Jamie FrevelettiCritiques

A very exciting and adventurous book. I enjoyed it a lot and would read more by this author. I liked that drones figure prominently in this book as they have become more and more ubiquitous in our current day.

Espionage

Espionage

Excellent!

I started this book years ago but was not feeling it. I put it down and forgot about it. Yet, every once in a while when I got to pick up a book from my TBR pile; this book kind of haunts me. I finally decided to give this book a second chance.

When I first started reading this book, it was like a different experience. I was into the story. The characters not right away but I was starting to warm up to them. Emma seemed interesting. However, my excitement faded fast again after about a third of the way in. There was a point where it was just a lot of talking and not much else. Maybe if I had read Running from the Devil I might have stuck with this book longer but than again maybe not. The second time around was not better and it seems that I might never finish this book.

In The Janus Reprisal, some nasty Pakistani terrorist types are aiming for total annihilation. The head bad guy is Oman Dattar, an especially evil warlord. After escaping from prison, he sets out to destroy New York with a virus that is conducted by bacteria. I’m not qualified to know if the science behind this makes sense, so I’ll take their word for it that such a thing can happen. Out to stop him is John Smith, the man with the generic name, but not so generic skills. He has a few others helping him out, but there is another staple of these types of novel—the typical CIA mole who is trying to help out the bad guys.

There is nothing especially wrong with this novel. It had a logical progression to it. There weren’t any big realism gaps. In these types of novels, the bad guys tend to be over the top and not believable, but I didn’t find that issue here. I also didn’t find anything that makes this novel stand out. It’s fairly generic. If you’ve read enough of these types of political/international terrorism thrillers, it kind of feels like all the rest of them. In a few months, I will probably completely forget everything about this novel. In all, this was a solid story, just not spectacular.

Carl Alves – author of Reconquest: Mother Earth

John Smith of Covert One to the rescue again, saving a female American money trader and thwarting a biological attack on the NY subway. Semi-pro Ludlum book that makes for a better listening experience than a reading one.½

Jamie Freveletti has done a stand up job in carrying on the Ludlum torch in this the 9th novel of the Covert One series.

From the opening page with a terrorist attack in the Netherlands to the closing action in the subway of New York it's a gripping page turner with plenty of action and deception.

I might even go as far as to say it's the best of the series thus far.½

The book had potential, but I just couldn't get into it.

Rather cryptic ending - how did we get here, from there??½

Another nice read in the series, quick and easy :)

Pandemics have been a subject of movies for the past decade. They are the nightmares of directors and the entertainment of the masses. The concept of mass sickness is something that children are taught in school, like the Black Death or Spanish flu. Not very many people think of what would happen if a pandemic were to hit the shores of the United States. Mass chaos and confusion would break out and people would learn what the phrase, ‘living hell’ meant. Pandemics are safer in movies and nightmares. It is the stuff that make medical doctors cringe and movies audiences hide under the sheets. This book is about a Biochemist named Emma Caldridge that finds herself assigned to a secluded island in search of new resources for a cosmetic company. Armed with her wits and past experience with dangerous assignments, her current location seems like a mini vacation. Although she predicts a few weeks of work and leisure she is soon faced with the presence of a mysterious voodoo priestess. As the weeks progress Emma is perpetually threatened with death and quickly is presented with a mysterious illness that is plaguing the local inhabitants. One by one people are falling asleep and not waking up. As people fall prey to this coma like illness, Emma is threatened by another person who seeks the same resources. Will Emma fall prey to this potential sleep pandemic? Will she discover who is behind the potential pandemic and why they are after the same resources as she is?

This book was a new type of read for me. It was very interesting and covered topics that I don’t normally read. I found the story to be smooth sailing and full of action. I thought all of the characters were well thought out and the story came to a complete end. With that I would like to say that I did find the book to be a little confusing at times and found myself having to go back to find out who the book was referring to. I felt like there was a lot of jumping around from one person to another. It felt at times that Emma was not the main character of the story and that also threw me for a loop. I hope with future books the author tries to avoid this. Overall I still recommend this book. It could use a little work, but it still was a great story.

Not as good as the other Covert One books but nevertheless I was very happy to discover that someone is still carrying the torch. Just hope that Gale Lynds is going to write more, his books were by far the best. The Janus Reprisal was more about prevention than about accomplished grand schemes, and the characters seemed less developed and different, but in places the atmosphere was unmistakeable.

My only problem with these three novellas (Risk, Gone, and Run) is that they are actually one novella separated into three short story length books. Why?

Emma is interviewed by a high risk/kidnap/key man insurance broker, who can't grant her company's request for a policy on her because of her extraordinarily high risk lifestyle.. He is being followed and attacked by unknown men and of course, Emma gets involved.

Lots of action. Moves quickly. First book. Totally implausible.

As is so often the case as of late, I will begin by saying that this book made its way to me as part of the Goodreads First Reads program at no cost. Despite that I will give the book my honest and unbiased assessment.

It's probably worth mentioning that the genre of this book is generally outside my area of interest. I'm not typically a fan of bang-bang shoot 'em up movies or books and so this read is a bit of a departure. Despite that I am at least somewhat susceptible to such concepts as drama and intrigue, though apparently not quite susceptible enough in this case.

