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thecatsmother's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Red Right Hand is the second book in the Michael Hendricks series about a former Black Ops assassin who makes a living killing hitmen on behalf of their targets. I got this from Book Club and had not previously heard of the author, and decided (after a mental struggle as it’s very much against my Bookish Code) not to wait to read the first one. I got half-way through before I gave in and used an Audible credit to download The Killing Kind, which we played in the car yesterday evening. With two hours left to run on that, it was clear that they are two separate stories only loosely connected by the shadowy criminal organisation called The Council, but that finishing this wasn’t likely to spoil me for Book 1 any more than I already had been. This exercise reminded me why I should just stick to my rules about series, 😹 although most readers would have no difficulty enjoying this as a stand-alone.
Set about a year after TKK, this has principled hitman Michael going after the members of The Council in retaliation for their sending Engelmann after him. When a hit goes wrong, he finds himself on the run with a new assistant. Before he can recover, renegade FBI Special Agent Charlie Thompson asks hims to protect a witness against the Council. Frank Segreti, another bad man trying to make amends by taking down ever worse men, was previously thought dead, but a viral video that captured a terrorist attack on San Francisco inadvertently puts his face on TV and now he is being hunted by a ruthless security contractor who will stop at nothing to put him down for good.
Ex-military tough guy vigilantes, who work outside the law to protect the innocent, have become very popular in American thriller series, (think Reacher, Smoak, Milton, Reznick...) so can get a bit samey if you read too many of them, but when they’re done well, as here, I can make room for another one. This was a fast-paced action adventure - Holm has a cinematic writing style that works very well as we follow the different characters’ perspectives, and what this lacks in originality, it makes up for in edge-of-your-seat tension. Cameron makes a good sidekick (in this day & age, all heroes need a genius hacker on their side) and I like Charlie too.
Clearly Hendricks is not done with The Council and I look forward to reading more of his adventures!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
bilinski68's review
3.0
I like this better than his first book. It kept me interested to the end. Looking forward to reading his next bbook.
kellyhager's review
5.0
This is the second book in the Michael Hendricks series (after The Killing Kind). Hendricks is a hitman who takes out other hitmen. Now he's trying to keep a federal witness alive--the catch is that a lot of people believe he's already dead. He's also trying to bring down the Council, a shadowy group that's tried to kill him.
This book is insane in the best way. I couldn't stop reading it and I was very nervous, hoping Hendricks and his associates would stay alive. (The Council is scary, guys!)
I hope there are more books and either way, I hope Chris Holm has a new book out soon. He's one of my favorites.
Highly recommended.
This book is insane in the best way. I couldn't stop reading it and I was very nervous, hoping Hendricks and his associates would stay alive. (The Council is scary, guys!)
I hope there are more books and either way, I hope Chris Holm has a new book out soon. He's one of my favorites.
Highly recommended.
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