The Attack: A Max Austin Thriller, Book #3 (The Russian Assassin)

This book, the third in the Max Austin series, is the best so far. The first book, The Russian Assassin, earned a solid four stars; the second, The Pursuit, also got four stars although it wasn’t quite the equal of book one. Number three, however, rates a solid five of five. It’s as if the author, after writing the first two entries, moved his writing ability up two or three notches. This book exhibits great writing, proper balance between story elements, great story flow, and a proper exploration of characters without getting lost in superfluous details. This author’s writing style has matured to the point that it is on a level with most of the top writers in this field. This latest installment picks up where number two left off: Max and his one-time employer, the recently-ex-CIA special operations director, are pursuing a member of the Consortium while at the same time attempting to avoid capture or worse by a supposed friendly agency. After accomplishing their mission and barely escaping being blown up by a drone attack, their life gets much more complicated by a move from the Consortium and its web of associates. To deter Max from whacking more members of the shadowy group, they commission a bombing in London and frame Max as the mastermind behind the attack. This means that now he is not only pursuing bad guys but is also trying to avoid capture by intelligence agencies all over the world. The bombing also introduces members of the various British intelligence arms, some honest, some less so, into the story. In this book the Americans and their shady CIA chief have a lesser presence, as does Max’s intermittent lover and ally Goshawk. Other characters, like his mom Julia (with her mysterious associations), his remaining family (sister and nephew), and some new and interesting people (good and bad) get more airtime. The Consortium’s constituents and purpose get explained a little more, and some of its members become key players in this episode. Unlike book two, which had a little too much action and not quite enough story, this book has a really nice balance of both. The characters move in logical directions to pursue their various goals, and this makes the book exciting and fun to read, with nary a boring paragraph. There is plenty of action, there are enough twists and sticky situations to keep you guessing (and reading more chapters than you meant to), and there is an increase in the amount of thinking, plotting, and espionage work. Overall this book feels very professionally written and complete. My only real complaint is the ending. Unlike the other two books, which wrapped up at neat stopping points, this one ends with two of Max’s close associates captured with fates unknown (and probably bad), another of his associates on the run, and Max with a long list of bad guys to deal with. What this really means is books four and five need to show up in a hurry! I recommend all three of these books.

This series has been good and seeing the characters in this continue to develop and the webs continue to be woven has made for a good read. A few things that stood out to me were editing and technical issues: -'Hanger' was used instead of 'hangar'; the aircraft is housed in a building, not a closet. -A .22 is not 124gr (~40gr at most) and Federal doesn't make an HST round in rimfire. The 124gr. HST would have been applicable to Max's Sig 226. Tiny nits to pick but they stood out enough to pull me out of the story; that being said, the series has been good and I'll begin #4 to see where things head.

I was rereading my Lee Child collection in the few days before Lee Child's Past Tense was due out. I spotted a book on Amazon called “Russian Assassin.” Those are two of my hot button keywords. And the book wasn't in that eyebrow-raising price range of $14-15 for a Kindle ebook. So, okay, I thought. I'll risk it. And I did. And after being tangled up in yards and yards of fishing line (the very clever and unexpected plot lines), I was hooked, tangled, line and sinker. Usually, my leaps into unknown authors disappoint. I often don't even finish them. But then again, sometimes (as with Mark Dawson/John Milton) I am wonderfully surprised. Mr Arbor and Max definitely surprised me. I was in the middle of Max's series when the Reacher book came out. I stayed with Max. Jack Arbor is a relatively new writer, and for all that, I was instantly absorbed in the characters and story. Yes, his newbie status as a writer was sometimes apparent in the first book, The Russian Assassin. But. Don't be put off. Somewhere between Assassin and Cat, Mr Arbor hits a high-stepping stride as a skilled and engaging writer. In Assassin, and only in Assassin, his language sometimes lacked fluidity, structural rhythm and depth, could have used some onomatopoeia in word choices, especially in high action scenes, might have employed set-ups for new scenes to include the mundane and irrelevant before all heck breaks lose. He occasionally used well-worn similes (“muscles hard as a rock”), but by the subsequent books, the plotting, language style (“sharp as a pointed stick in the chest”), canny use of choppy sentences in fast action scenes, had me fully engaged and visualizing. Very quickly I was stumbling over the ruts where I had thought the plot was going, only to find that I had missed the turn, and he had taken the plot off in an entirely unexpected direction. One of Mr Arbor's best qualities is his ability to portray major and minor characters with a deft hand. When he introduces a new face, he describes it with just a few spare lines, like the best sketch artists. One of my frustrations with many authors is that I quickly forget who these smaller characters are, and when they reappear later in the book, I am often having to use the Kindle search function to identify them. Not so with Mr Arbor's minor characters. He makes them simple and he makes them memorable and he makes them stick. Once introduced, not forgotten. I think this is an author on his way up, and I sincerely hope you do too.

I have read all 3 Max Austin novels since Christmas 2017...terrific, fast paced, action packed spy thrillers....loved every one of them....have been enamored with spy thrillers, detective novels, military and suspense novels for manny, many years...Jack Arbor's Max Austin spy thrillers rank among the best I have ever read....how he describes the geographical details with such precision is beyod me and keep wondering if i should research and verify myself with Google maps or otherwise... I am new to the Kindle free reader app, but am really enjoying the discounted price compared to paperbacks and i am really, really looking forward to the next Max Austin novel....btw, Jack Arbor seems to be a very prolific writer and hope he continues to write and not burn out creatively....absolutely terrific story telling!!

Great follow up to book #2. Writing is excellent, the characters compelling, fast action, some twists, and thoroughly enjoyable. More please!!!

Once again Max Austin is in a race against a powerful group. The twists and turns keep on coming as he tries to outwit the Consortium. The ending was a bit unexpected, left a question in my mind that I hope is answered in the next book.

End of book three and still want to read more. I have one book left, and will have to wait impatiently for books 5 & 6.

Continuing where book 2 left off with many twists and turns

It feels like Jack has found his footing with this book, very good plot and nicely written. I'm hooked so I'm on to book 4 now. The Max Austin books would make a great TV mini series.