The Jack Widow Series: Books 1-3 (The Jack Widow Series Collection Book 1)

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Towards the middle to end of this one makes me feel like the Incredible Hulk I used to watch on TV where at the end of every episode he would tell everyone thanks but no thanks and then head out of town which is exactly what our hero does. Before long our hero is taken in to be interrogated, let go, asked to help, escorted out of town, tried to be beaten up, before giving in to helping the MPs with this case.

This first book in a new loner-drifter series (think Lee Child's Reacher) is well written and, at times, almost poetic in it's atmospheric descriptions of both place and the inside of Widow's head. Told in the first person, it is an easy book to read, the sentences short and uncomplicated, like the man himself. But seeing through his eyes it is easy to empathize with him. After showing Widow a picture of her six-year-old granddaughter, Claire Hood drops dead of natural causes, right at the bus station, right in front of him. A violent snowstorm fast approaches, leaving Shepard’s secret mission in peril. There is no time left, and lives are on the line. In other ways he is very much Reacher, big, strong, can fight with fists or weapons and apart from the unlikely stupidity of a supposed ex elite forces operative the actions and stories are good and enjoyableIn the first chapter, specifically, Widow's thoughts on gunshot wounds went on for too long—sum it up in a paragraph, keep it short and sweet so the tension is high. You've got what should be a beginning that starts with a bang, but it ends up fizzling out with needless tangents. Some local townspeople want to blame Muslims. The politicians want to blame guns. The outside media only care about the headlines. Widow soon decides he needs to put his head on a pillow for a few hours, asks the waitress for the location of the nearest motel, and sets out to get himself some much needed sleep. Taken to be a worthless drifter by the locals, Widow uses his skills to uncover the truth about his mother’s last investigation. What was she looking for? It would have been nicer if he could have had some more individualist traits, maybe drove from place to place, had a few clothes to change fresh, even a shaving kit and a few different characteristics, but for all that they are an enjoyable read if you like action adventure type stories and are happy to give the hero the writers licence needed to allow him to get into and out of different scrapes and finding seemingly only drop dead gorgeous women whilst doing it

But that's all I'll write on that. I did enjoy this book, and I really wanted to give it three stars, but there are too many technical errors and such. Weirdly enough it seemed the second half was more polished than the first half, and Widow seemed more believable as Blade got the hang of the character. The writing became tighter, too. I think if Widow could have watched this from the sidelines like we readers do, he'd shake his head and say, "never let facts get in the way of a good story" but he doesn't have that luxury. Taken to be a worthless drifter by the locals, Widow uses his skills to uncover the truth about his mother's last investigation. What was she looking for? In a year with tensions high regarding Muslim extremists, gun control, and police culture, the cops think that it's obvious that Marine Officer James Muhammad Turik was part of an ISIS cell. Did you read all of the above? Did it seem as if I went on and on without actually Saying anything? Or, did it seem as if I’d missed a pertinent point? Or went into too much detail? Yes? Well, brace yourself, there is A LOT of that in this book! Plus, the characters are all from The Deep South - so they speak slowly - I had to adjust the narration speed to 1.2 for it to seem normal for me! (I listened to the audiobook version of this title).This is further enhanced by narrator Aden Philip Ormond's excellent interpretation of this lead protagonist. The reading is well paced, not too fast, not too emotionally imbued but just right for the military trained loner rediscovering his past and his understanding of just how much he owed to his mother in the last precious moments they are able to have together. Her death is his new beginning as sets out in search of her killer. With expression and good intonation, Orson's pleasant rough velvety voice also gives individual life to each of the other characters in the book also. Writer and narrator in harmony together. Overall if you know nothing at all about how firearms work and just want to enjoy a thriller with action and you do not mind the hero making astonishingly bad mistakes just so he could be rescued by some unrealistic thing at the very last moment over and over again you will be fine with this book. But go in warned.