Collin Cook is a man on the run – from many things. This young father is struggling with his career, his increasingly strained marriage, and the pressures of life when he is sent into a tailspin by the sudden, tragic loss of his family. Losing them was a painful shock. Witnessing the accident over the phone was enough to send him over the edge. In “Off Kilter”, we follow Collin around the world as he battles with guilt and the pain of his loss while trying to stay one step ahead of his would-be captors. These would be captors have targeted the unstable Collin and have been dispatched to retrieve the huge settlement he received. At the same time, they have framed him so that law enforcement agencies have joined the hunt, believing that he is involved in major cyber attacks on several large banks. With the help of his long-time friend Lukas Mueller, a highly trained security expert, Collin must find a way to stay alive and maintain his freedom while teetering on the brink of emotional collapse.
I am hoping that there will be a part 2 to this novel as Collin's story is not done. He was just getting to be more like able, capable, resolved, and well, less emotionally paralyzed (therefore less pathetic) as the novel ended. I'd like to see him go after and catch the true villain and must admit that I was hoping it would happen earlier in this book.
Although I find myself rooting for Collin and kinda liking him, I couldn't help but think, "Come on! Snap out of it," a few times while reading this as he had meltdown after meltdown while bouncing from place to place all over the world escaping the authorities- sometimes barely escaping. I like the Collin that emerges from Hurricane Abigail far better than the Collin at the beginning of the book and was disappointed that the book ended just as this Collin begins to emerge at the end.
Another plus to this book: I am dying to travel to some of these places that Collin traveled to and found myself googling maps and pictures of some of these places.
The repetitive internal dialogue took away from a too fast to be believable plot. Money doesn't make you smarter, he didn't use it to protect himself and had a friend who was available 24/7 to guide him.
I enjoyed reading this well-written book. Glen Robins did a good job of creating complex characters, complete with human flaws, and yet capable of accomplishing incredible things, while still remaining believable. The story was well told and the author avoided creating any of those plodding sections of a book that most readers would skim through. He found the perfect balance between the level of detail required to make a reader feel like they are witnessing these events without providing so much detail that the reader loses interest. As a fellow author, I know this is not particularly easy to do, particularly when you are creating a book in which suspense is the key ingredient that hooks the reader and makes them want to keep reading. I will definitely read this author's future work. Thanks for the good read, Glen Robins!
Collin, the protagonist, was like Liza on the ice floes. Throughout the novel he is fleeing for his life. In that sense the plot is predictable as he never lands in a secure spot. Yet you are caught up in the suspense. There are breaks to fill in back story and the reader learns why he is constantly on the run. It is clear this is a first of a sequel as there is no resolution to the chase, and the reader wants to know if he'll ever get free of his curse. Still, I'd prefer a story with a beginning, middle, and end with a promise of more. This well written novel is well worth the read.
This is a gripping novel. It follows Collin cook- a man who has lost himself in the loss of his beautiful family. He has to endure that pain while traveling the world to elude mobsters and governments. It's suspenseful and keeps you wanting more! Great read!
I loved this book! It's exciting, adventurous, and keeps you entertained from beginning to end. It was fun to travel the world with the main character as he escaped time after time from people trying to frame him for a crime he didn't commit. Looking forward to the sequel!
Since my friend wrote it, I'm more impressed, as I can't imagine writing a novel. I wanted more action, more character development of the bad guys, more context for the why they are chasing him, passed along my input for the next volume, which I highly look forward to.
This book has a bit of everything - a very fun read and perfect for those times when you just want an interesting, quick book. There are lots of places and the parts about the ocean travel I found particularly interesting. . I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author.
This book was well-written and kept my interest. I liked the characters who seemed real and the last third of the book had me holding my breath. I was sorry when it ended and look forward,hopefully, to a sequel.
This fast-paced novel became more and more unbelievable as it went along. The protagonist, Collin (with no espionage background), spends the entire book eluding capture by all sorts of sophisticated government agencies, Interpol and even the cyber terrorist with whom he is wrongly believed to be associated. Just when I thought at least SOME part of the whole mess was about to be wrapped up the book ended, very unsatisfyingly, with Collin still on the run! I can think of myriad ways this novel could have been concluded in a manner that would have resolved a number of issues while still allowing for continued adventures; resolving none of them meant the book really had no ending, hence it’s getting just a 2 star rating from me.
