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Jack Widow #12

The Standoff

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The ultimate loner. Jack Widow comes to a Standoff with true evil.

ATF Agent Toni Adonis, sent an agent undercover, posing as a recruit in a mysterious militant-cult, called The Athenians. She watched him go through the front gates into their compound in rural South Carolina. But her agent never came back out. 



After an ATF raid goes horribly wrong, the group’s terrorist leader and his closest guards have escaped. Desperate, Adonis will do whatever it takes to catch him. 



Enter Jack Widow, a drifter with a dark past. Taking a ride, heading to warm climates, Widow spends a day with a close-knit family. But things go from good to deadly when the fleeing cult-terrorists end up at their front doorstep.



Widow faces-off against the most horrifying evil he’s ever met in Book 12 in the bestselling Jack Widow series.

564 pages, ebook

First published August 13, 2019

772 people are currently reading
460 people want to read

About the author

Scott Blade

48 books307 followers
USA TODAY and AMAZON BESTSELLER - Scott Blade is a Nomadvelist, a drifter and author. He writes the bestselling Jack Widow book series, two of which reached the Top 100 list on Amazon, knocking Harry Potter & Jack Reacher off the top spots, which angered one of the big publishers. Scott wears that fact as a badge of honor.

Scott Blade isn't a traditional novelist who spends his time stuck behind a computer desk in some dreary office. He truly walks the walk. He drifts around like the nomad he writes about, touring the world, writing mysteries and searching for the perfect coffee.

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5 stars
1,345 (56%)
4 stars
773 (32%)
3 stars
214 (8%)
2 stars
35 (1%)
1 star
17 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
Profile Image for Stefan Bogdanski.
Author 9 books8 followers
July 15, 2023
The Jack Widow series is one of my guilty pleasures. (Yes, besides space opera, thank you.) I'm fully aware of the fact that it started out as a blatantly obvious Reacher clone (with Reacher being Widow's unaware father in the very first edition of the first book), but it has since then evolved into its own being.

So I like to look upon this as Reacher: The Next Generation. And just with Star Trek, I personally think the original is better, but the next generation has its own merits and is enjoyable. So yes, I'll gladly take it!


Getting used to Jack Widow is no big thing, to be honest.

That's because Scott Blade has been honing his skills as a writer to an art over the course of the series. His novels are fast paced, and he gets the thinking right. I've mentioned this before, but the thing about Reacher is that no-one is doing shit without reasons. Everyone has a plan, kind of. They often go down the drain, but everyone follows steps that seem plausible, at least from their perspective points of view.

Lee Child is a master at this art, and a master at taking the reader along the mental journey of hero and villain alike. And Scott Blade comes pretty close. I would like to present the first chapter of this story as evidence A. It's not just a bad guy killing someone - you can follow the intention, see the reason and can feel that they are pointing at something bigger. It's done in a seemingly effortless way, and it's just right for binge reading.

There's a school of writing that has a mantra which goes: show, don't tell. It's pretty solid advice, to be honest, but I've said it before and will happily repeat it: Don't take it to a dogmatic level. While showing is generally preferred - for the deeper connection it allows between reader and the character carrying the point of view -, it's also something that's dangerous when an author is overdoing it. To my personal opinion, there is nothing wrong with a little telling mixed in, especially when you're providing context for the reader. Unless you overdo the telling part. Like Paracelsus said, all things are poison. The secret lies in the balance.



For a Reacher style novel, you expect a certain amount of telling, because Reacher and his buddies are all about details. Widow is the same - but I think Child has found a better balance, while Blade is still a tad shy of that level. But that's really critique on a high level.

So, I'm going with 4 stars. This time around, I thought there were some pacing issues during the first half of the book, but all in all, still a solid thriller. Like a popcorn movie - it won't ever win a prize, but it will satisfy your cravings for a quick thrill. And sometimes, that's all you need.

