What do you think?
Rate this book
Lex Harper #1
Takedown
A heart-pounding new standalone thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author Stephen Leather. ' He has the uncanny knack of producing plots that are all too real, and this is no exception' ( Daily Mail on First Response ) When a British Special Forces soldier goes rogue, carrying out an attack at a US army base in Syria leading to the death of two men, ex-MI5 controller Charlotte Button is hired to work out what his plan is and to take him down before he can carry it out. Charlotte puts her best man on the case - hitman Lex Harper. It's up to Lex to assemble a crack team and get to the soldier before he carries out what could be a massive terrorist attack. But Charlotte might require Lex's help with a more personal problem too . . . As ex-MI5, Charlotte holds information on thousands of the agency's dirty operations, and keeps a store of those secrets in three flash drives hidden in separate safety deposit vaults. Now someone is taking extraordinary measures to recover the secrets through Hatton Garden-style robberies. So far two vaults have been raided, and two flash drives have gone. If the third is stolen, Charlotte's life will be in jeopardy. While it's down to Lex to prevent a potential terrorist attack on British soil, Charlotte must work out who is after her and what they want.
384 pages, Paperback
Published July 27, 2017
82 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Leather
245 books1,528 followersStephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. For much of 2011 his self-published eBooks - including The Bestseller, The Basement, Once Bitten and Dreamer's Cat - dominated the UK eBook bestseller lists and sold more than half a million copies. The Basement topped the Kindle charts in the UK and the US, and in total he has sold more than two million eBooks. His bestselling book The Chinaman was filmed as The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan and grossing more than $100 million.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
February 8, 2017
Wow. Author Stephen Leather chucks us right out of our comfort zone. Set in the world of Spider Shepherd, the man himself makes no appearance, this is about Charlotte Button and Lex Harper. Harper has been seen before but is morally ambiguous. While Shepherd is a bit of a white knight discovering that much of the world is neither black or white, Harper works on the dark side. Loyalty is important to him but his contacts and methods are well off the grid and he is very dangerous indeed. He is also someone that Button call in times of need, and in Takedown she is very much in need.
Three threads here, the main one being Harper being used in an off the books operation to track and kill an ex-SAS guy who has turned to the dark side, at the same time, both Harper and Button have problems of their own which need to be solved in tandem.
Harper is a fantastic counter-balance to the Spider we have come to know so well, we are learning about him whereas we have grown with Spider through his career and adventures. Even Button has changed, still talented and a real tactician, but she has lost much of her support structure and is out there in the cold not knowing who to trust.
Of course it all come together brilliantly and we would expect nothing less. All the story strands are delivered effortlessly and with real pace that forces you to read “just one more chapter”
I think Mr Leather is one of the UK’s top thriller writers, this book seems to be further proof.
Three threads here, the main one being Harper being used in an off the books operation to track and kill an ex-SAS guy who has turned to the dark side, at the same time, both Harper and Button have problems of their own which need to be solved in tandem.
Harper is a fantastic counter-balance to the Spider we have come to know so well, we are learning about him whereas we have grown with Spider through his career and adventures. Even Button has changed, still talented and a real tactician, but she has lost much of her support structure and is out there in the cold not knowing who to trust.
Of course it all come together brilliantly and we would expect nothing less. All the story strands are delivered effortlessly and with real pace that forces you to read “just one more chapter”
I think Mr Leather is one of the UK’s top thriller writers, this book seems to be further proof.
June 17, 2017
Pure escapism. Assassin for hire taking on a solider gone rogue. Fun quick plot. Setting is quite eerily relevant to our current world situation. I just found the dialogue a little overly cheesy, especially the Russian characters. If you want a fast paced thriller with good action this is it. Action thiller popcorn novel.
September 2, 2017
Featuring a number of characters from the Spider Shepherd books, this unofficial mission to take down a fundamentalist plot in the UK, led by a rogue ex-SAS officer, moves along at great pace. With a secondary plot against our hero, Lex Harper, this is a very violent story indeed.
January 7, 2020
What l will remember about this book are the amazing feats of Lex Harper. His avenging mission of a Thai lady friend left a trail of mangled baddies all killed by various means. This all happened alongside Lex dealing to those who wished to kill Charlotte Button a close friend who worked within the security circles. The story line was authentic and the fast pace meant there was always some killing action on the cards. Lex Harper was the consummate hero. No matter the mission he was the man to do the business and never was he found wanting, nary a scratch on him. He was the man for all scenarios flitting between countries and towns, eliminating those in his way, saving all from terrorism while extracting substantial vengeance. This is a typical Stephen Leather read - believable plot, action aplenty, violence and a wholesome hero.