A very interesting and entertaining storyline about a 30 years old salesman leading an ordinary life until the day his wife and children die in a horrible highway crash and he is awarded $30 million in damages. The insurance company is a scam cover for an international terrorist organization that makes sure no beneficiary ever gets to spend their award. The money is illegally taken from them and used to fund terrorism. That is until this story and this salesman. We follow him in his adventure and misadventures trying to stay ahead of the bad guys.
I have enjoyed reading this first book in the series getting to know Colin and his family friends and enemies he seems to be always one step ahead of everybody and is always being helped by his friend. His ability to go unnoticed is great and so are his many disguises. He gets to see different parts of the world although it's sometimes only very briefly. The ship he teams up with and it's crew are very helpful . I'm looking forward to reading the second and third books in the series.
Thank you to author Glen Robins for this FREE Kindle copy of Off Kilter. And thanks to Goodreads for hosting the opportunity.
Although somewhat repetitive - run, hide, found, repeat - I thought this was a good read. Relatable and real characters, action, adventure, love, death, and family all come together to keep the reader involved. Engaging. Nicely done. A little more editing could have been done in my mind, and more time 'fitting' the document into the Kindle format would have been nice. Orientation of the Kindle helps at times. Nicely done cover too.
I get so pissed when I expect to read a complete story of a string of stories related to a central character, only to discover that the story ends midstream. For that, the story and author gets downgraded by at l sat one star. I don't trust that the next book will complete the story or be another narrative-interruptous. Not a fan of bait-and-switch.
Very good book but also not a book I typically read. Although the main character has many near misses with law enforcement and thugs alike and it was very exciting, it also started feeling a little repetitive. I’d definitely continue reading the series though because they were well written and it was an engaging story. The characters were likable and it was a nice change of pace from what I normally read.
He puts together a story to suck you in. It reads OK. Brain candy. You read expecting resolution of the situation he developed. No such thing. He sucker baits you--dumps you out in the middle of the scenario all to sucker you into buying the next book. Authors have to make a living, but this kind of chicken smelly stuff turns me off. I will not get suckered in again. Avoid authors like this.
An adventure for sure..Some times, too much detail, the Action part was well done. I felt I was traveling around with Colin. Some times he acted dumb. There was a part that I wanted to not finish, but I'm happy I did. Traveling to some of the same places made it more interesting..I will look for the sequel for a future read. Good First Novel.
Holy smokes! I was scared to death when this ended, fearing I'd have to wait for the next book in the series. Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!! You know the type when it's so tense and you're so into it, you find yourself yelling out loud at the characters? So much suspense, action, craziness. EXCELLENT read!
This is the first time I'm reading this author but it won't be the last. Off Kilter started wonderfully. I was hooked after few pages and I couldn't put it down. The plot is very compelling and the characters are amazing. It ends a bit unpredictably but lucky for me - the other 2 books are out so I can keep reading the trilogy. I recommend it.
Within intense plot continuing through the book it was a fun adventure. I loved the character of Collin and his way of trying to fight the bad guy. I love 'spy' stores but hate the normal amount of blood and death with it. This book was entertaining without gore. Thank you!
A non-stop thriller/adventure, Off Kilter will take your breath away and you will not want to put it down. The FBI, Interpol AND the bad guys are being out witted at every turn.
Disappointing book as the basic story line is good but it became a travelogue thriller rather than a taut story. The main character's motive while clear does not show up in the story line as the main theme with the story revolving around it.
I really enjoyed this story. Collins was a cool character. I hope he survives this story and all others. The story is rich and has plenty of action one couldn't help but root for Collins.
Absolutely no forward plot. I kept waiting for the plot to progress but it never did. On the run. Close call. Got away. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. That is it. No resolution or progression.
Impossible in finish; actually, impossible to even read because of incoherent content.
Too much improperly formatted text; inconsistencies in the narrative and inadequate plot development prevent attention and comprehension, to say nothing of enjoyment.
I really enjoyed this book! It stared off a bit slow, and I wasn’t too sure, but within a few chapters I was hooked into the suspense of the story! It’s hard to find a good, clean, suspense novel, and this was all of it!