Ephraim
Exciting from beginning to end. The bad guys personalities were developed as much as the good guys and girls personalities. The minute details and timing in the countdown to the attack are the glue that holds the reader's attention. It takes a nuclear reactor expert to even know that some of these security measures exist. I like the way the bad guys get tripped up on little details as well as the way that the good guys and girls use knowledge of the details to detect anomalies in the system and what could be causing them. This is a strong, straightforward, manly writing style that keeps the temperature up and the pages turning. Maybe the Feds will come after Jeff Bailey for outing some deep secrets of the nuclear trade. Then he'll have material for his next book that I will be standing in line to read.
Great book! Good storyline. Everything happens in one day. The author obviously knows a lot about the Marines and nuclear weapons. Fortunately, he didn't go overboard on either one of these. That would have slowed down the pace. The human story behind the nuclear threat is Cassie's coming to terms with herself. By weaving action based choices with flashbacks and dreams, the author brings Cassie to life. She is a likeable, believable female heroine. Cassie does not use physical force to combat her adversaries. That kind of shenanigan found in many other thrillers with female heroines is just not believable for anyone who has evolved in the real world. Cassie uses her Marine training and her intelligence. Highly recommend “Not on my watch”. Now I'm going to read Jeff Bailey's second book.
The book started out good, but began to slow down in Sarasota. There was too much dialogue and too many characters. I found it hard to follow who was who. Eddie is not really my kind of hero -too much of a pantywaist - but he is acceptable and he is the gas that keeps the book going. I'm hoping he ups his game in future books.
Strange family, the Grant family, but aren't all French families strange for an American? John Pearce brings that out in spades and that is one of the book's strong points. He also conveys the American feeling for Parisian places and customs. The question is, “Who cares about Parisian places and customs?” The answer is, “Probably I do because I liked this book.” Good story, good atmosphere, pretty good characters, although slightly too eccentric. I see that John Pearce has written other Eddie Grant books and I'm going to buy another one.
