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beastreader's review
3.0
Ali Carson is training to become an FBI agent. Ali’s dreams just may come crashing down faster than she can blink her eyes. Ali has just become the number one suspect in her boyfriend’s murder. All the clues point to Ali. Ali only has one person she can turn to and that is Jack McClure.
Jack knows that Ali is not a murderer. Jack agrees to help Ali. It seems that there is more to the murder than just a lover’s spat. Jack and Ali’s investigation leads them down a path filled with deceit, intrigue and an Albanian slave trade.
Blood Trust is the third Jack McClure and Ali Carson novel. Jack and Ali do make a good team. Jack is like Ali’s second father. He is protective but without being too much. At times I did feel like Ali tried too much to prove that she was more than just a “President’s Daughter”. There was non stop action though this book. It did have a little feel of Jason Bourne in it with all the action. As much as I do like the fact that the story line was constantly moving along as a rapid pace, for some reason this time I was not fully invested in this book. Some of this might have to do with the fact that I thought that was a lot of other side stories taking place that were a bit distracting. Example Jack’s dead daughter talking to him. While I understand Jack’s close relationship with her, I did not feel like it helped the story or that Jack was at his very best. This book was just middle of the road for me this time but I know that I will still check these books out.
Jack knows that Ali is not a murderer. Jack agrees to help Ali. It seems that there is more to the murder than just a lover’s spat. Jack and Ali’s investigation leads them down a path filled with deceit, intrigue and an Albanian slave trade.
Blood Trust is the third Jack McClure and Ali Carson novel. Jack and Ali do make a good team. Jack is like Ali’s second father. He is protective but without being too much. At times I did feel like Ali tried too much to prove that she was more than just a “President’s Daughter”. There was non stop action though this book. It did have a little feel of Jason Bourne in it with all the action. As much as I do like the fact that the story line was constantly moving along as a rapid pace, for some reason this time I was not fully invested in this book. Some of this might have to do with the fact that I thought that was a lot of other side stories taking place that were a bit distracting. Example Jack’s dead daughter talking to him. While I understand Jack’s close relationship with her, I did not feel like it helped the story or that Jack was at his very best. This book was just middle of the road for me this time but I know that I will still check these books out.
bmg20's review
2.0
Enjoyable, but I think I may have enjoyed it more if I had a bit more background by starting this series from the beginning.
hlizmarie's review
2.0
I received this book via a Goodreads giveaway. My motivation for entering the contest for this book is my grandfather. He reads as much as I do and we've always enjoyed talking about what we're reading. I plan to give this book to him since I know he's a big Lustbader fan. Before I hand it over though I thought I'd give it a try. Immediately I was at a disadvantage since I've not read other books in the series. I didn't have history with all of the characters although it was clear they had a lot of history with each other. Although that's an issue it's not a deal breaker. I've jumped into other series and been able to pick up on the backstory with no problem. Unfortunately though I never clicked with this book. The action was good and I found some of the characters interesting but I never felt any intensity as things should have ramped up. At times the writing seemed clunky and awkward which interfered with the flow of the plot. I don't think I ever found out what motivated some of the characters to work with the bad guys and even more important I never really connected with any of the main characters. Although I enjoyed Alli's tenacity and toughness I never got invested in whether she lived or died. I had hoped that this book would draw me in and make me want to go back to the first books in the series but it actually turned me off them completely.
brettt's review
1.0
Eric Van Lustbader has been a name at the top of the political and suspense thriller genre since his early 30s. He was selected by the Robert Ludlum estate to continue writing the adventures of Ludlum's super-assassin Jason Bourne following Ludlum's death in 2001, as well as to finish some of Ludlum's incomplete manuscripts.
Other than these novels, Van Lustbader has focused on stories with Eastern or martial arts themes, but in 2008 he began writing about U.S. ATF agent Jack McClure and his special relationship with President-elect Edward Carson and Carson's daughter Alli. Blood Trust is the third Carson-McClure novel and brings the pair into a secret operation against an Albanian crimelord heavily involved in human trafficking. Alli has been training to become a federal agent herself but faces a charge she murdered a man she had been casually dating. McClure must help her clear her name and uncover the origins of the plot, which will connect to the operation against the crimelord.
Reading Blood Trust, it's hard to see what the Ludlum estate saw in Van Lustbader that led them to say, "That's the guy for us!" Ludlum could be long winded and include one too many infodump speeches along the way in his stories, but it was almost always possible to know where the story was going and what was happening along the way. Pivotal characters appear in Blood Trust well after there's room for them, and others disappear just as suddenly. There are a least three nefarious plots rattling around inside the narrative that cross back and forth along each other beyond any ability to keep track. Both Jack and Alli have conversations with Emma, Jack's dead daughter -- it's hard to tell if they're projecting, hallucinating, daydreaming or really talking to a ghost. But not as hard as it is to care.
Original available here.
Other than these novels, Van Lustbader has focused on stories with Eastern or martial arts themes, but in 2008 he began writing about U.S. ATF agent Jack McClure and his special relationship with President-elect Edward Carson and Carson's daughter Alli. Blood Trust is the third Carson-McClure novel and brings the pair into a secret operation against an Albanian crimelord heavily involved in human trafficking. Alli has been training to become a federal agent herself but faces a charge she murdered a man she had been casually dating. McClure must help her clear her name and uncover the origins of the plot, which will connect to the operation against the crimelord.
Reading Blood Trust, it's hard to see what the Ludlum estate saw in Van Lustbader that led them to say, "That's the guy for us!" Ludlum could be long winded and include one too many infodump speeches along the way in his stories, but it was almost always possible to know where the story was going and what was happening along the way. Pivotal characters appear in Blood Trust well after there's room for them, and others disappear just as suddenly. There are a least three nefarious plots rattling around inside the narrative that cross back and forth along each other beyond any ability to keep track. Both Jack and Alli have conversations with Emma, Jack's dead daughter -- it's hard to tell if they're projecting, hallucinating, daydreaming or really talking to a ghost. But not as hard as it is to care.
Original available here.
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