The American

Ryan Kealey #1

by Andrew Britton

At thirty-three, Ryan Kealey has achieved more in his military and CIA career than most men can dream of in a lifetime. He's also seen the worst life has to offer and is lucky to have survived it. But being left alone with his demons is no longer an option. The CIA needs him badly, because the enemy they're facing is former U.S. soldier Jason March.

Ryan knows all about March--he trained him. He knows they're dealing with one of the most ruthless assassins in the world, a master of many languages, an explosives expert, a superb sharpshooter who can disappear like a shadow and who is capable of crimes they cannot begin to imagine. And now, March has resurfaced on the global stage, aligning himself with a powerful Middle East terror network whose goal is nothing less than the total destruction of the United States.

Teaming up with beautiful and tenacious British-born agent Naomi Kharmai, Ryan intends to break every rule in order to hunt down his former pupil, whatever the cost to himself. As Ryan puts together the pieces of a terrifying puzzle, and as the elusive March taunts him, always staying one step ahead, he discovers the mad man's crusade is personal as well as political and Ryan himself is an unwitting pawn.

With the clock ticking down and the fate of the country resting uneasily on his shoulders, Ryan is caught in a desperate game of cat-and-mouse with the most cunning opponent he's ever faced, one who will never stop until he's committed the ultimate act of evil a man who is all the more deadly for being one of our own.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Spy Thriller, Espionage, Mystery, Action, Mystery Thriller

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 28, 2006

About the author

During his early childhood, Andrew Britton lived between England and Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, until the family emigrated to the United States in 1988 at age seven. Britton spent years in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating from Leesville Road High School in Raleigh in 1999, Britton joined the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. He stayed in the Army for three years and served in Korea.

After his military service, Britton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied economics and psychology.

He published his first novel at age 23.

Britton died at the age of 27 of an undiagnosed heart condition in Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

LATER edit: I have to go for a fourth star, as a homage to the author. Britton has written this one when he was just 22, only to pass away aged 27.

Not a bad beginning, quite a four stars one, but it quickly turns into a somehow dull story, with an stupid ugly end, so I had to think positively and rank it three, perhaps one too many.
- there are too many casualties, most of them innocent, and too much violence
-the main characters, the good one and the bad one, are tough and aggressive and have conduct problems in society. my interest in Ryan's amorous live is next to zero, so the novel goes too long and boring.
- Kharmai girl is a nasty ungrateful jerk, which could gain the first prize in a Miss Unlikable contest.
- the customs guys, the real estate agent, the girl from the magazine and the young policeman from NY are stupid and/or unprofessional, as well as the secret services, which fail FOUR times in a row, at least three times too many.
- Vanderveen has a gun, a knife and a girl as hostage, when he takes by surprise an unarmed guy. however, he fails to kill his rival and sets to run. probably to a next book. hopefully, to a better one...

Not to mention that I don't buy anymore the too convenient theory that Serbs are devils on earth and Muslims are chorus boys and girls...

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The American is a political thriller trying to find the murder of US Senator Daniel Ley and security detail on the streets of Washington D.C. Retired CIA operative Ryan Kealey was brought back into the agency due to the identity of the assassin. However, been involved with the CIA again caused Ryan problems in his professional and private live. The American takes the readers on a rollercoaster ride to find the assassin before he kills his next victim intertwined with Ryan's problems with his girlfriend. Readers of The American will be surprise and shock with the conclusion of this book and the identity of the assassin. Reading The American will help readers to understand the consequences of trauma on a child.

I enjoyed reading The American it got me involved in the story after the prologue, and I could not put the book down. Also, enjoy the way Andrew Britton portrayed his characters and highlighting the problems that agents and families have when involved with law enforcement agencies.

I recommend this book.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

[The author has passed away, so this is not meant as a slight to his work, but really just an examination of what I like to call Men's Formula Fiction (MFF) in relation to this specific book.]

I bought a used paperback copy of this MFF book on my vacation, but didn't start it until the flight home. MFF is usually called thrillers or some such thing, but really, they are romance novels for men...focused on a high body count and some paragraphs with a lot of technical description of weaponry, fighting styles, etc. MFF does not seek to be literary...but does try a lot harder than any book ghostwritten for James Patterson.

