The Third Bullet is a bit of a mixed bag. I am always one for a good conspiracy theory, and although I’m not steeped in the JFK assassination conspiracies, it seemed like a good premise. There were parts of this book that moved at a good pace, were intriguing, and had quality writing. There were other parts that just dragged on and on. To make matters worse, there was a serious lack of drama at times in the story. The way parts of the narration worked, the conspirator of the JFK assassination would go on long soliloquies about the assassination and then Bobby Lee Swagger would be investigating and trying to put the pieces together, but the reader already has put the pieces together because we just read about it. It seemed to be a pointless way to narrate the story. I think a third if not a half of this novel could have been chopped off, and it would have made for a better read.

There were times when I was really into the novel, such as when Bob Lee Swagger was on the chase in Dallas and Russia, but just when things were going good there would be a long-winded narrative about bullets and rifles and it would take me out of the story. The ending of the novel was so utterly unrealistic to the point of being ludicrous. The novel ended on a down note, but on balance I liked it more than I didn’t, and it’s worth a read.

Carl Alves – author of Conjesero ( )

I don't normally do thrillers, Stephen Hunter is an exception.

No spoilers - brief plot synopsis only.

This is the one in which Swagger finally solves the mystery of who shot JFK. ( )

It's not even a clue. It's a whisper, a trace, a ghost echo, drifting down through the decades via chance connections so fragile that they would disintegrate in the puff of a breath. But it's enough to get legendary former Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger interested in the events of November 22, 1963, and the third bullet that so decisively ended the life of John F. Kennedy and set the stage for one of the most enduring controversies of our time. ( )

Intricate plot that starts out paced strong and interesting. As the story progresses, it gets more and more unbelievable. ( )

Well-written and thought-provoking. Not my normal cup of tea, but Hunter is an interesting writer who backs his story up with a believable interpretation of the known facts. ( )