January 29, 2020
A very good thriller. For once, not featuring Spider Shepherd. Start this time is Lex Harper. Tough character, and not quite so limited as Spider (single guy, not a dad, nothing to tie him down, or prevent him from doing WHAT must be done). I think Lex used to work with Spider as a secondary character. I will look for further adventures of Lex and his crew.
May 18, 2024
Enjoyable first solo outing for Lex Harper who has featured in a few of the Spider Shepherd books.
Thought it was a bit slow to start off but then really got going.
Good to see Button return and also the return of the Moore brothers in Thailand hopefully see some more of these characters in future books👍
Thought it was a bit slow to start off but then really got going.
Good to see Button return and also the return of the Moore brothers in Thailand hopefully see some more of these characters in future books👍
February 2, 2017
A gripping read from Stephen Leather. I really could not put it down. The story involves some of the characters which are regulars in the Spider Shepherd series but this time no appearance of Spider. All the baddies get their comeuppance just as you might expect. Great stuff!
December 29, 2020
Heart-pounding excitement from first page to last. Three unrelated stories unfold through the book, all involving Lex Harper, an assassin previously used by the British government’s shady department called The Pool, which has the remit to work in unconventional ways to achieve its goals.
The main storyline relates to a rogue soldier who has decided to join ISIS. He travels to Syria, persuades an ISIS commander to support a plan to launch an attack on British soil, and then sets about planning the atrocity. However, when he was in Syria, he killed a British army leader (during a test of his allegiance to ISIS), which soon has the intelligence services after him, and The Pool pay Harper to neutralise him. This story thread follows Harper as he tracks down the soldier, prevents the attack, and undertakes his objective.
A second storyline relates to Charlotte Button, who is still loosely attached to The Pool and who has copies of secret files that could bring down many political figures. This is her “insurance policy” because she left the government’s pay in disgrace and is worried they may decide to eliminate her. The problem is that someone has stolen two of the three copies of those files. She asks Harper to collect the third one and make more copies (she knows she is under surveillance so can’t do it herself).
The third storyline concerns personal trouble that Harper stirs up with a Russian Mafia boss, which can only be settled one way.
Although Takedown was a very exciting thriller, I was a bit disappointed because a couple of aspects felt unrealistic, which slightly spoiled the read: firstly, everything runs too smoothly for Harper—nothing goes wrong and his enemies never come anywhere near getting the better of him. As one example, this is seen when the rogue soldier never applies any anti-surveillance, allowing Harper and his team to repeatedly follow him with ease. This sort of lack of realism broke the spell of the book in several places.
The second aspect that spoilt an otherwise excellent thriller relates to how the rogue soldier managed to get buy-in from an ISIS commander to provide funds and the use of valuable sleeper jihadists in the UK—he convinces the commander that he has a viable plan to strike at the heart of Britain—he won’t even say aloud who the target is in their meeting, but writes it down, shows the commander and then burns the paper. Yet when it comes to it, the targets seem fairly mundane, and the sort of thing anyone with a suicide vest could manage.
However, the never-ending action and excitement dragged me through the book, meaning I definitely still enjoyed it overall and still give it five stars.
The main storyline relates to a rogue soldier who has decided to join ISIS. He travels to Syria, persuades an ISIS commander to support a plan to launch an attack on British soil, and then sets about planning the atrocity. However, when he was in Syria, he killed a British army leader (during a test of his allegiance to ISIS), which soon has the intelligence services after him, and The Pool pay Harper to neutralise him. This story thread follows Harper as he tracks down the soldier, prevents the attack, and undertakes his objective.
A second storyline relates to Charlotte Button, who is still loosely attached to The Pool and who has copies of secret files that could bring down many political figures. This is her “insurance policy” because she left the government’s pay in disgrace and is worried they may decide to eliminate her. The problem is that someone has stolen two of the three copies of those files. She asks Harper to collect the third one and make more copies (she knows she is under surveillance so can’t do it herself).
The third storyline concerns personal trouble that Harper stirs up with a Russian Mafia boss, which can only be settled one way.
Although Takedown was a very exciting thriller, I was a bit disappointed because a couple of aspects felt unrealistic, which slightly spoiled the read: firstly, everything runs too smoothly for Harper—nothing goes wrong and his enemies never come anywhere near getting the better of him. As one example, this is seen when the rogue soldier never applies any anti-surveillance, allowing Harper and his team to repeatedly follow him with ease. This sort of lack of realism broke the spell of the book in several places.
