Black 13 (Scott Pearce)

Writing was good, which kept me hooked till the end.But being an espionage thriller, the end reveal wasn't that huge.It could have been a 4.5 star novel, but fell really short at the end

Very even paced thriller. Scott is next Superstar

Good novel.

Black 13 is a fantastic thriller and does not disappoint.The action really didn't stop, from the moment we were introduced to Scott Pearce in Thailand all the way to the breathtaking/horrifying climax. The plot, both intriguing and well-written, continued to twist and turn throughout. It was impossible to see where events would go. The political elements felt frightening true to life and gave the book a different kind of edge for this genre. I absolutely loved Leila's character and like other reviewers she really stood out for me. Pearce was heroic yet human and it was great to see such diverse cast of characters overall.I would have liked to have heard more about the events in Islamabad and hear more about Pearce's personal life but I can see there is more to come! Roll on the next book in the series....

What a pleasant surprise it is to get a product that is what it says on the packet. This long but very clear and logical novel is exactly that and I am still recovering my breath. Scott Pearce is an ex soldier and MI6 man with all the attributes you would expect from such a background, strong, resourceful and very focused. When it comes to the crunch, killing is not a problem for him. How he becomes involved in this saga is that by chance an attractive girl who practises law has a problem. The man she hires to sort it out is murdered by a mysterious organisation and his good friend Pearce takes on the job. He then recruits an associate, Wayne, from the same background, and a Syrian lady,Leila, crippled previously by unspeakably cruel acts. She is a simply outstanding computer operative and all these skills are brought to bare over the extent of the assignment. What they uncover is something so big and rotten, extending to the highest levels of British society, that the job becomes a war against the all powerful underground movement. Hamdy takes us on a bumpy ride and I personally was sore all over, suffering in sympathy some of the knocks that Pearce takes. It culminates in a most hateful and despicable attack on an infants school - yes really, - and our hero has to deal with the subversive faction calling themselves Black 13. I would normally not fully endorse a novel where there is an unnecessary use of obscene language and say once again that these out bursts are uncouth and add nothing to a story. Chapter 41 could virtually be ignored as superfluous to the action, but noticeably the several last chapters leading to a climax do not contain this disfiguring language, allowing us to go with the action without side issues. Despite my reservations I cannot but praise the author for sustaining an all action mystery and yet having the time and sensitivity to make philosophical points about a society where powerful rich men and women hold society in their hands and need to be taken down. A very fine and exciting adventure then which you will not want to miss.

The other thug had a milky eye and an acid scar. Must confess I did not get any further than these descriptions on the first few pages as enough had been said about the type of fiction this was. Not for me sorry.

It's a fairly formulaic story (but no worse off for this) and "the most explosive thriller etc." is definitely an overestimation. The start of the book is the usual scene setting but the characterization is, in my opinion, poor and disjointed. There are far too many "convenient" skills, too much unexplained (or unbelievable) sources of wealth and all together it seems as though the author suddenly needs a character's resource and then simply invents it to suit the passage of prose rather than plans for it in the initial characterization.After the build-up and the hype it was ultimately disappointing.

Started reading this book and ended up finishing it the same day! Action all the way through and can’t wait for the next one in the series And such excellent writing I am going to read others from this author