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Ben Webster
The Searcher: A Novel
An unlikely hero dives into the chaotic madness of Russia and Georgia’s deadly covert conflict, in this rapid-fire tale of corporate espionage gone awry
The acclaimed author of The Silent Oligarch and The Jackal’s Share , Christopher Morgan Jones returns to a murky world where corporate spies and government agents battle far from the public eye. Focusing on Georgia, a mountainous republic threatened by Russia to the north, Morgan Jones carries readers deep into an ancient land of chilling compromises and foolhardy valor.
Morgan Jones’s novels center on a unique London corporate espionage firm spearheaded by Ike Hammer and Ben Webster, which follows criminal money anywhere it be it Moscow or Dubai, Monaco or Kazakhstan, a bureaucrat’s pockets or a politician’s bank account. While Webster was the star of the earlier novels—investigating Russian businessmen and KGB operatives in The Silent Oligarch , Persian billionaires and Tehran terrorists in The Jackal’s Share —in The Searcher the focus shifts provocatively to Hammer, making this a perfect starting point for old fans and new readers alike.
Journeying to Georgia for the funeral of a friend, a journalist who inexplicably committed suicide after publishing the exposé of a lifetime, Webster mysteriously disappears. As the country rumbles ominously with civil strife and Russian aggression, Hammer rushes to Tbilisi to track down his missing friend. Once in Georgia, Hammer is forced to confront the country’s tragic civilians bombed either by cruel Russian spies or by deceitful Georgian soldiers; violent riots instigated by amoral oligarchs or government saboteurs; double and even triple agents who play all sides against each other at once. Threatened by enemies he cannot name and “friends” he cannot trust, Hammer rushes north—into the lawless mountains bordering Russia itself—to discover the true fate of his friend and Georgia’s future.
The acclaimed author of The Silent Oligarch and The Jackal’s Share , Christopher Morgan Jones returns to a murky world where corporate spies and government agents battle far from the public eye. Focusing on Georgia, a mountainous republic threatened by Russia to the north, Morgan Jones carries readers deep into an ancient land of chilling compromises and foolhardy valor.
Morgan Jones’s novels center on a unique London corporate espionage firm spearheaded by Ike Hammer and Ben Webster, which follows criminal money anywhere it be it Moscow or Dubai, Monaco or Kazakhstan, a bureaucrat’s pockets or a politician’s bank account. While Webster was the star of the earlier novels—investigating Russian businessmen and KGB operatives in The Silent Oligarch , Persian billionaires and Tehran terrorists in The Jackal’s Share —in The Searcher the focus shifts provocatively to Hammer, making this a perfect starting point for old fans and new readers alike.
Journeying to Georgia for the funeral of a friend, a journalist who inexplicably committed suicide after publishing the exposé of a lifetime, Webster mysteriously disappears. As the country rumbles ominously with civil strife and Russian aggression, Hammer rushes to Tbilisi to track down his missing friend. Once in Georgia, Hammer is forced to confront the country’s tragic civilians bombed either by cruel Russian spies or by deceitful Georgian soldiers; violent riots instigated by amoral oligarchs or government saboteurs; double and even triple agents who play all sides against each other at once. Threatened by enemies he cannot name and “friends” he cannot trust, Hammer rushes north—into the lawless mountains bordering Russia itself—to discover the true fate of his friend and Georgia’s future.
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2016
16 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Morgan Jones
7 books21 followersChris Morgan Jones worked for eleven years at the world’s largest business intelligence agency, and has advised Middle Eastern governments, Russian oligarchs, New York banks, London hedge funds, and African mining companies. The author of The Silent Oligarch and The Jackal’s Share, he lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 5, 2016
“You could be the perfect spy. All you need is a cause.”
----John le Carré
Christopher Morgan Jones, an English author, has penned an incredibly thrilling crime fiction in his latest book, The Searcher which is the third book in the Ben Webster series. In this book, the author weaves a tale where the main hero of his stories goes missing and his intelligence firm partner faces a hell lot of troubles from the police to surrender his friend who is accused of so many felonies, and his partner must find him out before trouble comes knocking at their doorstep, and little did he knew, that he has to risk his own life to search him in the deadly mountains bordered and inhabited by Russian criminals.
Synopsis:
An unlikely hero dives into the chaotic madness of Russia and Georgia’s deadly covert conflict, in this rapid-fire tale of corporate espionage gone awry
The acclaimed author of The Silent Oligarch and The Jackal’s Share, Christopher Morgan Jones returns to a murky world where corporate spies and government agents battle far from the public eye. Focusing on Georgia, a mountainous republic threatened by Russia to the north, Morgan Jones carries readers deep into an ancient land of chilling compromises and foolhardy valor.
Morgan Jones’s novels center on a unique London corporate espionage firm spearheaded by Ike Hammer and Ben Webster, which follows criminal money anywhere it leads: be it Moscow or Dubai, Monaco or Kazakhstan, a bureaucrat’s pockets or a politician’s bank account. While Webster was the star of the earlier novels—investigating Russian businessmen and KGB operatives in The Silent Oligarch, Persian billionaires and Tehran terrorists in The Jackal’s Share—in The Searcher the focus shifts provocatively to Hammer, making this a perfect starting point for old fans and new readers alike.
Journeying to Georgia for the funeral of a friend, a journalist who inexplicably committed suicide after publishing the exposé of a lifetime, Webster mysteriously disappears. As the country rumbles ominously with civil strife and Russian aggression, Hammer rushes to Tbilisi to track down his missing friend. Once in Georgia, Hammer is forced to confront the country’s tragic chaos: civilians bombed either by cruel Russian spies or by deceitful Georgian soldiers; violent riots instigated by amoral oligarchs or government saboteurs; double and even triple agents who play all sides against each other at once. Threatened by enemies he cannot name and “friends” he cannot trust, Hammer rushes north—into the lawless mountains bordering Russia itself—to discover the true fate of his friend and Georgia’s future.
Ben Webster goes missing right at the time when his corporate intelligence firm is facing a legal suit from the authorities, and to solve his sudden absence, Issac Hammer launches himself on the dangerous journey to find his friend-cum-partner. The journey lands him immediately on the perilous mountains in the capital city, Tbilisi, of Georgia where he finds himself in the middle of some deadly political war as the streets are everyday filled with bloodshed and so much scandal and corruption is playing on the background. In this war, Hammer need to worry about the safety of his own life, as he goes knocking and sniffing on wrong doors by infuriating wrong group of Russian mobs. Amidst of so much chaos, Hammer finds a bit of solace in the comforting words of Natela, who is the widow of the murdered journalist, who have managed to crack a politically scandalized breaking news, and Webster was visiting the funeral of that journalist until he goes missing. But can Hammer survive or will he be able to find Webster without fueling up any more political trouble for the already suffering city, Tbilisi?
