No earth movements occur during this thriller, but plenty of
travels and explosions do. LANDSLIDE is a code word meaning
everything has gone wrong and we need help fast. Mason
Hackett, a merchant banker in London, is shocked when he sees
the face of a friend on a newsflash. A journalist has been
kidnapped in the Ukraine-Russia border region.
The former US Marine Mason Hackett has tried to put conflict
behind him, but life catches up fast. He believed his mate
Kevin Gomez was dead, and spent years ridding himself of post-
Iraq veteran blues and guilt. The missing journalist looks
very like Gomez but is called Henry Delgado.
To fill in some background, we get the inevitable CIA
operative warning Mason to stay out of trouble. The cheeky
banker has already withdrawn tons of money from his bank,
which no bank would give me in one go but I guess Barclays has
understandings with his firm. Heβs foiled a personal attack
and warned his ex-girlfriend to stay with family. Heβs not
very good at keeping his mouth shut, though. Before long he
realises just how bad he is, because he didnβt get that kind
of training. He doesnβt care, heβs off to central Europe to
pay a ransom, or whatever.
Much time is spent on the tribulations of illegal border
crossings. I wanted the story to get to Ukraine faster,
because that was where the action was going to be, and thatβs
the news of the day, not Romania or Paris. This tale is set
after Russiaβs invasion of Crimea but before the wholesale
invasion of Ukraine. In the final third of the book, we arrive
in a separatist region in eastern Ukraine which is virtually
uninhabitable due to constant running conflict and smuggling.
Anyone here is at war or highly suspect. Now we get the real
story and real characters. I recommend reading this to
understand the prelude to the war.
Mason has to face uncomfortable truths. International arms
dealers profit from starting and sustaining wars, and they can
only do this by moving money around through merchant banks.
Both Russian and American espionage is involved, and Ukraine
is grimly persisting in the middle. As LANDSLIDE is the first
in a series called Mason Hackett itβs no surprise if he
survives, but donβt get too attached to anyone else. There are
deaths, gory injuries and torture. Just saying. The author
Adam Sikes appears to know weaponry and tactics well, but he
provides two female characters - the ex who leaves early, and
a caricature Russian villain who has about two lines. Some
more women in the second book would be appreciated.
U.S. Marine veteran Mason Hackett moved to London to start his life over, and he's done his best to convince himself that what happened fifteen years ago doesn't matter—the people he killed, the men he lost, the lives he ruined. But when Mason sees the face of a dead friend flash on a television screen and then receives a mysterious email referencing a CIA operation gone bad, he can no longer ignore his inner demons.
Driven by loyalty and a need to uncover the truth, Mason launches on a perilous journey from the Czech Republic to Romania toward the war-torn separatist region in eastern Ukraine to honor a fifteen-year-old promise. The answers he seeks—the fate of a friend and his connection to the underworld of international arms dealers and defense corporations—throw Mason into the cauldron of a covert war where no one can be trusted.
No excerpt available.
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