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Max McLean #2
All Fall Down
British intelligence operative and hardened assassin Max McLean must discover who's killing the members of his team in this new electrifying thriller from James Brabazon, author of The Break Line.
Soldier, assassin, and special agent – Max McLean works for a highly secretive unit called The Unknown: a black ops team which delivers off-the-books justice on behalf of the British Government.
When a straightforward operation to kill a terrorist commander goes badly wrong, Max finds himself framed for murder. Cut off from his base and cut loose by his Government handlers, he’s forced to go even deeper underground, propelled across Europe on a personal, high-stakes investigation to clear his name.
Racing against time to find out who his enemy is before his enemy finds him, Max has to unravel the only clue he has to their identity: an unusual hundred-dollar bill clutched in the dead terrorist’s fist.
But in this brutal game of spies nothing is as it seems: as hostile powers prepare to move against the West, Max McLean must face the shocking possibility that the traitor he seeks has been with him all along.
Soldier, assassin, and special agent – Max McLean works for a highly secretive unit called The Unknown: a black ops team which delivers off-the-books justice on behalf of the British Government.
When a straightforward operation to kill a terrorist commander goes badly wrong, Max finds himself framed for murder. Cut off from his base and cut loose by his Government handlers, he’s forced to go even deeper underground, propelled across Europe on a personal, high-stakes investigation to clear his name.
Racing against time to find out who his enemy is before his enemy finds him, Max has to unravel the only clue he has to their identity: an unusual hundred-dollar bill clutched in the dead terrorist’s fist.
But in this brutal game of spies nothing is as it seems: as hostile powers prepare to move against the West, Max McLean must face the shocking possibility that the traitor he seeks has been with him all along.
- GenresFiction
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 2, 2021
22 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 7, 2021
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this copy via netgalley!
Fast-paced book with lots of action! Feels like a great movie plot! A main character that you can’t help but love and hate at the same time.. Who goes to have a pint while bleeding thru their clothes! An assignment that was so easy, but ended up the hardest assignment of his life! great thriller book, would definitely read more from the author!
Fast-paced book with lots of action! Feels like a great movie plot! A main character that you can’t help but love and hate at the same time.. Who goes to have a pint while bleeding thru their clothes! An assignment that was so easy, but ended up the hardest assignment of his life! great thriller book, would definitely read more from the author!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2021
https://openbooksociety.com/article/a...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
The Break Line was such a thrilling book taking me by surprise several times with scenes that gave me goosebumps, to which I still think of, but it was more exciting was how it wrapped up and all the secrets that were revealed at the end. The book on it’s own worked as a stand alone, the reason why I didn’t expect a sequel, but boy was I wrong. All Fall Down is the perfect sequel in the Max McLean series.
This time Max finds himself framed for several deaths and is on the run with the only clue that can help him, a hundred dollar bill. He is wounded during his initial mission, barely surviving with the help of an old friend, but when they’re attacked during the night, and the house he was staying set on fire, Max is knocked unconscious. He later finds himself hung upside down in a container on a ship with a Russian crew. As he frees himself, he suffers more injuries and ends up under the care of a local hospital in Kent, where he later escapes from.
“In my jacket pocket: one hundred milliliters of legal pepper spray and a Pozidriv screwdriver with a six-inch shank. Knives were illegal to carry, and if I got stopped and searched I needed to be as clean as possible. A screwdriver would be easier to explain away than a blade, and would stab and throw just as well.”
While on the run, once again, he makes his way to France where he manages to obtain a Greek passport with the help of an old acquaintance. Before their meeting is over, Max is ambushed by several people trying to get a hold of the hundred dollar bill he has. While trying to evade everyone following him, Max goes into the tunnels under the city where he meets an Indian student exploring the tunnels, Bhavneet “Baaz” Singh. From this point on Max and Baaz become a team working together to get to the bottom of the hundred dollar bill mystery.
Max seems to be finding himself wrapped up in missions related to his past that only he can solve. It almost makes the reader wonder if the agency is using him for this sole purpose. He goes to Israel in search of his childhood friend, Rachel, in hopes of explaining his current situation to her, but once he is moments from seeing her for the first time in years, he is notified she has been missing for days. The chapter where he learns more about her and what she has been doing, while exploring the slumps of Israel, is one of my favorites in the book.