Freveletti's offering is dramatic, drawn from the current day and goes to great lengths to excite her readers. To its credit it does this reasonably well but I can't help but recall that during all these efforts I never really cared. As the author points out in her afterword, the best thing about Ludlum's work was that you really empathized with Bourne and it was that feeling that she wanted to emulate in her own work. I can't say though that I ever cared one whit whether Smith lived or died or whether I even finished the book. It was only through an inflamed sense of duty that I bothered to read through to the end.

At least some of my consternation is no doubt drawn from the implausibility of the whole thing. Freveletti has used at least reasonably accurate scientific realities for her subject but the way in which they are used is clumsy and her depiction of action sequences is completely implausible.

In summary, it would seem that this offering is one of a protracted series that stretches back for decades but it completely fails to make me want to either read previous books nor look forward to future ones. It is merely a ho-hum contribution to the espionage genre. Perhaps those who have followed the previous exploits of Mr. Smith will find him more entertaining.

I almost couldn't finish this book. For the ignorant, maybe the repeated mention of the marijuana leaves being packed for shipping from a major cartel, wouldn't send any red flags, but the marijuana leaves are a waste product of the marijuana smoking element of the plant. They would NEVER be packaged to be sold by anyone with a shred of knowledge about smoking pot. The leaves are not even smoked at all.

In addition, a revolver does not have a magazine. During the story an automatic pistol with a magazine of 13 rounds suddenly becomes a revolver... *sigh*

These two problems make the book almost unreadable. Another significant downfall is the Oz character... why was he even in the book? A decent editor should have caught the pistol and marijuana problems and either enhanced or removed Oz altogether.

I don't plan on reading any more of these books.

couldn't get into it at all and didn't finish.

An exciting action thriller. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series!

Robert Ludlum’s The Janus Reprisal
Covert-One Book Nine
By Jamie Freveletti

Jon Smith is attending a conference in The Hague when he is caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. The Hague is not the only place under attack bombs are going off at a train station, the airport and the International Criminal Court, where Pakistani warlord Oman Datter is being held. Amidst the chaos Datter escapes to exact his revenge on the United States. Colonel Smith however is determined to stop Datter before it is too late.

This book jumps right into the action from page one and continues until the very end keeping you gripping the edge of your chair in anticipation for what will happen next. I have only read The Bourne Identity previously so I can’t actually compare what Jamie Freveletti has written to the original series. However I think Jamie Freveletti did a wonderful job, each of the characters is interesting and so vivid in the narration of this story that even if they are not the main character they are still captivating within the storyline. Then when you add in the mystery, suspense, and action you have a story that will certainly keep you entertained. With all this the author still manages to find time for a beautiful romantic sideline making this story more intense in the delivery. This book is worth the read and I may even go back and find more of the Code-One Series.

For More Reviews be sure to visit my blogs at:
http://reflectionsofabookworm.wordpress.com/
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Where I got the book: freebie at a networking event, author present but for some reason it never occurs to me to get Jamie to sign her books.

I feel like I should be nicer, really; I like Jamie Freveletti. But I'm just the wrong reader for these books; the point of the thriller genre escapes me. I mean, you read a book because it gives you something; in my case, I like historicals because I like to think about the past, and mysteries because I love trying to figure things out ahead of the sleuth. Presumably people who love thrillers crave breathless excitement, but all this running about and trying to avoid getting killed just seems exhausting to me.

Plot: Emma Caldridge is injected with a mystery drug just after a bomb interrupts a race. Her attempts to figure out what happened lead her to Somalia and thence out into the ocean, where associate Sumner is helping a disabled cruise liner fend off some pretty determined pirates. The liner's cargo hold may contain the clue to the puzzle...

I do find it interesting how Freveletti comes up with all this stuff about drugs and drug-running and dangerous people in general. She either does her research very well or has a pretty vivid imagination (I have NO clue what's real and what's imagined). Maybe both. I did enjoy learning about the back blast from an RPG; that'll come in handy come the revolution (hint: don't stand behind one).

I'm reading the series backwards, but noting pretty much the same issues I had with The Ninth Day. Especially Emma's speshulness. This time she leaps from a moving boat onto a ladder hanging off a gigantic cruise liner, plots strategy to defeat the bad guys and handles weapons after about two minutes' training. She is a terrorist-fighting MACHINE! And every guy she meets fancies her, even though she hardly ever gets a chance to wash and barely eats. I think we're supposed to think she's looking foxy after a week or two on the road, but I'm thinking more along the lines of roadkill on a bad hair day.

So the question is, does the Shelf of Shame hold the first novel somewhere down there in Layer 1? Should I read it and unleash more reader-confusion into the reviewsphere? Read some other thrillers (believe me, people keep giving them to me) in an attempt to sync with the genre and achieve enlightenment? Or give up and reach for a book I understand? You may have to wait for the next installment of...

READING DARK™ - Reviews from the Edge.

Where I got the book: freebie at a networking event.