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Read this review on the blog - the layout is better 😃.
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Profile Image for Abibliofob.
1,587 reviews102 followers
October 24, 2019
I would like to have a christmas tree farm, it sounds nice. Once again our hero is on the road with a plan to avoid the cold. Instead he winds up in a bad situation with nutcases in a winter landscape. I really like this series although it was better when it started out as a Reacher related one. Sadly the author had to rewrite the first books which I don't think are available anymore. Stott himself is living a life on the road and he calls himself a nomadvelist (nomad + novelist =nomadvelist).
Profile Image for Lindsay .
193 reviews1 follower
February 17, 2024
great

This is yet another good book by Scott Blade this is a big book about 660 pages but everyone good.the last 200 had the pages turning fast as the story reached its climax will be looking for book 13 very soon
Profile Image for Neil.
666 reviews3 followers
May 2, 2025
I normally give these a 3 stars however with this story there was so much padding that was not relevant to the storyline that I skimmed half the book. This over 400 page book would have been better if this was reduced to 200. OK story and fits the template of the other books but with the extra writing it was too much
14 reviews
February 21, 2023
dumb for a Jack widow book

Spoiler. The fact that nobody called in for help, when they knew that they were outgunned and outclassed makes the story unreadable for me.
210 reviews20 followers
April 15, 2023
So far it is the worst one in the series. Widow is probably only in 1/4 of the book, almost every sentence is repeated 2 or 3 times, the plot is pretty straight forward with no twists.
Profile Image for Stefan.
267 reviews37 followers
February 12, 2025
The Standoff is the twelfth book in Scott Blade’s Jack Widow series and probably my favourite of the series to date.

An ATF agent goes missing after being inserted deep undercover within the Athenians, a domestic terrorist group made up of very dangerous ex-special forces military soldiers fronting themselves as a religious cult. Realizing the undercover agent may have been discovered, the ATF along with local State Police raid the compound knowing full well they are probably driving right into a trap. Any attempt to extract the missing agent goes by the wayside as everything goes horribly wrong, and all hell is unleashed. Now, ATF Lead Agent Toni Adonis, battered and bruised from the fail raid, is on a person vendetta mission to take down the cult leader by any means possible.

During the chaos of the botched raid, the cult leader—an ex-Army General named Joseph Abel—and his closest men escape the compound to set into play the next round of their deadly agenda. They do not get far before their vehicle breaks down, forcing them to seek shelter and wait out the road blocks that have been setup to capture them.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Jack Widow—in a stolen Lexus—has driven right into the vicinity of where the road blocks are setup. As he himself is fleeing from his encounter in the last book in the series—see Black Daylight—he is a little uneasy about the road blocks, unsure if they are looking for him. Not wanting to find out, Widow quickly finds a place to ditch the car, and goes back to his trusty mode of travel, hitchhiking.

He is soon picked up by Walter White, a local man driving home from a business trip. As they chit-chat and get to know a little about each other during the ride, Walter extends an invite to Widow to join him and his family for a home cooked meal and a bed to sleep in for the night. Hesitantly, Widow accepts the invitation.

What happens next will see Jack Widow have to dig deep and use everything he has learned as a Navy SEAL and as an NCIS Agent to try and stop the horrifyingly evil that is about to come to White family’s front door.

Great book and I think the longest book to date in the series. Did not know how I was going to take to this book from my original assessment from the synopsis, but that was quickly swept aside once I started reading.
Profile Image for Jo-Ann Fitzgerald.
753 reviews2 followers
July 22, 2022
This is the 12th book in the series.

This time our hero is continuing from the last book by a few days. He finally figures he should get rid of the car he’s driving around in as the guy who had owned it he had killed. That and there was a lot of police around this area and he didn’t want to take a chance of getting caught. He has one close call and decides that was enough.

Meanwhile an ATF raid gone way wrong had happened and almost everyone was dead. Our heroine needs to find who’s responsible and have them pay especially after her boss tells her they killed a local as well. The hunt is on…

Our hero gets picked up by a nice guy who offers him a breakfast and a place to put his head for a night. The guy feels bad because the holidays are within a month and wants to do something nice for the guy. Finally our hero agrees and off they go. As they near the guys house he notices one of the others has lights on inside.

What happens from here is our hero becomes an uncle to the kids and another family member to the rest of the family…before they find themselves under attack from the guys from the ATF raid…can they make it or are there deaths?

You knew what the end was going to be but the author twisted it to give you a shock which is always good.
134 reviews37 followers
April 28, 2020
Another fast paced adventure for Jack Widow.