So, we have 1) our hero: damaged goods trying to make it out in the world, but being pulled back to the old job...a job that only his talents and willingness to go too far can resolve; 2) his new partner: green, but talented and drop dead gorgeous; 3) his love: the one that drives our hero to finish the job and get back to the only thing that matters--her; 4) the villain of the piece: driven by a desire for revenge, filled with talent that is turned to evil, ruggedly handsome, and [gasp] someone who has a dark history with our hero. Toss with a few other heroes and villains, technical and military jargon, standard MFF-issue plot points, some torture and (brief) sex scenes (that are torture to read), and drag it out just a little to long. Bind and print: MFF here we come.

I'll continue to the next book to see where it goes...but will fit a few books in between now and then.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

WALKING INTO HELL.

"We aren't walking in the dark. We are the dark."- CIA S.A.D officer Kara Stanton, CBS Person Of Interest

Andrew Britton is a dead spy thriller writer. Born in England, moved to the USA, served in the military and then started his writing career. He managed to do 5 books before his untimely passing in his mid-20's. Which is a shame. Specializing in the counter-terrorist sub-genre of spy fiction, his work focused on a badass CIA killer by the name of Ryan Kealey. Any other day it would be considered a Mitch Rapp knock-off.
But in fact, the Ryan Kealey series is a ruthless deconstruction of the first generation of counter-terrorist thrillers which have happy endings, subverting quite a few of the usual expectations and conventions that go with it. The series is a tragedy, about a Paramilitary Officer descending into his own hell on earth as he suffers defeats from every victory, sees his dreams shattered, his ideals throughly ground underfoot by the profession he's in and is forced to experience continuous torture by his so-called friends who drag him back to work even when it's clear that he's more in need of a straight-jacket and soft padded room rather than a flight to an exotic location with a Beretta 92FS in his hand luggage. The first book in the series titled "The American" is the first circle of hell Kealey walks through, involving a simple but surprisingly audacious terrorist attack planned by a anti-American contract-employee of Al Quaeda. Now to the review. What happens when a teacher tries to kill his top student who has gone so horribly wrong?

The novel starts with a killing in Washington DC. A politician who is the main proponent of economic sanctions on Iran as punishment for their nuclear program is assasinated by a man who, using a stolen rocket launcher, turns his motorcade into slag. He then gets away, killing two USSS agents who try to pursue him in a nightmarish manner. We then cut to Ryan Kealey, former CIA Special Activities Division officer turned bored colleage professor who is asked by his former superior at Langley to consult on the manhunt for the assassin. He is assigned to work with a analyst named Naomi. Almost immediately, they start things off on a bad note. He saves her from being flattened by an exploding building the assassin demolished to cover his escape from America and is rewarded with ungratefulness. She tries to look into his background and nearly gets skewered by Kealey for her trouble. As the investigation continues however, the sexual tension between them rises and Kealey is forced to balance working with her and keeping his relationship with the woman he wants to marry afloat. Meanwhile, the assassin, having escaped to Iran, pays several visits to the leading terrorists in the area, offering a very appealing business opportunity for some of the world's top Islamic extremists. Having received contributors to his scheme, he begins preparations to carry out a terrorist incident aimed at decapitating three Western governments in one stroke. The only problem? His mentor, Ryan Kealey who is busy hunting him down and finding out the horrifying truth about a man he never truly knew.

In terms of plot, The American is a solid enough affair. Standard counter-terrorist thriller structure applies, it doesn't try to introduce any innovations but that's not the point of this book, or where the fun comes from. For the settings, apart from the USA and Iran, we also have the mountain's of central Asia and a particularly bloody business trip Kealey and his analyst colleague make to South Africa. For a counter-terrorist thriller, surprisingly enough, this has the pacing of one of Tom Clancy's geopolitical epics despite being several hundred pages shorter. One of the reasons for this is the research. The difference between Flynn and Britton is that Flynn was willing to take a broad strokes approach with the majority of the technical stuff. Britton however didn't bother to strike a balance, not that it's a bad thing as some of the technical details make the narrative even more impressive. From the usual tactics, procedures and kit readers have come to expect in the genre, Mr Britton chillingly delves into bomb making and its intricacies. The terrorist incident centers around a very big bang, but one which depends on specific environmental factors to be pulled off. Said attack may be simple on the surface, but once you read the book, you'll be impressed/horrified at how much thought the author put into his fictional incident to make it plausible.

