James Byrne
Crime Thriller
In this sequel to the highly praised The Gatekeeper, Dez Limerick, one of the best new thriller heroes returns.
Desmond Aloysius Limerick (“Dez” to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back. Now retired from his previous life, Dez is just a bloke with a winning smile, a bass guitar, and bullet wounds that paint a road map of past lives.
Jaleh Swann, a business journalist hot on the trail of an auditor who was mugged and killed, lands in the hospital just one day after her Portland apartment is ransacked. When Jaleh’s sister, Raziah, reaches out to an old friend for help, Dez has no choice but to answer. The Swann sisters have been pulled into a dizzying web of cover-ups and danger. At the center lies an insidious Oregon-based tech corporation, Clockjack, which has enough money and hired guns to silence just about anyone―including this rag-tag trio. Luckily, Dez’s speciality is not just to open doors, but keep them open―and protect those working to expose Clockjack’s secrets.
More stands in the way of the truth than just one corporation. When hired thugs come to the finish the job and attack the Swann sisters at the hospital, Dez does what he does best. Now, the two captured men (and the corpse Dez left behind) attract the attention of not just Clockjack, but of the Portland police, the D.E.A, and the U.S. Marshalls. Dez and the Swann sisters are on the run from powers beyond their control and means. Outnumbered, under resourced and outgunned, Dez must use all his skills to keep his friends safe and stand up to corporate conniving. After all, the one thing Clockjack didn’t count on? A good man with a simple job to do.
-Excerpt taken from Amazon.
Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.
My Opinion
(4 / 5) I read Gatekeeper last year and really liked it. It was funny and exciting. So when MacMillan had the audio, I quickly snatched it up. I even got my husband hooked on this series, and I have Dez to thank for that!
Dez just makes the book. He. Is. Hilarious! He’s a smart-mouth with brains and skills to back him up. He loves riling people up and being right so he does it often, purely for his enjoyment.
While Dez definitely carries the story, it’s full of action and fast-paced events. He’s fighting for the good, and for right and he just has fun doing it. There are lots of shoot-outs, lots of fighting, and usually a few close calls for Dez so it’s never boring.
I want a prequel/backstory of Dez! I mentioned this in my last review but where did he get his skills and the stories to accompany them? I’m not going to be placated long before I start getting frustrated about his past. He’s too interesting with too many unique skills (pretty much anything that is needed from computers to fighting) to not need more info. Byrne, I just need a few backstories in the next book. They can coincide with the next story but please, give me a bit of something! Pretty please?
AUDIO REVIEW: John Keating is the narrator and he is the perfect Dez. Nobody else can be Dez! I love that he can embody the snarky, smart a$$ and does it so well. It’s truly entertaining to listen to. I laughed out loud multiple times.
General content summary: There is violence in this book but it still doesn’t have much of the details. Other than language, there is very little else worth mentioning.
F words= 20+, C***= 1, physical violence (fighting, weapons, multiple), death by physical fight, intimacy (no details).
Thank you to Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for the copies!
**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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