn't want to see him but he feels obligated anyway. The storyline gets a bit complicated- there's the corrupt cops/town council & then another faction led by Carver's former Scion team member Jericho who has his own agenda and he needs to outwit them all.
It's a bit better than a few of the earlier books, a 3.25 for me.
Devoured the first seven (all 4 and 5 stars) but this one was clunky and bogged down with spy craft and over the top scheming. Corwin’s bad guys were well done, per usual, but the collateral characters came off almost as unlikable as the antagonists; a bunch of self focused whiny primadonnas with chips on their shoulder. I was hoping Rich would get killed off sooner or later but, instead, had to endure that self loathing little ingrate for entire book. Would highly recommend the first seven but skip this one for sure.
Well written and fast paced as usual. This book does shed some light on the disgraceful way our veterans are treated. Instead of honoring these women and men we casually cast them aside with little relief and or help for serious, serious problems. Shame on this country
You never where any of the Amos Carver Series is going to go. This one was exceptional. The storylines keep you engaged in all of the fast paced action. Amos Carver is a one man wrecking crew.
Carver sets off from Myrtle Beach to warn one of his SEAL teammates about something and ends up in a small town of bent policemen. He also sees a Scion member whom he thought was long dead. It’s a chaotic ride to the finish.
This installment is probably the best one after the first. I love the corrupt cops angle, more conspiracy, a couple of unexpected twists, and lots of killing, and of course the deadpan super dry Carver humor. Enjoy!
I don’t think this book is as good as the last one, it seems slow and not much action, I was waiting for something to happen but it only seemed to happen near the end
I like the book it was interesting and fast paced. I would have like it more if the book stood mor we on its own instead of never ending and now it relies on the next book to find some kind ending.