Sean Doyle faced danger, death and other things he'd rather forget during his time in the Counter Terrorist Unit. But times change, even if Doyle doesn't. He's older but no wiser and the world he knew has changed. Now he finds himself working as a Private Security Consultant in Baghdad, still a city in turmoil. His job is to protect the men working on a new rail line from terrorist attacks. For Doyle, it seems like old times but this time it's a different kind of enemy. However, someone from his past arrives to offer him the kind of work he was made for. Doyle is given the chance to re-join the Counter Terrorist Unit. The reason is that a case he worked on thirty years earlier has been re-opened. A man he thought was dead has been spotted in the company of the Russian Mafia. But how can this be? Doyle knows that he himself killed this man one fateful night in Ireland back in the eighties. The lure of his old life is too much but when he returns he discovers there are some catches. After physical and psychological tests, he will have to work with a partner. A man half his age who seems to embody everything Doyle despises. Between them, these two will have to hunt down the man who Doyle thought was dead. A man with limitless wealth, twisted desires and the mind of a monster. The man responsible for the death of the only woman Doyle ever loved. It's meant to be a mission but, for Doyle, it's what he does best. It's revenge. However, when the time comes, he will find answers that threaten not only his life but his sanity. His old, blood spattered world will come hurtling back to engulf him and a decision must be made that defies reason. Sean Doyle is back but might wish he wasn't....
No matter what, you're always going to love a Hutson book. To me, there's something very comforting about his books, like having the company of an old friend. I first read The Skull and was hooked. But Testament is is so amazingly good. I won't spoil it, but it's a direct sequel to one of Shaun's older books, Renegades and features the return of the now 'well seasoned' ex CTU agent, Sean Doyle.
As usual, Shaun does not disappoint and he takes you down to the very depths of Hell with this book. So what are you waiting for. Stop reading this and go out and buy it. Buy it multiple times, give a copy to your friends, but it's a must read for any Horror and especially Hutson fans.
To Shaun. Never stop writing. You are the best writer out there and I look forward to your next book and to where that journey will lead. Thank you for all the years of bone crushing, blood spattering entertainment.
To Darren (Shaun's Publisher) Thank you for keeping Shaun in our lives and for all of the backbreaking hard work that you do, each and every year and for keeping us with a lifelong fix, that is Shaun Hutson.
Sean Doyle is back........Well in Iraq anyway where he now works until he's drawn back into his old role. Hunting down an old nemesis he swears he watched die at his own hands years earlier, he's back too though but how? Can Doyle get the man again and end it once and for all?
Shaun Hutson knows how to draw you in from the first few sentences on the very first page. Very descriptive writing and leaves nothing to the imagination. Gruesome in some parts that are the embodiment of depravity, showing how mad and sick some people can really be. Some think I think we all already know. Waited so long for this next instalment in the Sean Doyle series and I certainly wasn't disappointed 😊.
Sean Doyle CTU operative returns. Now 50 years old, still chain smoking, alcoholic, listening to loud rock music and grumpy as ever.
He’s been discharged from CTU on medical grounds, no one will work with him because of his mental instability. He finds himself working security in Dubai which he hates, the heat, the sand, the boredom. But at night he’s visited by the ghost of his dead partner Georgie, maybe he is more fucked up than he thought.
An old operative pays him a visit inviting him back to England. The night his partner died and he shot dead a man called Callahan has apparently survived? This coincides with a rare book that has been stolen from a museum in London.
Doyle is on the hunt for Callahan, but is he chasing a man or a ghost?
Loved this. Really good mixture of action and horror. Some very gory scenes so maybe not for everyone.
This could have been so much better and so much darker. A grimoire that can bring the dead back to life written by a evil guy who was close to Joan of arc but he was a devil worshipper. All the makings of a great dark, scary book, but no. It spent more time on personal issues of the main characters and when it started to go down the dark route of devils and truly evil intentions it seemed to back of. I was expecting the ultimate good vs evil but no, More like washed up ex counter terrorism guy brought back to rekill a guy he already killed, nothing is mentioned about how said guy achieved immortality so that left a big question. So much potential lost.
An amazing book, Shaun Hutson triumphs again. A continuation to one of his greatest books Renegades starring the brilliant character of Sean Doyle the counter terrorist agent. What starts like a breakneck paced thriller with some brilliantly written action set pieces then turns into a crazy occult horror, with superbly written characters who you really root for and an insane plot that'll keep you turning the pages until the early hours. Highly recommended this is Hutson at his best.
I hadn't read a book by Shaun Hutson for many years, but when I was recommended this one, Testament, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed his works in the past, so I decided to get myself a copy.
I really wanted to like Testament, unfortunately, and disappointingly, it fell a little short. That is not to say this is a bad book, it's just nothing special, at best, it's okay. The biggest disappointment for me is that I had high hopes for this book, the premise had me interested right away: a villain thought to have been killed many years ago, now seems to be alive and well and plotting something. Other people supposed to be dead have also been spotted alive. What is going on? A former Counter Terrorist Unit agent, Sean Doyle, is brought back in order to get to the bottom of all this. From this point on, I really struggled with this book as it was full of so many clichés. For example, a former agent, now an aging man, brought back to resolve a case no one else can. This agent has to deal with all kinds of inner demons, he has a drink problem, there are doubts over his mental and physical ability. He's assigned a younger agent to be his partner, and obviously, the two of them don't get along. And as the two pursue the villains, the action scenes read like something taken straight out of a Hollywood action movie. A great deal of this book is over the top, or even unnecessary. I would have probably enjoyed this a little more had Hutson kept things simple.
I'm sure many fans of Hutson's other works will enjoy this book greatly, as will many other horror readers. However, I'm not sure many people who don't read horror will appreciate this book.
I received a free review audiobook of this title but the review is all mine. And my first Shaun Hutson as well. Nice!
This was not what I was expecting and kind of was exactly what I was expecting all at the same time. I don't know how that is possible but it is.
I really enjoyed the character of Sean Doyle and the surrounding cast was well drawn too. The action was well thought out and the writing style felt relaxed and smooth.
I really enjoy Shaun’ books partly because they are fun to read and usually have a great twist at the end, this book being no exception. The stories though are getting a familiar feel to them, which makes it a bit predictable. Still really worth a read. Just had a thought is Sean Doyle Shaun Huston’s alter ego.. Fucking hope not..
Sean Doyle from Renegade’s is back to defeat the same foe. David Callahan is back and intends to resurrect the dead. It’s up to an ageing Sean to defeat him once more. This includes David bringing back Sean’s dead partner Georgia. I felt like we had done all this in the first book but 25 years later we get it again. I wasn’t impressed.
The storyline is good.The horror was WAY too gruesome for me. Narrator Andy Stevenson was good.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'
Misogynistic, amateurish garbage. I will never read another book of his again. Extremely disappointed that such a well-known writer can churn out such rubbish.
Amazing to have Sean back at his best. Amazing storytelling and a fantastic book. One not to be missed. Can't wait to see if there is more Doyle out there
Absolutely loved this book with every word and every page I wanted to find out happens next, and I couldn't put it down to even love in the real world, this book felt like I was inside of the characters head and that I was the character