Hunt You Down by Christopher Farnsworth.
John Smith is no ordinary gun for hire.
Smith is a man or rare gifts, and he knows your every thought . . .
Hired to track down a shooter targeting the rich and famous, Smith must complete his mission before another attack takes place. But when a website on the dark net is found to have connections to the murders, Smith realises that taking down a shadowy figure who has weaponised the internet will prove more difficult than he first thought.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved John character. Loved the cover too. 4*.

Christopher Farnsworth maintains the quality of his President's vampire in this daedly game of cat and mouse.

Zaffre Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Hunt You Down. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

John Smith is no ordinary bodyguard, as he has otherworldly abilities. Using the power of his mind to uncover the truth is not the only gift that John has, which is evident by the psychic pain that he can leave behind. When the wedding of a previous client ends abruptly in gunfire, John soon realizes that a larger plot is at play. Will John be able to use his substantial gifts to eliminate the danger, or will they cause even more issues?

The paranormal element does add a bit of interest to the plot, which could have been a little too ordinary without it. I like John, especially as he decides the acceptable risk to his own self when using his gifts. The author did not capitalize on the success of the first book, in my opinion, as Hunt You Down really did not move the character forward in any meaningful way.

Overall, I liked the pacing of the novel and I would be interesting in reading more by author Christopher Farnsworth in the future.

Great story by Christopher Farnsworth!! Really thrilling read, great characters and an enjoyable story. Highly recommend to others!!

Hunt You Down is the 2nd book in the John Smith series. I didn't read the first book so I'm not sure if there was references I perhaps missed. Otherwise book two read nicely as a standalone.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed, entertaining and thrilling read - I couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend it,

Synopsis/blurb…….

"Fast, fun and frenetic. A whip-smart edge-of-your-seat thriller," - Ernest Cline on Killfile

An unstoppable, high-concept action thriller for fans of Mason Cross and Lee Child.

John Smith is no ordinary gun for hire.

Smith is a man or rare gifts, and he knows your every thought . . .

Hired to track down a shooter targeting the rich and famous, Smith must complete his mission before another attack takes place. But when a website on the dark net is found to have connections to the murders, Smith realises that taking down a shadowy figure who has weaponised the internet will prove more difficult than he first thought.

And no matter how hard he tries, this criminal mastermind continues to remain one step ahead.

PRAISE FOR CHRISTOPHER FARNSWORTH:

'Slick, fast-moving fun' - Guardian


'Brilliant . . . Produces intelligent and knuckle-biting suspense. Many will want to read this novel in one sitting' - Publishers Weekly
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My take....

I must admit I’m not usually one for reading books with elements of supernatural or paranormal or the unexplainable, so I was really surprised to find that I enjoyed this one as much as I did. John Smith is a private contractor, formerly a CIA operative and the product of a years-old government experiment/project to develop ESP powers in a cadre of agents. Smith’s ability is the power to read minds. Hunt You Down is the second book in the Smith series after Killfile, so the back drop to his time as an agent and his training isn’t really explored here which isn’t that important. Smith’s use of his ability - which also includes being able to implant thoughts into someone’s head - has a consequence in that he absorbs and suffers some of the pain from the people whose minds he reads. In Farnsworth’s hands the ability and the limits of Smith’s powers and the subsequent downside sound plausible and I was readily convinced.

As an opener, Smith is body guarding a rich Russian kid when the pair get caught off guard and are briefly held captive. Smith does his thing and all his right with the world again. Moving on, we have an invite to a celebrity wedding. A reality TV star, who Smith rescued (probably first book) is getting married. The wedding doesn’t go to plan as a gang of armed men attack the party. Our man manages to limit the consequences of the sneak attack and is soon re-employed by the bride’s father to bring the attackers to justice. A fragmented mind-snatch thought offers up the word – Downvote - something which means nothing to our man.

Before long, we discover what Downvote is, where it originated from, how it has been corrupted and Smith has a new mission (tied up with his old one), and a new partner and a new target. Our target, also happens to have his own special weapon, a Chinese agent with abilities comparable to Smith’s. And an agenda.