Now, characters. Let's begin with Ryan Kealey, whom brings the "deconstruction" aspect to the novel. Former US Army Special Forces soldier. Highly decorated in combat. Moved to the CIA Special Activities Division. Became their best paramilitary officer. Known for going off the reservation and doing what is right, orders be damned. Seems like the all-American wonder boy leading a charmed life of going around killing the scumbags who threaten his country like Mitch Rapp right? Wrong, as you'll find out. It doesn't become apparent initially in this book (but in later ones it will), but Kealey is basically what Mitch Rapp would be if he didn't have the teflon political protection, was discontent with his life and come to the realization that he will never quit, no matter how hard he tries, and no matter how far he runs away. His actions when he goes off the reservation? They have serious consequences which he and his allies actually suffer dearly. Kealey is also a man who is discontent with the killing he's had to do and yet longs for the thrills of the hunt and serving his country which civilian life will never give him. This gives him something Rapp never had, a fatal flaw which leads to his damnation. His faliure to reconcile this contradiction unlike Rapp, who in Consent To Kill decisively made his decision, and the delusion he has that he can have his cake and eat it as well lead to the beginning of his psychological deterioration near the end.
Secondly, we have Mr Jason March, the antagonist. While Kealey is more fascinating, Jason March is a lot more fun. He may be a textbook sadistic sociopath but he's a smart sadistic sociopath who is rocking a Frederick Forsyth Jackal vibe throughout the story. A smooth operator who manages to stay miles ahead of his enemies, he elegantly waltzes around the efforts to stop him despite a critical mistake allowing Kealey to home in on him, and in the end, manages to snatch a triumph over the head of the main protagonist.
Finally, we have John Harper, Ryan Kealey's former superior at Langley. He's a subtle deconstruction of the "supportive beuracrat" character prominent in most modern spy fiction. Like Kealey's deconstruction of Mitch Rapp, it only becomes more apparent in the later books, but the man is one heck of a good spy who knows how to cultivate an asset like his former subordinate, string him along and reaquire him for use by the Agency.

Now, while all is said and done, there are quite a few things about this novel which I dislike immensley. Some are understandable for a first book. Mr Britton doesn't integrate the technical details into the story as well as Mr Flynn, and thus the pacing is affected at times (he gets better with the later ones). There's also quite a bit of padding due to certain parts devoted to character interaction. But my main problem is with the female characters. Naomi, Kealey's analyst partner is quite unpleasent, but she's nothing compared to Kealey's fiancee. Petty, jealous, insecure and managing to hit every single aspect on the "hysterical shrew" template, she managed to burn away an entire star from the rating single handedly. She is however, important to the plot, and acts as a decent catalyst for the character arc her boyfriend will take in the next three novels.

So my verdict on "The American"? Well, indifferent I suppose. It's the series as a whole which is the fascinating deconstruction of the Mitch Rapp side of the counter-terrorism genre, not this book itself. Despite the few standouts managing to dominate the book, and not to mention the impressive/unnerving attention paid to the technical details around bomb making, the pacing does not excite which is the requirement for any book in the genre, there are other books out there which are far more interesting (like the sequels) such as Brad Taylor's Logan/Cahill saga, and don't get me started about the female characters. However, a series must start somewhere, and the next books take the stuff set down here and create what is essentially the anti-Mitch Rapp counter terrorist series.

[Angela Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always enjoy this series!

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 1 out of 5]

As with almost all contemporary books I've read, with the exception of the Johnstone Clan series, I, again, can't understand the overwriting being done. I know the publisher wants a certain sized book to make certain profits. Then why not just contract writers that know how to write a long book?

This is needlessly long. Some editor really goofed not reigning in this first time writer. What really made me angry was how the book ended. As in other over long cases, I notice that the book could be broken in to a series of books. Seems that was the intent as volume after volume has come out after the author's death.

Beyond excess of a couple hundred pages, the story is just not handled as well as it could have been. The characters are poorly illustrated, despite the over effort to define them in certain details and then the failure of the dialogue to carry the rest of it. Some places there is extensive setting description and others it's nonexistent. There's another trouble I have with the current espionage genre is the failure to write of the very long plane flights involved in the stories. Here was an opportunity to flesh out characters.

Have moved onto another of Pinnacle's ghost written series - the William Johnstone clan. Whereas the Britton books sprinkle out every year or so, the Johnstone clan has a torrential storm of books that goes on all year. Yet, this series has the amazing ability to form characters. As I read the beginning of yet another Johsntone series, 'Sixkiller - U.S. Marshal', I'm thinking how I can hear these characters talk and see them move to the narration. I never got that feeling in the Britton book.

In 'Sixkiller' characters have different forms of dialogue, distinguishing each character. In Britton there is a character that is written as being from England. Yet, with one exception, there is never any sign in the dialogue written that she is English. A peek at Christie or Nancy Atherton would've helped with that and helped form at least one authentic sounding character.

