I suppose the argument could be made that Lucas Davenport's antics, working at behest of a presidential candidate, could be a little far fetched also; but good grief this is book #27 in the series so I cut the guy some slack. Davenport as a character is maturing, aging, his relationships with his wife and kids are evolving. His character continues to grow.
This is only the 10th book in the Hawke series and he's chasing Vlad Putin around the globe in Goldfinger type mountains lairs in the Swiss Alps, with entire armies forming in two months, escaping in mini subs, etc. I know, the series has always been a little Bond-esque, but they've been rooted in current events. This seemed to stretch incredulity as the author tries to fit in a Trump-Russia theme, but fails. I felt the battle scenes were too long and the ending overdone and inconclusive.Amazon says of "Golden Prey" (which, fyi, Stephen King calls "The best Lucas Davenport story so far.":
Thanks to some very influential people whose lives he saved, Lucas is no longer working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but for the U.S. Marshals Service, and with unusual scope. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are, wherever they lead him.
And where they’ve led him this time is into real trouble. A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the “Queen of home-improvement tools” compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly real fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he’s just another large target.Amazon says of "Overkill":
On a ski vacation in the Swiss Alps high above St. Moritz, Alex Hawke and his young son, Alexei, are thrust into danger when the tram carrying them to the top of the mountain bursts into flame, separating the two. Before he can reach Alexei, the boy is snatched from the burning cable car by unknown assailants in a helicopter.
Meanwhile, high above the skies of France, Vladimir Putin is aboard his presidential jet after escaping a bloodless coup in the Kremlin. When two flight attendants collapse and slip into unconsciousness, the Russian leader realizes the danger isn’t over. Killing the pilots, he grabs a parachute, steps out of the plane . . . and disappears.
Hawke has led his share of dangerous assignments, but none with stakes this high. To save his son, he summons his trusted colleagues, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard Ambrose Congreve, former U.S. Navy SEAL Stokley Jones, Jr., and recruits a crack Hostage Rescue Team—a group of elite soldiers of fortune known as "Thunder & Lighting." Before they can devise a rescue plan, Hawke must figure out who took his boy—and why. An operative who has fought antagonists around the globe, Hawke has made many enemies; one in particular may hold the key to finding Alexei before it’s too late.
But an unexpected threat complicates their mission. Making his way to "Falcon’s Lair," the former Nazi complex created for Hitler, Putin is amassing an impressive armory that he intends to use for his triumphant return to Moscow.I gave Sandord's book a 7 of 10 on the Haugenometer and Bell's a 6.
Amazonians liked Sandford's even better with a 4.5 of 5 and Bell's the same as me with a 3 of 5.
Overkill wasn't a deal killer for me on the series. Just hoping Bell steps it up a little on the next one.
Sandford, on the other hand, can't write more novels fast enough for my taste.
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