Another great novel by James Deegan that follows John Carr on another mission.

Really authentic that makes you feel as though are actually in the thick of it with the characters.

Hoping there are going to be future installments!

John Carr is back with another action packed read!
The novel opens in open court at the trial of Zeff Mahsoud, whom upon appeal is freed from HMP Belmarsh. The story surrounding Zeff is quite vague initially but then the title jumps ahead three months and we begin to fathom a connection to John Carr.
John Carr is retired from 22 SAS Sqn, leaving at the rank of Sgt Maj. Currently enjoying a holiday with his kids, Alice 17yrs and George 24yrs (currently awaiting selection) at Puerto Banus Beach.
In the distance is a cruise ship and we become acquainted with the ships crew onboard via their narrative. Then a suicide vest explodes, there is an armed man on board; murder and mayhem surely follows…
‘Cruise liners and tourists were just too big and soft and tempting a target’
When a terrorist on the beach opens fire. John and his son George jump into action. As the carnage of hate spills onto the beach, the terrorists locate their target. Under the hail of fire, John and George’s plan is to cease the bullets raining down.
‘Panicking got you killed’
After the attack, it is discovered 50 dead on the ship and approximately 30 dead on the beach. But what was the reasoning? Or was this just a senseless act of violence?
It is then discovered that three female hostages have been taken from the beach. And not just any hostages, one of them is the daughter of the Prime Minister Penelope Morgan.
‘There’s no point in kidnapping the daughter of the British Prime Minister just to kill her’
What is their motive in taking the PM’s daughter? What if you are the most powerful person in the country, but it is your position that may cost your child their life?
The UK government is in a tricky situation, as they can’t be seen to be negotiating with terrorist groups. They also have to plan deniable ops due to international law. John Carr is asked to establish and lead a team of men!
‘Combat was a drug, and he was a recovering addict’
Action-packed, with a cracking protagonist in SAS man John Carr 5*

The Angry Sea is the third instalment in the John Carr series, and although it's hardly an original concept the execution is so brilliantly done that it makes up for the lack of originality. The writing and pace are perfect, and the action-packed, thrill-a-minute plot is completely gripping from the very beginning. There were a few issues which made me drop a star on the rating - I feel there should be a glossary of terminology for those with no prior knowledge of military wording because trying to work out what some of the terms meant impacted the flow of the novel each time, and secondly, the narrative often feels male oriented due to some mildly sexist comments and ubiquitous profanity, but I am here to tell writers that women also read these type of stories; in fact they are one of my favourite type of books.

As an ex-SAS man Deegan pens an authentic military action novel, but of course, the reader needs to suspend their disbelief quite substantially as some of the happenings seem serendipitous. If you enjoy books by Chris Ryan, Andy McNab, Tom Marcus and Stephen Leather you will find much to like here. The terrorism that precipitates the SAS-style mission is full of non-stop thrills and spills with a tension that builds steadily and results in a satisfying climax. Due to the focus being on the action and set pieces the character development is somewhat neglected with most of them being stereotypical of the genre. This is a quick, easy read and the epitome of a page-turner. I look forward to the next instalment.

Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.

The Angry Sea is the first book by James Deegan that I have read however it did not grip me and was only a so so read which was disappointing as the blurb promised a lot