An editor could have solved much of the troubles I'm mentioning.

Bottom line: i don't recommend this book.

[Joe Orozco · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when the military expert you train turns against you? Such is the case with former soldier, Jason March, and the only person capable of hunting him is the man who taught him. Only, time is ticking, because March has aligned himself with Middle Eastern forces committed to the assassination of the American president and other world leaders. For Ryan Kealey, it's as much a terrorist plot as it is a personal vendetta. The ending is not what you expect.

You'll enjoy this book if you're into Baldacci and Flynn. Uncontrollable CIA agent who can't really be fired because he's so good at what he does. It's a traditional recipe, and to be honest the initial predictability of it almost turned me off, but Britton brings his own style to the table. He lets go of the bravado that becomes too prevalent in similar books of this genre, delivering a no nonsense plot that keeps you guessing at every twist.

If you enjoyed reading the Will Robie series, The American is a fine introduction to another worthwhile series.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vince Flynn/Brad Thor like anti-terror novel...similarily the hero is a iconoclastic CIA agent saving us from evil...I love this stuff...my 1st by this author in a genre that entertains me immensely...just recently, I was shocked that Britton passed away, in 2008, at 27, with a legacy of just 4 books in this series and a stand-alone...Ironically, I'm reading Wilson's "Black Wolf"...stories are similar in that US operatives are after American terrorists who've "gone over...the Britton hero after "The American" and the Wilson character after "The Ghost"...fun reads all!!!

[Jacob Peled · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to read the book because of lack of time, and a book like that which is a super fast pace kind of adventure, needs to be read "nonstop". Anyway at the 2nd part I was able to read almost continually, just couldn't put it down. I like the main hero character –"Ryan Kealey ". Looking forward to other books by Andrew Britton. It's a pity he died so young a 27. Nevertheless He left us quite a few books of his. For all the CIA-FBI-Secrete Service thrillers – It's a good choice

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young author... good book. Tragically a short life for Britton.

[Michael Mattioli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way longer than it needed to be. A lot of tropes and characters than are one dimensional.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new author, series and book for me. Exceptional story! Great characters and lots of action. I have the rest of the series on my self, and look forward to reading them all.

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Heart of Betrayal’ by Andrew Britton
Published by Penguin. 1st February 2007. ISBN 978-0-141-02796-8

Former Special Forces Officer Ryan Kealey is now living in Maine, lecturing occasionally at
the University of Maine as an associated professor of International relations. His partner of
six months is Katie Donavon, who isn’t totally sure he has retired.

When Ryan sees on the news a terrorist strike on Independence Avenue, Washington DC - a
hit on three cars in broad daylight, killing a US Senator, an outspoken critic of Iranian hard-
liners, he waits for the telephone call he knows will come.

Arriving in Langley Virginia, Jonathan Harper Deputy Operation Director at Langley shows
Ryan a tape on which he identifies Jason March, an American national, now clearly high up
in Al-Qaeda. Ryan Kealey knows Jason March, not a man to make mistakes. So who can stop
him, only one of their own, the man who trained him Former Special Forces Officer Ryan
Thomas Kealey. The hunt is on.

Within two weeks Washington DC is again the scene of terrorist devastation. Both Ryan and
is new partner British Naomi Kharmai of Central Intelligence, Counter Terrorism, are caught
in the operation.

Like all good stories much of the intrigue lies buried in the past. Just what did Jason March
do to Ryan, and where exactly is he? Written from multiple points of view with the action
switching constantly from Washington to Langley to Iran, and then to South Africa, with a
couple of end of chapter cliff-hangers, this is a page turner. The characterisation is excellent -
I chuckled at the reference to Naomi scratching her butt. Also some great sexual tension. A
stunning unexpected climax. Recommended.
------
Lizzie Hayes

[Vani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout the book we are told how great a guy Ryan Kealey is, how he has won so many honors in his short but illustrious career. But we don't see this greatness in the story. All he really does is intimidate a couple of goons into giving him information. Now, I am not an intelligence expert but having read enough spy novels I know that an intelligence operative is supposed to get things done quietly and efficiently, without bringing too much attention to him/herself. But at every step Ryan goes against the explicit orders of keeping things quiet and generally messes up.

Turning to Naomi, she seems to just stumble through the situations with help from others and some luck. She plays a significant role only in the latter half part of the story where she figures out what kind of van Vanderveen is driving.

