A delusional genius bent on restoring an empire must be stopped.
Rex, Catia, and Digger are on Rhodes Island, Greece, when an assassin kills two people right in front of their eyes.
They jump into action to help. The assassin flees, but Rex and Digger give chase, and when they catch up with her, she commits suicide.
Back at their hotel, while busy reporting the incident to John Brandt, three masked men storm into their room with guns blazing.
Thus, the trio is drawn into a CIA operation to uncover the identity and whereabouts of a terrorist mastermind about to unleash death and destruction across Europe.
Rex, Catia and Digger are in Greece on a well-needed vacation..But..We KNOW What happens, no matter where they are, and trouble seems to find them...Again! While out on a tour a man is assassinated right in front of them, and they do Not sit still, Rex rushing to follow a woman and Catia aiding the injured man...What have they got themselves into now!! In the Hotel they call John Brandt, their Boss, to give him an update when masked men crash into their room..Digger gave Rex a heads up, but with no weapons available..Can they Stop these men... It seems as if someone is trying to restore an empire from years ago..And Rex and Catia find themselves right in the middle of a CIA operation that extends across Europe..A thrilling story with all the non-stop action, history, family and amazing operations performed by Rex and team to keep people free from a deranged genius with global plans... I received an ARC from the author and I offer You my honest thoughts and feelings in this review.
The Delphi Technique, book 12 in the Rex Dalton Thriller Series, is another unstoppable, rollercoaster thrill ride from start to finish. As this runaway freight train, each book in the series being a car, approaches its energy absorbing buffer stop, the careful reader will discover that Ryan uses stock exposition to work in the backstory. Only two more stops, two more books to go. He uses the same text, word for word, in each new book, but he slips it in so smoothly that the average reader will never notice. It sort of reminds me of how the early TV comedy shows made use of canned laughter. The same exposition over and over, but it worked great. I wouldn’t have caught it if I wasn’t a very experienced beta reader.
The Delphi Techniques begin with Rex and Catia vacationing on Rhoades Island, Greece. They witness the assassination of a CIA operative and his contact by a female assassin, who commits suicide when Rex attempts to capture her. Based on the information contained on the flash drive Catia recovers from the dead contact as he laid dying in her arms, and from the two smart phones that Rex took off their dead bodies, they find themselves in another race against time to stop a madman set on murdering countless innocent people. In The Delphi Techniques, like with all the Rex Dalton thrillers, Ryan includes so much real historical facts that it’s hard for the reader to tell where history ends and fiction begins.
While Rex and his team is racing the clock, trying to find and take down the madman who is killing and maiming hundreds of innocent men, women, and children, he is forced to take command of the CRC when John Brandt, “The Old Man” has to have brain surgery for a benign tumor. As you may recall from the last book, Brandt has been after Rex to take over as the CRC CEO/Director, but Rex has been putting off making that decision. Now he has no choice.
All the Rex Dalton Thrillers have more plot twist than a sidewinders path in the desert sands, but this one more than most, right up to the very end. The way this book ends, the way Rex and his team take down the madman mastermind, will blow your mind. The Delphi Techniques have the most explosive ending of all the Dalton books so far. Will Ryan provide us with an even more thrilling ride in Holes In The Wall, Book 12 in the Rex Dalton Thriller Series. I know the answer to that question because this is the third time I have read the series. Keep reading to find out. You will be glad you did.
With a great title, over 1000 very positive reviews, and twelfth is a series of Rex Dalton thrillers, I started The Delphi Technique with a great deal of anticipation. There was some excitement in the opening pages when a couple of murders took place before the eyes of a couple and their dog who were holidaying in Greece. But, for me, there it ended.
JC Ryan is one very clever guy. He is very knowledgeable about history, geography, and Intelligence Agencies throughout the world. He uses this knowledge to place his story on a huge canvas that covers Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, the USA, Britain, and other places I can’t remember. The team covering the investigation is large (very hard to remember who is who) and they jet off in pairs to all these different destinations looking for information. Rex Dalton spends almost his entire time phoning the bosses of several Law and Intelligence Agencies ... loads of acronyms and sets of initials here that simply baffle the reader. Sadly, this offers the writer opportunity to lecture the reader, almost incessantly, on the history of countries, past wars, their geography, the governments who run them ... but there is little or no time left for story, never mind thrills and spills.
This is a thriller. I am waiting for thrills. Instead, I get meetings, phone calls, more meetings, more phone calls, teleconferencing, instructions issued about who should go where to find what. In between, everybody takes time to tell us how strong, brave and dangerous Rex Dalton is. But he never actually does anything!! The one chance he had to show us his mettle was when killers broke into his house. Inexplicably the story stops dead when Rex goes to see what the noise in his house is and later we have a dry third-hand account of what happened.