The author's writing style is absolutely brilliant laced properly with enough suspense and tension that will keep the readers on their edges all throughout the story. The narrative is equally arresting right from the beginning that is both reflects reality and local dialect that will make the readers comprehend better with the well-developed plot. The pacing is really fast as this pot-boiler progresses like a roller-coaster filled with some adrenaline rushing scenes and with some raw violence, that will definitely make the readers feel the rush and the thrill of this story.
The mystery is quite well-concocted filled with unexpected twists and turns that will not only keep the readers anticipating till the very end, but will also shake them with the intensity of those twists and turns that are peeled one layer after another with the progress of the story. The mystery is at times bit deadly with a bone-chilling fear peeping from the pages of the book. right from the very first page, the readers will be absorbed into the story that eventually treads towards its unpredictable and dark depth, which ash been depicted strikingly by the author.
The characters in this book are extremely well portrayed properly with their flaws and strong qualities that make them look real in the eyes of the readers. The main character, Issac Hammer has not been on field duty for the past 10 years, but now after so many years of out of practice, he returns back to the practical world that challenges him constantly, as he is beaten up and tortured all through out his ordeal in Georgia. But his determination never once fails him and he comes out of it brave and strong, thus setting him apart among the rest of the characters. The author even paints him with lots of back story that makes him easy to contemplate and sympathize with from the readers' POV. The rest of the supporting characters are also pretty well etched out.
Although the background of the story is not at all well depicted by the author as the readers will face trouble win adjusting with the sudden scenery change of each city or country or rather say will leave the readers confuse as there are so many loose ends to the details and the portrayal of the background country.
In a nutshell, the story is riveting enough to keep the readers hooked into the story so crime fiction fans will find this book enthralling and exciting till the very climax that ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.
Verdict: A compelling political thriller.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Christopher Morgan Jones' publicist for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
----John le Carré
Christopher Morgan Jones, an English author, has penned an incredibly thrilling crime fiction in his latest book, The Searcher which is the third book in the Ben Webster series. In this book, the author weaves a tale where the main hero of his stories goes missing and his intelligence firm partner faces a hell lot of troubles from the police to surrender his friend who is accused of so many felonies, and his partner must find him out before trouble comes knocking at their doorstep, and little did he knew, that he has to risk his own life to search him in the deadly mountains bordered and inhabited by Russian criminals.
Synopsis:
An unlikely hero dives into the chaotic madness of Russia and Georgia’s deadly covert conflict, in this rapid-fire tale of corporate espionage gone awry
The acclaimed author of The Silent Oligarch and The Jackal’s Share, Christopher Morgan Jones returns to a murky world where corporate spies and government agents battle far from the public eye. Focusing on Georgia, a mountainous republic threatened by Russia to the north, Morgan Jones carries readers deep into an ancient land of chilling compromises and foolhardy valor.
Morgan Jones’s novels center on a unique London corporate espionage firm spearheaded by Ike Hammer and Ben Webster, which follows criminal money anywhere it leads: be it Moscow or Dubai, Monaco or Kazakhstan, a bureaucrat’s pockets or a politician’s bank account. While Webster was the star of the earlier novels—investigating Russian businessmen and KGB operatives in The Silent Oligarch, Persian billionaires and Tehran terrorists in The Jackal’s Share—in The Searcher the focus shifts provocatively to Hammer, making this a perfect starting point for old fans and new readers alike.
Journeying to Georgia for the funeral of a friend, a journalist who inexplicably committed suicide after publishing the exposé of a lifetime, Webster mysteriously disappears. As the country rumbles ominously with civil strife and Russian aggression, Hammer rushes to Tbilisi to track down his missing friend. Once in Georgia, Hammer is forced to confront the country’s tragic chaos: civilians bombed either by cruel Russian spies or by deceitful Georgian soldiers; violent riots instigated by amoral oligarchs or government saboteurs; double and even triple agents who play all sides against each other at once. Threatened by enemies he cannot name and “friends” he cannot trust, Hammer rushes north—into the lawless mountains bordering Russia itself—to discover the true fate of his friend and Georgia’s future.
Ben Webster goes missing right at the time when his corporate intelligence firm is facing a legal suit from the authorities, and to solve his sudden absence, Issac Hammer launches himself on the dangerous journey to find his friend-cum-partner. The journey lands him immediately on the perilous mountains in the capital city, Tbilisi, of Georgia where he finds himself in the middle of some deadly political war as the streets are everyday filled with bloodshed and so much scandal and corruption is playing on the background. In this war, Hammer need to worry about the safety of his own life, as he goes knocking and sniffing on wrong doors by infuriating wrong group of Russian mobs. Amidst of so much chaos, Hammer finds a bit of solace in the comforting words of Natela, who is the widow of the murdered journalist, who have managed to crack a politically scandalized breaking news, and Webster was visiting the funeral of that journalist until he goes missing. But can Hammer survive or will he be able to find Webster without fueling up any more political trouble for the already suffering city, Tbilisi?
The author's writing style is absolutely brilliant laced properly with enough suspense and tension that will keep the readers on their edges all throughout the story. The narrative is equally arresting right from the beginning that is both reflects reality and local dialect that will make the readers comprehend better with the well-developed plot. The pacing is really fast as this pot-boiler progresses like a roller-coaster filled with some adrenaline rushing scenes and with some raw violence, that will definitely make the readers feel the rush and the thrill of this story.
The mystery is quite well-concocted filled with unexpected twists and turns that will not only keep the readers anticipating till the very end, but will also shake them with the intensity of those twists and turns that are peeled one layer after another with the progress of the story. The mystery is at times bit deadly with a bone-chilling fear peeping from the pages of the book. right from the very first page, the readers will be absorbed into the story that eventually treads towards its unpredictable and dark depth, which ash been depicted strikingly by the author.
The characters in this book are extremely well portrayed properly with their flaws and strong qualities that make them look real in the eyes of the readers. The main character, Issac Hammer has not been on field duty for the past 10 years, but now after so many years of out of practice, he returns back to the practical world that challenges him constantly, as he is beaten up and tortured all through out his ordeal in Georgia. But his determination never once fails him and he comes out of it brave and strong, thus setting him apart among the rest of the characters. The author even paints him with lots of back story that makes him easy to contemplate and sympathize with from the readers' POV. The rest of the supporting characters are also pretty well etched out.
Although the background of the story is not at all well depicted by the author as the readers will face trouble win adjusting with the sudden scenery change of each city or country or rather say will leave the readers confuse as there are so many loose ends to the details and the portrayal of the background country.
In a nutshell, the story is riveting enough to keep the readers hooked into the story so crime fiction fans will find this book enthralling and exciting till the very climax that ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.
