Immerse In The Killing Grounds Presented By Jack Ford Offered As Printed Matter

havent picked up a crime book in a long time, and it was nice to have the familiarity of the genre again, However, while the plot of this novel was strong, there was something about it that just didnt click with me,

For starters, the whole thing sounds like it was written by someone who think women belong in the kitchen, Since when were women these deeply complicated creatures that are completely unknowable Maybe if the male characters in the text asked Maddie how she was then theyd know!

The plot was interesting and the setting of the DRC was something unique and exciting.
The moralistic tone of a lot of the text was a bit jarring though and the sections set in the White House seemed hyperbolic, I think had the characters been less stereotypical and more individual the novel would have come together more cohesively,

But it was a fun, fastpaced read which I did enjoy, The Killing Grounds is the start of a new crime series and introduces ex US Navy turned high asset recovery investigator Thomas J Cooper, Thomas suffers from PTSD and is addicted to prescription drugs, not that he will admit it, but after his true love Ellie disappears following an encounter with Somali pirates his life changes forever.
Thomas feels responsible and his passion in searching for her is relentless as well as damaging to his wife and colleague Maddison and their daughter Corrie, This story sees Thomas, Maddison and new recruit Rosedale on a mission to The Democratic Republic of Congo to recover a plane as the owner has defaulted on payments.
This leads them all into extremely dangerous territory as the country is totally corrupt and lawless, They soon get caught up in uncovering and helping its citizens who are suffering due to poverty, conflict, corruption and death,

This book has a strong US political thread that is interwoven with Coppers assignment which I enjoyed, Thanks to HQ Stories and NetGalley for the ARC copy, This is my honest opinion, The story was ok, but I found the large number of incomplete sentences intensely annoying, Sometimes 'got lost' in the book found some of the scenes too graphic and sad obviously well written to keep me involved,
Good book unfortunately for me, not a definite ending to this story, ARC
This review was first published at M's Bookshelf sitelink blogspot. com

Where to even begin, The Killing Grounds is a thrilling read with such a complex and multilayered plot, it's difficult to just sum my reading experience up in a few sentences,
First things first: I love the cover, Great design stands out without being too loud, The same goes for the blurb, It gives you just enough to draw you in, but not too much as to give away too much of the storyline, Perfect balance.
As I mentioned before, the story is pretty complex, There's lots of different characters, each with their own secrets, but also with their own dynamics between them, I can't say all of them came across right away the dynamic between Cooper and Maddie is a tough one for me to really understand, and Rosedale took some getting used to as well, but slowly they all find their place in the story.
The same goes for the complex puzzle they stumble upon in Congo, What starts out as a pretty straight forward mission soon becomes complicated, dangerous and very unpredictable, The plot grows bigger and more detailed and when it finally clicks, . well, it left me amazed and surprised,
The beginning of the story is a bit confusing with a lot of new characters and a lot of unfinished conversations, As a reader you get some hints about what happened in the past between these characters, but the emotions run high from the very beginning, And those more "heated" discussions or dialogues made it a bit difficult to find your bearing,
I was hooked from the moment their mission started and I have a feeling I will think back on this book, long after turning that last page.
Because apart from some more "difficult" dynamics and dialogues between the characters, this was a thrilling read, The Killing Grounds has relationships, politics both US and international violence, grief, addiction, religion and superstition and so much more at its heart, all with an incredible amount of research and detail.
I would definitely love to revisit Thomas Cooper in Jack Ford's upcoming novels, This review can be found on sitelink wordpress. com

No slow burning introduction today, This book was INCREDIBLE!

Set between the US and the Democratic Republic of Congo it follows Thomas Cooper a 'Private Investigator' working for a firm locating highpriced items across the globe for banks and the government.
Cooper suffering from severe PTSD after a traumatic event, told in chapter, and battling with grief, depression and addiction Cooper is assigned a trip to the DRC to locate a plane and return it to the US.
Along with his team of colleagues he goes to the politically disruptive and dangerous county but they find much more than they bargained for,
The story flits back and forth between Tom and his team and the president an old family friend, occasionally connecting the two with the story lines eventually combining.


Genre wise I would class this as a political mystery/thriller, I have never

read a book with such strong political themes and it's not something I would usually read but it definitely gave the book another aspect and I will no doubt love to read more political thrillers in the future.

My favorite thing about the book was the dual settings, having also never read a book based in the DRC, I loved the contrasting settings and how vastly different they were to each other, Every time Tom came back from the DRC it gave me a great chance to catch my breath and unwind from the tensions of the jungle,
I really enjoyed the religious and ritualistic themes and it has definitely spiked my interest in the subject, it was fascinating,

Although good at heart, valiant and determined Tom himself was not the most likable character, his selfdestructive path paired with denial over PTSD made for some frustrating scenes as family and friends give him numerous 'get it together' lectures, As annoying and pathetic as Tom could be the secondary characters were amazing, Maddie, his longsuffering wife was so bad ass, juggling motherhood and her ridiculous husband with fighting black magic in the Congo, Rosedale, sent by the president to keep an eye on Tom was big and brash and so entertaining, He brought some great needed humor to the serious plot, Other characters include Tom's oldest friend Jackson, after going through the same trauma, suffering horrific life changing injures, and battling being the Presidents son, The suicidal Jackson and Tom have the most beautiful caring relationship based purely on their love for one another, Tom's old friend Levi, his boss, Beau his uncle and the president can also be found tolerating Tom Cooper and his destructive yet heroic ways,

It is very rare that you can find a book that is so character driven yet with such an amazing setting and engaging story line, I wasn't initially planning on reading the book so soon, but thought I would read the first chapter to see what it was like, . . I finished the bookdays later,

Finally one of the best things about this book is that it's the start of a series!! 
I have a huge book hangover since finishing The Killing Grounds and I would recommend the book to any fan of thrillers or mysteries looking for a deep, intelligent, engaging read with dual settings and a great group of characters.


STAR read.