Border Offensive

I guess I didn't find this one as memorable as the other reviews, but not to say this was a bad book. It wasn't per se. It had a good story with memorable characters (especially the Sweets brothers), but as usual with undercover books, the action is at a minimum here. We follow Bolan as he infiltrates a group threatening to send terrorists across the border. In the process, he's captured, tortured, and escapes. For me, I didn't get much description out of the action scenes and gun battles. This new author did a fine job of portraying the Bolan character, but on the whole, just an average effort.

I was impressed with this debut novel from a new writer. Bolan is undercover infiltrating a group that has now made a deal with jihadist terrorists to sneak them into the US from Mexico mixed along with the usual immigrants. There are two main villains in the story, the leader of the terrorists, and the leader of the immigrant smugglers. These two very different cultures working together creates an unusual alliance, which adds an interesting and tension filled relationship between these two groups. Bolan works with an ally he meets that is infiltrating the group, and finds out there is another undercover agent as well, leading to just some of the many agencies involved in the story later on. The perspective of the story shifts between all these various characters, making a good balance of action, drama and unique storytelling. One villain, called Digger, is one of the creepiest badguys in the series, something you might see in a Stephen King or Dean Koontz story. Bolan and his allies take a beating in this book, taxing their abilities to the limit. The setting takes place mostly in a forgotten ghost town in the Sonora desert. This book has a very western feel to it, the villains are colorful, the action crisp, the story keeps the reader interested, there is no filler. Great job by this writer, I recommend this title and would like to see more from Reynolds.

Welcome to the series, Mr. Reynolds! This is a great book filled with several very-well described and integral characters, along with a solid plot and many memorable action sequences. After reading this one, I'm looking forward to future titles by this author! Bolan is brought into an effort to stop illegal activity at the US-Mexico border. During his initial intervening, he meets an undercover operation -- "James" -- and they quickly join sides. In doing so, the Executioner is brought alongside an alliance with INTERPOL as well. Tanzir, the INTERPOL agent, has a personal vendetta against a criminal mastermind she's been tracking for some time. Together, these three face insurmountable odds as several thugs from various organizations are also aligning to facilitate criminal activity. Each of the three heroes face near-death experiences, and in the end its the Executioner's action to save all three, and to put down the pending threat of crime entering the southern US border. This book had it all! Suspense, great characters, tremendously written action sequences, and a great scene when Hal is brought into a dire situation to establish the credibility of Mack Bolan. Further, the author did a great job of drawing emotion from the reader. I can't image anyone reading about Digger and not wanting to see Bolan intercede! In rating this a 9, I again say welcome Joshua Reynolds!