Good Intentions

Adrian Hell Series, Book 6

By: James P. Sumner

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

No choice. No way out.

Believed to be dead, Adrian Hell now fights for a new cause, knowing he can never go back to his old life.

But death might have been the better option.

As the world recovers from the shocking events in A Necessary Kill, Adrian is living a new life, killing without prejudice to repay the debt he owes the people who saved him.

But he can’t change who he is. When he begins to question the motives of his saviors, he puts himself in a dangerous situation that could cost him everything.

An intensely gripping thriller that fans of John Milton and Jason Bourne will love.

Start listening today.

GENRE: Action Thriller

KEY THEMES: Assassins, Conspiracy, Politics, Vigilante Justice

©2016 James P. Sumner (P)2023 James P. Sumner

What Would Josh Do?

Wow, things are only getting better and more exciting the farther we go into this series. “Good Intentions” is the sixth audiobook in the Adrian Hell series authored by James P. Sumner while the Audible edition is narrated by Gary Bennett. Both individuals resonate quite well with me when it comes to stories in the action thriller genre. There is intrigue, mystery, plenty of fighting and even a man with a moral conscience whose profession is that of an assassin. Could the series have been closed out during the previous audiobook? Sure, but it would not have been long before we would be wanting more of our favorite action hero, Adrian Hell. Even with the previous book being such a rollercoaster ride of both action and emotions, this latest in the series keeps the momentum going and there are many new and exciting facets of this character we get to observe along the way. I have to say, I continue to recommend this series and book six surely keeps the pedal to the metal.

The story opens in a rather unique way. It should not be a surprise that in the last audiobook, Mr. Hell was not going to get out of the situation alive. Yet, as with all great action figures, he manages to awake in a strange location, under stranger circumstances, while finding himself surrounded by some unique individuals. As only Adrian can say, “It is nice not being dead.”, and I would have to agree. Here our main character is inaugurated into a new and mysterious order where only the best of the best is recruited. In many ways, one begins to believe that Adrian may have been better off dead than alive. His relationship between himself and his new management is like mixing water with oil and setting it on fire, it is nearly impossible no matter how hard one tries. Mr. Hell has his own moral compass when it comes to performing his jobs, yet the new organization is asking him to assassinate people without reason or at least providing this to him. This greatly annoys Adrian, and he tries to work with his new employers to do things his way, without success.

I found the author did a wonderful job of using descriptive writing to provide a detailed picture of the surrounds. I found the sprinkled in backstory items a welcome surprise as it is always good to continue to know more about Mr. Hell. The audiobook’s narration only helps to emphases the story’s scenes and action. With the event of 4/17 being in the past, much of the world is trying to get back to more normal activity, and that includes both people intent on doing good and evil. Adrian is sent to help relieve the world of all the bad and by doing so possibly usher in a new world order. Adrian needs to better understand the actions of his employer and if their activities are for the good of all or just them. With the new Adrian alive and the old one dead, I was somewhat surprised that he was not given some form of plastic surgery in the event he ran into some of his old acquaintances. Instead, he must dodge security cameras and often take the long way around to not be discovered.

Why does Adrian not just run away? That is a great question. He has been implanted with a device that can be used for tracking and killing if such measures are required. If he runs, he is dead. Even with all his technical knowledge, he is unable to override this new collar and if he tries, he is a dead man. Again, with all his previous ties to Tory and Josh, he now has to completely fend for himself and do what he is told, or he will be the one on the other end of an assassin’s gun. To make matters even worse, as Adrian is performing his new role, he seems to always be running into GlobalTech technology and people, but why? This desire for information puts Mr. Hell on the wrong side of nearly everyone, and this is one task that he will not be able to complete alone. Even with the addition of some new colleagues, we often hear him asking, “What would Josh Do” or more simply put, WWJD. The audiobook has a good amount of humor, emotional events, and tension which makes it a perfect additional to the action thriller genre.

Gary Bennett is such a wonderful narrator in so many ways, and I can say that I have never been disappointed with any of his works. The audio is always highly professional with little to no audio patches. The characters are continuously narrated with the proper voices, even when this involves over six books currently in the series. The pacing shows and the use of inflection displays the narrators understanding of the material and with such a smooth voice as Mr. Bennett’s, it seems to really fit the main character. Another wonderful addition to his narrating career.

For parents and younger audiences, this audiobook, and the series, is geared towards mature listeners. Even though it could be enjoyed by nearly everyone, it does contain a solid amount of both adult themes and language. There is also a high content of graphic violence which may not be appropriate for younger listeners.

In summary, if you like action and thrillers, you cannot go wrong with the series. Adrian continues to surprise and innovate over the many audiobooks, and I think that is for the better. The narration is solid and clean while the writing is enjoyable and picturesque. This audiobook in the series shows a very different Mr. Hell, and I look forward to is continued adventures.

Exciting, Intense, Death Defying!

Adrian Hell is no more. His savior is a Colonel Sanders look-alike. Adrian discovers he is no longer his own man as his savior forces his beliefs, rules, and execution of life upon him. While everything seems wonderful, Adrian is seeing beyond the curtain and must make decisions. Even in death, Adrian keeps things exciting!

The author, James P. Sumner, delivers yet another compelling Adrian Hell book. Picking up where he left off, Sumner continues the saga of Adrian Hell with creative and unexpected twists. Sumner continues to allow his listeners to experience Adrian’s developmental growth through glimpses of his past and the contributing factors in the creation of his inner self. The narrative flowed smoothly and with interesting twists and characters. The dialogue felt authentic as did the relationships.

The narrator, Gary Bennett, once again delivers a compelling performance, further enhancing the characters and storyline. He slips into the world of Adrian Hell flawlessly and effortlessly projecting each character realistically and vividly. His deliberate pauses and cadence project the intensity of the action.

I thoroughly enjoy this series and cannot wait to see where Sumner takes Adrian! This audiobook comes highly recommended.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Breakneck Pace AND Shadowy Organizations?

I knew when A Necessary Kill finished the way it did, this one would start with a bang and it sure did. Sumner starts it right off throwing Adrian into the weeds. The secretive and mysterious group of assassins he joins only has a few rules but Adrian just can’t seem to find it in himself to follow them to a T.

The story itself was one of the best in the series. Adrian was forced into unique and interesting situations, a few times even I thought “I don’t know if he’s going to make it out of this!” Good Intentions has all of the things that I loved about the other Adrian Hell books with the added shadow organization that can go anywhere and do anything.

This one is difficult to review without any spoilers and ends on another slight cliffhanger – so talking about anything would ruin A Necessary Kill or the potential next book – so I’ll just say that I really enjoyed this one. Sumner found a gear and just mashed the accelerator throughout this one making it one of the most interesting books in the series.

Gary Bennett seems to just know how to become these covert assassin types – every time I listen to one of these stories performed by him I feel like I’m no longer listening to a book but listening to the stories from someone I know personally. Gary can bring these stories to life AND add some life/realism to them both the stories and characters. And when you combine that with the insanely paced books that Sumner is putting out where it feels like I need to pause them to give myself a break, let alone give Adrian one… and you’ve got another winner.