The second aspect that spoilt an otherwise excellent thriller relates to how the rogue soldier managed to get buy-in from an ISIS commander to provide funds and the use of valuable sleeper jihadists in the UK—he convinces the commander that he has a viable plan to strike at the heart of Britain—he won’t even say aloud who the target is in their meeting, but writes it down, shows the commander and then burns the paper. Yet when it comes to it, the targets seem fairly mundane, and the sort of thing anyone with a suicide vest could manage.
However, the never-ending action and excitement dragged me through the book, meaning I definitely still enjoyed it overall and still give it five stars.
January 5, 2022
“Takedown” by Stephen Leather (2017) First Edition
Overall Rating 7/10 – After Tea-Time Action
Plot
Charlotte Button (Ex-MI5 Head) is being hunted and her safety deposit safeguards are being targeted. At the same time, a British ex-SAS trooper has gone rogue and become a Jihadist. The Americans want him killed and killed on British Soil – something the UK Government would never sanction. Enter Alex (Lex) Harper, ex para and hardened criminal living in Thailand. Oh, and he just happens to be a member of the “Pool”.
Writing Style
As with all his earlier works in this series, Leather writes with short, punchy prose with “bang up to date” elegance. Easy to read, nothing extraneous – just relax and let the story unfold around you. So easy to feel you are actually there with the characters.
Point of View
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)
Critique
This is a spin off from the successful series of Dan “Spider” Shepherd novels also written by Leather. As a “one off” I think it would stand pretty well but, knowing all the characters already, I have to say it was imbued with something a little extra. Unfortunately, part of that “little extra” was a fair chunk of cheese. The portrayal of the Russian “mob” characters was very schoolboyish. That wasn’t the only piece of cheddar, there were areas of the plot and some prose that carried with it a whiff of Stilton.
Still, the book was compulsive and easy to read. Once I had started reading, there was no way I was going to put it down until I read every last word. When the final words ended I closed the book expectantly looking for the next one. Sadly, the problem with “one offs” is that there isn’t a next one.
Bravo Mr Leather, I think.
May 16, 2017
This is very much what you think it will be - done very well in a page turning cant-put-down manner that makes it a great bit of escapism.
As standard BAD people are doing bad things. Russians are corrupt and dangerous and stupid. Terrorists want to kill people and the Thai are corrupt but OK. Old School gangsters can be trusted, new Oligarch mobsters not so much.
GOOD people stop them - although to be fair these are not very good people, they just sit on my side of the fence and happily kill people for money as well as for friends and possible their country. Revenge is as strong a motive as patriotism and if they were Jedi I fear they would soon drift totally to the dark side. But it does not matter as they are on my side and they are interesting and sometimes charming.
The story is good, plenty of people are shot in the head and morals are ambivalent at best. Would make a great series possibly on Sky Atlantic with a charismatic lead. This time the lead is Lex - he is a lot naughtier than Spider and much closer to a traditional Connery style Bond - you wouldn't want to annoy him and if he shot you in the head he wouldn't lose a moments sleep over it. Which is fair enough, he never says he is anything other than what he is.
As standard BAD people are doing bad things. Russians are corrupt and dangerous and stupid. Terrorists want to kill people and the Thai are corrupt but OK. Old School gangsters can be trusted, new Oligarch mobsters not so much.
GOOD people stop them - although to be fair these are not very good people, they just sit on my side of the fence and happily kill people for money as well as for friends and possible their country. Revenge is as strong a motive as patriotism and if they were Jedi I fear they would soon drift totally to the dark side. But it does not matter as they are on my side and they are interesting and sometimes charming.
The story is good, plenty of people are shot in the head and morals are ambivalent at best. Would make a great series possibly on Sky Atlantic with a charismatic lead. This time the lead is Lex - he is a lot naughtier than Spider and much closer to a traditional Connery style Bond - you wouldn't want to annoy him and if he shot you in the head he wouldn't lose a moments sleep over it. Which is fair enough, he never says he is anything other than what he is.
September 24, 2017
Fast-paced realistic thriller
Takedown is centered around a very current affairs issue: terrorism. Consequently, this book was harrowingly realistic in that members of Britain's population convert to Islam and journey to Syria to fight for ISIS by carrying out terror attacks throughout the UK. However, I loved the tense build-up to the attacks; I was on the edge of my seat wondering if there would be any casualties.