That was when the author lost me. I was already having difficulty returning to the book each time I set it down. It seems to me that the author is resting on his laurels with this book. It is formulaic, uninspired and, dare I say, close to boring. The other books in the series might be good; they might even be great. But I will not be checking to see if they are. I actually did not even finish this one ... and that is a first for me. The writer is clearly very intelligent and can write well [except that he doesn’t really do humour. When the characters in the story are rolling about laughing at another character’s witticism while the reader remains grim-faced, something is not right.]
Ryan is, however, hugely informed. For that he gets three stars. But the story is so thin, and the lecturing so insistent, I simply cannot recommend this book to any thriller fans.
When visiting the Palace of the Grand Master on Rhodes Island, Greece, Rex Dalton and his wife Catia are alerted when Digger, their Dutch Shepherd, moves from a sitting position next to Rex and pays attention to someone or something else. Rex has become used to changes in Digger’s behaviour which quite often indicates danger, so he looks around to establish what has Digger’s interest. With their spy craft skills, he and Catia see an attempted hand off between two males when one is bumped into by a raven haired female and that male person collapses. The woman then approaches the other male and stabs him with a stiletto. This then leads into the story of misguided fanatical faith and several more terrorist attacks before Rex and the team manage to investigate and locate the brains behind the terrorism. There are the usual twists and turns along the way including an unseen one involving Rex’s boss John Brandt. This is a great read keeping the reader on the edge of the seat as the plots are exposed. It is easy to understand how this sort of targeted violence could exist when fanatics want to re-establish the past and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Moses
First let me say I love Ryans novels. Have read several series. My only frustration is 25 percent is always dedicated to regurgitating back stories from prievious novels. For pete's sake...put in prologue...you are always using same copied commentary...put in an anti chapter like some British practices...I realize doing this allows you to fill page count...shame shame.
Next we always receive massive history lessons real or fake. Then we have a walkabout and there is a small page count dedicated to the mission. I other words it is becoming formulated...create structure outline..fill in electronically.
This observation by no means indicates the book is not entertaining, well researched...just would like more action and interaction....the actual mission always to this reader becomes anticlimatic. But i love the books. Read them.
The Seat Of My Pants Seemed To Be Glued To My Chair!
To say that Author JC Ryan is a spellbinding writer would be an accurate but inadequate statement. As I read this book I was again awed of his ability to engross me so completely so as to lose track of time, commitments and responsibilities. I would stop my reading by citing the need to __________ (fill in a task) and barely take a step away only to return immediately to read some more! That demonstrates really good writing, at least to me. And don't even get me started on the subject matter. I was engrossed! Even when Mr. Ryan penned his disclaimer at the end of the book I was ready and hoping for more to the story. If you imagine that someone could set up the circumstance that could change the course of world history then have a small cohort of very savvy and committed individuals who could stop said coup, you'd be read that, wouldn't you? If so, read this book!
With each new book in this series, I say that this one is the best, which is true. I always enjoy the stories where Digger is involved in much of the action. Not only is he constantly alert, as well as strong and skillful, but he has a great personality. This book would make a good movie, assuming a dog as talented as Digger could be found. This book was a real page-turner. I got little sleep and did very little housework until I finished. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-researched thriller. The author has given brief back stories to fill you in on the characters and previous exploits, so you can easily jump into this series without feeling lost. Once you have read this book, you will want to read them all.
Disclosure: I was given a free ARC and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.
What can I say? JC Ryan has another hit on his hand in The Delphi Technique. Once again, Rex Dalton and his crew avert disaster on a global level. The Rex Dalton series is one great book after another. No matter where Rex and Digger go (and also wife Catia) action and adventure finds them. A fun read full of action, adventure, and even some history. Reading a JC Ryan Rex Dalton book can bring out so many emotions; the adventures, even though they come out of the mind of JC Ryan, they often seem to be things you would see in the news. Scary and realistic, but thankfully just his imagination.
There is a trend that appears to develop in the discovery of a new author and a new hero(s). The first 2 or 3 books are captivating- establishing the main players, the plots, life skills etc. Then it starts to go downhill - In Death series JD Robb, Jack Reacher. Lee Childs as examples - all cracking early issues but then later books pan out. This is the same (to me) - Rex and Digger were great in the first few books but this one is just mediocre in comparison - I want the players to evolve, show a hidden side - draw me in to their world - this book fails to impress, the ending was obvious from midway in the book and I only finished it due to respect of the author making an effort.
There's relatively little action until near the end. A lot of talk, talk, talk in meetings with a lot of descriptions of the workings foreign intelligence services. I guess that's what happens when Rex becomes an administrater. The highlight of the book for me was the quotation "Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn, who said, 'Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.'" How true.