Baaz was such an interesting character. There is so much information the reader learns from him throughout the book. His chemistry with Max made them look like a seasoned team, even though Max sometimes would do things that went against Baaz’s beliefs. Max being a special agent never really knew if to trust him or not, but it was sad to see them go their separate ways. They could have been a good team. Will we see Baaz in future books? *wink*
The Russia chapters were filled with such good action scenes, it felt like watching a movie. Seeing Max once more end up in a place that has meaning to him really makes me think there’s more than what we’re getting. But, those final moments with Rachel were more heartbreaking than some of his encounters in The Break Line. This book was more of a spiritual walk for Max than a mission.
Everything that happened in this book I did not expect it to happen. There so much I can’t fully talk about because of spoilers. All Fall Down can be a stand alone book on it’s own, so definitely read it, and if you want more, I also recommend The Break Line.
Playlist:
Lonely Soul by U.N.K.L.E (For France chapters, street chase)
Friction by Imagine Dragons (For Russia chapters, car chase)
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
The Break Line was such a thrilling book taking me by surprise several times with scenes that gave me goosebumps, to which I still think of, but it was more exciting was how it wrapped up and all the secrets that were revealed at the end. The book on it’s own worked as a stand alone, the reason why I didn’t expect a sequel, but boy was I wrong. All Fall Down is the perfect sequel in the Max McLean series.
This time Max finds himself framed for several deaths and is on the run with the only clue that can help him, a hundred dollar bill. He is wounded during his initial mission, barely surviving with the help of an old friend, but when they’re attacked during the night, and the house he was staying set on fire, Max is knocked unconscious. He later finds himself hung upside down in a container on a ship with a Russian crew. As he frees himself, he suffers more injuries and ends up under the care of a local hospital in Kent, where he later escapes from.
“In my jacket pocket: one hundred milliliters of legal pepper spray and a Pozidriv screwdriver with a six-inch shank. Knives were illegal to carry, and if I got stopped and searched I needed to be as clean as possible. A screwdriver would be easier to explain away than a blade, and would stab and throw just as well.”
While on the run, once again, he makes his way to France where he manages to obtain a Greek passport with the help of an old acquaintance. Before their meeting is over, Max is ambushed by several people trying to get a hold of the hundred dollar bill he has. While trying to evade everyone following him, Max goes into the tunnels under the city where he meets an Indian student exploring the tunnels, Bhavneet “Baaz” Singh. From this point on Max and Baaz become a team working together to get to the bottom of the hundred dollar bill mystery.
Max seems to be finding himself wrapped up in missions related to his past that only he can solve. It almost makes the reader wonder if the agency is using him for this sole purpose. He goes to Israel in search of his childhood friend, Rachel, in hopes of explaining his current situation to her, but once he is moments from seeing her for the first time in years, he is notified she has been missing for days. The chapter where he learns more about her and what she has been doing, while exploring the slumps of Israel, is one of my favorites in the book.
Baaz was such an interesting character. There is so much information the reader learns from him throughout the book. His chemistry with Max made them look like a seasoned team, even though Max sometimes would do things that went against Baaz’s beliefs. Max being a special agent never really knew if to trust him or not, but it was sad to see them go their separate ways. They could have been a good team. Will we see Baaz in future books? *wink*
The Russia chapters were filled with such good action scenes, it felt like watching a movie. Seeing Max once more end up in a place that has meaning to him really makes me think there’s more than what we’re getting. But, those final moments with Rachel were more heartbreaking than some of his encounters in The Break Line. This book was more of a spiritual walk for Max than a mission.
Everything that happened in this book I did not expect it to happen. There so much I can’t fully talk about because of spoilers. All Fall Down can be a stand alone book on it’s own, so definitely read it, and if you want more, I also recommend The Break Line.
Playlist:
Lonely Soul by U.N.K.L.E (For France chapters, street chase)
Friction by Imagine Dragons (For Russia chapters, car chase)
September 20, 2021
Max Mclean has been a highly competent and utterly loyal hitman for an ultra-secret British intelligence outfit. Now he is running for his life from both British intelligence and the police, in addition to his usual enemies. Can he stay alive long enough to find out who set him up, and to exact revenge (or justice) from them while clearing his name (not that many people know it)? Having read the first book in the series, I know better than to bet against him.
September 11, 2024
Jam packed with globe-trotting action from cover to cover, there are a lot of twists and turns to keep you engaged. It's an intense spy novel that is at once extremely wild and yet still believable. Brabazon is a great writer and has a gift for compelling narrative.
