Brandon Webb

Review of uncorrected eBook file

Two children, swimming together, find themselves pursued by two men in wet suits. They are Pedro and Miranda, Zacharias’s grandchildren. And when they don’t return after their afternoon of play, Finn goes looking for them.

Who were the men in wet suits? Are they responsible for the children’s disappearance? And can Finn find them before he risks revealing himself to those searching for him?

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“Blind Fear,” the third in the authors’ Chief Finn series, picks up where “Cold Fear” ended, but there is sufficient backstory for the book to work as a standalone for readers who have not read the earlier two books.

Set in Puerto Rico, the authors bring a strong sense of place to the telling of the tale; as with the previous stories, the action is non-stop, the plot is twisty and filled with surprises, and the suspense builds throughout the narrative.

Well-developed characters are a strength of the narrative; as Finn continues his efforts to prove his innocence in the Mukalla atrocity, he puts himself at risk to find Pedro and Miranda, the grandchildren of the man for whom he works in a small family restaurant.

Continually-mounting tension keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace; the search for the missing children puts Finn into some dicey situations, but in this realistic tale, readers will find themselves rooting for Finn to find the children before it is too late.

Pulling readers into the telling of the tale from the outset, this impossible-to-set-aside thriller belongs on every mystery/thriller reader’s must-read list.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley
#BlindFear #NetGalley… (meer)

Peaceful Iceland is an unlikely spot for tragic murder and a covert military op.
“Cold Fear’ opens in the dark and the cold. Iceland is known as the land of ice and fire; in the summer it has the midnight sun, but now, in the winter, it is ice and darkness. How does anyone survive the winters here? Iceland is a place with few predators, no snakes, no poisonous spiders, and no mosquitos. In a “bad” year there is maybe one gunshot death in the whole country. Yet humans can be cruel and dangerous. Illegal drug trade is rampant, and the island has become a midway drop-off point for human traffickers. Into this land of beauty, contradictions, and cold, comes Finn.

The drama unfolds in two storylines. A young girl drowns on Christmas Eve; she is alone, cold, and frozen in the ice like a tragedy in a fairy tale. The police investigation starts out badly when the body disappears. However, Detective Krista Kristjánsdóttir is determined to find answers. She has no idea of the complex problems she will uncover.
Former SEAL Finn is thrown into this mix. He is posing as a “crime writer” to ferret out rogue operators, sent to Iceland on some sort of covert “capture and kill” mission. Finn has come to “fix things; he knows little if anything about the operatives or their target, but he must stop them. He is focused, methodical, and determined. Readers follow Finn as he unearths the tiniest clues and puts together information bit by tiny bit.
Pages are filled with vivid descriptions that enhance the narrative. The metal edge of the saw lets out a scream as it slices through the ice. The city is a ghost of itself, still and silent, the streets deserted. It is as if the city were lying very still, holding its breath. Fatigue moves through his veins like oil sludge.
“Cold Fear” is the second book in the “Finn thrillers” series, but this journey is its own story. It combines the precision and discipline of military action/adventure story with the nail-biting tension of a police-procedure thriller. It is a non-stop adventure from page one.

I received a review copy of “Cold Fear” from Brandon Webb, John David Mann, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books. I did a search online for Lapsang Souchong tea, and found that it is available from my favorite online tea merchant with a rating of 99 (out of 100). “Cold Fear” is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries, and anywhere you get your books.… (meer)

Former Navy Seal Finn shows up in Iceland in pursuit of three of his former team members who are in Reykjavik on a covert op. Finn's unit was part of a massacre of civilians in Yemen. A massacre which Finn is blamed for but he has incomplete memories of the night it happened and is unsure if he played any part in it. While Finn is in pursuit of answers, another ex-Seal is in pursuit of Finn, whom he has been contracted to kill. On the night Finn arrives in Reykjavik, a young woman runs barefoot through the city and is found frozen in a pond with a message in lipstick written on her body.
Finn is desperate for answers that the covert ops team may hold about what happened in Yemen, but he also finds himself drawn to the mystery of the drowned girl. A no-nonsense police detective, Krista Kristjansdottir is investigating and finds herself working with Finn, even as she is unsure if she should trust him or arrest him. The intertwined plots, as Finn is both pursuing and being pursued on top of trying to figure out the mystery of the frozen girl's death work together brilliantly.

The promise that Webb & Mann showed in Finn's series debut, Steel Fear is fully realized in Cold Fear. The action is intense, the atmosphere draws you in, and the characters are incredible. Not only is Finn a fascinating lead character, with faulty memory and self-doubts, but the surrounding characters are fleshed out in a way that makes them worthy as either allies or adversaries and sometimes both. The suspense is sustained from beginning to end. Webb & Mann throw in surprises all along the way, but every answer feels earned and the climax is both exciting and satisfying.

Finn is an outstanding lead character and I would read an entire book just about Kristan Kristjansdottir. Two books in and I am a fan of this series and will put future installments at the top of my list. This is a treat for thriller and suspense fans and one of the best books I've read this year.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.… (meer)

"Excellence Matters."

This is the virtue on which Brandon Webb relates "The Red Circle", his memoir of the times when he was an elite SEAL. For those not in the know-how, Webb was the Operative who trained such legendary SEALS as Chris Kyle and Marcus Luttrell and restructured the legendary SEAL Sniper School.

The necessity of Webb's memoir lies in how he humanizes the world of Special Forces to establish that irrespective of themselves, individuals can push their limits if they are willing to outdo themselves in their lives. I was hooked from the first page and didn't put down "The Red Circle" until it's finale.… (meer)