I recently read David Rollins first Vin Cooper novel, The Death Trust and really had no idea what to expect; assuming it would be a Tom Clancy-esque military thriller, I was very pleasantly surprised to find a sarcastic Air Force internal affairs cop (Cooper) racing alongside his de facto partner, Ann Masters, from one disastrous situation to the next. The mixture of action, drama, and humor kept me reading long into the night.
The story begins with a gruesome murder of the U.S. attaché to Turkey, which is at first attributed to a serial killer. Agents Cooper and Masters (now ex-lovers) are tasked with solving the crime. Theyre in a foreign country with little to go on and communication barriers, as well as having other U.S. entities such CID on their tail, Cooper and Masters try to keep the trail warm.
The book, like its predecessors, overflows with quick wit and sarcasm (usually from Cooper) and unanticipated jokes. There are some scenes that naturally require suspension of disbelief but this novel reads like Mission Impossible in some instances; the action is completely over the top. I then began to wonder how a conversation would go if Agent Vin Cooper met Matthew Reillys character Scarecrow in a bar and they male bonded over Jack and Cokes.
The plot twists and turns, and I dont want to ruin the ending by giving away the motivation for the killings in this book, but the killings themselves and the subsequent cover-up are very realistic and sound. The ending, though, is rather vague. Cooper and Masters stumble onto the villain rather than figuring out who he is/they are on their own ability.
Theres also a nice subplot about Masters being engaged to a U.S. attorney whos defending the government from a lawsuit brought about by veterans who have been exposed to DU weaponry. With the media being concerned about the lack of care in VA hospitals of late, this is very timely.
The story begins with a gruesome murder of the U.S. attaché to Turkey, which is at first attributed to a serial killer. Agents Cooper and Masters (now ex-lovers) are tasked with solving the crime. Theyre in a foreign country with little to go on and communication barriers, as well as having other U.S. entities such CID on their tail, Cooper and Masters try to keep the trail warm.
The book, like its predecessors, overflows with quick wit and sarcasm (usually from Cooper) and unanticipated jokes. There are some scenes that naturally require suspension of disbelief but this novel reads like Mission Impossible in some instances; the action is completely over the top. I then began to wonder how a conversation would go if Agent Vin Cooper met Matthew Reillys character Scarecrow in a bar and they male bonded over Jack and Cokes.
The plot twists and turns, and I dont want to ruin the ending by giving away the motivation for the killings in this book, but the killings themselves and the subsequent cover-up are very realistic and sound. The ending, though, is rather vague. Cooper and Masters stumble onto the villain rather than figuring out who he is/they are on their own ability.
Theres also a nice subplot about Masters being engaged to a U.S. attorney whos defending the government from a lawsuit brought about by veterans who have been exposed to DU weaponry. With the media being concerned about the lack of care in VA hospitals of late, this is very timely.