Verdict: A compelling political thriller.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Christopher Morgan Jones' publicist for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
April 20, 2024
"The Searcher" caught my eye for the location, Georgia.
I was there in 2012, the book was issued in 2016 and must have taken at least some research as I do recognize events and places, though it is a work of fiction.
There is no clear timeline provided, but there was a hefty car bomb explosion in Gori in 2005 - an incidence that was attributed to various players, both "Russian interests in creating instability" local gangsters going after the head of police etc. but it was never made quite clear.
It could very well be this incident the author used as inspiration.
Russia also shelled Gori during their invasion in 2008, but these circumstances are absolutely clear.
The plot is coherent, at least theoretically, but the characters did not impress me much, it could have been any cloak n dagger series featuring a hero and an anti-hero playing ball.
However, it did give me a trip down memory lane through the beautiful Tbilisi and the long and winding roads going up to the Caucasus mountains close to the Russian/Dagestan border and it reminded me that hospitality in Georgia has almost no limit.
At least out in the countryside there is no reason to fear the local police, chances they ask you in for coffee or a drink are more likely than any harassment.
I was there in 2012, the book was issued in 2016 and must have taken at least some research as I do recognize events and places, though it is a work of fiction.
There is no clear timeline provided, but there was a hefty car bomb explosion in Gori in 2005 - an incidence that was attributed to various players, both "Russian interests in creating instability" local gangsters going after the head of police etc. but it was never made quite clear.
It could very well be this incident the author used as inspiration.
Russia also shelled Gori during their invasion in 2008, but these circumstances are absolutely clear.
The plot is coherent, at least theoretically, but the characters did not impress me much, it could have been any cloak n dagger series featuring a hero and an anti-hero playing ball.
However, it did give me a trip down memory lane through the beautiful Tbilisi and the long and winding roads going up to the Caucasus mountains close to the Russian/Dagestan border and it reminded me that hospitality in Georgia has almost no limit.
At least out in the countryside there is no reason to fear the local police, chances they ask you in for coffee or a drink are more likely than any harassment.
July 7, 2016
Thriller set in GEORGIA
This review first appeared on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/thriller-s...
The Searcher is a really good thriller – full of fast moving action, intrigue, and a cleverly worked denouement.
Chris Morgan Jones is a former espionage detective / spy – and clearly knows his subject very well. Ike Hammer runs a London based investigation agency called Ikertu. His partner, Ben Webster, goes missing and the police want to track him down and interview him with regard to alleged illegal computer hacking. The action moves to Georgia (where Ike believes Ben to be investigating the death of a journalist…). He travels to Tbilisi to begin the search – and to either bring Ben back to ‘justice’ or to prove his innocence. The police investigation threatens the very existence of Ikertu – and that is something Ike isn’t going to permit.
In Georgia, Ike encounters a motley collection of police, security service personnel, and all powerful criminal gangs. He is unsure of the individual agendas and motivations… He and a driver set off to follow Ben’s trail. They head from Tbilisi to Gori (where an explosion had occurred that is at the heart of the story…) to Batumi on the Black Sea coast, and to Diklo high up in the Caucasus mountains close to the Russian border. The last third of the book is set in Diklo and the surrounding border country. It is an incredibly underpopulated part of the world – very sparse and beautiful, but also pretty foreboding. The final action is played out in awe inspiring forests and rivers on either side of the Russian border…
The Searcher is an excellent read for TripFiction. The recent (and not so recent) history of Georgia is woven into the story and – although the country may not be top of your must visit holiday destinations – it clearly has a lot going for it. The Caucasus mountain range is often described as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, and Tbilisi (in north Asia by this definition) has a very definite European feel – wide avenues and beautiful buildings… although the communist legacy of neglect lives on. We also move in the book to the beautiful Black Sea coast (with a sub tropical climate) and up into the high Caucasus mountains themselves. Sounds like a pretty ideal place (at least in summer) to enjoy an adventurous – but quite basic – walking holiday in a quite stunning environment.
The Searcher is both a very exciting and a very informative read.
This review first appeared on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/thriller-s...
The Searcher is a really good thriller – full of fast moving action, intrigue, and a cleverly worked denouement.
Chris Morgan Jones is a former espionage detective / spy – and clearly knows his subject very well. Ike Hammer runs a London based investigation agency called Ikertu. His partner, Ben Webster, goes missing and the police want to track him down and interview him with regard to alleged illegal computer hacking. The action moves to Georgia (where Ike believes Ben to be investigating the death of a journalist…). He travels to Tbilisi to begin the search – and to either bring Ben back to ‘justice’ or to prove his innocence. The police investigation threatens the very existence of Ikertu – and that is something Ike isn’t going to permit.
In Georgia, Ike encounters a motley collection of police, security service personnel, and all powerful criminal gangs. He is unsure of the individual agendas and motivations… He and a driver set off to follow Ben’s trail. They head from Tbilisi to Gori (where an explosion had occurred that is at the heart of the story…) to Batumi on the Black Sea coast, and to Diklo high up in the Caucasus mountains close to the Russian border. The last third of the book is set in Diklo and the surrounding border country. It is an incredibly underpopulated part of the world – very sparse and beautiful, but also pretty foreboding. The final action is played out in awe inspiring forests and rivers on either side of the Russian border…
The Searcher is an excellent read for TripFiction. The recent (and not so recent) history of Georgia is woven into the story and – although the country may not be top of your must visit holiday destinations – it clearly has a lot going for it. The Caucasus mountain range is often described as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, and Tbilisi (in north Asia by this definition) has a very definite European feel – wide avenues and beautiful buildings… although the communist legacy of neglect lives on. We also move in the book to the beautiful Black Sea coast (with a sub tropical climate) and up into the high Caucasus mountains themselves. Sounds like a pretty ideal place (at least in summer) to enjoy an adventurous – but quite basic – walking holiday in a quite stunning environment.
The Searcher is both a very exciting and a very informative read.
September 27, 2020
I received this book as part of a promotion from Penguin Press in exchange for an honest review.
I'll be honest, I'd never heard of this author or the series that this book is in up until I received the message from the good people at Penguin asking if I would be interested in reading it. It was described to me as a John Le Carre-esque thriller, and while some of that certainly is true, that sentiment doesn't ring true throughout the whole novel. The Searcher is a book that is both good and bad and while there is a lot of good within these pages the issues I do have are more reminiscent of a first time novel than the third book published by an author.
The searcher is an excellently written book and hits the sweet spot between under explanation and description and over explanation and description. Mr. Jones does an excellent job painting the nation of Georgia as a beautiful country, full of picturesque landscapes and cities full of beauty and history. He is also able to quite clearly paint an image of the events in the readers mind, making the desired "Movie in your head" experience come to full fruition within his pages.