Charlotte Button was a strong and intelligent character who I loved. It's just a shame she wasn't in the book as much as I would have liked her to be (hence the four stars). Harper was a professional hit man almost, and very much like a ghost because he could sneak into anywhere, kill the target, and slip out again without being noticed. One of the things I loved about Takedown was that there were two plots: one involving Button and the other involving Harper. Just when one plot was becoming tense, the chapter would end and the narrator switched their focus to the other plot. This way of writing constantly made me want to read on.
Overall, this is a tense and realistic novel, with strong characters. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy nail-biting thrillers.
Takedown is centered around a very current affairs issue: terrorism. Consequently, this book was harrowingly realistic in that members of Britain's population convert to Islam and journey to Syria to fight for ISIS by carrying out terror attacks throughout the UK. However, I loved the tense build-up to the attacks; I was on the edge of my seat wondering if there would be any casualties.
Charlotte Button was a strong and intelligent character who I loved. It's just a shame she wasn't in the book as much as I would have liked her to be (hence the four stars). Harper was a professional hit man almost, and very much like a ghost because he could sneak into anywhere, kill the target, and slip out again without being noticed. One of the things I loved about Takedown was that there were two plots: one involving Button and the other involving Harper. Just when one plot was becoming tense, the chapter would end and the narrator switched their focus to the other plot. This way of writing constantly made me want to read on.
Overall, this is a tense and realistic novel, with strong characters. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy nail-biting thrillers.
March 15, 2020
In this time of anxiety caused by the Coronavirus, sometimes you just want an escape from reality. Stephen Leather is a prolific writer with a reputation for creating great action. Takedown, a story of thwarting terrorists in the UK, is definitely that kind of book. It is well written, fast paced and well researched. A problem however became apparent to me as I got deeper into the book. For a thriller to be successful there must be dynamic tension between the protagonist and his opponents. Leather has created a wonderful cast of villains, scary yet believable. However at no time are they ever in command in any confrontation, whether in the bars of Thailand or the streets of London or the palatial estate of his Russian nemesis. Every incident ends in Harper’s favor, with barely a scratch or scrape. Once you realize how this is going play out, there is no longer the edge-of-your-seat tension that characterizes a successful action story. You can certainly enjoy watching the competence, ingenuity and loyalty of Harper, but with success assured, the anxiety level is lowered. But in a time when real life anxiety is high enough, maybe that is a good thing. I will leave it up to you just how much tension you can handle.
November 4, 2019
I had to check my records, as I found it hard to believe this was the first Stephen Leather novel I'd read, but sure enough it is! However, safe to say it won't be the last! A Rip Roaring adventure! The Action bursts out of every page! From The Syrian border to North Northumberland & several places in between this is thriller writing at it's almost best. One or two little niggles, I found it hard to believe you could follow someone over 3 00 miles without been spotted, but that shouldn't take anything away from this terrific read.
When a British Special Forces soldier goes rogue, carrying out an attack at a US army base in Syria leading to the death of two men, ex-MI5 controller Charlotte Button is hired to work out what his plan is and to take him down before he can carry it out.
Charlotte puts her best man on the case - hitman Lex Harper. It's up to Lex to assemble a crack team and get to the soldier before he carries out what could be a massive terrorist attack. But Charlotte might require Lex's help with a more personal problem too ...
When a British Special Forces soldier goes rogue, carrying out an attack at a US army base in Syria leading to the death of two men, ex-MI5 controller Charlotte Button is hired to work out what his plan is and to take him down before he can carry it out.
Charlotte puts her best man on the case - hitman Lex Harper. It's up to Lex to assemble a crack team and get to the soldier before he carries out what could be a massive terrorist attack. But Charlotte might require Lex's help with a more personal problem too ...
July 27, 2022
Stephen Leather is the model-author for the simple minded, who love a world being painted black and white. However, I have to admit he knows how to entertain and how to add gripping twists and turns in his, otherwise violence-dripping stories.
In addition, Leather knows what he's talking about, when it is about spy- and secret service-organizations as well as special forces operations and modern weaponry.
This book could be 4.5 for me without the authors prejudice against everything that isn't British or US. For Stephen Leather Thailands' legal system is entirely corrupt with the police being mainly busy collecting bribes, whereas the young girls working in bars. Russian gangsters are crazy, violent alcoholics, who for the slightest reason torture or kill their own people. Come on!
