Rogue Asset

Alex Reeve #2

by Andy McDermott

EVERY OPERATIVE KNOWS THE RULES.
The mission comes first.
You are a deniable asset.
Betrayal is punished by death.

'A writer of almost cinematic talent' DAILY EXPRESS

Alex Reeve was Operative 66. A former special ops soldier and one of the UK's deadliest weapons, he was a member of the secretive SC9 - an elite security service with a remit to neutralize the country's most dangerous enemies.

Falsely accused of treason, Reeve was forced to hide in the shadows as the brutal assassins he once trained alongside sought to eliminate the 'rogue asset' at any cost. But tricked into revealing himself, Reeve is suddenly dragged into a lethal conspiracy involving the British state, shadowy Russian agents... and his own father.

If there's one man who can survive... it is Operative 66.

From the internationally bestselling author of the Wilde & Chase series comes an explosive new thriller - the perfect pulse-racing read for fans of LEE CHILD, VINCE FLYNN and GREGG HURWITZ.

Genres: Thriller, Crime

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2021

About the author

Andy McDermott was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and now lives in Bournemouth. As a journalist and magazine editor, amongst other titles he edited DVD Review and the iconoclastic film publication Hotdog. Andy is now a full-time writer.

Reviews

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this one a little hard to grasp. Best of the best? I'll leave that to you to determine. From my rating you get the gist of my evaluation.

[Rex Fausett · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a shame that I read this immediately after Prodigal Son because this doesn't stand up in comparison with Prodigal. It isn't as well written and is just a series of situations that translate to written CGI. God knows how many secret organisations there are in England but we come across a lot of acronyms from MI5 on down to this one, SC9. Simply the best, better than all the rest. No limits, everyone has a license to kill and everyone is a cliché. If you state the same deep secret in three consecutive paragraphs it's just boring. The final car chase is simply unbelievable and the separation of the two at the end 'for your own protection' is fairly obviously just a ploy to bring in future plots. I wonder if Reeve will go back to Manchester and bonk that Ally. She sounded like she had far more personality than Connie. Contrived and borderline boring. There, I've said it and I have no regrets.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced ,but seemed to go on to long

[Mark Gielis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is one big hunt for Reeve and is girlfriend. Him being a former assassin and trained ad the best of the best makes some very stupid mistakes, charging up a hot phone without disabling the camera and microphone.
His father is released from prison. Although he knows it’s a trap, he looks him up and gives him an ultimatum, confess and turn yourself in or I will kill you. When he sets out to kill his father, rather than just shoot him, he starts a conversation. This gets him in trouble of course. After being severely beaten up a couple of times, he still continues on like nothing has happened to him?

The super secret agency SC9 is a strange and unbelievable thing on its own. Run by one person, who apparently can use its operatives as his personal death squad. What country would ever want such an agency that has no accountability? Also agencies such as MI6 do everything SC9 is ordering.
And there is lots more of unbelievable stuff happening, bulletproof cars in foreign countries exactly at the place they need to be, able to listen into a phone call out of millions of phone calls…

[Gary Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bit of action!

My question - how much abuse can a human body take? And in a short time. This story picks up pace very quickly, but then it seems to move faster and faster until it accelerates to top speed. A fantastic chase scene and climax in Venice. I would love to see this on the big screen!
Thanks Andy for another exciting read. I was sorry to see Nina and Eddy go, but your two SC9 books have been great. Please keep writing!

[Steven Batty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good follow up to Operative 66, yes it's a bit far fetched in parts but what the hell. Alex Reeve becomes Eddie Chase in all but name (if there's a third book then that could be the twist). Plenty of car chases and shoot 'em ups. It's fun, fast and bonkers, what more does it need?

[Deb Whittam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andy McDermotts Rogue Asset is a book not for the faint hearted. A non-stop roller-coaster of action, it stampedes through Italy and England at a hell for leather pace. as Alex Reeves, agent declared rogue, fights to survive.

Sound familiar? Jason Bourne ringing any bells? If you said yes, then you aren't far wrong in describing the feel of this novel, for the plot is as familiar as you locals fish and chips, but on the plus side I will say that Andy McDermott takes the time to build engaging characters and position them in a plethora of different situations to attempt to make the troupe fresh and interesting.

Overall, I found his attempt satisfying. There was always something happening, the political intrigue, though present, didn't detract from the action overtly, and while I didn't emphasise with Alex Reeves, the operative being targeted by his ex-bosses, I did at least find his attempts to escape interesting.

The only minor issue I had with this novel was that I felt it went on forever. The entwined secondary plot was a bit of a distraction, though it did help to ground Alex Reeves' motivations and character, and seriously the finale was so drawn out I had to read it chapter by chapter, taking breaks, to maintain interest.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the troupe of spy done wrong by and doesn't like surprises. It is basically a well written rework of a familiar plot.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well there was a lot of action. The plotting and planning was clever. Reeves seemed to be able to keep going irregardless of what injuries he received. The car scenes at the end seemed interminable. I also didn’t realise it was a sequel, although it did make sense on its own. It was entertaining, but eminently forgettable.