Unashamedly Reacheresque but if that's what you like them you will definitely enjoy this a lot. Widow is on a par with Reacher methinks and I don't think I could give a much bigger compliment for a novel in this genre. The
story begins with a horrific act of violence and then builds to a satisfying conclusion after plenty of mayhem.
I have not awarded a fifth star for two reasons. 1. I am trying to raise the bar a bit, so that 5 stars are awarded for something exceptional, such as significant originality or real empathy. 2. After reading 24 Reachers and now 12 Widows the Bad guys/bad situations are perhaps not that surprising any more. Having said that it will not be long before I read the next Jack Widow adventure. Perhaps after a while the lack of recurring secondary characters means that something is missing from your investment in the central one. I think "The Standoff" could be read "out of order" without any problems.
3,119 reviews47 followers
February 24, 2023
I love the narration of Alan Philip Ormond. He brings out the action, humour and emotions of the characters. Perfect

I have loved all the other books in this series, and found myself really not wanting this one to end.

When a siege on a cult compound in South Carolina goes horribly wrong , the leader and some of the group gets away. All ex military, all with special op training and all dark and evil. Innocent people and many ATF agents have been hurt and killed in the explosives at the compound.
Jack Widow has hitched a ride with a local Christmas tree farmer. He’s invited to stay the day and night with his family. He is made to feel one of them. When Widow wakes up to find the farmer has gone missing with a stranger, and the ATF and local law petrol office, believe that he has gone with one of the cult members who got away. Cousin Widow gets involved. He will not allow these cult members to destroy this family.

Such action and holding my breath .

Loved
1,137 reviews12 followers
July 19, 2025
My rating: 3 stars. (I normally don’t give a review when rating a book, but this book deserved one! Actually … I gave a review for this book but came back afterwards to revise it).

I have given the previous 11 books any where from a 4-1/2 to a 5 star rating … and I have basically read all of them one after the other, etc.! This book started off with … one LONG, chapter of violence and gore! Then, it continued with more violence and gore!! OK, I got it!! That being said, this book went way beyond my comfort level, where I ended up skimmed over the rough stuff. Then … I had an issue with the ending! With previous books, I have been quite satisfied with the last chapter … a little abrupt with the ending, but OK! This book got the ending so wrong, in my opinion! The author got the sequence wrong and could have played up with the karma a little bit more. This book, unfortunately, did not ring my bell as much as the previous books had!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Don.
1,027 reviews5 followers
September 21, 2020
All the way in to chapter 13 and very little Jack Widow. I thought chapter 12 wasn’t needed, just a grim reveal of a patrolman dying. Some editing please, last time Widow pulled off to gas up he was 107 miles from Charlotte, now he’s pulling into a station to fill up to avoid a road blockbefore SC, but low on gas?????? Leave that sentence out! You editors suck, in chapter 22 White talks about how he got outvoted to change the crop to Christmas Trees and then a couple sentences further he talks like he grew up playing amongst these trees. What are we reading here? Blade writes some stuff out of the blue. Near the end Brooks magically knows Abel was run over by a car? EDIT! Dumb. Ok, disregarding the lack of editing it was a good story,maybe a little far fetched at times but still engaging. 4.8
353 reviews4 followers
June 6, 2020
Another great read. A hugely detailed story which had me engrossed right from the start. The story covered a lot of ground. For me, it took me from what appeared to be an ideological focused and highly trained group of bad guys into the slippery slop of insanity. Fortunately, good old Jack Widow was in the right place at the right time. It made me smile to myself, having just seen off and resolved the problems in book 11 (Black Daylight), Widow now found himself dealing with merciless home grown terrorists and the problems of the 'egos' of the goodies. I am grateful the White family were rewarded for being good people, but enough said about that. I am sure after few years of counselling they will be back to normal. A well deserved 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for Samuel murphy.
163 reviews
March 24, 2021
Fast moving thriller.

Fast moving thriller about about fanatical ex special forces drummed out or retired from their units with a grudge against former generals and government. A grudge leading to the mass murder of government agents and police only to be halted by a loner called Widow protecting a decent family taken hostage by them in their bid to escape justice and continue their murder spree. Good thriller.
153 reviews3 followers
July 19, 2021
Another thrilling/chilling episode, but...

It's sad to see a good story riddled with errors! Once again, these later books in the series are terrible! Adding to that are inane words or phrases that make you wonder if the writer had any command of the English language like "... the accelerator gassed and whined..."
A fine "meal" ruined by bugs! Only four stars for this one and hoping future books don't fall to three!
70 reviews
February 14, 2024
Has Jack Widow found a family?

