A fascinating book that keeps you involved from start to finish as the tension builds. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

This is a well plotted rollercoaster of a ride. The characters are well developed and the tension mounts exquisitely. I admit it isn’t my usual genre but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and hope there may be a sequel.

A bit of a break. A tour through America and meeting up with his brother. What can go wrong........ Well, quite a lot if your name is Jack Tate!!

A purple detonation above Washington, D.C.....the result....a total blackout all over America. Nothing electronic works. No phones, no cars; except ones fitted with reinforcements to protect it from and EMP; nothing. Who is behind this attack and is it linked to 3 assignations within 2 days? Who are the mysterious Russians lurking around?
Fortunately, Jack Tate is there.

I enjoyed this read a lot. Here and there I would have liked scenes to be fleshed out a bit but it was still a highly entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a really fast paced action thriller.
Jack Tate is Secret Service and ex SAS .He is on an enforced vacation heading for Camden ,Maine thinking to compare it with Camden,.London ,where he was brought up..His final destination is to be Washington,D.C. where his brother,Simon,works at the British Embassy- ignore the job title (he's a spy!).
En route to Camden Jack is waylaid by the local police as a suspect in a murder.The local Chief of Police soon realises that ,with his background,Jack could be useful in helping with his investigation..
The plot suddenly takes off with a terrorist group detonating an Electro Magnetic Pulse bomb (EMP)in the skies above Washington-this knocks out almost everything electronic in the States - ,more seemingly unrelated murders and the disappearance of Simon and his girlfriend..
With the Russians and Chinese in cahoots and an assassin on the loose working to a specific timetable and hit list the action moves on apace..
A real page turner .I read this on a long train journey - probably the best way as could really get stuck in with minimal interruption.
Looking forward to Jack Tate's next adventure.

Brilliantly well written action thriller that grips you from the start till the end a rollocoster ride I loved it from its characters and hard hitting story just fantastic wow.

I enjoyed this book about former SAS trooper Jack Tate and his brother Simon Hunter. It started with a bang and didn’t let up once. There was just the right amount of characters, not too many to make the story hard to follow. I thought the story moved quickly which I appreciated, although I’m not so sure how plausible the plot is to real life.
Despite that I am interested to read another of the Jack Tate series.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book as it was well written, fast paced and most of all, believable. It's the first book I've read by this author and I will look forward to reading more in the future. I recommend this book if you like thrillers and plenty of action.

My first Alex Shaw book and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

The book is fast paced with the concept making it stand out. What would you do if the country was plunged in to darkness and modern technology rendered useless? Well, now we know what a previous SAS operative would do and it’s brilliant.

This is a fast paced novel that held my attention from the first page to the last. The concept of a terrorist attack from electro magnetic pulse is a very real threat( accordingly to my husband who teaches electrics and electronics!) and is dealt with imaginatively. The characters are very human and relatable and I would like to read more from this writer.

If you like your lead characters in thrillers having more than a touch of the superman about them you may well like this book! Alex Shaw has crafted a tolerably plausible scenario in which the USA is the victim of a cunning semi state-sponsored terrorist attack. Amid the chaos a lone Brit Special Forces soldier on leave in the States gathers a few allies to stage a fight back. The action is intense and well-captured, although - as is sometimes the case in similar books of this genre - it sometimes feels a bit more like a screenplay than a novel. Despite this minor quibble the book starts well and offers a credible introduction to the plot. In common with other page turners the pace builds relentlessly in the final third or so of the book to reach a satisfying finale. Just in case this isn’t clear from this brief description, you shouldn’t expect great literature from the author here; the writing is fluent enough, but this is basically an action thriller for the many fans of this genre - but none the worse for that.

First of all, many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.
Jack Tate is the the hero in this, the first in a new series by Alex Shaw and what a fast paced thrill ride of a story! I loved it and can’t wait for more!

Total Blackout

This was a new author for me and I enjoyed this exciting thriller.
The characters were good and there was plenty of action.
The plot developed nicely and the conclusion satisfactory

Ex SAS Jack Tate on holiday in USA becomes inadvertently involved in a threat to destroy the country by a Russian Chinese military group. Although well paced and timely in accurately depicting a believable series of events in this technological age, numerous characters and at times a somewhat disjointed flow of events and action resulted in the story losing momentum midway. However pace picked up and a thrilling conclusion ended a satisfying if not compulsive read. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

What an explosive start to a new series of novels featuring a fast acting hero who has a set of skills that could rival Jason Bourne and James Bond. It’s fast paced from the first page taking you on a rollercoaster thriller of a ride through its pages. Taking two of the worlds super powers and pitting them against one man might seem fantastical yet in this case it works really well. Jack comes across as a believable main character and the characters around him add to the fullness of the story. A hero that men will admire and women will swoon over yet who wont compromise himself in the process of getting to the truth. A man who will stop at nothing to get to the truth regardless of any dangers he finds himself facing.

British MI6 Jack Tate is a believable hero character from this well written crime thriller.

This book picks up pace well and it certainly keeps your attention.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for the Arc

A good read for those that like books written about a hero who saves the world. The story line is good, writing style is good however, the hero’s indestructible nature is a little hard to believe.

A swashbuckling yarn in the McNab vein of “ who dares wins”. One man against the rest of the villains who want to destroy the United States .
Good technical detail with large leaps of faith required to fill in the gaps.

