BOOK REVIEWS: The James Ryker Trilogy by Rob Sinclair

BARGAIN: The James Ryker Trilogy is now available as a box set. These are absolutely brilliant books and you can read all 3 books for £3.49 / $4.74
Available from: Amazon US     Amazon UK     Amazon Australia     Amazon Canada

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James RykerThe James Ryker Trilogy

DO YOU LOVE EXPLOSIVE, FAST-PACED ACTION THRILLERS? THEN DISCOVER THE BEST-SELLING JAMES RYKER SERIES TODAY.

THERE ARE THREE UNMISSABLE ESPIONAGE THRILLERS IN THIS GREAT VALUE BOXSET:
The Red Cobra

The Black Hornet

The Silver Wolf

THE RED COBRA:

Carl Logan dedicated nearly twenty years of his life to the Joint Intelligence Agency. Now living in a secret location, under the new identify of James Ryker, he wants nothing more than to be left alone, the chance to start a new life away from chaos, violence, destruction and deceit.

It’s not long, however, before Ryker’s short-lived idyll is destroyed when he is tracked down by Peter Winter, his ex-boss at the JIA. Winter brings with him news of the murder of a woman in Spain, Kim Walker, whose fingerprints match those of one of Ryker’s former adversaries who’s been missing presumed dead for years – an infamous female assassin known as the Red Cobra.

A cyberattack at the JIA led to the Red Cobra’s profile being compromised, and Winter believes JIA agents may now be at risk too, Ryker included. But Ryker knew the elusive Red Cobra better than anyone, and when he sees the grisly pictures of Kim Walker’s corpse, he has news for Winter – she isn’t the assassin at all …

So just who is the mystery dead woman? And where is the real Red Cobra?

THE BLACK HORNET:

What do you do when the love of your life vanishes without a trace? If you’re ex-intelligence agent James Ryker you search for the answers whatever the cost, however much blood and sacrifice it takes…

Six months ago Lisa was taken from Ryker, and he’ll stop at nothing to find out who is responsible and why. Following a trail to Mexico, the ex-Joint Intelligence Agency asset soon finds himself in the firing line of enemies he long thought he’d left behind. Set-up for the murder of a former informant, Ryker is thrown into a crumbling jail run by The Black Hornet, the notorious leader of a Mexican drug cartel. But what connects the cartel to the informant’s murder, and to Lisa’s disappearance? And just who is the mystery American claiming he can help Ryker in his hour of need?

THE SILVER WOLF:

Ryker wants blood, and one way or another he’ll get it…

Still tormented by the disappearance of his wife, ex-intelligence agent James Ryker sets out on a personal mission of revenge, prepared to go to any lengths in search of the truth.

The trail takes him from the crystal waters of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, back to a place he thought he would never set foot again – his country of birth, England. But there he discovers more than even he bargained for. Stumbling across a terrorist attack targeted against his old employers – the secretive Joint Intelligence Agency -the faint clues to many events in his recent past are all seemingly linked to one mysterious character; The Silver Wolf.

But just who is the Silver Wolf, and why is he hell-bent on punishing not just Ryker, but his closest allies at the JIA too?

Has Ryker finally met his match?

The Silver Wolf is a globe-trotting thriller that sees James Ryker at his hard-nosed best as he fights the ghosts of his past. As skilled as Jason Bourne, as no-nonsense as Jack Reacher, James Ryker delivers in another heart-pounding thriller.

The James Ryker books are fast-paced thrillers filled with twists and turns and intrigue that will appeal to readers of big-hitting thrillers by the likes of Lee Child, David Baldacci, Mark Dawson, J.B. Turner, Ward Larsen and Daniel Judson


My Reviews

The Red Cobra
The book is centred around the government agencies that operate under the radar that we all know exist.

James Ryker, formerly Carl Logan, thought he had finished with his life on the edge as a secret agent. He is assumed dead and reinvented himself and began a new life (or so he thought) but is found by his former boss and persuaded to find and kill an old adversary, The Red Cobra.

Although it is not my usual preference of book I found myself totally gripped and turning page after page following Ryker’s near death experiences as he finds himself tangled up in situations he doesn’t understand with people wanting to kill him coming at him from all angles.

Ryker is a very complex character that develops well as the book progresses. I understand this is the first book in a series that is a spin off from another series that features Carl Logan. This sister series is now on my ‘to read’ list. Given that there are several books building Ryker’s character I was surprised at how easily I got to know him. Rob Sinclair has very skillfully enabled the character to become known to the reader without referring back to previous books which makes this book work really well as stand alone (although I will definitely be reading the next book).

The Red Cobra: what can I say the character is sheer brilliance and involves a real twist to her tail. She is evil but totally loveable and the love hate relationship between her and Ryker really make the book. I think Red Cobra is the badness in me waiting to get out. I would have liked to find out how she survived the cliff jump but that is a small regret compared to all the boxes that this book ticked for me.

A different but absolutely brilliant book that just proved that it sometimes pays to read something against the norm.
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The Black Hornet

James Ryker is an ex JIT agent and he and his wife, Lisa, have ‘reinvented’ themselves in the hope of being able to live a relatively normal life away from the violence and danger of their past.

This is the 2nd book in the James Ryker series and picks up the story where The Red Cobra ended. James arrives home to find his wife has gone missing all her belongings are still there but she isn’t. Because of his past he has no friends or family and therefore sets off on his lone crusade to find out what happened to her.

His first stop is Mexico and he hasn’t finished his first coffee in this country before he is thrown in the middle of a battle with the Mexican police in which the person he was hoping could have information about Lisa is killed. He finds himself thrown in prison, accused of murder, and into another battle with drug cartels and the violence that accompanies them.

Jack is a complex character used to living in danger he expects to find it around every corner and often that is what he finds. He is trying to live a normal life but it seems life has other ideas. He is the main character in the story.

This is a very gripping, fast paced story about life in a secret agency. It is packed with action, violence and corruption and twists and turns. It really begs the question: Can you ever truly escape that life? Is it not the case that being part of a secret organisation means that you can never be allowed to live a life outside taking with you all the secrets and knowledge that the organisation leaders are prepared to kill to keep?

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The Silver Wolf

This is book 3 in the James Ryker series and the books just get better. There is a reason why they fly up the Amazon charts: hundreds of readers can’t be wrong these books are BRILLIANT.

Carl Logan and Angela were secret service agents and thought they had left it all behind. They reinvented themselves as James and Lisa Ryker. They created a new life together but you can never really escape your past and James was dragged back in to service in The Red Cobra. While he was hunting down the enemy Lisa disappeared and James, having found her body, is now on a hunt for her killer.

James character builds gradually in the previous books but they do work very well as stand-alone although I would recommend reading them in sequence to ensure you get the full enjoyment. James is a well trained and resourceful agent and definitely someone you wouldn’t want as your enemy. As your friend he will always have your back and this is repayed by his seniors who use their powers to extract him from difficult situations.

The book is extremely well written and the reader is gripped from the first page as we are taken on a journey through the underworld of the secret services we all know exist but are very well hidden. It is a very realistic view with tragic consequences among the successes of the actions taken in pursuit of their pray.

In this book his relationship with Willoughby plays a big part and makes the story work. It isn’t a romantic relationship, sex doesn’t figure in the lives of these people, it is a relationship built on respect for each other and a commitment to their chosen career. There are some horrific images brought to life in the book that keeps the adrenaline pumping and the pages turning.

Another absolutely brilliant read from an author that never disappoints.

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