Mr. Jones was also able to write one real hell of a first and third act, the first 50 and last hundred pages are really really well developed and do indeed make you want to continue reading. Mr. Jones is able to present the old and tired fish out of water scenario in the beginning of the book with a fresh and exciting twist, showing just how wrong a situation can turn in a country that you dont understand. That same excellence is repeated in the ending hundred pages of the book as the main characters are put through another hellacious crucible in which you just want them to catch a break.
Unfortunately it is the second act, where tensions are at their lowest, that this book really takes a dip in quality. Largely the biggest issue is that there simply isn't anything that makes you want to continue reading, the protagonists quest is obviously still active but for most of the middle of the book Mr. Jones doesn't give us that piece of information that we want solved. There is no kernel of information or vital question that we keep turning the pages to find the answer to, instead what we get in the middle of the novel is a string of random events that either make no sense to the overall plot or yield no information at all.
These issues manifest in conversations that give us no new information, "leads" that either take the protagonist nowhere or aren't well explained, and my personal favorite, the insane things that happen with no explanation at all. There are two major occurrences in which the latter takes place to an extreme degree and I'll write them out because they literally have no bearing on the story.
At one moment our protagonist is kidnapped by two men, driven out to a factory, a dog is killed in front of him and thrown in a vat of acid, the two men then threaten to drop him in, but then they hoist him back up and just tell him to leave the country. Then, later in the novel, a would be assassin attempts to stab someone in the street, the protagonist resolves the fight, and the duo simply leave. Both of these moments are never explained, we never learn who perpetrated either event, who set either event up, and neither even its resolved in any way by the end of the book. It's that kind of writing that reminds me of a freshman effort and not the overall well written nature that this novel has.
The Searcher is the kind of book that you'll find in airport book stores, its not all that long, its reasonably well done, and if you pay attention and put some time in you can really really enjoy it. It seems to me that Mr. Jones hasn't totally honed his craft yet, he is definitely an author that I would recommend paying attention to as his potential is huge. The Searcher has a good beginning, a great ending, and some real excellent writing, the only thing holding this back from being an excellent book are some issues with the plot.
I'll be honest, I'd never heard of this author or the series that this book is in up until I received the message from the good people at Penguin asking if I would be interested in reading it. It was described to me as a John Le Carre-esque thriller, and while some of that certainly is true, that sentiment doesn't ring true throughout the whole novel. The Searcher is a book that is both good and bad and while there is a lot of good within these pages the issues I do have are more reminiscent of a first time novel than the third book published by an author.
The searcher is an excellently written book and hits the sweet spot between under explanation and description and over explanation and description. Mr. Jones does an excellent job painting the nation of Georgia as a beautiful country, full of picturesque landscapes and cities full of beauty and history. He is also able to quite clearly paint an image of the events in the readers mind, making the desired "Movie in your head" experience come to full fruition within his pages.
Mr. Jones was also able to write one real hell of a first and third act, the first 50 and last hundred pages are really really well developed and do indeed make you want to continue reading. Mr. Jones is able to present the old and tired fish out of water scenario in the beginning of the book with a fresh and exciting twist, showing just how wrong a situation can turn in a country that you dont understand. That same excellence is repeated in the ending hundred pages of the book as the main characters are put through another hellacious crucible in which you just want them to catch a break.
Unfortunately it is the second act, where tensions are at their lowest, that this book really takes a dip in quality. Largely the biggest issue is that there simply isn't anything that makes you want to continue reading, the protagonists quest is obviously still active but for most of the middle of the book Mr. Jones doesn't give us that piece of information that we want solved. There is no kernel of information or vital question that we keep turning the pages to find the answer to, instead what we get in the middle of the novel is a string of random events that either make no sense to the overall plot or yield no information at all.
These issues manifest in conversations that give us no new information, "leads" that either take the protagonist nowhere or aren't well explained, and my personal favorite, the insane things that happen with no explanation at all. There are two major occurrences in which the latter takes place to an extreme degree and I'll write them out because they literally have no bearing on the story.
At one moment our protagonist is kidnapped by two men, driven out to a factory, a dog is killed in front of him and thrown in a vat of acid, the two men then threaten to drop him in, but then they hoist him back up and just tell him to leave the country. Then, later in the novel, a would be assassin attempts to stab someone in the street, the protagonist resolves the fight, and the duo simply leave. Both of these moments are never explained, we never learn who perpetrated either event, who set either event up, and neither even its resolved in any way by the end of the book. It's that kind of writing that reminds me of a freshman effort and not the overall well written nature that this novel has.
The Searcher is the kind of book that you'll find in airport book stores, its not all that long, its reasonably well done, and if you pay attention and put some time in you can really really enjoy it. It seems to me that Mr. Jones hasn't totally honed his craft yet, he is definitely an author that I would recommend paying attention to as his potential is huge. The Searcher has a good beginning, a great ending, and some real excellent writing, the only thing holding this back from being an excellent book are some issues with the plot.
March 21, 2016
I gave this 2.5 stars only because the writing itself was okay. The story was a mess, with multiple improbable plot lines but mostly because there was not one likable character in the entire 400 pages.
Isaac Hammer, the 58-year-old American owner of a corporate espionage company headquartered in London, recklessly flies to Georgia, Russia’s neighbor, to look for his younger partner Ben Webster, who has gone there to attend a friend’s funeral. When he didn’t come home in a timely manner, Elsa, Ben’s wife, called Ike Hammer for help.
How unlikely is it that a 58-year-old experienced mature man would just recklessly head off to a country where he does not speak the language, does not know the culture, but knows it is politically unstable, without getting someone to come with him who knows the place? Instead, he is immediately driven by a cab driver into the center of a riot where he loses his luggage and gets into hot water with the local authorities. He handles this by asking the hotel clerk where he is staying to get him a driver who speaks English. Then he incredibly indiscreetly shares too much information with this complete stranger on the journey to find Ben Webster.
For readers who like action, this book offers that if you don’t question the rationality of the characters and logic of the storylines. How does a man who hasn’t ridden a horse in 18 years manage to ride one up into the mountains, into snow, back down, and then do it again the next day, without getting saddle sore? The “ending” is abrupt, leaving the reader thinking the last chapter must have been left out of the book. If you are looking to complete escape reality, put your brain in park, and just spend time with an entire cast of untrustworthy characters, this is the book for you.
Isaac Hammer, the 58-year-old American owner of a corporate espionage company headquartered in London, recklessly flies to Georgia, Russia’s neighbor, to look for his younger partner Ben Webster, who has gone there to attend a friend’s funeral. When he didn’t come home in a timely manner, Elsa, Ben’s wife, called Ike Hammer for help.
