Book Review – Hawk by Brian Neary

Brian Neary

Hawk

2009

Trade Paperback

443 Pages

Brian Neary’s “Hawk” is a surprisingly excellent (and very quick) read. I won’t resort to comparing Neary with similar genre writers or his story to theirs but I will say that if you enjoy a suspenseful thriller with fast paced action, believable characters, and political/military scenarios straight out of yesterdays newspapers, then Hawk is for you. But be forewarned, Neary pulls no punches. The very real dark side of terrorism is depicted here as is the squabbling and in-fighting found between various government agencies which I believe gives this novel more bite. To turn a phrase, the fiction is real, the blood-shed and violence is far from pedestrian, and the technology very believable. Which makes the story that much more compelling.

I have to say that the pages flew by and I loved the suspense Neary created as the plot developed. If there’s a flaw in the book it’s that we didn’t see enough of the hero, Quentin Hawk, who might just be a character for the ages. Tough talkin’, ass kickin’, no-shit-takin’ CIA operative with a Mensa-sized I.Q. and the physique of a football player, Hawk (both the character and the book) will keep you entranced and sleepless as you furious turn page after page to find out what comes next. And I guarantee that you will. Here’s looking forward to the next installment.

Oh, and Mr. Neary, as long as you keep writing stories like this you’ve a customer for life.

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5

P.S. Appealing to the vanity in all of us a very cool opportunity for someone has been added to the Brian Neary website at www.bneary.com If you go to the webpage and click on the “Contact” button you’ll be asked to enter your e-mail address. This places you into a drawing that might get you named as a character in Neary’s next book. The blurb I received in the Advance Readers Copy states, “You can be a character in the next Quentin Hawk Novel. ‘Good guy, bad guy, you name it and I’ll write you in.’ Neary also states, ‘Midway through the writing process, we’ll select a winner. I’ll email you and offer you some character choices – like assassin, cop, hero, or snitch. You’ll tell me the part you want to play and I’ll write you into the plot.’

So head on off to the site now and enter your e-mail address. You never know what might happen.

Oh, and to make things even sweeter Neary added a five page teaser for the next Quentin Hawk book, “The Manuscript” at the end of Hawk.

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin