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Thursday, September 18, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: Hard Return by J. Carson Black



Hard Return (Cyril Landry #2)
by J. Carson Black (Goodreads Author)
Paperback, 321 pages
Published September 9th 2014 by Thomas & Mercer

     Goodreads synopsis: Cyril Landry has been a dead man since he escaped a firefight off the coast of Florida three years ago. In all that time, the former Navy SEAL has been living off the grid to protect his wife and teenage daughter, who have mourned him and moved on.
     Five days a week, Landry watches from a distance as his daughter Kristal leaves school, his only chance to see her. One day a shooter in black unloads his M-16 on the students, killing eight kids, including Kristal's boyfriend, Luke. Landry takes out the gunman with a single sniper shot before melting back into the city. But this wasn't a typical massacre, and the clues add up to only one conclusion: someone knows Landry's alive, and wants him dead again. Teaming up with Detective Jolie Burke, a homicide cop who plays by her own rules, Landry must find a way to protect his family, and avenge Luke's death.

I don't really think the cover of this novel does it justice. Just based on the cover, I would not have picked up this book. But based on the blurb, that is what will hook people. You don't need to read Cyril Landry book 1 entitled: The Shop in order to read this one. The author does a good job of getting the reader up to speed about what is going on and who it all concerns. I do think the revelation of the killer was a bit on the "ah, come on" side of annoyance. The man didn't step into the novel beyond what people said about him until he was revealed the killer. 

Besides that little niggle, the book had me captivated right from the start. I understand the man, Cyril, wanted to keep his family safe so he pretended to be dead but why go to such lengths? He lost three years of his life that he could have spent with his family. Couldn't he have done something else to maintain this needed structure in his life? But that is neither here nor there. Another thing that I just didn't get was that Cyril had a relationship with a lady at the beginning of the book and then had similar relations with the lady cop, Jolie Burke. I guess I don't understand his devotion to his wife and kid if he can so easily rush into relationships that go nowhere.

I could definitely see this book on the big screen. It has everything a great thriller movie is all about. So if  you love a mystery and a thriller all rolled up into one, check out Hard Return. You won't be sorry.

After reading this I picked up book one in the Cyril Landry series called The Shop.

5 Stars.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) from Net Galley in return for an honest review. I thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read this title.

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