Overkill

An Alex Hawke Novel

By: Ted Bell

Narrated by: John Shea

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Putting it all on the line to rescue his kidnapped son pits counterspy Alex Hawke against Russian president Vladimir Putin in this action-packed thriller from New York Times best-selling author Ted Bell.

On a ski vacation in the Swiss Alps high above St. Moritz, Alex Hawke and his young son, Alexei, are thrust into danger when the tram carrying them to the top of the mountain bursts into flame, separating the two. Before he can reach Alexei, the boy is snatched from the burning cable car by unknown assailants in a helicopter.

Meanwhile, high above the skies of France, Vladimir Putin is aboard his presidential jet after escaping a bloodless coup in the Kremlin. When two flight attendants collapse and slip into unconsciousness, the Russian leader realizes the danger isn’t over. Killing the pilots, he grabs a parachute, steps out of the plane...and disappears.

Hawke has led his share of dangerous assignments, but none with stakes this high. To save his son, he summons his trusted colleagues, chief inspector of Scotland Yard Ambrose Congreve and former US Navy SEAL Stokley Jones Jr., and recruits a crack Hostage Rescue Team - a group of elite soldiers of fortune known as Thunder & Lighting. Before they can devise a rescue plan, Hawke must figure out who took his boy - and why. An operative who has fought antagonists around the globe, Hawke has made many enemies; one in particular may hold the key to finding Alexei before it’s too late.

But an unexpected threat complicates their mission. Making his way to Falcon’s Lair, the former Nazi complex created for Hitler, Putin is amassing an impressive armory that he intends to use for his triumphant return to Moscow.

Only one man can smash the Russian president’s plan for domination - a master counterspy who will cross every line to save his son...and maybe save the world itself in the bargain.

©2018 Theodore A. Bell (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Just didn't pop

I enjoyed the narrator alot, but struggled to get into the story. It seemed too similar to the others. Dashing Alex Hawk has a tragedy, he assembles his team and the do battle. His son is missing and he is having dinner and drinks, he is rekindling a relationship and trotting the globe. Predictable ending.

One More Alamo’s Perfect Alex Hawke Novel.

Another perfect Alex Hawke novel. Ted Bell weaves a story with just the right amount of excitement, humor, and color to keep a reader’s interest.

best performance of a Alex Hawke novel..

best performance of an Alex Hawke novel. Superbly written and voiced buy a talented reader. I highly recommend

Overkill is too over the top

I've always enjoyed Bell's books (I read to escape, so Oprah's book club picks are not high on my list) but this time I constantly found myself wondering if his editor was on vacation when he worked on the book. I kept getting distracted by the timeline discontinuity, logistics impossibilities, and downright incorrect facts: the annual Army-Navy game is NOT played on Thanksgiving, how did an Irish/English special forces soldier receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, Hemingway did not write part of The Old Man and the Sea in Bermuda (he never even visited the island). I can suspend my disbelief only so far; but... If Stokely was a Seal in Vietnam he would be about 65 now (if he was 20 at the end of the war in 1973.) And don't get me started about the story he told about his beloved father....
I'm not sure I'll be reading another Hawk book if he continues the series.

Another Great Story

Ted Bell never fails to immediately capture the reader’s attention and draw them into a great adventure.

Just didn't do it for me this time

I'm a big Ted Bell fan, but for some reason this outing didn't do anything for me. I felt like the story didn't move at it's usual clip, and was just too drawn out. If you're new to Ted Bell/Alex Hawke series, don't start here... pick one of his earlier works up instead.

Ted, Where are ya?

Mr. Bell,

Did somebody else write this one? Beyond the realm of belief..... Not your best work.

Great to have Alex Hawke back in action.

Narrator made story come alive. his ability to be so many characters and accents was fantastic. the story was exciting, but a bit more violent than Bell's previous work. the cliffhanger led me to believe there will be a sequel.

fun fun

great to listen to while I work. good fun good pace. like I said. fun.

Awesome!

Great book! Possibly his best. Ted Bell never disappoints. I can’t wait for the next book.