I should start out by announcing that I do NOT read thrillers, so my rating reflects my ignorance of the genre. Jamie Freveletti is a) a hugely popular bestseller, and b) I've met her and like her. My 3 stars will not make a dent in her popularity, and I'm glad of it.

Plot: Emma Caldridge stumbles across a drug gang whose marijuana crop is afflicted with a disease that transmits itself to humans. Trying to get clear of the situation, she is caught between the drug overlord, the law enforcement authorities gunning for him, an attractive but somewhat hapless accessory and the mysterious disease.

OK I can see why people like these books; the pace is set at a steady 100 miles per hour and never lets up till ALL OF A SUDDEN, right at the end, it's all over bar a few significant glances between male and female characters and that's it, really. For 95% of the novel Emma is on the move, being chased, shot at, hunted, whatever. Grenades, drugs, bad guys, headcases, it's all go go go. I'm worn out just writing about it. I was totally in the mood for this kind of reading for much of this book, being thoroughly cheesed off with Things in General, and in those circumstances found the easy page-turning effect of constant forward motion soothing.

Emma, of course, is perfect: she can run 100 miles without barely breaking a sweat and generally knows what to do in every situation. Especially since the situations (I'm partway into another of Freveletti's books) often involve putting her into a chemical lab, where she is an expert genius whizzkid marvel. All the men desire her, other women fade into the background, yada yada yada. OK, that's pretty much it.

You see what I mean when I said I don't get this genre? Give me credit for trying.

First Line: Emma Caldridge went to sleep in first class on a British Airlines flight from Miami to Bogotá, and woke sixty seconds before the plane was downed in the Colombian jungle.

Emma is thrown unhurt from the plane and watches in dread as guerillas round up the rest of the crash survivors and lead them into the jungle.

At first wanting to get help for herself and the others, Emma heads in a different direction, but one by one her alternative routes are closed off to her, and she finds herself following the others and trying to stay hidden from the guerillas. Along the way, she runs into an injured government agent, Cameron Sumner, who was left behind to die.

A task force from the United States is on the way to search for survivors, but time is running out. Fortunately Emma is no ordinary woman, and she guards a very powerful secret.

I love thrillers with smart, determined female leads, and Running from the Devil has a winner in Emma Caldridge. I could happily have spent the entire book reading about her surviving on her own out in the jungle, but I suppose that wouldn't have done much for the plot. Emma is such a fascinating character-- a chemist for a cosmetics company and an ultramarathon runner-- that the few times the plot veers away from the natural green jungle and moves to the unnatural concrete jungle inhabited by Washington, D.C., power mongers, I wanted to groan.

Unlike most thrillers I've read, there were secondary characters that shone brightly for their brief close-ups, but they didn't fade permanently from view. Freveletti made readers care for those people, and she was aware that we would want to know what happened to them.

The only thing that I had a hard time swallowing was the dire secret that Emma was guarding so closely. I was happy to see that she didn't shirk her responsibility for it, but I just didn't buy into it. Since I do my best to avoid spoilers, I won't discuss it any further.

If you're in the mood for a fast-paced thriller with a strong, captivating female lead, I think Running from the Devil may be just what the doctor ordered.

Biochemist Emma Coldridge is on the Mexican border in Arizona while looking for plants for the cosmetic firm she works for. She comes across a stash of marijuana and before she can make her escape, she's caught and brought before the head of the cartel.

Raoul La Valle the leader of the cartel learns that she's a chemist and tells her that his crop of marijuana is infected. People who come in contact with the plants are infected and die within nine days.

He informs her that his mistress has been infected and Emma will have to find a cure or be killed. He thinks the U.S. is responsible because they sprayed his crops to kill them and this gave them the fungus. If Emma doesn't find a cure, he'll ship the next contaminated batch to the U.S. to spread disease in revenge.

Emma meets Oz Kroger, a college drop out who wanted some quick money so volunteered to drive the drugs into the U.S. but when he learns they are infected, he tries to help Emma.

The plight of the poor migrant workers who are forced to work the crops and the idea of infection are unique things that draw the reader's interest.

The plotting could have been stronger as Emma escapes and a cat and mouse chaes is begun. However, the reader gets caught up in the action and the novel is entertaining.

Today, I review Running From the Devil by action thriller author, Jamie Freveletti. I purposefully bought this book because I met Jamie at a writer's conference in June. She was the one thriller author in attendance, and she happened to be female. As much as I enjoy reading and writing in the thriller genre, I find that it tends to be dominated by my gender counterparts, i.e. the men. Therefore, I peppered Jamie with questions during her presentation. She provided much advice for a newbie female attempting to "break in" with a thriller novel. She is proof of that success, as she stated her deal for Running from the Devil was in the six figures zone. Incredible.

Here's my video review, if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-mBju_rmXM

My Three Thoughts from reading this novel:

1. I appreciated her use of a kick-butt female protagonist.
2. The characters were less developed than I had hoped. I found it tough to emotionally engage with the story.
3. The ending (though a bit unbelievable) kept me reading from the 80% to 95% mark.

All told, I would recommend Jamie Freveletti's future work. She has mentioned her dedication to honing her craft, so her most recent novel, The Ninth Day, might be more to my liking.