Blaze In, Blaze Out

Joseph Lewis is an author whose work I will always recommend. I have read some of his previous work and blogged about it too. This book is yet another success. A story that seems, on the surface to be about organised crime and hired killers. It is so much more than that, it always is when you pick up a Joseph Lewis book. Let's have a look at the synopsis first.
Joseph Lewis is an author who writes stories that seem to be just about crime,violence and killers. Once you scratch the surface of this book you realise it is so much more. It is about emotional issues,first love and even teenage hormones. I discovered just how deep and detailed Joseph Lewis books are when I read my first book by him.
The four boys, adopted brothers have been in previous books and they have all suffered trauma, of varying degress. This has marked them all in different ways to the point that I, as the reader really didn't want them to experience any more harm. I feel almost connected to them anyway as I have met them before. This is what had me holding my breath at some points.
I find every book to be such an action packed and fast paced read and Blaze In, Blaze Out is as good as Joseph Lewis's other books, if not better. A story that is so much more than you expect with well drawn characters that keep you turning the pages... I am so happy I discovered Joseph Lewis anyway.
Thanks to NetGalley for the copy and Joseph Lewis

Blaze In, Blaze Out by Joseph Lewis

First off, I felt I was a bit lost with many characters involved in a complex story that I was missing parts of so…I searched to see if perhaps this book was part of a series and have a feeling it is and that I came in a bit late to the party. I am pretty sure that the relationships between characters would have more weight and meaning if I had read the previous books to get backstories. That said, I was able to follow this story and enjoy it without having read the previous stories that I believe documented the lives of the adopted boys that now consider themselves brothers. I also believe the prior books would have provided information that would enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of the book. So, even though I have not read the previous books, I would recommend that if you are considering this book you might want to read the previous books first.

What I liked:
* The close relationship between “the brothers”
* The couple that adopted “the brothers” though the father sometimes came across stronger than he maybe should have?
* Detective Pat O’Connor: law enforcement, undercover sometimes, friend to coleagues and “the brothers”
* Jeff Graff: law enforcement, friend of Pat’s, with Pat and four of “the brothers” on the weekend away
* The way the police and FBI coordinated and worked together
* Seeing part of the story through an assassin’s eyes
* The snippets of the backstories of some characters
* Thinking about what group this book would most appeal to – perhaps new adult males and adults
* That the bad guys, for the most part, were determined and dealt with
* Wondering what will happen in the next book in the series after the setup for it at the end of this book

What I didn’t like:
* The people and behaviors I was meant not to like…mafia, assassins, traitors, murders, and such
* Wishing I had known this was a book in a series and having read the previous books before this one

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3 – for ability to read and enjoy not having read previous books
5 – for being a well written, action-packed, intense story
4 – averaged score

Blaze in blaze out by Joseph Lewis.
I really enjoyed this book. Full of action. Great story. I loved O'Connor and Eiselmann. Read this in one sitting. 5*.

I've read everything Joseph Lewis has written and they always have me hooked. This one was no different, although it's much more of a slow burn than some of the action-packed sequences of the previous novels.

"Our boys" are out on a hunting trip that quickly turns far more dangerous than any of them could have ever expected. Throughout it all, they also grapple with the fallout from being human trafficked from earlier in the series and growing up.

These books are well-written and take a hard look at some tough topics. You really need to immerse yourself in the universe from book one to fully appreciate this series.