[Rej · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was confused with this book. I really loved the first one, however this one it seems that the author did not know what to do with the character. Reeve is the best operative for SC9 but still makes a lot of mistakes, especially when falling in love. Need more direct action with less side distractions which are annoying.

[The Villan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good easy beach read. Author seemed to use a character similar to the Gray Man but with less martial art and field craft skills. The main character ease at which he reentered the UK at regular border crossings despite the regular passport checks and the UK’s renown CCTV coverage and facial recognition technology was unbelievable.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex is lured out of hiding by SC9 and he has to do everything in his power to escape. The entire team end up after him, and they don't stop at anything or anyone to try to catch him.

Lots of interesting action sequences, and a fun read but also not that memorable.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this on my daily walk and it certainly kept my speed up as the action came thick and fast. Great story, continued on from the first book in the series, and great characters. With the ending, I am wondering what comes in the 3rd book, which I will read to find out.

[Geoffrey Cornish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non stop action novels never used to appeal to me but this author has grown on me remarkably!!! Great suspense and descriptive writing mixes well with the realistic emotions of the relationship in this second novel . Bravo

[sue harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, fast paced- reads like an action movie with lots of impressive car chases and multi agency running and shooting sequences. Definitely a holiday read. Once read- quickly forgotten. But, readable and fun. Well if car chases and action are your thing!!

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed from the start and poor connie 😢

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex has to run and hide from SC9 while trying to clear his name and put his father back in jail again.

[Emma G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I don't want to give any spoilers but the ending had me needing more. I want to find out what happens! Andy is an amazing writer. It's the first I've read but certainly not the last!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

[Simon Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Kevin Jeffery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - fast paced

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical McDermott adventure with chaos and crazy action. Enjoyed this one a lot, always a wild ride.

[Abishere · Rating 3 out of 5]

similar to the first book. but the amount of improbable saves has grown to unpresidented heights.
btw has anyone counted how many sentences ended with... Blake...

[Jacques Hollands · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy McDermott once again surprised me with this thriller. It is a far cry from his Wilde-Chase adventures, which were fun in itself. The Alex Reeve series is edgier, darker and mostly realistic, with some exclusions discussed below. Some have complained that this series is too closely related to the Bourne novels, and while I can see that, I feel the story is sufficiently different.

So why do I only give it four stars? In fact, I wanted to give it 3.5 stars but decided to round it up as the storyline is excellent. It is let down by two gripes I have, and both occur in the book's latter stages. Firstly I am surprised that Andy McDermott hasn't been sued for copyright infringement. The scenes in Venice made me feel I was reading the script of Casino Royale with Daniel Craig and Eva Green. Even the city was the same.

Only he went further, which leads to my second gripe. He succumbed to the over-the-top action that his Wilde-Chase novels were known for. The car chase scene was unrelenting and simply too unrealistic. It went on and on and on. You get the point. In fact, this scene was the epitome of Reeves going from one situation to another throughout the book virtually untouched. Really? How many lives or luck does this man have? I am tempted to list how many times the character barely escaped from a dangerous situation, but fear this could take quite some time.

While other readers may disagree with me and approve of the unrelenting close calls, I find it detracts from a thoroughly engaging story. This book is best compared to a good Bond movie let down by terrible CGI (e.g. Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan). Yes, it should contain some action, but I expect a Bourne storyline to have Bourne action - not a Bourne novel with "Bruce Lee fighting a 100 men before breakfast" action. These two aspects felt incongruent.

Gripes aside, will I recommend the book? Yes, of course. Not everyone will agree with my assessment, and many people will rate the book five stars. It is a fantastic story, and I can't wait to see where Andy McDermott will take it next. I just hope he tapers down on the unrealistic action a bit.

A final comment to consider: I listened to the audiobook on Audible and the narrator, Simon Mattacks, was excellent. The audiobook is therefore highly recommended.

[Susan Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Great story, edgy and gripping from start to finish. Good characters, look forward to reading the next.

[Philip Garside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable follow up to Operative 66. Read that book first.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book I would have chosen for myself but I am so glad it fell into my lap to be read! I absolutely loved the story and the character of Alex. I found every chapter to be a page turner with so much happening it had you constantly guessing how it was going to end. With no spoilers - the ending did disappoint me slightly as I was hoping for something a little more. Overall I would absolutely recommend this read for anyone who likes action and thrillers.

[Beach Bum · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of the same

Brief review, not great, not bad. The issues that existed in the first book continue in the 2nd, fight scenes and car chases that just go on and on, it spoils the rest of the book
I think another reviewer also commented on this, but just how much punishment can a person/body take before they just stop. Obviously Reeve is super human, cos he just keeps going no matter what might have happened to him in the last few minutes

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, rather stupidly I thought this was the first in a series but no it was the second, this did not detract from the story one bit as you learnt some back story as you read on.
I will now read the first just to be fully up to speed. Excellent.

[Mekerei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced, thrilling read

I found this a thrilling read, hard to put down.

I wish I had read Operative 66 first, but I’ll go read it now.

Three and a half stars

[Parth Shiralkar]

fast spy fun