The rest of our fast-paced tale is a bit of a globe-trotting manhunt. Trying to bring down Downvote and the brains behind it, all the while out-foxing a foe who is our equal in every way. Hunt You Down is a thriller, as opposed to my usual crime fiction reading.

Verdict – I really liked this one and a fair bit more than I was expecting to. The action and events are fast-moving. The plot was believable. Smith’s abilities were convincingly explained and with my doubts and scepticism parked at the front page, I was happy to go with the flow. There’s a fair bit of fun to be had when a protagonist can read an assailant’s mind and can anticipate his next move all the while accessing his not so secret thoughts. Farnsworth serves up a decent conclusion and overall lots here to like. If my TBR pile wasn’t so daunting, I’d happily back track and read the first John Smith book.

4.5 from 5


Christopher Farnsworth has his website here.

Read in November, 2017
Published – 2017
Page count – 368
Source – review copy from publisher, Bonnier Zaffre
Format - Paperback

https://col2910.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christopher-farnsworth-hunt-you-down_22.html

An intense read -- and hard to put down! It's deep and at times I felt uncomfortable with the guy's particular skill set.

John Smith is still solving problems. He is a trained killer who can also read minds and plant ideas and pain in the minds of others. However, he also has a heart and amidst the havoc and mayhem which is invariable of his own making, and more often than not surrounds him, he always tries to do the right thing.

The plot opens at the wedding of a billionaire’s daughter to which he has been invited as he previously rescued her from the clutches of kidnappers. However, things never go smoothly whenever Smith is around and out of the chaos the bride, groom and guests experience, comes a meeting with Aaric Stark, another, much wealthier, billionaire and sexy Sarah, his bodyguard.

No expense is spared as we are flown to various locations throughout the story, mostly by private jet. Iceland, Romania, Hong Kong and Laos. They all become a blur of pain and gore as John Smith sets out to track down a publicity-shy crook who has developed a computer code which allows the owner to manipulate public opinion through social media.

Although there is no deep meaning to the story it’s extremely enjoyable as it races along and keeps the pages rapidly turning. I read the thriller in one sitting on a rainy Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It does not profess to be thought-provoking in any way. It is what it is – an honest, gung-ho adventure story much along the lines of Indiana Jones. Great fun at the time but instantly forgettable. The characters are well-drawn though and the dialogue believable and the author is also able to introduce a little humour at times to ease the tension.

It’s a great book to pick up on a wet weekend.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Have read all of Farnsworth’s books and each one is better than the last. Fast pace,d, exciting, and a bit frightening this book will,provide a few nights of reading thrills. Just that good.

If someone ever asks you what superhero power you most want, just think of John Smith before you answer. Christopher Farnsworth does an excellent job showing the (imagined) repercussions of having the ability to read minds and project mental images onto someone else's brain. In fact, given the debilitating effects of such powers, you end up wondering if the right answer to the super power question is none at all.

In spite of those effects, or maybe even because of them, John Smith kicks ass. He proves time and again that he is more than just a gun for hire or a cleaner, and yet that is exactly what he is. In Flashmob, he shows that he has few limits as to what he is willing to do to others but also that he does have a softer side. He is a mercenary, but he is also vulnerable in ways he does not show others. He is a superpowered James Bond but haunted by his past.

The novel itself is the quintessential action adventure. As in the previous novel, John's foe is nebulous, hiding behind computers and social media, but no less dangerous. Anyone on social media has noticed a growing propensity for negativity and online cyberbullying among followers or within comment sections, so the idea that someone could use that negativity to sway others to perform crimes is plausible, making Downvote's use of social media to promote psychological warfare is downright frightening.

