Tyler Hawke enjoys his life as a golf pro. His routines keep him focused, and his personal philosophies let him sleep at night. Until his best friend’s daughter is abducted.
Just what compels a person to do certain things? What justifications can there be? Ty finds he can’t stop until the job is done.
There is nothing more dangerous than a man compelled.
Compelled is a dark vigilante thriller about a protagonist who takes the law into his own hand when someone close to him is brutalized. As a debut, I found it quite impressive. The author sets up the protagonist, Tyler Hawke, with a strong foundation as a lead character, giving readers insight into his background and what molds him into a man ready to do violence in the face of injustice.
The story took a while longer than I expected it to set up, but it pays off well as the story kicks off in high gear when Ty goes on a path of vengeance. I found Ty to be a strong protagonist, both physically and mentally, as he thinks quick and well on his feet to take down his adversaries swiftly and with maximum damage. The author sets up the events in a wonderful way that foreshadow the dark twisted events that cause Ty to tap into the dark side.
Ty Hawke is joined on his crusade by two allies who help him to find out the culprit that did his loved one harm. The race against time to find the culprit before he did anyone else harm, was an intriguing puzzle to solve, involving Greek mythology, of which both Ty and the culprit are fans of. In a manner, Ty and the culprit seemed like reflections of each other, with the culprit being a twisted demented reflection of Ty.
The action is brutal and fast with great hand-to-hand combat sequences. Ty Hawke is not a man to take lightly. He hits hard and he hits fast, gutting his adversaries with knives just as well as bashing their heads in with crowbars and clubs. I am hoping for some shootouts in the future Tyler Hawke thrillers as well.
This book is a great read for fans of Jack Reacher and similar vigilante styled thrillers, and it achieves in its goal of creating and establishing a protagonist that I definitely would like to see more of.
Tyler Hawke is a golf pro who lives his life simply, easily, and happily. He makes enough money to enjoy a few good things, enough money to help take care of his mother, and enough that he can stockpile a stash in case of emergencies.
He has a few really good friends ... one couple and their young daughter are among his favorites. He's invited to dinner often and because he has no children of his own, he is especially close to their daughter.
When Jodie is abducted, assaulted, beat and then released, he is beside himself with grief. And when Jodie has one request for Tyler, he is happy to do her bidding... and won't give up.
This debut suspense thriller has a lot going for it. The plot is complex, with multiple characters and stories that eventually meet and bursts into page-turning action. Tyler is a unique character, with an inherent sense of right and wrong.
The author has an obsession of Greek mythology and it's nicely paced within his novel. He is living in Phoenix, and I'm always glad to see some of my part of the country incorporated into novels.
Many thanks to the author / Zimbell House Publishing / Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) / Netgalley for the digital copy of COMPELLED. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I greatly dislike leaving "negative reviews," especially for new authors. There are many good things about this novel, yet they do not out-weigh the bad. I am saddened that the author paid the vanity press "Zimbell House Publishing" around US$2,400 (latest web site fee, 2020-July-12). As it was published, the manuscript would not have been accepted by any agent, let alone a publisher. :-( WRITERS BEWARE.
The chief issue with this book is the seemingly endless exposition. This book is an excellent example of "telling" instead of "showing," and violates the admonition of writers to "Show: do not tell." Tedious "back story" is given in large lumps called "data dumps" at the start of the book, and almost all of it is not necessary because they do not move the story forward.
It was a really good book. The story was very intriguing. I’m glad the bad guys got what they deserved and the good guys prevailed. I wish there were more people like Ty out there.
I greatly dislike leaving "negative reviews," especially for new authors. There are many good things about this novel, yet they do not out-weigh the bad. I am saddened that the author paid the vanity press "Zimbell House Publishing" around US$2,400 (latest web site fee, 2020-July-12). As it was published, the manuscript would not have been accepted by any agent, let alone a publisher. :-( WRITERS BEWARE.
The chief issue with this book is the seemingly endless exposition. This book is an excellent example of "telling" instead of "showing," and violates the admonition of writers to "Show: do not tell." Tedious "back story" is given in large lumps called "data dumps" at the start of the book, and almost all of it is not necessary because they do not move the story forward.