The Patriot Paradox (The Reluctant Hero Series, Book One) [Kindle Edition]

I have to say, when I initially saw the length of this novel, I was skeptical about much could really lie within less than three thousand Kindle locations. Color me surprised, then, when Esmont delivered a hard, driven story with a complex conspiracy and an unexpected emotional range.

This novel had me constantly agitated, afraid for the fates of various characters as rogue CIA agents set about eliminating obstacles to their nefarious plot. The amount of information gleaned from simple communications was astounding but surprisingly believable, and I found myself eying my cell phone suspiciously as I read, wondering if so simple a device would be the means by which Kurt and Amanda got caught. Was it? I'm not telling.

Unlike many a thriller, Esmont delves into the tender side of his main character without forcing it. Kurt's initial homecoming was gut-wrenching despite its brevity, with a palpable sense of loss and despair. It made it easier to connect to him, something that becomes incredibly important when the protagonist is too busy running from killers to worry about forging a relationship with the reader.

In spite of his skillful use of words, however, the author does seem to struggle with semicolons and commas, as well as quotation marks, as well as occasional redundancy. The punctuation tended to be off every so often, which was distracting but thankfully not intolerably so. The overuse of words was sporadic enough to be understandable. Still, a bit more proofing would definitely benefit the text.

I did have some difficulty buying into the emotional connection between Kurt and Amanda, which seemed to switch from reasonable to far too fast, and therefore unbelievable, close to the end of the book. The finale itself was rushed, and the last few pages felt something like riding a go-kart down a steep hill with a very solid (and inappropriately placed) wall at the bottom: one second, you're having a wonderful, freeing ride, and the next, you're smashing into an unyielding surface and wondering what on earth just happened.

The Patriot Paradox is a short but very worthwhile read, and I look forward to more works by this author.

Stimulated Outlet Book Reviews
(Review copy provided by the author)

Like most genre fiction, spy thrillers have their tried and true formulas, generally involving a conspiracy to uncover that left unchecked will mean, if not the end of the world, a disastrous outcome of some kind. Suspension of disbelief is required; is there any James Bond plot anyone truly believes could happen? I'm sure there are plot elements that push individual readers beyond what they're willing to believe, but readers prone to object to this probably stay away from the genre.

Although spy thrillers are plot driven, my contention is that what differentiates one of the genre from another is how invested the reader gets in the main characters. If we care about them, we care about the story. "The Patriot Paradox" has three characters who are our potential heroes - Amanda Carter, and the brothers Kurt and Mike Vetter. Amanda is a riddle. We never learn much about her, and I only became invested in her because she was helping Kurt and appeared to be on his side. I suspect as we get to know her better in future books in the series this might change.

It is the two brothers whom we identify with and want to see succeed. It might seem strange that Mike, who is murdered in the first chapter, is a character we're pulling for. However, Mike's shadow is always present. His example is constantly pushing Kurt to succeed so that his death won't have been in vain. This is something the reader will also want. The character of Kurt is a good person who has made mistakes and been through hell. His success is a kind of redemption we want him to achieve. Now I'm eager to see what is in store next for Kurt and Amanda.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

Pretty enjoyable read but as the other reviews have mentioned, the ending is all a bit rushed and lets down what was super fast paced thriller until then.

Needs a bit more detailed research on the European side if not to irritate European readers. The whole storyline around leaving the UK and going to France, real literary license taken here with regard to stealing the car and fooling customs. Passengers are required to stay with their cars, you can't walk off and leave an empty car.( Major security issue ) Customs is not in fact on arrival in France it is on departure from the UK, you drive straight off the train and join the road network in France.

The author, I suggest wrongly believes all of Europe to be corrupt. We had the main characters bribing a booking clerk in the UK, followed by bribing a travel agent in France and finally a customs officer in Russia. I will give you Russia but the UK and France? just doesn't happen.

All in all pretty good stuff and nothing that would stop me buying another book by this author.