okay mystery

Unafraid to walk both sides of the law to attain his goals, CIA operative Tommy Carmellini is sent to post guard duty at a farmhouse in West Virginia. When he arrives, he finds the guards shot dead and a ruthless team of American commandos killing everyone in sight. Carmellini escapes in a hail of bullets with what seems to be the sole survivor-a stunningly attractive translator, who then steals his car and abandons him after a deadly mountain car chase. But someone else survived the massacre-someone who holds the answers to a deadly conspiracy.

This novel features as its main character Tommy Carmellini, a former burglar and CIA operative. Tommy’s old girlfriend, Dorsey O’Shea shows up and asks him to break into a house and retrieve some sex tapes. Not thinking much of it, Tommy agrees to the job. Later, the CIA sends him to a safe house where a Russian defector is being debriefed. The place is a massacre, and Tommy is forced to flee. Now he faces accusations that he was responsible for it and is being hunted down. The plot includes conspiracies, evil politicians, and betrayals to go around.

There was nothing overly original about this plot. Most of the elements have been done and done again. Style wise, the novel was solid but unspectacular. There are various twists and turns along the way to keep things moving. The characters are interesting. Although it was a decent read, there is nothing remotely memorable about this novel. It’s the kind of book that you will forget about shortly after reading it.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )

Tommy Carmellini series is a spin-off from Coonts' Jake Grafton novels. In this, the first book of the series, the two interact to solve a plot at the highest levels of US government. There is action galore and bodies everywhere. The technology is good and plays a little bit on the plot. The political interaction leads one into people close to POTUS, with dire consequences. The characters are easily understood and fun to wonder about. Where's book #2? ( )

Good character development, good chemistry in the romance although a little too cutesy, good action, good plot reasonably believable; very readable and entertaining. All in all a really good read. ( )

Tommy Carmellini, an accidental spy, unknowingly walks into a massacre when he reports for duty at an isolated safe house.
Mikhail Goncharov, a retired archivist for the KGB has defected to the US and it looks like someone high in the US government is gunning for him. Why is the question. ( )