Special Means

Thanks to the author, BooksGoSocial, Outskirts Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this novel for review.

This was a fun one. Sometimes you just need a straightforward novel that breezes by and keeps you entertained, and <i>Special Means</i> certainly delivered on that point. Andrew Ceroni keeps the narrative going with a confident and meticulous style that serves the story and its particulars well.

It helps that the author clearly knows the subject. The use of real world equipment and believable tactics helps the description of even something as nominally simple as a telephone conversation feel grounded in the world of espionage, and the actual depictions of combat engagements are well thought out and feel tangibly real. I particularly enjoyed how Andrew seamlessly wove together ground operations by the protagonist and other characters with the political and administrative machinery underlying the overall story. In that specific respect, it reminded me a lot of how Vince Flynn would do the same thing in the <i>Mitch Rapp</i> novels, which for me is always a plus when it comes to espionage thrillers.

The reader is dropped into the world of Dave McClure, a CIA agent that is tasked with investigating a series of high tech military attacks on organized criminal gangs within major cities. Note that this is my first novel in this series and by this author, and while it seems that going by what was mentioned in this book, there are at least 2 more preceding books with this protagonist, Special Means can be read entirely on its own without any previous knowledge of the series. And this one was, overall, good enough that I'm looking forward to catching up on what I missed, as well as future works by this author.

If I have one complaint, it's that a lot of this information (what brand of ammunition is loaded in a weapon, the exact make and model of a relevant car etc.) tends to be conveyed to the reader through dialogue between the characters themselves, even when it doesn't make sense that such exact technical specifications would come up naturally in the conversation that's currently taking place. It's a little jarring when seemingly every character in the novel is an expert in the particular workings of whichever firearm, vehicle, or location description is relevant to the story at the moment. That aside, the dialogue itself between characters is very formal and almost long winded, like you're listening to a radio broadcast from half a decade ago. Also, everyone loves talking about what they're having to eat or drink when the occasion arises, which I will admit I found (unintentionally) funny, but not necessarily in a bad way. I will say that that specific style grew on me as the novel progressed, and I found that it didn't annoy me as much near the end as it did when I started the novel. This is a point which is highly subjective and personal, and will just depend on your individual preferences.

But if you can acclimate to the writing style, or if you're just not bothered by it, then I heartily recommend this novel if you're in the mood for something like what I described. I'm looking forward to reading other works by the author.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

In this easy to read tale the old adage of there always seeming to be an alterior motive is never far from the surface.

What starts out as a special task force (under Special powers from the President) to combat gang violence in the USA morphs into something far more sinister.

Dave McClure of the CIA is a man who has a habit of making things happen and being in the right place at the right time.

I enjoyed the story (too much talk about what people have eaten/will eat/might eat/have not eaten for my liking.

There are some nice set pieces here (drones for one) that make this a fun read. If you want an easy to read thriller this does the job.

i really enjoyed this mystery novel, the characters were great and I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on in this mystery.

Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.