Can a maniac’s grudge against America destroy the country?

Jack Tate, an SIS officer for the British Government, is on holiday in the United States. He’s decided to tour Maine, especially the town of Camden. A town called after a part of London that he’s very familiar thanks to its very vibrant market. He’s so engrossed in Bruce Springsteen’s music that he doesn’t realise that there is a police car flashing its lights at him. He’s pulled over and arrested and after quite a process discovers that a sniper is on the loose, driving a vehicle precisely like the one he’s hired.

Chief Donoghue managed to call in some favours before his interview with Jack and discovers quite a lot about his background in the SAS. He also realises that this no ordinary ex-soldier and could possibly help him find the sniper who has killed two prominent residents in and around Camden. Jack is reluctant to get involved as he really needs this holiday after his last exhausting assignment, but then circumstances change, and he’s forced into work mode.

Ooh! This is such a fast-paced, read-at-speed storyline I ended up reading until the dawn because I couldn’t put the book down and hope to continue at a later time. I had become so involved with Jack Tate and his brother Simon Hunter and the awesome Detective Jon Chang from the DC Metro Police as they all try to work out exactly who they are fighting against literally in the dark. To explain more about the plot would destroy the excitement of discovering for yourself just how much research has gone into the storyline. I’ve certainly learnt lots about electromagnetic pulse weapons.

Thank you, Alex Shaw. You’re such a talented author. I love Jack Tate!

Rony

Elite Review Group received a copy of the book to review.

Reviewed at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals blog.

Be prepared for one of the most explosive and thrilling new series of the year, The Jack Tate Thrillers is going to be an amazing, exciting whirlwind ride of a series, this book is riveting right from the word go, it’s a brilliant introduction to a new series and a new alpha male hero, who I know is going to distract me for years to come. From this first book, I know that this is going to be around for many, many years to come and I cannot wait to read more if you are fans of Kris Kuzneski and Steve Berry then this is the book you NEED to read.
I’ve been a fan of action/thriller’s for years, yet this is the first book I’ve read by Alex Shaw, I’m not sure how he has passed me by for so long, another case of me living in a bubble and ignoring the world around me, now that I have discovered the excellence that is Alex Shaw I am definitely going to be reading more from this talented author – I know that my bank balance will never forgive, it’s already screaming in protest.
Jake Tate is a brilliant hero, ex SAS he is a man who is made of pure steel, strong, resourceful, stubborn, intelligent a great sense of humour, he sees the world around him in a way that other’s don’t. He has a past which did involve run-in’s with the authorities and yet he is determined to move forward despite the horrors he has seen. But there is another side to our Jack and that is the secret shadowy side, he is now an MI6 agent. His chosen life and career have hardened him and at times he can be as brutal and ruthless and the villain’s, but he has a softer side especially when it comes to his brother; Simon who we soon realise is in danger once all the trouble starts, Jack will do anything to protect his brother, even if that means going to a dark place himself, you could say that Simon is Jack’s achilles heel.
Jack is on holiday in Camden; Maine when he is pulled over by the police who mistake him for the perpetrator they are looking for who is currently wanted for a double murder. It soon becomes clear to Jack that there is more going on then meets the eye, things blow up and go crazy when the USA is under attack, one that takes out everything which is controlled by electronics, but there is only one that Jack is concerned about and that is getting to his brother before the villains do, which leads us on an edge of your seat, thrilling chase to defend the innocent and bring down the villains.
Total Blackout is a fast-paced, action-pack, exciting, intensely sharp and clever thriller which will have you thrown headfirst into Jack Tate’s dangerous world which is full of brilliantly evil baddies, a gun-totting action hero, intriguing and explosive plot which not only shocks you but makes you think. Even though at times there is a feeling of it being a little far fetched, what particularly caught me was that in the world technological world we live in, certain events in this could happen (I doubt it ever would, but with all those masterminds out there, it could) its a sobering thought and thank goodness there are those in the shadows who protect us from such deviltry.
Alex Shaw has written an awesome, blink and you’ll miss it; thriller. This is one of those books where you sit back in awe and say; wow!! Its has blockbuster movie written all over it, this is a must-read!!

From a writer that has already delivered a good ex-SAS type trilogy, one that is well worth catching up on. So....one arrives at this book with certain expectations only to have them dashed almost straight away and in a GOOD way.
So the traditional script goes that the bad guys are planning a “spectacular” with an emp explosion that will knock out all electronics in a large section of the US. Tradition would have the forces of good chasing down the bad guys and just stopping things in an action packed final few chapters. Er, nope.
No spoiler to say that the emp goes off fairly early in the book and it is a damaged and confused US that the story takes place in. An ex SAS intelligence agent is on holiday and finds himself in the middle of the action. People are being assassinated, there is no power and there appears to be an agenda beyond terrorism. But Jack Tate is smart and talented and is the right man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
So much to enjoy here. Instead of a post apocalyptic event the emp is presented as a background to the story and a unique situation for our characters to be operating within. And there is a complex and interesting plot, the author bringing into play his knowledge of Ukraine and the mindset and politics of that country.
Loved the way my expectations were turned upside down, made the situation unique and the plot hard to predict. Very good stuff indeed.