How unlikely is it that a 58-year-old experienced mature man would just recklessly head off to a country where he does not speak the language, does not know the culture, but knows it is politically unstable, without getting someone to come with him who knows the place? Instead, he is immediately driven by a cab driver into the center of a riot where he loses his luggage and gets into hot water with the local authorities. He handles this by asking the hotel clerk where he is staying to get him a driver who speaks English. Then he incredibly indiscreetly shares too much information with this complete stranger on the journey to find Ben Webster.
For readers who like action, this book offers that if you don’t question the rationality of the characters and logic of the storylines. How does a man who hasn’t ridden a horse in 18 years manage to ride one up into the mountains, into snow, back down, and then do it again the next day, without getting saddle sore? The “ending” is abrupt, leaving the reader thinking the last chapter must have been left out of the book. If you are looking to complete escape reality, put your brain in park, and just spend time with an entire cast of untrustworthy characters, this is the book for you.
March 13, 2016
This book was a little bit of a hard start for me because I had to figure out where they were, in Georgia USA or Georgia the country. Plus for the first section of the book they switched back and forth between two different places and incidents, and I had to re orientate my self with the situation as they switched. There were a couple of times the language caught me because I didn't understand what they were saying. I got the gist of things though. I found myself wanting to read more so I could see what happens. For some reason I kept feeling conflicted myself on how I felt about this book. I am a person that usually thinks books are better than movies. But I think this would make a much better action movie than the book. It was a good book. It was well written I was able to imagine everything that was going on at the time. Although it was ended on a cliff hanger and I want to know what happens. So I hope that there will be a sequel so I don't feel so annoyed at how it ended with a lot of un-answered questions. Now I have to do some research and keep track of this author and see if he does do a sequel.
I received this book to read for free for an honest review from First to read by Penguin house. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.
I received this book to read for free for an honest review from First to read by Penguin house. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.
March 20, 2016
I am giving this book a 2.5 star rating. The book lost my interest after several chapters. I kept reading the book hoping that it would improve but it didn't. Previously I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them so not enjoying this book was a surprise.
The storyline centers on Ike Hammer and his company Ikertu. The police show up at his offices accusing him on suspicion of breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990 for a case they were investigating for a client. That particular case was handled by his former employee Ben Webster but Ike as head of the company is being held responsible for the alleged improprieties. He wants Ben to own up for his part in the case.
Ike is given one week to find Ben Webster who has disappeared in the country of Georgia. He travels over there and is immediately caught up in a riot in a clash of Georgian citizens who want to keep a free Georgia and police. Ike is injured and arrested within hours of his arrival in the country. Add in mobsters, crooked secret police, and a host of other characters and I had a hard time keeping the storyline straight.
The storyline centers on Ike Hammer and his company Ikertu. The police show up at his offices accusing him on suspicion of breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990 for a case they were investigating for a client. That particular case was handled by his former employee Ben Webster but Ike as head of the company is being held responsible for the alleged improprieties. He wants Ben to own up for his part in the case.
Ike is given one week to find Ben Webster who has disappeared in the country of Georgia. He travels over there and is immediately caught up in a riot in a clash of Georgian citizens who want to keep a free Georgia and police. Ike is injured and arrested within hours of his arrival in the country. Add in mobsters, crooked secret police, and a host of other characters and I had a hard time keeping the storyline straight.
March 23, 2016
Reviewed by Gemini
At 33% into The Searcher, I had to pull the plug on reading it. It was likely on life support at 15% in, but I was certain that it would get better. Boy was I wrong. There was literally no one to like in this book and I had no idea where it was going. Isaac Hammer is an investigator, and he owns a company that handles investigations. The company is in London but this particular investigation takes Hammer to the country of Georgia where he is trying to find a former friend/employee so that this person can be held accountable for some violations that Hammer and the company are now being accused of. There’s probably more to it than that but everything is written in such a bland and convoluted way that I just don’t care about the whos or the whys. Sometimes, a book can be over thought and I feel like this is one of those times. There’s also a guy who keeps a pet bear if that helps.
Rating: DNF
At 33% into The Searcher, I had to pull the plug on reading it. It was likely on life support at 15% in, but I was certain that it would get better. Boy was I wrong. There was literally no one to like in this book and I had no idea where it was going. Isaac Hammer is an investigator, and he owns a company that handles investigations. The company is in London but this particular investigation takes Hammer to the country of Georgia where he is trying to find a former friend/employee so that this person can be held accountable for some violations that Hammer and the company are now being accused of. There’s probably more to it than that but everything is written in such a bland and convoluted way that I just don’t care about the whos or the whys. Sometimes, a book can be over thought and I feel like this is one of those times. There’s also a guy who keeps a pet bear if that helps.
Rating: DNF
September 18, 2016
Not sure what to say about this book. It wasn't a bad read but I feel like I should have read the first two to get acquainted with the characters and the direction of the book. I had no idea what was going on for most of it and the character development must have been in the first few books. It was well written but mostly over my head and a bit jumbled.
October 22, 2017
A Ben Webster novel where Ben Webster is missing throughout.
Ben Webster is in big trouble with his boss Issac Hammer of the Ikertu Company. Seems that they have broken their partnership with Ben gone to Georgia (The country, not the US state) and then well...nothing.
With Ikertu under government investigation, Ike goes our to find what Ben has done to compromise the company they both built up.
What follows is Ike Hammer's story of the attempts to find his friend, but the world is upside down in Georgia, which finds Ike completely out of his element which he can't buy or negotiate out of. Saddled with a guide, who he doesn't totally trusts and police women who is duplicitous he ends up in the middle of nowhere at the border with Russia .
Well paced with a good read of Georgia and it's politics. Ike learns something about himself in a foriegn country surrounded by the good, bad and totally evil.
Ben Webster is in big trouble with his boss Issac Hammer of the Ikertu Company. Seems that they have broken their partnership with Ben gone to Georgia (The country, not the US state) and then well...nothing.
With Ikertu under government investigation, Ike goes our to find what Ben has done to compromise the company they both built up.
What follows is Ike Hammer's story of the attempts to find his friend, but the world is upside down in Georgia, which finds Ike completely out of his element which he can't buy or negotiate out of. Saddled with a guide, who he doesn't totally trusts and police women who is duplicitous he ends up in the middle of nowhere at the border with Russia .
Well paced with a good read of Georgia and it's politics. Ike learns something about himself in a foriegn country surrounded by the good, bad and totally evil.
April 19, 2020
Isaac Hammer (Ike) goes in search of his friend in Georgia, and gets mixed up in a conspiracy to place the blame for a bombing on a particuar political side.
