Readers Reflect on Marc Royce Series Finale

Today, four readers of Strait of Hormuz reflect on the series finale. I hope you’ll click the link next to each name to read their full review. Today’s reviewers are:

Michelle Rayburn
Marjorie Vawter
Charity Lyman
Jill St. Clair

Tastefully Written Thriller

By Michelle Rayburn, Faith, Creativity, Life blog

Are you looking for adventure?

I have followed fictional character Marc Royce through Iraq and Africa, and now through Switzerland, and in true Davis Bunn style, the journey didn’t disappoint.

This third book in the series continues with agent Marc Royce working on a covert mission for the U.S. State Department in Geneva, Switzerland. For readers who haven’t read the first two books, Strait of Hormuz contains enough back story to pick up without feeling lost, but I highly recommend the first two books, simply because it adds to the depth of the characters who reappear in this book.

I’m a fan of Davis Bunn mostly because he has drawn me into a genre that isn’t typically my style. How? He does action, danger, and even violence so tastefully that my mind can fill in the details needed, without having every gory detail painted on the page. This book has its share of mystery, danger, gunfire, and betrayal, which kept a fast pace for readers who like action. It also has a softer, more relational theme, which brought balance to the plot.

There are several threads that don’t seem to connect until near the end of the book. I enjoy that mystery. Royce is on assignment that begins with an explosion in an art gallery, and ends with, well, of course I won’t tell you how it ends. It had plenty of intrigue to keep me hooked all the way to the end. I like how Bunn weaves a faith element into the story line without it feeling pasted in. In this book, I learned something about Messianic believers without it seeming like a history lesson.

There were several aspects of this story that would make it suitable for the big screen, and I’d be thrilled to see that happen. The ongoing action, an attack from a mysterious motorcade, an assassination attempt, a chilling scene where Royce and his team encounter a vessel on the Red Sea, the multilayered relationships of Royce and his team, wondering if any of them was a mole, and much more. It was one of those books that played like a movie as I read.

I love that this and Davis Bunn’s other books have the potential for a broad male and female audience.  The trilogy makes a great gift for the reader who likes a tastefully done thriller.

Fantastic finale

By Marjorie Vawter, The Writer’s Tool blog

Wow! What a fantastic finale to the Marc Royce Adventure series! Strait of Hormuz is nonstop heart-pounding action from start to finish.

Sometimes in series’ fiction, the main characters tend to stagnate after the initial book, but Davis Bunn doesn’t allow his characters sit back on what they learned in the previous adventures. They continue to grow and in spite of heartbreak or looking death in the face over and over, they grow in self-knowledge and toward the Lord, the acknowledged source of life and purpose.

The author continues to show his understanding of the unity believers have in Christ, a unity that surpasses ethnic differences and long-ingrained hostility. For Kitra and Marc, this means not hiding their faith, even when it means putting their lives on the line.

The plot line of Strait of Hormuz comes straight from today’s headlines in every newscast and newspaper. Learning to distinguish between friends and foes is essential to Marc’s staying alive to protect the ones he loves most. The Marc Royce Adventure series is one I can highly recommend, including Strait of Hormuz.

Excellent finale to the Marc Royce series

By Charity Lyman, Giveaway Lady blog

…One of my favorite aspects with a book by Davis Bunn is how he mixes Christianity in a novel without making it offensive. The main character is a Christian, but he isn’t pushy about it. They have real life struggles (okay, Marc is a little above the ordinary but that makes him pretty good in my book), personal battles and you see how they work through them.

Marc Royce trilogy will NOT end here!

By Jill St. Clair, Amazon

I am always impressed with the attachment I form to Davis Bunn’s characters, and Strait of Hormuz did not disappoint.

The plot is rapt with terrorism and geo-political espionage surrounding the all too real volatility of Jewish/Christian/Islam clash in the Mid-East. Every aspect of the story was particularly well researched and dense with local flavors of multiple countries, cultures and religions. Yet, that information flowed weightlessly around non-stop action to form a realistic backdrop, not coming across as contrived or intentional.

I found it refreshing to read about characters guided by integrity and deep faith instead of personal gain or accolades. This book has it all, intrigue, suspense, technology, politics, spirituality and romance.