Alan Anderson – Google

I truly enjoyed Jack's first five thrillers, but I was thoroughly disappointed in Only The Dead. There's a lot of dead ground in this book, and its editors should have condensed it by a quarter. They should have also been more careful about using peculiar expressions that even after 50-plus years of journalism I was left scratching my poor bald head. "Reece BROKE the shot"? And "the first man broke the PLANE of the door"? Maybe I'm being picky, but 50 lines after placing his captured Ducati on its kickstand, Reece retrieves "the downed" Ducati. Lots of sloppy editing and even questionable sequences. Worst of all is how renowned assassin Reece seems to have forgotten some of his dark skills. With a 6 1/2 inch razor-sharp, double-sided war knife and up-close frontal advantage, why would Reece need an upward thrust to an enemy's diaphragm, then stab his right kidney, then his left kidney, then his ribs, then high in the chest, and (at last!) In the heart? The slackest assassin would have put that long blade straight under the chin and into the brain (at least!). Did he really need to shoot one enemy 11 times? While running low on ammo and under attack by numerous bad guys? It became a bad habit. After half a dozen kill rounds to the chest of one enemy, he returned afterwards to put another two rounds in his head. The other bad guys had to wait their turn. Where did all this crap come from? It doesn't really sound like the Jack Carr of the past.

Why do I get the feeling Mr Connelly has just pulled a Mickey Haller court trick on us all? Can I possibly have read this book before? Over and over I recognise the scenario.Too many times to be coincidence. Most memorable, Haller's clashes with the judge. And his contempt punishments. And the unforgettable Maggie McFierce's treachery. And worst of all, it's barely worth reading until about Page 350! Can I possibly be psychic?

Fifty percent of it is as boring as bat turds. The other fifty percent is a mixture of Grisham brilliance and bat turds. A thin, not earth-shattering plot with understated highlights and too many weak characters that smacks of a tired writer trying to maintain a publishing rate. A page-turner, but more to get to the end than for the excitement. I bought it in good faith with an historically great author. Sadly disappointed.