The Insider Threat (Pike Logan Thriller Book 8)

Brad Taylor is a novel-churning machine. Eight novels in four years by the point that he released THE INSIDER THREAT.By this point in any given series, the author has usually settled into formula, with little character development, essentially phoning it in for the sales. Thankfully and beautifully, THE INSIDER THREAT does not suffer from that at all, with Taylor still delivering realistic thrills ripped from the headlines and, more importantly, characters for whom to root.The basic plot is that the Islamic State has decided to strike outside its borders directly, utilizing Western-passing operatives with the goal of striking in Europe. The Taskforce catches wind of this and begins tracing ISIS operatives across Kenya, Jordan, Albania, and Italy, with several harrowing moments along the way.The book sees the return of two of my favorite characters, Israeli hitmen Aaron and Shoshana, and their character arc is very pleasing. There were a couple of plot points involving them where I was leaning in closer to the book, gripped with suspense. The plot development with Jennifer was also well done, though I hope that in future installments, we'll see some character development with Knuckles, Retro, and Blood, since Pike and Jennifer seem to have about run their course as far as developed characters go, barring catastrophic events.Also, major kudos on the gun porn scene involving the PWS 300 BLK rifles that replace the UMP45 as the standard Taskforce issue. Some readers might skim over that part since they don't particularly care about the details, but as a gun guy and a former soldier, I do love me a good round of gun porn in fiction.Gonna eagerly jump into the next Pike Logan thriller after writing this review. If you haven't been keeping up with the series, you're missing out, as I am learning with my catch-up reading.

This was my 8th Pike Logan thriller read over a period of 8 days while engaging in social distancing. I enjoy the characters of which there are many in the Taskforce. Pike's immediate team members include Knuckles, Jennifer, and others. I don't know if Shoshana and Aaron are all of the books, but they are good characters.What led me to give this book 4 stars rather than my usual 5 is that for me, it was hard to follow at times. The story makes stops in Nairobi, Kenya; Tirana, Albania; Istanbul, Turkey; Venice and Rome, Italy; and Florida. Perhaps I'm leaving out a place or two, not sure. The other more troubling issue was the long list of characters and names: Lost Boys, Middle Eastern Names, non-Middle Eastern Names, American names. At times, for those old enough to remember, it kind of reminded me of the old Abbott and Costello comedic routine of Who's On First.Last, I like Pike Logan's "do it my way" character, but it just seemed that in this book,his relationship with Jennifer, Shoshana, and others on his team seemed always on edge like being at cross purposes with his team.Let's see what comes next.

I have read all the Pike Logan stories and I don't recall any as aggravating as this one. Too many details about everything that added nothing and became boring quickly.It wasn't until the scene moved to Rome, after 350 pages, that the story began to grabb my attention. But I can't honestly justify a five-star rating for less than one hundred pages, regardless of how I really liked some of the characters and the ending.I feel my rating is further justified by the need of the Oversight Committee to control, interrupt and delay Logan's team in their battle for truth, justice, and the American way; oops, sorry about that, I think I heard that on the radio! Anyway, remotely restricting an on-site team "does not compute," to use a popular phrase which I hate (as a computer programmer for many years).Actually, the ending justified the short time it took to get there, and I did enjoy the last hour immensely!Norm

Brad Taylor again does what he does best --he lets Pike Logan and his Taskforce Team seek out the terrorists who would destroy everything that isn't Islamic and stop the havoc before its unleashed on the West. He shows us how easily ISIS can recruit disenfranchised young Americans, even those who have no ties to Islam or the Mulim world, and turn them into human missiles or simple assassins. And then he uses words to detail just how important the combination of the most current of technology, powerful intelligence reports, the instincts and skills of field operatives, and timing all combine to prevent catastrophe in the blink of an eye. Any fan of the Adventure Genre will love this book, whether it's your first Brad Taylor novel or your eighth. He is a masterful storyteller, and when I get a new book from Taylor, I find that I just can't read as quickly as I'd like!

A very good read. Took it on holiday.

Another unputdownable novel, love all the characters on Pike' s team, the banter between them is brilliant. A believable story in these Times. On to the next one...

coudn't put it down. A really good read

Slowly reading the full set

Excellent yarn to lose yourself for a couple of hours on a plane