Apart from the way money was thrown around with abandon, Ike was a grounded and realistic character with plenty of flaws which you could empathise with. I liked how we as the reader never knew more than him (which other thrillers play out differently) and therefore went through the process of discovery with him.
I'm not totally sure I understand everything that happened, and who's side each character was on in the end, but the story was a thrill to read, and had me hooked throughout the second half. I also liked the mountain scenes as they were well written and were something I could relate to.
Like many say, I would recommend if you like the books of John le Carre, these (the Ben Webster series by Chris Morgan Jones) are I think better than those. And also if you enjoyed James Bond novels and other spy thrillers.
Apart from the way money was thrown around with abandon, Ike was a grounded and realistic character with plenty of flaws which you could empathise with. I liked how we as the reader never knew more than him (which other thrillers play out differently) and therefore went through the process of discovery with him.
I'm not totally sure I understand everything that happened, and who's side each character was on in the end, but the story was a thrill to read, and had me hooked throughout the second half. I also liked the mountain scenes as they were well written and were something I could relate to.
Like many say, I would recommend if you like the books of John le Carre, these (the Ben Webster series by Chris Morgan Jones) are I think better than those. And also if you enjoyed James Bond novels and other spy thrillers.
April 24, 2020
Having not read the first two books in this series, I was worried that I would be lost on some sort of over arcing story line, but considering that the main character in the series, is missing I guess I didn't miss much. This thriller is mainly set in the country of Georgia. Rich with history and beautiful geographical descriptions we join Isaac Hammer as he searches for his former friend/business partner Ben Webster. Full of twists, turns, spies, and gangsters, it's hard to know whom to trust. I throughly enjoyed reading this, even though some of the "clues" were dropped a little too obviously, leading to some twists being less of a shock and more of an obvious option. The ending may annoy some, because it's clearly a set up for another book, and I did find it upsetting, but I can't tell you why without ruining one of the sub plots!
July 22, 2017
It took me a bit to get into this book. It's the first I've read in the series and I was slightly lost and disconnected at first; not knowing the characters, relationships, etc. And the corporate investigator/ private detective/ spy genre isn't generally for me. So why read it? Because I read in an interview that it is set in the country of Georgia and that was enough for me. While the level of corruption and thuggery in the Georgia of the book isn't anything at all like the Georgia I saw, hey, it's a spy novel so what do you expect? I'm glad I stuck with it and sorry it's over now.
October 1, 2018
I read this whilst travelling in Georgia, so it was great to read a fast paced story set in Tbilisi whilst staying there. Some of the story did not make sense, to me and some of the events obviously were more prominent for the writer than for the reader, I found myself several times flicking back to find a reference to the current action or location. But some satisfying characters and scenes, and it was great to pick up some references to Georgian customs and traditions which were confirmed during my visit.
February 26, 2024
An exciting spy thriller set in one of the most complicated regions of the world - between Russia and the Caspian Sea. Ike Hammer, the “quiet one” in the corporate security / intelligence service duo of he and partner Ben Webster, plunges like Alice through the looking glass, into a confusing and dangerous attempt to find Ben after he went AWOL on a mission in the country of Georgia. The clash of cultures, the layers of corruption and graft, the fight between radicals and authoritarians. Really, my kind of book.
March 19, 2017
Not what I was hoping for. With his first two novels, Mr. Jones was showing promise as a writer of thrillers but this book is a long, unrewarding story with characters I didn't care about. The first third of the book creates a convoluted/ridiculous web of Ike Hammer trying to navigate police and politics in the former Russian state of Georgia as he searches for his former business partner whose gone missing. The second has him putting people in jeopardy due to his selfishness and not thinking things through. And finally, continually stating that 'there's no time' to falsely create a sense of tension didn't work for me. He was there for a week and it felt like a month. There's no reason to care about the missing man, other than 'it's what friends do' and that he may have info that will keep Ike in the clear with the police in London. The story is as drab as Tbilisi.
November 15, 2019
I enjoyed reading it from Georgia. I believe this added to it as I could look at, eat, or drink the things he was referring to. Slow first act, amazing second act, but sadly a third act that felt rushed and too convenient. I also hate ending a book with the inciting incident of the next...give us a satisfying resolution!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2020
Them as likes this sort of thing would probably enjoy this. I'm not really into Thrillers, I only read this because I was bored and it seemed like an easy read.
The plot was very silly and if you think about it for more than 10 second it makes no sense. Still, Koba was fun and the action was kind of exciting.
The plot was very silly and if you think about it for more than 10 second it makes no sense. Still, Koba was fun and the action was kind of exciting.
August 18, 2019
This book is an it of a mess. It’s convoluted in its plot and story line. It’s really slow to get started (and really, why? When it’s a thriller?).
But the real problem is it’s quite unresolved at the end. I didn’t like it.
But the real problem is it’s quite unresolved at the end. I didn’t like it.
April 28, 2019
Loved his first two books but The Searcher just doesn't make it.
May 18, 2020
I think this author’s writing improves with each book, I got a little muddled at the beginning of this one as it jumps about a bit, but that didn’t last long and then I really enjoyed it.
October 16, 2021
Edge of the seat stuff if this was a film! I do hope there is another book in the pipeline to tie up all the loose ends. a great series so far.
December 16, 2022
russian spies and dead dogs....not my favored style of book.
August 16, 2016
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.
I requested The Searcher on NetGalley because the blurb sounded really interesting. The idea of a novel focusing on corporate espionage and forensic accounting sounded like something I would really enjoy, so I was excited when Penguin Press accepted by request. Having finished the book, I still don’t really know what to think about it. It wasn’t what I expected when I read the blurb and it’s not quite the same style of book I usually read. All I know is that I really enjoyed the book.
The Searcher is Christopher Morgan Jones’ third novel featuring private investigators Ben Webster and Ike Hammer. In a step away from the previous novels which centred on Webster, The Searcher follows Hammer as he investigates the disappearance of his former partner and friend, Webster, in the country of Georgia. The closer Hammer gets to the truth, the more he starts to believe that Webster’s disappearance may have something to do with the recent bombing by Russia that has torn Georgia apart.
I think there are two main reasons that I really enjoyed this book. The first is the characters, in particular the main character Ike Hammer. Most of the books in the genre focus on macho men and women who outsmart everyone around them, but that is not what Hammer is like. I really enjoyed the fact that Hammer felt like a regular person who was over his head and forced into becoming a hero by circumstance. I really liked that Hammer acted in the same ways that regular people would when confronted with danger, like trying to pay his way out of trouble, and that’s not something that I have ever really seen anyone else do as believably as Jones does.
