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Gunn Brothers #1
Search and Destroy
Brothers Danny and Clay Gunn were brought up an ocean apart. Both served in the military, and both know how to kill, taking work as private military contractors and freelance “fixers”.
But when they save a woman from an assassination attempt in the Nevada desert, it is they who become targets. Vowing to protect her, they are stalked by a paramilitary team known only as The Presidents, under orders from the heart of government.
Why is Andrea, a seemingly harmless journalist, the object of a search and destroy order? The only way to discover the truth—and stay alive—will be to turn the tables, and become hunters once again.
But when they save a woman from an assassination attempt in the Nevada desert, it is they who become targets. Vowing to protect her, they are stalked by a paramilitary team known only as The Presidents, under orders from the heart of government.
Why is Andrea, a seemingly harmless journalist, the object of a search and destroy order? The only way to discover the truth—and stay alive—will be to turn the tables, and become hunters once again.
- GenresThriller
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2015
12 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
James Hilton
9 books11 followersJames lives in the rugged but beautiful North of England with his wife Wendy.
He is the author of various genre collections plus has been published in various fan favourite anthologies.
Alongside his older brother Matt Hilton (author of the bestselling Joe Hunter Thrillers), James trained in the martial arts since the age of 11, first in the strict routines of Shotokan Karate then later in the very effective combat style of Kempo JuJitsu. James is currently ranked as a 4th dan Blackbelt.
His love of martial arts in all of thier variations, both eastern & world arts has driven him to study arts from Europe, Japan, China, Indonesia and America.
His other passions include visiting Florida and the Caribbean, reading horror, suspense and action thrillers.
He is currently working on the next book in the 'Gunn Brothers Thriller' series from Titan Books and also researching material for the first book in a planned YA series.
He is the author of various genre collections plus has been published in various fan favourite anthologies.
Alongside his older brother Matt Hilton (author of the bestselling Joe Hunter Thrillers), James trained in the martial arts since the age of 11, first in the strict routines of Shotokan Karate then later in the very effective combat style of Kempo JuJitsu. James is currently ranked as a 4th dan Blackbelt.
His love of martial arts in all of thier variations, both eastern & world arts has driven him to study arts from Europe, Japan, China, Indonesia and America.
His other passions include visiting Florida and the Caribbean, reading horror, suspense and action thrillers.
He is currently working on the next book in the 'Gunn Brothers Thriller' series from Titan Books and also researching material for the first book in a planned YA series.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 8, 2018
This book was not written by James Hilton who died in 1954. Goodreads needs to divide these two authors to be fair to the James Hilton who wrote this
book.
book.
August 16, 2016
If I am going to be totally honest, the main reason I picked this up is because James Hilton is the brother of one of my absolute favourite authors. The blurb sounded real cool and I liked the look of the cover, but the main reason was the name on the cover. And boy am I glad that I picked up Search and Destroy because it was everything I hoped for and more in a good thriller book.
Search and Destroy is James Hilton’s first thriller novel featuring freelance ‘fixers’ Clay and Danny Gunn. Andrea Chambers is in the Nevada desert researching a story when she is set upon by a group of hitmen that kill her brother and his partner. Andrea manages to escape and runs into Danny and Clay Gunn, two brothers with military experience enjoying some quiet time. As Clay and Danny vow to protect Andrea, they must figure out why she is being hunted in the first place.
To say Search and Destroy is action-packed is an understatement. It moves through the story at a crazy pace and there is so much going on that I couldn’t put it down. Hilton has such a simple, yet engaging writing style that I could really picture the book playing in my head like a box-office action movie. The story itself was great and pacing of it was good too. Just like Matt Hilton’s books, I was glad to see that James Hilton was able to slip in touches of humour throughout that really lightened the mood at certain points.
My favourite thing about the book was the characters. Honestly, Clay Gunn may be one of my new favourite characters in books. He’s such a bad-ass dude but he’s hilarious at the same time and I love it. I also really enjoyed the idea behind the characters that they’re brothers that grew up on opposite sides of the world because it allowed Hilton to make them totally different yet still have a good reason as to why they would be together, which I though worked well.
My only complaint with the book, and it’s a tiny one, is that it felt a touch unrealistic at times. It put me off a little bit that despite the amount of beatings Danny and Clay take at the hands of the bad guys, they’re able to almost fully recover and continue on. At times Danny and Clay felt almost superheroic and that dampened my enjoyment a touch, but that’s just a personal taste thing and literally the only issue I had with the book.
I am so glad that I gave this book a try and I cannot wait to see what James Hilton does with Danny and Clay in the next Fight or Die next year. If it’s anywhere near as good as this book, then I know I am in for a thrilling ride.