'Takedown' would be a good, though intellectually not demanding read, but the laughable, ridiculous end spoils it all.
'Don't think I will come back to this author.
In addition, Leather knows what he's talking about, when it is about spy- and secret service-organizations as well as special forces operations and modern weaponry.
This book could be 4.5 for me without the authors prejudice against everything that isn't British or US. For Stephen Leather Thailands' legal system is entirely corrupt with the police being mainly busy collecting bribes, whereas the young girls working in bars. Russian gangsters are crazy, violent alcoholics, who for the slightest reason torture or kill their own people. Come on!
'Takedown' would be a good, though intellectually not demanding read, but the laughable, ridiculous end spoils it all.
'Don't think I will come back to this author.
September 19, 2017
A gritty drama , a side project in some ways from Stephen leathers spider shepherd books , using the characters charlotte button and Lex harper to tell the story. The story is very spider but at the same time not and I could see the duo having their own series of books. I think the white knight figure of spider and the dark knight of Lex offer us a great challenge and a great diversity for Stephen leather . as always in leathers book there is terrify main plot with a couple of good side plots, and the side plot brings out a the really dark side of lex
The story line is good and very believable, leather is using the story of the world today to pick his plots. You can believe the story because its happening all around us
Well written and a real page turner, I do hope button and harper become a duo with a long life
The story line is good and very believable, leather is using the story of the world today to pick his plots. You can believe the story because its happening all around us
Well written and a real page turner, I do hope button and harper become a duo with a long life
November 6, 2025
This book had a lot of great elements, from terrorism, to Russian mobsters and bent MI5 agents. A hit man called lex harper is recruited by a friend called Charlotte button, he is having to hunt down and find a dangerous man who is planning a massive terrorist attack and he needs to take him out before things go sour.
Charlotte herself is in a situation as someone is after her and the flashdirved she has hidden, these flash driver has secrets of dirty operations going on inside MI5.
Lex has also got on the bad side of some nasty Russians who are now out for his blood, so as well as tracking and trying to stop a terrorist attack, he also had to take down the Russians and keep alive.
This was a great action packed book
Charlotte herself is in a situation as someone is after her and the flashdirved she has hidden, these flash driver has secrets of dirty operations going on inside MI5.
Lex has also got on the bad side of some nasty Russians who are now out for his blood, so as well as tracking and trying to stop a terrorist attack, he also had to take down the Russians and keep alive.
This was a great action packed book
March 21, 2017
I was a little worried when I heard about this coming out. Set in the same world, with a lot of the same characters as the Spider novels. Lex Harper and Charlie Button come to the front now. Charlie is now out of MI6, and Lex is still living in Asia.
Charlie has discovered her insurance policy is getting discovered and stolen. This leads her towards the Americans who promise to help, but for a price. They want a rogue British special forces agent taken down. Time for Lex to earn his money. At the same time Lex is having run ins with the Russian mafia.
The one thing about Spider was you always knew which way he'd go. He sees everything in black and white. Lex on the other hand sees things more in shades of grey. Bit like the difference between Superman and Batman, and we know which is the most interesting character.
As usual, the writing is superb. Theres a beautiful flow to his writing, which makes it really difficult to put the book down. The refrain just seems to be one more chapter.
My worries were unfounded, this could quite easily end up as good, if not better than what he's done before.
Charlie has discovered her insurance policy is getting discovered and stolen. This leads her towards the Americans who promise to help, but for a price. They want a rogue British special forces agent taken down. Time for Lex to earn his money. At the same time Lex is having run ins with the Russian mafia.
The one thing about Spider was you always knew which way he'd go. He sees everything in black and white. Lex on the other hand sees things more in shades of grey. Bit like the difference between Superman and Batman, and we know which is the most interesting character.
As usual, the writing is superb. Theres a beautiful flow to his writing, which makes it really difficult to put the book down. The refrain just seems to be one more chapter.
My worries were unfounded, this could quite easily end up as good, if not better than what he's done before.
May 6, 2018
Stephen Leather writes great thrillers and this one stars cold-hearted assassin Lex Harper who is recruited by ex-MI5 spook Charlotte Button to stop an ISIS attack in Britain. One of our Special Forces soldiers has 'gone over to the dark side' and is providing his assistance for a 'spectacular'. Lex recruits help from the criminal classes and mounts a surveillance operation. I thoroughly enjoyed the story with just one quibble - Harper is something of a superman who despatches his enemies without ever coming to any harm. He seems to have no fear - facing up to Russian mafia thugs without a second thought.
March 3, 2020
A ripping tale! In this longish thriller, Leather avoids the problems set up in similar works by lesser authors. There are multiple storylines, not all of which directly connect to each other (this is not a Hardy Boys story). While the major storylines do all get resolved, the spinoffs from the action leave lots of opportunity for future stories featuring the two main characters and many secondary folks.
I'll look for Leather's other books and series collections, and read them in order of publication, unless I find recommendations of altering that.
I'll look for Leather's other books and series collections, and read them in order of publication, unless I find recommendations of altering that.
June 28, 2025
A new series from the author of the Spider Shepherd series. The hero in this new series is Alex ‘Lex’ Harper an ex-paratrooper who does work for the former MI5 leader Charlotte Button ( a name recognisable from the fore mentioned Spider Shepherd series).
The story has three distinct strands which run concurrently through the book but are each handled well and the plot never gets over complicated or confusing.
Plenty of action scenes and a light humour throughout this book is an excellent easy read.
The story has three distinct strands which run concurrently through the book but are each handled well and the plot never gets over complicated or confusing.
Plenty of action scenes and a light humour throughout this book is an excellent easy read.
March 7, 2018
Fast, entertaining and easy read. Not a lot of suspense, more caper than thriller.
Quite a strong start with our first villain being recruited for ISIS. Gathers pace rapidly with Lex being hired to take him out. Russians soon make an appearance and it becomes a series of cat and mouse adventures.
Very easy read thanks to a simplistic and predictable plot. Borderline offensive moments otherwise would score slightly higher.
Quite a strong start with our first villain being recruited for ISIS. Gathers pace rapidly with Lex being hired to take him out. Russians soon make an appearance and it becomes a series of cat and mouse adventures.
Very easy read thanks to a simplistic and predictable plot. Borderline offensive moments otherwise would score slightly higher.
April 13, 2022
3.9
Don't fuck with Lex Harper. He might seems like a happy go lucky one but beneath that he's a real mean son of a bitch. His tasks seem a bit easily done but oh how I tag along every ride with thrill. Also, Stephen Leather did his homework very well with Pattaya as Harper's base. There are not many author who can write such accurate details while mix it with their fictional story. I used to live there and confirmed. Of course, I will read another Lex Harper!
Don't fuck with Lex Harper. He might seems like a happy go lucky one but beneath that he's a real mean son of a bitch. His tasks seem a bit easily done but oh how I tag along every ride with thrill. Also, Stephen Leather did his homework very well with Pattaya as Harper's base. There are not many author who can write such accurate details while mix it with their fictional story. I used to live there and confirmed. Of course, I will read another Lex Harper!
October 22, 2017
This was an easy read which I really enjoyed. The characters were good if not somewhat stereotypical. A typical story of bad guys getting what they deserve and therefore pretty predictable. I was expecting more variation dealing with the baddies, and a twist at the end, sadly this was not to be the case. It could have been so much more, but a good read all the same.
September 18, 2018
I was hoping for more from this one. Maybe it’s because I’ve enjoyed everything Stephen Leather has written and had high expectations. It was good. Not great. A few cheesy, almost silly lines from certain characters took the value away from the true nature of the book, which was disappointing. Overall: Good.
January 24, 2021
Never thought it would be so boring and a drag. Revolved around unnecessary Islamophobia; seems as if not much research was done. The stories in parrallel are also weak. Sorry, but i dint like it a bit. Had to struggle to finish. surprised on the number of positive reviews.
April 8, 2022
Grim - but believable! The description of the Russian oligarchs seems to be true to form - given their brutal invasion of Ukraine (I am writing this in April 2022). Look forward to more in the series.
February 6, 2017
Another Spider Triumph
As always the author delivers an entertaining and sometimes thought provoking story whilst making the book utterly readable. Looking forward to the next one.
As always the author delivers an entertaining and sometimes thought provoking story whilst making the book utterly readable. Looking forward to the next one.
May 5, 2017
Spectacular Spider Shepherd spin-off. I love Charlie Button and Lex Harper. Lex doesn't have to pretend that he's a good guy. He's a bandit with heart. Great read!
May 14, 2017
enjoyed this book a nice quick read
May 20, 2017
Action packed
Great to see a "bad" guy fighting on the side of the angels. A fast, exciting read. Makes me look forward to the next Leather novel I get to read.
Great to see a "bad" guy fighting on the side of the angels. A fast, exciting read. Makes me look forward to the next Leather novel I get to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews