Line of Fire: (Nick Stone Thriller 19)

I suppose all good things come to an end, and so we have reached the end of A.M’s quality books.All of the books have been great, except the last 2. I couldn’t even bring myself to finish the previous book it was so tiresome.This one went up and down in pace, but wrapped everything up quickly in the last couple of pages.Save your money or buy it in a charity shop after Xmas for a couple of quid.

I’ve long been a fan of Andy McNab and have read the Nick Stone series through from book one.Without giving too much away, this book builds nicely on the events of the previous book, and moves the overall narrative sufficiently from the previous ‘sub-series’.It is fair to say there is still lots of life left in the Nick Stone series and I’m looking forward to see where events go from here.

As in the previous Nick Stone book, Nick is teamed up with another 3 ex-soldiers. The story line was okay but he spends too much time trying to look after the other three. He is better on his own doing his trade craft in his particular style. I would like to think that the next book will see him back on his own but there were hints that the group may be working together again.

I've been a fan of the author and the Nick Stone character for many years, but somehow this book failed to deliver for me. I thought the plot was good, but the storytelling became a little tedious and got 'bogged down' in far too much detail, especially the part around the campsite. I'll still buy the next one in the series and hope this was a one-off, but for me the best I can give is 3 stars!

Don’t get me wrong I love the Andy McNab “Nick Stone” books but as someone who has read them from the beginning of time the bar has been set high. The originality that Andy McNab captured in the early books has faded as has the storylines. Sorry but not my favourite but will keep reading!

This book is not up to the authors usual high standard of writing. I found it a bit woolly & disjointed in the first half. It didn't seem to reach any sort of action we come to expect from Andy until near the end, & then it was very watered down. Sorry Andy , but I am still a fan of your writing when it's at its best, like in your earlier books.

I always enjoy the Nick Stone books. Over the years he has become a bit sadder, a bit more real, but I identify with his friends, the banter etc. I do still prefer the earlier books, just because of the high octane military type scenarios. But, Nick Stone is a guilty pleasure, that you know at some point along the way he's going to get the crap kicked out of him, but he will get through it, and eventually somebody else will come of worse. I particularly liked the ending. Trust! That's all I'll say....

One of the best things about some of mcnabs early work is the way they opened with an 'action/suspense set piece' - this one doesnt...marks off for that.However, i found it one of his better recent books, the last half of the bookwas excellent.Be good to andy meet the high standards he set with his first 4novels thought.