It seems appropriate to be posting this review near the 4th of July! It's a very patriotic Americans-kick-butt type espionage thriller (a la Tom Clancy or Alex Berenson), which comes out today.
Dewey Andreas, agent extraordinaire, is still recuperating from his near-death experience three months earlier. He was saved from almost certain destruction by a team of a Israeli commandoes led by Kohl Meir, great-grandson of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. He's enjoying a vacation with his girlfriend Jessica (who happens to be the National Security Advisor) and contemplating a new job in private security.
But then Kohl Meir is kidnapped by the Iranians, and as Andreas hunts down Meir's kidnappers he discovers that the Iranians also have a nuclear bomb, which no one else knew about except for Meir. Time is running out: Andreas needs to rescue Meir from the most secure prison in Iran, and simultaneously stop the Iranians from launching a nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv.
The new U.S. president refuses to be involved though - he's trying for a rapprochement with the Iranians. So Andreas is on his own, on a quest to save Kohl Meir (and the world) from destruction.
The Last Refuge is well-written and fast-paced, but had a few too many gory torture/death scenes for a wussy like me. I was keeping a kill count, but I lost track after 19 when there was a scene where a bunch of people died at once. But if you like violent, suspenseful books you'll love this!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? I wouldn't. Your grandpa might like it though, especially if he's a military guy.
WIN IT! Ben Coes provided me a copy of this book for review, and will provide one of you with a signed copy! Update 7/10: The winner is commenter #4 who went to fireworks in Arizona City. Congratulations Nicole, I'll email you with details soon!
P.S. I announced the winner of last week's giveaway too! Was it you? Also, I'm taking a bit of a breather this week - call it my summer vacation. I may drop in later in the week, but I'm not planning to post again till Sunday. So in the meantime, check out some of my All-Time Favorites if you're looking for something good to read!
The book image is an Amazon affiliate link.