Widow is picked up, while hitchhiking, by a man who is part of a family business. I won't give that much away, but.. After eating a big breakfast with an entire family, they show him to a spare bedroom to get some much needed sleep. Of course, this is too good to be true! As he is sleeping, danger surrounds the family. After just a few hours of sleep, it's up to him to save them all! Just more innocent people to save. How can he say no?
48 reviews
April 3, 2020
I've read all 12. Binge reading.

They are all fantastic. Widow is every bit formidable and loveable as Reacher. Blade writes in a very similar style as Child but more realistic in details and events. They are all page turners. I'm going to start 13 now, and I think I'm all caught up
Profile Image for P..
Author 1 book10 followers
April 25, 2020
Action - gradual build up - action

The pattern was one of heavy action with lots of killing followed a slower build up during which the reader could see in the distance what would more or less eventually unfold. This led up to another blast of action that brought the book to a finale.
Profile Image for Lesley Hewitt.
832 reviews7 followers
October 17, 2022
Brilliant book

I have read quite a few of these Jack Widow books and they do just get better. I really enjoy reading them. Jack Widow is definitely like Jack Reacher but I think Jack Widow can do some things that Reacher can't. I highly recommend these books if you like plenty of action.
121 reviews1 follower
November 14, 2022
ATF Agent Adonis is crazy

It was really Adonis fault. She’s arrogant and self-important.

I pity Abe for losing his home. (Spoiler alert - But at least his family is intact.)

I would have wanted Widow to have that Christmas dinner with the Whites. But the author is a sadistic guy and still left Widow alone on Christmas Eve…
4 reviews
March 1, 2023
Pipe bombs in Priority boxes

The writer has the bad guys mailing bombs in Priority boxes with stamps on them, which is not allowed. Anything over 12 oz can Not be mailed with stamps, for this very reason! They would not be put in the postal system and the Postal inspectors would be contacted.
Profile Image for Glenn.
1,733 reviews8 followers
March 3, 2023
I was torn what to rate this book… 3 or 4 stars - it was the longest book in the series. It was the slowest paced book in the series…. For me, somethings did not gel, and I usually just appreciate books that are a fun read… I did not get that feeling with this book… still I cannot complain as it is a good series…
Profile Image for Reggie.
2,887 reviews
February 28, 2024
A former general, turned cult leader, sacrifices his cult for his ultimate plan. ..revenge. A good Samaritan gives Widow a ride and invitation to have dinner with his family. The cult leader and his squad have holed up in an abandoned farm next door to Widow’s host. See where this is going? That’s right…Widow puts an end to that leader’s plan! Another action packed story.
272 reviews3 followers
October 24, 2024
Bag guys learn a lesson.

Great read. A cult with some really bad guys try to get away with a Waco type disaster and a plan to take out 41 retired US Army generals. They never met Widow but could he bring them to their knees? Very interesting characters in the cult but, the White family is the real deal. Thanks to Widow they still are.
264 reviews2 followers
March 14, 2021
Great book

This is action packed for sure. Please, please research your SUBJECTS! Enlisted Marines do not go to the USNA at Annapolis. Other than this mistake, I enjoyed reading this series.
Profile Image for Lela Preston.
256 reviews21 followers
June 15, 2021
The Cold comes before the warmth.

A simple Christmas Dinner turns into a shocking few hours for Widow, He was far from the warm sun but a meal with a Family was something he was looking forward to.. something he had never had.
Profile Image for Mary Rowe.
2,618 reviews8 followers
January 15, 2022
Scott Blade gets grittier and more terrifyingly addictive.

I don’t know why overlooked Jack Widow for so long. I’d read book 8 some time ago and enjoyed it but after starting from book 1, I am hooked!
Profile Image for Ollie.
666 reviews5 followers
May 20, 2022
Another action book. However I thought there was too much about Abel and his followers and ATF Adonis. I did like Widows interaction with the Winters family. For just a while Widow got to be part of a family as cousin Jack.
350 reviews
February 10, 2023
wow

Can you say action? Well this book can. Full of action. Unfortunately lots of innocent people died. Ready to move on to the next book. As always keep writing and I will keep reading. Thank you.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews

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