False Flag

A Frank Bowen Conspiracy Thriller, Book 1

By: Jay Tinsiano

Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell

Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

1991: A plan to destabilise Hong Kong is emerging; the key players are being put into place, the wheels are in motion and innocent people will die.

Frank Bowen is a Londoner on holiday in tropical Thailand. Half drunk and strapped for cash, he’s the perfect bait for a political plot that will leave him running for his life, with nowhere to turn.

An international conspiracy thriller by Jay Tinsiano, False Flag spans South-east Asia, with twists and turns that leave every character in question.

©2013, 2014 Jay Tinsiano (P)2015 Jay Tinsiano

Critic reviews

" False Flag is by far one of the best thrillers that I have came across all year." (Amazon reviewer Manchester)

"This genre usually does not captivate me, but this book did. Great plot, the writing style puts the reader dead center in the sweat, the moods, action and fear. I have been in and out of Asia many times and this book took me back without the cost of a plane ticket and was a heck of a lot more entertaining than a long plane ride. Great book!" (Brad Hayes)

"Very well depicted scenery and awesome character depth. A quick read, a brilliant plot, and a wonderfully well written story." (IABook Reviews)

First impressions of an unknown author

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. It is light reading and has a decent plot.

What was one of the most memorable moments of False Flag?

The very beginning when he was trying to come to grips with life and his mortality

What three words best describe Chris MacDonnell’s performance?

Not monotone

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

This book was a light read and fairly short. It did have a plot at least unlike so many today. One has to wonder why you would fly half way across the world to find yourself; but many do so not unusual. Chris MacDonnell could use a bit more dynamics in his performance but at least he did not put me to sleep.

Great action

Another brilliant thriller/mystery from Jay Tinsiano. Great kickoff to this series. Lots of action this one kept me hooked. I liked Pandora Red better but this was pretty good too.

The narrator gave a good performance.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Great Conspiracy Plot

Frank had no idea of the mess he was about to encounter. First breaking up with a girl friend, traveling to Goa, people he meets there. The decision he makes leads him into a nightmare.

Movie script quality!!

Both Mr. Tinsiano and Mr. MacDonnell are masters at their respective crafts! This is the second book that I've enjoyed with this duo. An international conspiracy thriller that will leave you hesitant to press the pause button on your Audible app.

The author does an incredible job creating the relationship between the characters of the story and the reader/ listener. The narrator's portrayal of all the characters and his ability to change accents and voice pitch allows a truly believable performance that leaves little to be desired.

If you're looking to start a series that keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very end, I'd definitely give this book!

*This book was provided at no cost to me by author, narrator, or publisher for an unbiased review.

Engaging story and great narration!

If you could sum up False Flag in three words, what would they be?

A well written and suspenseful story, with a lot of twists right from the start.

While I enjoyed the story, what impressed me most was the narration. CHRIS MACDONNEL does a wonderful job and most definitely enriches the experience of listening to the audiobook. He is great across all the characters, seamlessly transitioning from one to the other.

A Good Twisty New Thriller Series

FALSE FLAG was a good start for a new thriller. Right out of the gate this book was energetic. It had a good storyline with a great character in Frank Bowen. He's on vacation and suddenly he's in a whirlwind of trouble and doesn't know how or why until he thinks someone switched his luggage. A bomb went off and all hell broke loose.

I really like the character of Frank and can see plenty of room for more of a back story with him in the future installments of the series. The supporting characters were good but not as well-defined. Perhaps they're just temporary to this setting.

There were a lot of twists in the story and a few times I got sidetracked however it was very suspenseful and engaging. JAY TINSIANO is a great new author and I can see him take off with this series building Frank Bowen into the ranks of Jason Bourne or Jack Reacher.

CHRIS MACDONNELL does a terrific job narrating this audiobook. His accent gives Bowen more character. He has nice voice inflections and keeps a steady pace while speaking clearly. I really like him for this series. He's a good match for the story and I hope to hear more from him in the future.

Audiobook received in exchange for an unbiased review.

Plot driven

This book was engaging enough that after I made it through the first few chapters, I did want to find out how the protagonist's fate played out. The part that made it tough for me to be drawn into the book was I never developed any emotional connection with any of the characters, although the sick assassin was interesting but not a very good assassin. I did like the book well enough for me to wonder what happens next for Patrick. The narrator's dry, almost emotionless reading, was clear enough, but likely added to my minimal connection to the characters.

keeping you on your tiptoes

False Flag was a genre within a genre for me. While I do enjoy thrillers immensely I haven’t actually read (or listened to) a political conspiracy thriller. So I was very excited.

Frank, who just broke up with his girlfriend and has a bit of a dark history, decides to take off on holiday, presumably to discover himself, and lands up in Goa, a beach resort, in India. Here he meets a couple of unsavoury characters who seem thoroughly innocent at first but are actually pawns in the game of Xiangqi. He does what any innocent tourist would do, he gets recommendations from other tourists and locals at each destination and following these leads gets him into a world of trouble.

A bomb goes off, another bomb goes off, a man is dead and he’s on the run. I didn’t enjoy the story up until this point. From here on it got a little exciting and eventful.But it picks up after he gets into Bangkok.

The beginning parts of this book felt like an elaborate background painting with no exciting additions to keep the reader thrilled. While the author hints at a past for Frank his interactions with his friends seems forced and it feels as though it has been dragged a little too much to create a reason for him to be running away from something that isn’t specified. Also, the locales should have been further explored. As someone who has been to Goa often it felt like the author hadn’t exploited the location as well as he could have. Once Jimmy comes into the picture though, it moved quickly and kept on the same way till about half an hour from the end.

After it picks up the author manages to maintain a fast pace, keeping you on your tiptoes and waiting to see how everything unravels. The only gripe I have is that it was rather obvious midway who the culprit was. The point of a mystery thriller is to keep things mysterious and it wasn’t as mysterious as I had hoped it would be. I won’t say who it is, listen for yourself to find out.

Now about the narrator, Chris MacDonnell, whom I did not enjoy. I’m someone who likes the age of the narrator to sound like the age of the main character. The narrator sounds very old and it did not suit this book. It felt like he would do a better job of narrating a book like The English Patient or maybe a non fiction about history. Because of this certain parts felt awkward and uncomfortable.But the audiobook production seemed smooth and was comfortable on the ears.

All in all I would recommend this for someone who is new to thrillers. If you are a seasoned reader you might not enjoy this as much.

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Everything is connected!!!

At first I just thought that the main character was travelling around and nothing was connected. And then BOOM, literally. And pieces start to connect and you see that everything was connected and nothing was haphazard. This is an awesome conspiracy thriller that got me sucked in and wanting more!!!

Engaging suspense - well done!

If you could sum up False Flag in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, suspenseful, and comfortably predictable

Would you recommend False Flag to your friends? Why or why not?

I most certainly would

Which character – as performed by Chris MacDonnell – was your favorite?

Theo was one of my favorites, but Chris did a fantastic job across all the characters, regardless of gender or native tongue.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

What do you fight for when you are lost in a sea of betrayal?

Any additional comments?

The story was good, but the narrator, Chris really made the experience top-notch! The fact that the main character was British, and clearly so is Chris, really added an authentic flavor to the story. Thanks Audible for recruiting such a great narrator. I will look for other books narrated by Chris MacDonnell!