Given Smith's penchant for the ladies, his comfort level with obscene wealth, and his connections to shady government personnel, the comparison to James Bond is not only expected but appropriate. There are more than a few scenes that evoke the same adrenaline rush as one of Bond's chase scenes. This is not a bad thing. James Bond is so popular after all of these years because his adventures are exciting. John Smith's adventures are equally so, but there is a gravitas to them that humanizes John in ways that Bond will never be.

Flashmob is exactly what you hope an action story will be. Fast-paced, exciting, just realistic enough to be believable, it pushes all the right buttons. That John comes with heavy baggage he is willing to share with readers makes him more likable a character, and the aftereffects of his power usages makes him a sympathetic one. While not a story that will change the world, Flashmob is a story to help you escape from our current one and maybe give you the boost you need to continue to fight the good fight.

This book John Smith is the main character and the one along with a body guard from a man who owns a computer company they must find who is behind down-vote. This new underground computer vote on who becomes the next person who is the victim of this crime and could be killed. Now John Smith has his own ways of dealing with people some are them are normal and some of them are mental. Either way he is a very deadly person. This story keeps you going from the beginning to the end and I found this to be a very entertaining book with very good characters all the way around. Overall this was a very good book and worth the time for a read.

In HUNT YOU DOWN, the UK version of FLASHMOB by Christopher Farnsworth, the reader is again taken on a fast-paced adventure around the world and the scenery in everyone's heads is scary as usual. Especially when the premise of this book involves software that encourages mob mentality towards people based on public opinion and not facts. This book has a great cast of bad guys, a great female Ze-like partner, and a surprise character that keeps you on the fence of how you feel about him. I really enjoyed this novel and bought both books for my husband to read. He equated the action in this novel to those of the Jack Reacher novels. Definitely a good novel to pick up which reads a bit better when you've read the first novel in the series, Killfile.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fast paced gripping thriller, loved the characters, touches of humour, could NOT put this down! I do wish I'read the first book before though, I think it would have made it even better,

This was my first encounter with John Smith a bodyguard with psychic powers. I enjoyed the novelty of this premise. This was a rollicking adventure that never let me go. An excellent adventure. I am going back to read Killfile, the first in this series.

the idea of this book was clever and different...i just didn't connect with the main characters . his special abilty was a bit all over the place and confused the story at times. just not for me... but thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book

It was a interesting novel that encapsulates our society human nature perfectly in a terrifying way. I recommend it for people who like mysteries.

Hunt You Down is the 2nd book in the John Smith series. I loved the first book, Killfile and I recommend reading that book first since this one briefly discusses the characters backgrounds.
This series has become one of my favorites and I can't wait to read more. This was a fast-paced, action-packed, humorous, thrill ride. I could not put the book down. I highly recommend this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for supplying a copy of Christopher Farnsworth's "Hunt You Down" in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted previously when book was titled FLASHMOB.

This book really had a mix of everything and I wasn't expecting that at all! Thought it was just going to be a thriller, but it had elements of mystery, historical, romance and the darker side of human behaviour too and it all combined beautifully to keep me excited, scared, intrigued and hooked right to the end!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre for an advance copy of Hunt You Down, a thriller with a difference set initially in Los Angeles then in various countries across the globe.

John Smith, ex soldier and CIA agent now in corporate security, is attending the wedding of a former client when three gunmen open fire. Smith chases the gunmen but only gets the answer "downvote" when he asks why. As he discovers more he ends up travelling the globe to put an end to it.

I must admit my heart sank as I started this novel. Not only is it told in the first person John Smith is a mind reader and he can implant thoughts and pain into others, neither of which appeal to me but I soon got caught up in a rattling good plot which has a good premise and some great action. Unfortunately Mr Farnsworth cannot sustain it and despite various locations and some good actions scenes it gets extremely wearing to constantly hear Smith moaning about the price he will have to pay for some of his mind control actions, which are repeated ad nauseum and the pain he feels from the constant thought chatter that surrounds him. He seems to be a bit of a one trick pony with none of the smarts I have come to expect in action heroes.

Hunt You Down is not a bad novel but I feel the mixture of mind reading and action is an uneasy mix in this case.