Is it worth a read? If you enjoy action-packed, suspenseful mystery books with kick-ass main characters in the style of Lee Child, Matt Hilton, Sean Black or Jason Dean, then you cannot go wrong with Search and Destroy. If you pick it up, clear out a weekend because it is near impossible to put down.
This review was originally published at Worth a Read.
Search and Destroy is James Hilton’s first thriller novel featuring freelance ‘fixers’ Clay and Danny Gunn. Andrea Chambers is in the Nevada desert researching a story when she is set upon by a group of hitmen that kill her brother and his partner. Andrea manages to escape and runs into Danny and Clay Gunn, two brothers with military experience enjoying some quiet time. As Clay and Danny vow to protect Andrea, they must figure out why she is being hunted in the first place.
To say Search and Destroy is action-packed is an understatement. It moves through the story at a crazy pace and there is so much going on that I couldn’t put it down. Hilton has such a simple, yet engaging writing style that I could really picture the book playing in my head like a box-office action movie. The story itself was great and pacing of it was good too. Just like Matt Hilton’s books, I was glad to see that James Hilton was able to slip in touches of humour throughout that really lightened the mood at certain points.
My favourite thing about the book was the characters. Honestly, Clay Gunn may be one of my new favourite characters in books. He’s such a bad-ass dude but he’s hilarious at the same time and I love it. I also really enjoyed the idea behind the characters that they’re brothers that grew up on opposite sides of the world because it allowed Hilton to make them totally different yet still have a good reason as to why they would be together, which I though worked well.
My only complaint with the book, and it’s a tiny one, is that it felt a touch unrealistic at times. It put me off a little bit that despite the amount of beatings Danny and Clay take at the hands of the bad guys, they’re able to almost fully recover and continue on. At times Danny and Clay felt almost superheroic and that dampened my enjoyment a touch, but that’s just a personal taste thing and literally the only issue I had with the book.
I am so glad that I gave this book a try and I cannot wait to see what James Hilton does with Danny and Clay in the next Fight or Die next year. If it’s anywhere near as good as this book, then I know I am in for a thrilling ride.
Is it worth a read? If you enjoy action-packed, suspenseful mystery books with kick-ass main characters in the style of Lee Child, Matt Hilton, Sean Black or Jason Dean, then you cannot go wrong with Search and Destroy. If you pick it up, clear out a weekend because it is near impossible to put down.
This review was originally published at Worth a Read.
October 24, 2016
Excellent action thriller with great character development and lots of fighting.
A debut novel? Surely not? This is a rip-roaring adventure thriller from page 1. It is well balanced, the characters believable and real, the plot flows, there is mystery and conflict, good character development interwoven with tense dialogue and swift action. James Hilton is showing himself to be a master of action storytelling. I couldn't put it down.
I hope that if I'm ever in trouble, the Gunn brothers are there to help. Down to earth, funny, heroic, resilient good guys. And I just love Tansen Tibrikot, ex-Royal Gurkha Rifles and passionate collector of Old West memorabilia. Hilton has the knack of painting a picture of each of his characters that makes you care about them from the moment they are introduced.
Now I have to wait for the next one!
A debut novel? Surely not? This is a rip-roaring adventure thriller from page 1. It is well balanced, the characters believable and real, the plot flows, there is mystery and conflict, good character development interwoven with tense dialogue and swift action. James Hilton is showing himself to be a master of action storytelling. I couldn't put it down.
I hope that if I'm ever in trouble, the Gunn brothers are there to help. Down to earth, funny, heroic, resilient good guys. And I just love Tansen Tibrikot, ex-Royal Gurkha Rifles and passionate collector of Old West memorabilia. Hilton has the knack of painting a picture of each of his characters that makes you care about them from the moment they are introduced.
Now I have to wait for the next one!
June 19, 2017
Excellent book thoroughly enjoying it lots of twist and turns. I like books that have lots of twist and turns and books that keep you guessing what's going happen next and I like trying to imagine the characters and also like books that keep you gripped like this one does. I would fully recommend to my friends and I can't wait to read book 2 and 3 when it comes out.
June 21, 2016
Action packed from start to finish!!!
January 27, 2021
Not exactly what I normally read. The author was very descriptive during the violent scenes. And the majority of the book was one violent scene after another. Not by any means a bad story. I really liked the book it was just different from my normal genre of books. I will definitely read more books by this author!
March 14, 2019
A good read.
A good read,although a bit gory at times. the author gives vivid descriptions with up to date data. Very enjoyable.
A good read,although a bit gory at times. the author gives vivid descriptions with up to date data. Very enjoyable.
August 29, 2019
Meh. Light action, sort of book you buy at the airport, read on the plane and then toss in the bin at the other end.
August 19, 2020
Great easy read thriller. A good page turner.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews