Tom Barber (1)Besprekingen

I enjoyed this book but having just finished "Last Breath (Sam Archer 8)" I found it lacked the intensity and excitement that I was expecting. A good story nonetheless and it certainly livened up towards the end. It centered around planes being blown up mid air and the manufacturing of a new illegal drug called rage. Once again Sam Archer was called upon to save the day.

Sam Archer at his very best. This book is full of action with warring gangs, FBI shootouts and paid killers causing absolute mayhem in Washington DC. Sam Archer rescued his old colleague, Tom Ledger from being framed for multiple murders but only to plunge head first into an elaborate plan to boost sales of weapons thus increasing the wealth of a particular weapons production company. The story kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time I was reading it.

Lots of Action in a Good Guys against the Bad Plot

Blackout is an action thriller, with the good guys (Archer and his teammates) against the bad. And for that simple storyline, it has all the right parts. The pacing is fast. You hardly have time to relax from one attack to the next. The action scenes are intense, explicit, and sometimes grisly (be forewarned). The tension is good, with a foe that appears invincible. And all of those parts are well done. But if you’re looking for more – say character development beyond the minimal or even a bit of a romantic backstory? Well, you need to look elsewhere.

Blackout builds suspense by methodically revealing first, what’s happening, then who’s involved, and finally, why. In fact, the why continues to almost the end of the book…which is possible because there are ten targets and seven killers, not including Archer’s organization, the Armed Response Unit (ARU). We end up with a lot of stories about upbringing, battles, and family, but these generally serve to reinforce a stereotype. Even Archer, who seems to lament his time away from a woman he likes, puts himself squarely in the macho, save-the-world mold when he thinks, “To be with her, he would have to leave the Armed Response Unit. And right now that wasn't something he was prepared to do.”

The tension in Blackout is stoked by the fact that the good guys are less experienced, less well armed, and less ruthless than their foe. That stumped me at first, as a job with “one of the two premier counter-terrorist squads” in London would seem to attract ex-special forces personnel. But for some reason, the men of the ARU came up through the police ranks, a fact that becomes clear later in the book. Yeah, you’re not going to stop a terrorist by reading him his rights.

Although I’ve said the storyline is simple, the good guys are wearing gray hats, not white, as you will find. More could have been made of that issue, but then, it probably would have come at the expense of the action. And action is this book’s forte. I can’t fault the author for his decision.

There were only a few places where I ended up scratching my head. For one, the bad guys’ safe house was a recently completed office building. It had such poor security that they seemed to come and go at will over several days, even wiring it for self-destruction in advance. Or in another case, one of the targets decided to hide in an unknown location…after telling everyone else in the office where they would be. That seemed to go well beyond naivete.

But these concerns were small and overall, the tension and pace of this action thriller are hard to beat. Just don’t look for too much beyond the good guys against the bad.

Following on from the last two books of the series, I marvel at just how much trouble Sam Archer can get himself and others involved with. Helping a young lady in a car park results in him being hurt and his partner, Alice Vargas ending up in hospital. Having to already face an inquiry into his previous conduct, things only get worse when a senior officer in the NYPD appears to have it in for Sam, and provokes Sam into hitting him. To add to all of this, Sam’s actions have led all his friends into something much bigger than they could possibly have imagined. The plot is quite complex, the pace is unremitting, the forces involved extremely deadly, with a unique method of disposing of bodies just one of the horrors to be faced.
All the characters in I the series are so well developed by now that it is no wonder that they all pull for each other. A very readable novel, part of a series that are all attention grabbing. Highly recommended, especially as I have just acquired the next in the series totally free via Bookbub!

Another heart-stopper! Sam's girlfriend is kidnapped in Spain, the prelude to a mad dash by Sam and his NYPD colleagues to work with his former team in London. The reason for the kidnapping does not become clear for quite some time as an elaborate plot has been hatched by the kidnappers. I can say no more for that would give some of the game away, but what a game - a very serious game that demands everything from Sam's skill set. Tautly plotted. I read this following on from the previous novel in the series, but now need to give myself a break because it is another non-stop action, page turner that grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Need a break with something less hectic. Highly recommended series.

Just when will I get my breath back? The action just never stops. It all revolves around one tenement building in which Sam archer is almost accidentally involved. As he sits enjoying the warmth of the sun, he becomes aware of a rather disturbing situation, and, being a member of the NYPD, he becomes involved by trying to help a group who end up holing up in the previously mentioned tenement building. The whole building is assaulted by an armed group whose purpose may not be as clear as it would seem at the beginning. Survival is the name of the game, and all Sam's skills are called upon. Some of his abilities may appear to be almost super human, but it does make for a thumping good read. I found it so difficult to put down that I was almost out of breath to know what would happen. On to the next one!

Brilliant. Another Sam Archer story that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and out of breath with excitement. Starting off fairly innocuously with Archer and Vargas getting shot in a car park whilst collecting a pizza. This developed into a huge story of mass homicides involving a bent policeman, the Russian Mafia, the sex trade and a Latino gang with brilliant story lines interwoven throughout the whole book. A really fabulous read and it actually contained a happy ending.

Fast paced with bags of action. Its just another hugely exciting Sam Archer story.

