I haven't read the first three Colter Shaw novels, but found him an engaging hero. At first he is hired by a businessman, Marty Harmon, to find out who has stolen a prototype developed for his company. Then Colter is asked to find and protect the woman who developed the prototype, Allison, and her daughter Hannah, who have gone into hiding after Allison's husband Jon is unexpectedly released from prison early.

There was quite a lot of clever misdirection and the plot moved quickly, although I lost interest in the gun battle at the end.

SPOILERS

I found some of Allison's actions hard to understand - if she was determined enough to break her own cheekbone to get her husband put in prison, surely she was determined enough just to leave him...? Did the author decide to give Jon cancer so that we would feel less bad that he died? Why was it OK for Allison to execute the gunman at the end? Were we supposed to feel sympathy for Jon's actions at Beacon Hill? They seemed out of character and very unlikely - would anyone, let alone a police officer, throw a child in the line of fire to save themself? I hope I wouldn't. Were we supposed to feel he had redeemed himself? ( )

Great book...read it straight through... couldn't put it down. What a suspenseful book! ( )

Fourth in series is action packed and full of clever twists and turns.

Colter Shaw, the son of survivalists, works as a reward seeker and goes where the money leads. This time, he’s hired to find Allison Parker, a brilliant nuclear engineer, and her daughter, Hannah. They are on the run from her abusive ex-husband, John Merritt, who’s just been released early from prison. Shaw runs into a situation almost immediately — it seems that there are two hitman who are also tracking Allison.

This was well written and kept me entertained. I like the main character, Colter Shaw, who is enigmatic and competent while also often proving to be the romantic interest of at least one woman or two. The details about Colter’s childhood training up in the mountain wilderness with his family are also interesting and educational. I like the series and definitely will continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ebook ARC to read, review, and recommend. ( )