The adventures of Rex, Digger, et al, made interesting and enjoyable reading over the series to date. The plots were well constructed, the action was intense and the good guys invariably won, despite often overwhelming odds. Fans of over the top adventure stories will love this series. However it irks me that this author, and most other Yanks, is constantly macerating the King's English. FYI the past tense of "shine" is "shone" NOT "shined". This one in particular is very common and constantly irritating.
J.C. Ryan continues his thrilling Rex Dalton series with Book #11, The Delphi Technique. The technique itself is fascinating. It's use in this story has horrifying results. As usual, Army trained Digger the heroic dog who helps Rex and his wife Catia solve mysteries and captures wrong-doers saves the day again and again. This is an extremely exciting story which proves again what a terrific writer is J.C. Ryan.
Rex and Digger were my favorites of the many charismatic and courageous characters in this book. The plot was intriguing. If you enjoy learning about the customs and history of Turkey this novel will not disappoint. The book offers some insight into events that transpired to turn a brilliant young man into a hate filled terrorist. Hopefully there will always be people around like our heroes Rex and Digger to save the day.
I have read a lot of the Rex Dalton and Digger series and have enjoyed reading them all. This book is no different. The story line seems 'more grown up' I say that as my favourite character is Digger, who's antics usually make me laugh, has been in the background. The packs task this time is very serious as frailer could change the world for ever. A well written book with good characters and exceptional storyline. Well done.
Another sensational book from J C Ryan. I really enjoy these books and especially the feats of his canine assistant, Digger. This book is head spinner from start to finish. Rex Dalton is truly one of the 'white hats' and his adventures are so awe inspiring you never want thebook to end. Lucky for his followers there are numerous similarly engrossing books in the series.
CIA and other agencies foreign and domestic have the responsibility to use their resources to keep us safe or help shape the perspective of their interest. This story provides a picture of how those agencies gather and share intelligence and the importance of the agents who have to work those cases when some radical group uses any means necessary to exercise control.
Another fast paced book in this series, the only problem seemed to have was too much from prior books recapped. That seemed to detract from the current plot but I guess for people who are not reading the series in order it would be a big help to understand the personal relationships between the characters. The action never stops and the ending was really surprising but did tie up the loose ends well.
The first quarter of this book was a lot of reviewing what had happened in the first 11 books, with just enough of the new story to keep the reader interested. Once all the history was covered the storyline took off and, as usual, Rex, Catia, Digger and the rest of the crew had their work cut out for them to once again save the world.
Jack Dalton and his super smart German Shepherd and girlfriend stumble, literally on an assassination.while on vacation.
They find themselves marked for death by an unknown group for unknown reasons. Action, multi- national interests, espionage, politics...oh my goodness...the plot just gets twist-ier by the page. Loved it!!!
I have loved this entire series and this book was good, but unlike most of the others it had a good bit more profanities. I would have given this book a 5 if it were not for that. There are enough words in the English language that can make expression without resorting to that. Otherwise the storyline was great , it was a page turner with great action!
Stunning! Breath taking! Fast action! And a huge plus, Realistic, believable!
All I have to do is see JC Ryan As the author, and I snap it up! The action is realistic, Believable cover And so authentic in it's detail That 1 can only hope and pray that an organization and men like these he describes in such detail actually exist!
Have you ever thought to yourself “I really want to read a book where the characters are paper thin, the plot is predictable and boring, the action scenes have zero suspense, and the dog is the star”? Me either (with the exception of the dog). I don’t know why Amazon recommended this to me nor why I finished it. But the dog really was cute.
I am just as amazed at this book as I was with all the ones I've read in the Rex Dalton Series. I can't wait to read the next book. You will fall under the spell of these characters and their danger-filled lives. You get humor, a little romance and a lot of dog loving tales.
Rex Clarita and Digger are once again in the wrong place at the wrong time. After witnessing two men get my murdered and the assassin killing herself, they find themselves with a USB that indicates massive bombings will take place all over Europe. After three take place, they work with computer gurus to find the perpetrators. ENJOY!
What an amazing and yet entirely believable story of Intruige and espionage based on Turkey
I really enjoyed the way JCRyan tells this story and links together multiple national Intelligence services but essentially it it is Rex, his wife and Digger who hold it all together. Read, concentrate and enjoy - I did!
The plot was good but there was too much writing of historical events that slowed the plot. I was too far in to quit. I felt the end was anticlimactic. There was such a build up to find the suspect. Another country comes in to lead the assault that kills him. You find out the drive after his death in less than a chapter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read in two days, couldn't stop. Great book with plenty of action and suspense. If you have read any of the other ones in this series I think this ranks among the top.
It is not easy for me to rate with a five star. I have read all of J C Ryan's books, always looking for a new release. I really like the characters . Rex and Digger for sure. Being a dog lover I find Diggers intelligence to be very refreshing.
I have really enjoyed this series. Great characters and interesting plots. This one didn't seem quite as well developed as some of the previous ones and the ending felt a bit rushed. However, I enjoyed the book.