The characters and plot intertwined well, it keeps you guessing and dragged along London searching for what's going to happen next. The book is solid all the way through, I like the fact that Barber didn't focus solely on Archer. He leaves him to develop over time and keeps him humble within this first book. Looks to be an excellent start to a great series.

having read his first novel in the Sam Archer series i was curious to see how well he developed the character. while i have to say there are some things that i found kinda annoying--basically an action movie turned into a book and a bit more wishing that the author understands that you don't need to explain every detail to his readers.

it was however a solid read with clear plot lines, the secondary characters could use a little more flushing out. but he does had several twist into this that you're not exactly sure what's going on until the last minute.

An absolutely fabulous read which kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The action centres around a group of US Marshals who are guarding a little girl who was a witness to a mob killing of her entire family. Sam Archer accidentally gets caught up in a fight to take out one of the US Marshals who could take down a squad of dishonest policemen. The book was brilliantly written, fast paced and I'm now looking forward to reading book six in the series.

Another great story in the Tom Archer series. Here he is a fully fledged member of the NYPD and involved in stopping a plot to kill thousands of people by releasing a deadly virus over DC. It is a terrifying situation that could so easily happen in real life. Looking forward to the next book.

A first rate book that had me on the edge of my seat most of the time. It was fast pace. Featuring Sam Archer as a member of a special forces organisation who got into battle with a black panthers organisation who were out to take revenge against a number of ex-army personnel who carried out a particularly unpleasant raid during the Afghanistan war.

An absolutely riveting book. The story moved at a breakneck pace and not once did I get tired with the storyline. The story covered a number of issues including drug trafficking, terrorism and the dreadful devastation that could occur in England if terrorism succeeded.

Wow what a great read. This is the second book in the Sam Archer series and I am now going backwards to read the first book. Sam Archer is a British police detective who gets involved with a NYPD/FBI plot and local bank villains when he went to his fathers funeral in Manhattan. Full of action, excellently written and a thoroughly compelling story.

Loved this book, read it not expecting a lot (it was a free download a long time ago) and just loved the whole premise. The tension was kept up through the whole book and there was even a big twist I didn't see at the end of the book. Also loved the very ending of the book! It was all based around a terrorist cell in London and a race against time on New Year's Eve to stop a number of atrocities. I think this is one of the most tension filled books I have read as it kept this up throughout the whole book. I will certainly be continuing the series and recommend him to others, I think it will be of particular interest to people who enjoy Daniel Silva, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Alex Lukeman, Lee Child, Matt Hilton...to name a few.

Silent Night by Tom Barber (No. 4 in the Sam Archer Series)
4 stars
Amazon description

On a cold December morning in New York City, a man is found dead in Central Park. There are no knife or gunshot wounds to his body and no signs of violence. But beside the body is a box containing a cracked vial. Suspecting he died from some sort of biological attack, a lab team screen the body. What they find is deeply unsettling and terrifying.

Seven months after he left the ARU, Sam Archer is now a 3rd Grade Detective in the NYPD's Counter Terrorism Bureau. However, not everything has gone as expected. Most of his new squad have welcomed him. Others haven't. But when he and the rest of his team are called in urgently and told of the situation all personal differences need to be put aside. It's been confirmed the man in Central Park was killed by an unknown strain of a toxic pneumonic virus. Once inhaled, there is no chance of survival. The victim dies quickly, violently and in agonising pain. There is no antidote. No one knows where it has come from, who planted it in the Park and why. No ransom demands or threats have been received. Archer and his team are ordered to find out who was responsible, and to locate and secure any other strains of the virus that may exist. However, they are already almost out of time.

Someone is intending to release more of the virus into the city within the next ninety minutes.

As they desperately search for answers, Archer and the rest of his team quickly discover that the cracked vial in the Park was just the start. They are also not alone in wanting to get their hands on the virus. There are others, people with far more sinister motives who are desperate to acquire the virus and who will kill anyone who gets in their way.

As people around him start going down, Archer must battle to stay one step ahead in the race to find the toxic weapon before it is used again. When he and his team finally realise the full horrifying extent of what they’re dealing with and the potentially devastating effects of its release, Archer must do everything he possibly can to stay alive and secure the lethal virus before many more people die.

However, he is already too late.

My review
As with the previous books in the series, this cracks along at a frightening pace, with a truly frightening scenario depicted. People can and do get very greedy, wanting to make as much money as possible without any thoughts for the consequences. A number of characters in this book would fit that description. Rather than want to ensure that a deadly virus is either destroyed or kept somewhere very safe, they simply want to sell it to the highest bidder. Fortunately most of these people lack the intelligence to really carry out their intentions, but their efforts nearly thwart the efforts of Sam Archer and his team. The virus itself, violently destroying life within thirty seconds, is bad enough, but the thought that there are people who are prepared to make money out of such a weapon, is truly disturbing. Recommended.

Interesting third episode in the Sam Archer series, every bit as pacy and exciting as the first two, and leading to a change of direction at the end.

I wanted to like this book, but it opened in a nondescript, non-attention-catching way and segued into a bunch of history that I found boring. I chose to stop reading and probably didn't get through 2 chapters of it.

It's possible that had I read books 1-4 in this series prior to this one, I might have had a better grasp on what was going on at the beginning of this one.