February 21, 2021
All Fall Don by James Brabazon is not the type of book I would typically read because of its violence. However, it had lots of positives going for it: thrilling, multi-layered story; good characters; and great writing. It is the story of Max McLean, an assassin for an off-the-books section of the UK government, who is sent to assassinate someone. It all goes down hill from there and involves people who helped him, including one who isn't what he seems, some shadowy figures, and others he can't quite trust. It takes him to many places with lots of danger. Negatives are that it was hard to keep track of all of the minor characters, there was one situation that didn't seem logical, and Max was beyond superhuman (but, hey, it's fiction).
March 4, 2021
Super hit man- gets out of any and all problems- from Paris,to Israel to Russia he’s trying to find what something on a “ Benjamin “ means- he’s played by his superiors , meets up with a genius from India and fights through all kinds of crap-
December 22, 2020
It was supposed to be an easy assignment, the assassination of a known terrorist. Max McLean was an assassin who worked with a secret unit for the British government. After watching the cabin and establishing the victim’s routine it was time to act. When he enters the cabin he discovers the terrorist has already been shot. In his hand is a $100 bill with the work Arkhangel written on it. Whoever killed the terrorist is still there and Max barely escapes with his life. From England to France, Israel, and finally Russia, Max chases down the significance of the bill and its’ message while dodging agents from various countries who would kill to retrieve it. In Paris Max is assisted by Baaz, a young man who made his fortune with cryptocurrencies. A genius with computers, it is Baaz who notices a discrepancy with the bill’s serial number. The bill becomes the key to an algorithm for the completion of a super computer that promises total power to the country that possesses it.
James Brabazon writes a high action tale that takes you through the streets and catacombs of Paris as Max evades Russian agents. Betrayed by someone in his own unit, he is forced to call on past contacts to provide a new identity and transportation out of France. In Israel he finds a connection to a former lover who has been doing research on computers for Russia and has now disappeared. All clues point to Russia and Max has no choice but to travel to Arkhangel, but getting out of Russia will be a challenge. The final chase will have you on the edge of your seat and looking forward to the return of Max McLean. I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing this book for my review.
James Brabazon writes a high action tale that takes you through the streets and catacombs of Paris as Max evades Russian agents. Betrayed by someone in his own unit, he is forced to call on past contacts to provide a new identity and transportation out of France. In Israel he finds a connection to a former lover who has been doing research on computers for Russia and has now disappeared. All clues point to Russia and Max has no choice but to travel to Arkhangel, but getting out of Russia will be a challenge. The final chase will have you on the edge of your seat and looking forward to the return of Max McLean. I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing this book for my review.
January 25, 2021
Max Mclean is on the run after an assassination gone wrong. A British government operative, he was authorized to kill a terrorist but someone else gets there first, leaving behind a $100 bill with the word Arkhangel written on it. Then he's on the run, trying to escape the bad guys. This takes him to Paris, Russia, Israel, and so on. He's lucky to meet Baaz, a computer whiz who spots an anomaly on the bill. I missed the first book so this was a standalone for me and I was fine with it that way. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. All of this is really out there (and there are some giant plot holes) but fans of the action thriller where there are good guys, bad guys, conspiracies, and so on might find this an entertaining read. Would make a good movie.
September 29, 2020
Max McLean is back in this second installment of the series by James Brazabon. If you are a Jason Bourne fan like myself you will find some similarities to Max McLean. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it was fast paced throughout the book and delivered excellent action scenes. Brazabon is a new thriller writer on the scene and I hope to see many more in this series in the future.
February 23, 2021
Max McLean has a quandary. Do assassins retire or do they just die or fade away? Being an assassin is a hard life even when you are doing so Queen and Country. What happens when you wonder whether those who oversee your work are in actuality ready to terminate your work. In the end experience and the desire to perhaps get back to a life that he left so many years ago will keep Max alive.
February 5, 2021
Recommended.
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...
February 7, 2021
Loved it. Wild exciting ride.
March 4, 2021
I don’t know if it was my mindset or this book but I had a very hard time reading it
November 22, 2021
This one was ok. I'm not much of one for soldier of fortune type stuff. Like James Bond or Jason Bourne, yes. This was just a bit much for me.
November 28, 2022
About halfway I was going to DNF. I just didn't feel there was enough meat of a story, lot of detail about the weather and landscape, not so much story development.
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August 1, 2024This book reminds me of the video game Snake Eater from the Metal Gear series.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews