Rating: ✪✪✪✪ out of 5
Stars
My thoughts:
Who hasn’t seen at least one episode of Law
and Order, the longest running scripted show on television? It’s been around,
would you believe, since 1990. Dick Wolf, the creator of the show, is an award
winning director, and producer. Now he's turned his hand to writing books, and he's proved that he can tell gripping stories no matter the medium.
In 2013, he released his first book THE
INTERCEPT, and it took me a while to get around to reading it. (If you saw
my to-be-read review pile, you would be afraid.) Once I did get to it, I read it
in a few sittings. It was brilliant, and a masterful thriller debut.
Its not surprising that Wolf can write a page turning thriller/drama. He does wonders with a 40-minute television slot. Through that discipline, it’s clear he’s learned the craft of grabbing hold of a reader and not letting them go until the last page.
This year he’s released the second in the
series THE
EXECUTION—although you can read either of these books as a stand-alone. Both
stories are a cross between a police procedural and a political thriller set in
New York.
His protagonist, Jeremy Fisk, is an
investigating officer from the department's Intelligence Division in New York,
and he is the perfect, intelligent character on the wrong side of authority
to take us on a thill ride.
The story setups are very good. In THE INTERCEPT a
plane hijacking is foiled and the passengers who prevent it become instant celebrities.
Fisk suspects there is more to this attempt than meets the eye, and that there
is an even greater terrorist threat connected to it.
In THE EXECUTION, we follow on directly from the first book, and in the opening scenes, there are some grizzly, nasty chapters à la Breaking Bad involving a Mexican drug lord. Wolf introduces us to Detective Cecilia Garza of the Mexican intelligence agency, and she is a great foil for Jeremy Fisk.
Dick Wolf has become one of my favorite
authors. I never miss an episode of Law and Order; in 24 years I’ve only ever
missed a couple of episodes of any of the series. I won’t be missing any of
his books either. He is an accomplished author and knows how to entertain in any
format.
Thank you to Hachette Australia who supplied both these books to me in return for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Hachette Australia who supplied both these books to me in return for my honest opinion.
BOOK BLURB
THE INTERCEPT
Four days before the dedication of the new
Freedom Tower at ground zero in New York City, five passengers and a flight
attendant bravely foil the hijacking of a commercial jet en route to the city.
Thrust into the national spotlight, 'The Six' become instant celebrities, hailed
for their bravery. But iconoclastic New York Police investigator Jeremy Fisk
believes there's more to this than a simple open-and-shut terrorism case. Fisk
-from the department's Intelligence Division - suspects that in reality this is
an early warning signal that another potentially more devastating attack is
imminent. Fisk and his team spring into action, but as each promising new lead
fizzles to nothing they realise that their opponents are smarter and more
dangerous than anyone they've faced before. The seemingly invisible enemy is
able to exploit every security weakness, anticipating Fisk's every move. And
time is running out until ground zero day...
THE EXECUTION
THE SECOND PAGE-TURNING THRILLER FROM THE
CREATOR OF LAW & ORDER STARRING NYPD SPECIAL AGENT JEREMY FISK.
Soon after the Mexican presidential
election, twenty-three bodies are discovered beheaded on the United States
border, each marked with a unique symbol - a carving of a hummingbird.
Detective Cecilia Garza of the Mexican intelligence agency recognizes it as the
signature of Chuparosa - an assassin feared for his cunning and brutality. The
fierce and intense detective has been pursuing the killer for years, yet knows
little about him, except that he's heading to New York - with the rest of the
world. It's United Nations Week in Manhattan and Jeremy Fisk can't let grief
over a devastating loss keep him from his duty to safeguard the city.
Complicating matters is news of a mass murder nearby - and the arrival of the
disturbingly beautiful and assertive Cecilia Garza, determined to do things her
way.In the race to catch Chuparosa, these uneasy allies must learn to work
together, and fast. As they soon discover, there's more to this threat than
meets the eye - and Fisk will have to learn the hard way that justice is not
always blind.
Release Date: The Intercept January 2013
The Execution January 2014
Author’s Website: Jeremy Fisk on Facebook
No author website but the character Jeremy Fisk has his own Facebook page.
Publisher’s Website: Hachette Australia
About the author:
Dick Wolf, an
award-winning writer, director, producer, and creator, is the architect of one
of the most successful brands in the history of television - Law & Order,
the longest running scripted show in television history. He has won numerous
awards, including two Emmys, a Grammy, and an Edgar.
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