Option to Kill

A Nathan McBride Novel, Book 3

By: Andrew Peterson

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Nathan McBride, “the most brutally effective thriller hero to appear in years” (Ridley Pearson, author of Killer Weekend), returns in the third installment of one of the best new series in thriller fiction.

When Nathan McBride receives a text message from someone who claims she’s been kidnapped, it triggers a deadly chain of events that has the potential to haunt him for the rest of his life. Nathan will soon learn that nothing from his past could ever prepare him for the crisis he’ll soon be facing. The girl’s name is Lauren and she’s just 12 years old. With virtually no experience with children, Nathan’s patience and compassion are about to be tested to their limits.

In a violent confrontation, Nathan rescues Lauren from her kidnapper, but as he unravels Lauren's story, he realizes his troubles are only beginning. She says she's in the Witness Security Program, and doesn't trust the US Marshals because she thinks they're complicit in her abduction. Not only that, her stepdad was murdered last night.

In a desperate and unlikely alliance, Nathan and Lauren must stay one step ahead of her kidnapper and the brutal mercenaries who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Played out over the course of 36 lightning-fast hours, Nathan and Lauren must learn to trust each other or they won’t survive.

©2012 Andrew Peterson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Option to Live

The contrast of living or dying is known in the first chapter of the book. What makes this book different is all takes in the matter of a few days. Minute by minute the tension builds. Human trafficking is center piece and expensive jewels being smuggle in young girls. Not for the faint of heart. The last book was 'the city", which was an account of a city boy over his life time, this all takes place in a matter of days. i found it a very different and exciting listen.

A little over the top

Would you try another book from Andrew Peterson and/or Dick Hill?

I would try another book by Andrew Peterson or Dick Hill. This particular book's story was less than believable. And Dick; well he's Jack Reacher

Would you be willing to try another book from Andrew Peterson? Why or why not?

Sure would. I like these type of mysteries and have enjoyed some of the other Andrew Peterson listens.

Did Dick Hill do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Dick is great narrator and always does a great job differentiating one character from the other.

Could you see Option to Kill being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

The story line is just unbelievable. It's hard to fathom any ex operative taking a little girl into the field of conflict that alone have that girl take an active part in the mission.

Ending up to Nathan standard rest not so much

The attempt to give Nathan more depth worked but wasn't as interesting as previous books.

Another solid novel

I came across this series purely by accident and I am so glad I did! Book lovers, you know what I mean... it was kismet.

Excellent writing, love the narration. Caught and held my interest (which is challenging sometimes with audio books).

Just qued the next in the series, so off I go!

Came in at the middle, I guess

This is apparently one of those series where you have to start with the first book. As it is, I feel like I walked into the middle of the movie, starting with this #3 book. There's just no background information offered that makes anything else make sense: who is this man with the (apparently) scarred face? We have only the barest explanation, and there's no explanation for the scars -- and he gets testy when "the girl" asks. Why would this man immediately, and without question, put his life on the line on the basis of one anonymous phone call? From someone he's never even heard of, let alone met? What's the basis of this mysterious partnership he has with another (absent) man? What do they do, and why? Okay, he's a "private investigator" -- but how many PI's would act as MacBride does, on NO information -- let alone no promise of any kind of payment?

Beyond that, this "Nathan MacBride" is a little tough to deal with. He's constantly issuing terse orders: "Don't touch me". "Don't come up behind me". "Don't talk to me." "Don't ever wake me up." And gets downright nasty if the poor kid forgets. The girl, for her part, has some oddities herself. There she is, 12 years old, has mastered all kinds of things, electronics, the solar system, cooking, guns and ammunition, etc etc. She mastered an entire series of hand signals in "less than a minute", we're told. But yet she doesn't understand the word "intangible"? That word she has to have explained to her? Doesn't make sense.

If you like cat-and-mouse thrillers, and don't need to know who any of the characters are, or why they're either running or being chased, this is probably a pretty good book. Lots of techno-geek stuff, lots of tense chases over hill and dale. But if you need to know a little more about who, what and why anybody is doing anything, then either skip this book, or maybe start with the first book in the series. I'm not going to pursue this series any farther, but I can understand it has an audience.

Great traveling listen

What made the experience of listening to Option to Kill the most enjoyable?

Starts quick and stays tense. Kept me alert most of the way across the United States.

Nathan is not good with children

Nathan McBride is back and this time there is a girl involved. She is so involved, in fact, that Nathan takes her on a wild journey with gunfights and murderous enemies.

The story begins with Nathan receiving a text with a mysterious message. A girl texts him to let him know she has been kidnapped. Nathan tracks this girl down and then the plot thickens as they dart around San Diego, then various cities throughout California.

Harv and Holly are basically minor supporting roles in this outing so it is just Nathan and the girl. The girl is surrounded in mystery (how does she know Nathan's code name and private number?) and the murderous men who kidnapped her are running a very strange operation.

Actually, I liked the story, enjoyed the plot and Dick Hill once again did a great narration. Here is where the book lost me. The girl is very smart and her need to stay close to Nathan and be protected is what allows the story to have Nathan taking her to gunfight after deadly gunfight.

No matter what this girl went through, Nathan's taking her on this journey of destruction was completely implausible. Harv and Holly certainly would not approve and I just couldn't get it out of my head either.

This is actually an interesting story and I do like the Nathan McBride series but I was really bothered by how unrealistic it would be to put this girl into the situations they did.

Not the action I was exspecting.

Would you try another book from Andrew Peterson and/or Dick Hill?

I will, I like the main character, but i did not like the little kid in this story, so I will be getting the first book in this series, i hope it has the action I'm looking for.

What could Andrew Peterson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I love the confident hero, so his character is right up my ally, but to pair him with a 12 year old girl, just made the book drag. I may not even finish it. keep to the formula that brought this series the readers it deserves.

What three words best describe Dick Hill’s performance?

not good littlegirl.

Was Option to Kill worth the listening time?

not really

Any additional comments?

I am looking forward to reading the first & second book of this series.

Exciting

Would you consider the audio edition of Option to Kill to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book

What did you like best about this story?

Action from the word go and pretty much non-stop.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

He seemed like he was Nathan McBride

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I listened to all three books and all three were just as exciting as the others. I have also listened to all of the Mitch Rapp series and these are just as good. Kudos to Andrew Peterson

Amazing Series!

Would you consider the audio edition of Option to Kill to be better than the print version?

For me Yes. I live on the road.

What did you like best about this story?

Nathan is a hero but he's relatable; he's not perfect. I like that. I feel smarter than him often enough to believe he's real and he's brilliant enough to be a skilled hero and leave me thoroughly impressed..

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

Harv for sure! He nails it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I sat in the truck in my driveway for an extra 45 minutes to finish book 2 after a 9 hour drive from Phoenix at 1:00am so that oughta tell ya.

Any additional comments?

Keep 'em comin'. I always fear an author getting side tracked or getting a new idea and ending a great character. I hope Nathan lives on for a long time!