From the beginning, I had a feeling that Katie would eventually be dispensed of. And it was confirmed when Vanderveen found out Ryan's address. How convenient! Now Ryan and Naomi can be together.

Well, having said all that, I still plan to read rest of the books. :-)

[L B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to rate this one higher. It got off to a good start, then the author decided to toss in a lousy character. Spoiler alert on this one.






He could have made Kealeys girlfriend less of a insecure, manipulative, controlling, jealous, sugar daddy hunting witch. (Was going to use a different word...) Maybe he wanted his readers to hate her? If so, he did a great job on it. She was one of those self centered women that cries she loves you yet you have to change because she can't take what you are right now characters. Seemed like her goal was to make him feel guilty as much as possible so she could get whatever she wanted. Whether it was telling him what she wanted directly or dropping not so subtle hints, she was all about "me". I was so glad that she was killed at the end of the book. Every time I saw her name I started to just skim over the paragraphs until I saw she was gone. I kept hoping she would die in a big explosion or run off the road, she was a bad driver, or just leave and never come back. Of course she wasn't going to do that, she loved his money.

Okay, rant over the bad part over. The rest of the book was good. Moved along well, didn't get all bogged down in useless dialog with people. The back story came out as you went along instead of dumping it all at once and then trying to work a story off it. I won't give anymore of it away.

Overall it was a good book and I was glad I stuck with it to the end. I will give his other books a shot too.

[Tobias Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our hero, retired from duty, comes back to the CIA for one last mission. He gets sent to gather intelligence together with a beautiful, yet deadly colleague. He prefers to beat the information out of the bad guys, instead of interrogating them, if necessary, he uses a knife. Meanwhile our villain blows up a few buildings and smuggles more than a ton of explosives to Washington D.C. To prepare the final blow (no pun intended)... Nice cars, a vengeful elite-soldier as villain, stunning girls all over the place and a lot of violence, I can't stop thinking of a James Bond Movie.
If the end is meant to be a good or bad end is not clear.

But I can't figure out why our villain preferred to risk his life just to kill the fiancée of our protagonist rather than risking his life by driving his bomb into the badly secured haven and kill hundreds of Americans, the US and French president, and the Italian Prime Minister. This is the revenge he dreamt of his entire life, in this situation, who would bother about the suffering of a former army colleague who is hunting you down.

[Zozo · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a stupid a book?!
I haven't finished yet (it's not easy).

First of all, the American from the title is not an American. It's not that important, but it also shows how much not a sharp book this is.

The main charatcter:
Ryan is a tough guy, a decorated ex-soldier... until now I've only seen him torturing non-combattants for info, we didn't get a glimpse into his superpowers. Which is a shame in this sort of story.

The girlfriend:
He has a love interest who is a whiney bitch ("Why didn't you call me, I was so worried?!"). All this while he is chasing the bad guy all over the world. Do you know Mitch Rapp from Vince Flynn? He also had a whiney wife... and the series couldn't afford this all the time so... she had to blow up. I'm sorry Katie, probably you will too.

The colleague:
There's an analyst at the CIA who for some reason goes everywhere with Ryan. When she shoots someone in the kevlar, she is shellshocked. When they try to capture a guy, she is used as a human shield. When she participates in a raid where Ryan is not there, she is shot. When Ryan doesn't want to have sex with her, she's like a little girl who didn't get ice cream. So why exactly did the head of the CIA insist that she be on the case? On a manhunt that is extremely dangerous and important? Why?? She's an analyst. So let's see what she does when analysting: she and I quote from the book "is lost without Ryan". What the fuck?

The bad guy:
A super smart super capable soldier who managed to infiltrate the US army and for some reason at one point revealed himself just to kill ca. 5 guys. Which he didn't manage because Ryan survived and he was angry.

When Ryan and the analyst colleague go around the world to find the bad guy, they don't immediately start the surveillance, first they eat and drink whine and have a good night's sleep. But time is of the essence!

I don't recommend this book.
If you want tough guy shit, go find Mitch Rapp or Evan Smoak or the Gray man.

[Crissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, the story was pretty good. I have to admit, that I've read all the Vince Flynn Mitch Rapp books, and that's my basis of comparison (and none have been as good). My biggest issue is the portrayal of the women in the book. Judged on appearance, then emotional stability, then performance. And the ones that come out as capable, the author feels the need to state that it's even more remarkable because they're in a "man's world". And neither of the two main female characters were likable. That said, I don't think there's any malicious misogynistic intent or anything, just hope the author realizes that if it's not necessary to frame a male character in terms of physical appearance and emotional capabilities, it's not necessary to do to a female character either. Develop the character instead.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former Special Forces soldier and CIA operative Ryan Kealey is pulled back into the life he was trying to leave behind when he learns that a man he once trained is behind the assassination of a US senator and his entire security team on the streets of Washington - and might be planning something even more devastating for his next attack. Ruthless, skilled, and extremely lethal, Jason March comes with connections to a terrorist network and a vendetta against the entirety of the US as well as Kealey personally. To track him down before he can strike again, Kealey needs to go to extreme lengths - and it still might not be enough.

Gripping, fast-paced and packed with action, this was pretty much exactly what I needed right now. Was much of the plot predictable and did I see the ending coming from a mile away? Sure, yes and yes. Didn't make this any less of an entertaining read, though.

[Cynthia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know the author wrote this book when he was 21 or 22, and it shows in the silliness of the entire plot. I could not wait to finish this book, so I could be done with it. How many of you wanted to see Naomi killed off? What in the world was her contribution to the story? She was an analyst for the CIA, and yet she was thrust into a position of an operative. It was clear the author just wanted to have a girl accompanying the protagonist on his useless adventure overseas. All she did was whine and sulk. Ditto for Katie. The author surrounded Ryan with whining, complaining, adolescent girls. And, then there was the ending...the bad guy survived a 180-foot plunge into the Atlantic Ocean!

I will not read the follow-up to this novel. And, yes, I do know the author has since died. I would like to think that had he lived, and had he re-read this book, he might have cringed.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 out 5 stars, because it was non-stop action and for a first book, I felt it moved along very quickly and held my interest. I had to get the next book to see what happens to Ryan as he left this one up in the air at the end of THE AMERICAN.

I will probably recommend this book to some of my male customers that like the shoot em' up and blow em' up kind of book.

I am sad that this author passed away at such a young age, as I would love to see the progression of his characters as he aged.

[Steven Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went back and reread this one. What I noticed: the plot still held up and was pretty unique, and the action was crisp. The only thing that stood out as negative was unnecessarily describing female bodies in a sexual manner, something that seems to be a pitfall with many authors (myself included; I've been working on not falling in that trap). Still, for a debut novel, it was fantastic. It makes me wonder just how far Britton would have gone had he not met his untimely demise.

[Deborah Lyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad to have stumbled upon this author when looking for another series to read.

Ryan Kealey has no intentions of working with the government ever again. He is content to make a life with his new fiance, Kate, until he discovers the "killing machine" known as Jason March, aka William Vanderveen is back and reeking havoc on American soil. The storyline is gripping and the ending is opened for the next installment.

[Melvyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Formulaic, cliched, predictable, forgettable.

And yet…. I kinda want to know what comes next. But not enough to suffer through more of the same. Every character was out of central casting, every female was described primarily by her looks (and the two central females were, of course, stunningly and distractingly attractive whilst also being represented by their emotional rather than intellectual faculties).

[Susan Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read - that covers a multitude of topics - political, espionage, international war and a character so torn about his own USA - that he has trained himself to the point of expertise to undermine the core of his birth country. colourful characters and some areas of over explaining - for me not necessary - but others may love the technical data of how to make high volatile explosives - which matched the theme of the story.

[Herzog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mitch Rapp light. It has the same plot line and sense of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp thrillers - a good thing. Kealey is not as lethal, nor as connected, as Rapp. Like Flynn, the female characters are cardboard and don't present well. They come across as petulant and, a bit, dim-witted. The suspense was generally good with an ending promising more of the same bad guy.

[Dave Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fair Fist Attempt

For sophomoric attempts at describing both professional and romantic relationships, as well as the unnecessary dropping of apparel brand names throughout the text, this book deserves a 2 star rating. Enough hope, however, that I will at least start the next book in the series, anticipating better crafting of verse and story lines.

[Vivien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly standard but good thriller where a brilliant agent saves the day. All good until the end when the author clearly wanted to write another book with the same hero but didn't have enough imagination to think of something new and so introduced a ludicrous ending. SO disappointing when authors do that.

[Terri Crockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The American

The story line was a bit predictable but I found myself immediately liking the character. I will definitely read the next book. There is a lot of potential and looking forward to the next installment.

[Kathy Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an intriguing book and it definitely leave the reader hanging. After I'm done, I find out the author has several additional books in this series. Now I'm hooked. If you like espionage, thrillers, and good stories this is a good one.