The second is the setting. One of the things that really makes a book stand out to me is an interesting and different setting. The Searcher fits that bill as it is set in the country of Georgia which is not something I can remember reading about in other books. Also, Jones is really good at giving short and simple, but still powerful, descriptions of places to the point where it really felt like I was on the streets of Tbilisi with Hammer.
I did have a bit of trouble with getting into the book at the start. This was partly to do with the fact that the chapters kept jumping back and forwards in time at the beginning. The other reason was that I think the book follows pretty closely from the previous book. I feel a little bit more information about who was who and what was going on would have been nice because at the start it felt like I had walked into a movie halfway through. It took me a while to get into the book, but once I felt like I understood what was going on, I was really engaged with it and didn’t want to put it down.
All in all, The Searcher is a great read. It has a little bit for everyone to enjoy. There’s a well-written and relatively fast-paced story, an interesting and unique setting, mystery, action and adventure. I am really interested to see what Jones does to follow this up because The Searcher does end on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Is it worth a read? If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers with intriguing settings and main characters that buck the ‘macho man’ trend, then there is a good chance you will enjoy The Searcher. It’s definitely worth a read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller.
This review was originally published at Worth a Read.
I requested The Searcher on NetGalley because the blurb sounded really interesting. The idea of a novel focusing on corporate espionage and forensic accounting sounded like something I would really enjoy, so I was excited when Penguin Press accepted by request. Having finished the book, I still don’t really know what to think about it. It wasn’t what I expected when I read the blurb and it’s not quite the same style of book I usually read. All I know is that I really enjoyed the book.
The Searcher is Christopher Morgan Jones’ third novel featuring private investigators Ben Webster and Ike Hammer. In a step away from the previous novels which centred on Webster, The Searcher follows Hammer as he investigates the disappearance of his former partner and friend, Webster, in the country of Georgia. The closer Hammer gets to the truth, the more he starts to believe that Webster’s disappearance may have something to do with the recent bombing by Russia that has torn Georgia apart.
I think there are two main reasons that I really enjoyed this book. The first is the characters, in particular the main character Ike Hammer. Most of the books in the genre focus on macho men and women who outsmart everyone around them, but that is not what Hammer is like. I really enjoyed the fact that Hammer felt like a regular person who was over his head and forced into becoming a hero by circumstance. I really liked that Hammer acted in the same ways that regular people would when confronted with danger, like trying to pay his way out of trouble, and that’s not something that I have ever really seen anyone else do as believably as Jones does.
The second is the setting. One of the things that really makes a book stand out to me is an interesting and different setting. The Searcher fits that bill as it is set in the country of Georgia which is not something I can remember reading about in other books. Also, Jones is really good at giving short and simple, but still powerful, descriptions of places to the point where it really felt like I was on the streets of Tbilisi with Hammer.
I did have a bit of trouble with getting into the book at the start. This was partly to do with the fact that the chapters kept jumping back and forwards in time at the beginning. The other reason was that I think the book follows pretty closely from the previous book. I feel a little bit more information about who was who and what was going on would have been nice because at the start it felt like I had walked into a movie halfway through. It took me a while to get into the book, but once I felt like I understood what was going on, I was really engaged with it and didn’t want to put it down.
All in all, The Searcher is a great read. It has a little bit for everyone to enjoy. There’s a well-written and relatively fast-paced story, an interesting and unique setting, mystery, action and adventure. I am really interested to see what Jones does to follow this up because The Searcher does end on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Is it worth a read? If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers with intriguing settings and main characters that buck the ‘macho man’ trend, then there is a good chance you will enjoy The Searcher. It’s definitely worth a read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller.
This review was originally published at Worth a Read.
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March 20, 2016Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.
I received this book for free from Penguin Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I stopped reading this book on page 213.
I haven't read anything by this author before, but once I got past the confusing first part of the book the pages sped by. The very beginning is a little confusing because the main character keeps flashing between present time, and something that happened in the past. It later turns out that past was only a few days at the most, previous to the main part of the book. But while we were jumping back and forth, it was hard to tell what was supposed to be the 'current' time.
I liked the characters. They were well written, and felt like real people. Complete with believable faults as well as positives. The story was interesting as well. There were a lot of twists and turns, and you don't really know what is part of the investigation and what is incidental. Which doesn't bother me at all really. I like that there are other things happening in mystery novels, helps set up the world the characters live in.
The reason I stopped reading the book was because I had gotten 213 pages into it and suddenly realized... there was no progression of the mystery plot. Hammer has gone to another country looking for his friend, and in all these pages he's gotten lots of leads and clues. And then suddenly it's like he's back to square one again. The beginnings of what looks like it could be a romance start up, more bad guys arrive on the scene. But we still have no actual clues as to where his friend is or what's happening.
Usually in mysteries, even long ones, by this far into the book there is some kind of progress. You can see the story winding down a bit as we get ready to find out just what happened. Get the lead up to the end of the book. But this one, felt like you were suddenly starting the book from page one again with 179 more pages of twists and intrigue to go.
I think if a few of the unneeded twists and extras earlier in the book had been left out, it might have been a cleaner clearer mystery book. But by page 213 I'd just stopped caring about if Hammer was going to find his friend or go home without him.
Since the book is now listed as only having 332 pages instead of the 392 that my copy has, it's quite possible that the finished novel was tightened up and you won't have the issue I ran into. I did quite like the book aside from the confusing opening, and dragged out restarting of the search. Given that the book appears to be shorter than what I received, I would recommend giving it a try. Especially if this is a genre you enjoy.
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
I received this book for free from Penguin Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I stopped reading this book on page 213.
I haven't read anything by this author before, but once I got past the confusing first part of the book the pages sped by. The very beginning is a little confusing because the main character keeps flashing between present time, and something that happened in the past. It later turns out that past was only a few days at the most, previous to the main part of the book. But while we were jumping back and forth, it was hard to tell what was supposed to be the 'current' time.
I liked the characters. They were well written, and felt like real people. Complete with believable faults as well as positives. The story was interesting as well. There were a lot of twists and turns, and you don't really know what is part of the investigation and what is incidental. Which doesn't bother me at all really. I like that there are other things happening in mystery novels, helps set up the world the characters live in.
The reason I stopped reading the book was because I had gotten 213 pages into it and suddenly realized... there was no progression of the mystery plot. Hammer has gone to another country looking for his friend, and in all these pages he's gotten lots of leads and clues. And then suddenly it's like he's back to square one again. The beginnings of what looks like it could be a romance start up, more bad guys arrive on the scene. But we still have no actual clues as to where his friend is or what's happening.
Usually in mysteries, even long ones, by this far into the book there is some kind of progress. You can see the story winding down a bit as we get ready to find out just what happened. Get the lead up to the end of the book. But this one, felt like you were suddenly starting the book from page one again with 179 more pages of twists and intrigue to go.
