**Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
A routine trip to China turns disastrous for intelligence agent Kurt Vetter when a deadly series of attacks on civilian targets plunges the country into anarchy. Trapped in a disintegrating nation, Kurt and his team take to the war-torn streets of Beijing to locate a Chinese double agent who may know the truth behind the source of the violence.
As you know, I am always on the lookout for new authors and this is my very first book by William Esmont. First off, you need to be aware that Blood in the Streets is actually the third and latest book in The Reluctant Hero series. Having said that, I was not aware of this when I started reading the book and did not feel like I was missing out on something as the author has done a good job at providing background information for the reader. Therefore, this book can still be read as a standalone if you do not have access to the two previous works.
Again, even though this is not the final book in the series, it does not end on a "to-be-continued" style cliffhanger, and all your questions have actually been resolved by the time you reach the words "The End", leaving you with a feeling of satisfaction and completeness. However, this will not prevent me from reading the first two books in the series (The Patriot Paradox and Pressed) nor the upcoming one.
I am not usually into spy books (psychological thrillers and police procedurals being my first choice), but I have to admit that Blood in the Streets captivated me from the very first pages and continued to grip my attention until the end. The fast pace of the narrative, which is packed with action and tense moments, suited me perfectly and there was no real idle moment in the story.
The characters are well researched and developed in my opinion, at least from what I gleaned in this book. I particularly appreciated the fact that Kurt Vetter is flawed, scared and more of an anti-hero (or rather a reluctant one as per the title of the series) than your usual spy and that Victoria was more intrepid and fearless despite being his subordinate.
Again, even though this is not the final book in the series, it does not end on a "to-be-continued" style cliffhanger, and all your questions have actually been resolved by the time you reach the words "The End", leaving you with a feeling of satisfaction and completeness. However, this will not prevent me from reading the first two books in the series (The Patriot Paradox and Pressed) nor the upcoming one.
I am not usually into spy books (psychological thrillers and police procedurals being my first choice), but I have to admit that Blood in the Streets captivated me from the very first pages and continued to grip my attention until the end. The fast pace of the narrative, which is packed with action and tense moments, suited me perfectly and there was no real idle moment in the story.
The characters are well researched and developed in my opinion, at least from what I gleaned in this book. I particularly appreciated the fact that Kurt Vetter is flawed, scared and more of an anti-hero (or rather a reluctant one as per the title of the series) than your usual spy and that Victoria was more intrepid and fearless despite being his subordinate.
The narrative alternates between different settings and characters, the main ones being Beijing with spies Kurt/Amanda and the White House with Dominic/the president of the United States. I found the White House setting to be brilliant as it gave me a decent glimpse into the interactions between the president of the USA and his aides ("Give me options!") as well as an interesting foray into geopolitics.
The Bibliovore's verdict ⋆⋆⋆⋆
A very good read. If the other books in the series are anything like Blood in the Streets, we are onto a good one.
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