I think if a few of the unneeded twists and extras earlier in the book had been left out, it might have been a cleaner clearer mystery book. But by page 213 I'd just stopped caring about if Hammer was going to find his friend or go home without him.
Since the book is now listed as only having 332 pages instead of the 392 that my copy has, it's quite possible that the finished novel was tightened up and you won't have the issue I ran into. I did quite like the book aside from the confusing opening, and dragged out restarting of the search. Given that the book appears to be shorter than what I received, I would recommend giving it a try. Especially if this is a genre you enjoy.
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
April 15, 2016
This may be billed as the third Ben Webster thriller, or perhaps more accurately as a spin off, as Webster scarcely appears at all in the story except as the objective of the title character’s search.
And who is the title character, but Webster’s former boss, the 58 year old, diminutive Isaac Hammer who has not operated in the field for many decades. A lot is asked of him here: he is beaten up, stabbed, involved in a number of shoot outs, travels over very rough terrain (the uplands of Georgia into the Caucasus itself), but at the novel’s close he is still standing, which is not the happy fate of many of the other characters in the tale.
And what is the tale? Hammer seeks Webster, his idealistic former employee, who seems to have landed Hammer’s investigative company into major legal trouble. Last seen in Georgia, subsequently disappeared without a trace, Webster must be found in order to save the company and keep Hammer out of gaol.
This is an adrenaline run of an action thriller. The violence begins on the first page as Hammer, just arrived in Georgia, is beaten up and arrested on his way to his hotel. The drama never lets up right to the last page of an exciting and fast-moving narrative. Russian spies, corrupt Georgian ex-policemen, mafia bosses all weigh in: Hammer is at a loss about who is friend and who is foe, but struggles on regardless – perhaps ultimately at some cost to plausibility.
For me the pleasures were interesting geographical and political settings as well as an undeniably exciting story; balanced against were the physical challenges overcome by the Searcher and a number of plot threads which seemed to have been abandoned without any attempt at resolution. Perhaps a sequel will do that.
And who is the title character, but Webster’s former boss, the 58 year old, diminutive Isaac Hammer who has not operated in the field for many decades. A lot is asked of him here: he is beaten up, stabbed, involved in a number of shoot outs, travels over very rough terrain (the uplands of Georgia into the Caucasus itself), but at the novel’s close he is still standing, which is not the happy fate of many of the other characters in the tale.
And what is the tale? Hammer seeks Webster, his idealistic former employee, who seems to have landed Hammer’s investigative company into major legal trouble. Last seen in Georgia, subsequently disappeared without a trace, Webster must be found in order to save the company and keep Hammer out of gaol.
This is an adrenaline run of an action thriller. The violence begins on the first page as Hammer, just arrived in Georgia, is beaten up and arrested on his way to his hotel. The drama never lets up right to the last page of an exciting and fast-moving narrative. Russian spies, corrupt Georgian ex-policemen, mafia bosses all weigh in: Hammer is at a loss about who is friend and who is foe, but struggles on regardless – perhaps ultimately at some cost to plausibility.
For me the pleasures were interesting geographical and political settings as well as an undeniably exciting story; balanced against were the physical challenges overcome by the Searcher and a number of plot threads which seemed to have been abandoned without any attempt at resolution. Perhaps a sequel will do that.
June 22, 2023
Isaac Hammer owns a large company that engages in tasks between investigation and industrial espionage. His partner, Ben Webster, who has made a mistake (it appears) that has brought the London police down on the firm for hacking offenses has disappeared while investigating the death of a journalist in Georgia (the former Soviet republic), a journalist who has worked on occasion for the firm. Partly to rescue his newly estranged friend, partly to clear his firm by bringing Webster back to engage in its defense, and partly to redeem his own personal sense of self, Hammer follows on Webster's trail. The third motive may be the strongest,because Hammer was stung by his friend's dismissal of him as a risk-aversive executive in bed with big business.
Much as in several Eric Ambler novels out of the 60s and 70s, Hammer finds himself threatened (by several groups), accosted, misled, jailed, and discouraged every step of the way. His drive to find Webster is unassailable, and he takes many risks. He's not a super-hero type, but he is brave and persistent. He's not always quick to understand what is happening around him, but he is able to bankroll his dogged pursuit. There are times when the reader (me, anyway) wants to scream at him, but he is at base an honorable man, and it is worth waiting for events to unscroll, even when that happens slowly. The end of the novel, set in a mountainous region of Georgia, close to the Russian border, ratchets up some genuine tension, and makes demands on Hammer that are serious ones.
The third book in a series of three, so far, ends in such a way that you know that a fourth book is on the way. I won't mind reading it, though I won't expect a quick read.
Much as in several Eric Ambler novels out of the 60s and 70s, Hammer finds himself threatened (by several groups), accosted, misled, jailed, and discouraged every step of the way. His drive to find Webster is unassailable, and he takes many risks. He's not a super-hero type, but he is brave and persistent. He's not always quick to understand what is happening around him, but he is able to bankroll his dogged pursuit. There are times when the reader (me, anyway) wants to scream at him, but he is at base an honorable man, and it is worth waiting for events to unscroll, even when that happens slowly. The end of the novel, set in a mountainous region of Georgia, close to the Russian border, ratchets up some genuine tension, and makes demands on Hammer that are serious ones.
The third book in a series of three, so far, ends in such a way that you know that a fourth book is on the way. I won't mind reading it, though I won't expect a quick read.
September 6, 2016
2.5 stars. This spy novel was long on filler and short on plot. Isaac Hammer, an American who is a detective and owner of Ikertu Limited based in London, goes to Georgia to look for his business partner, Ben Webster, who has disappeared after his attending the funeral of journalist Karlo Toreli. Ben and Isaac both happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with Georgian riots, bombings, and civilian deaths. Colonel Elena Vekua, of Georgian Intelligence, is involved. Lots of thugs after Isaac as he searches for Ben taking us through the mountains, to Russia, and endless cigarettes being smoked.
April 29, 2016
Won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This novel is a part of a series which I have not been following but is a stand alone novel. It had a pretty good plot,interesting characters, and a good outline of a story. The problem I had with the book is it was way to long. The story could have played out about 90 pages shorter. Reminds me of some three hour movies I have seen that seem like they are four hour movies. In my humble opinion,Mr. Jones is a talented writer but just a bit too wordy.
March 29, 2016
A well developed and expounded book with an intriguing character and well-plotted story line. It took me longer than usual, as my read-time has been limited, but I did want to return to the book each time I had to put it down. I read this as a standalone - the author has 2 earlier books, which might have the principal main male characters.
The ending was clever - not what I expected.
This was a First-Reads contest win.
The ending was clever - not what I expected.
This was a First-Reads contest win.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews