Today i’m very happy to bring you my review of Dance With The Enemy by Rob Sinclair and also a little intro to the series which Rob has kindly written for us.
First off i must say I’ve heard many a good things said about this author by fellow bloggers. I’ve actually had the three books in the series for a little while already so when i heard he would be taking part in the Clink Street Christmas event it was an easy decision for me to pick him as someone i’d like to feature . Word of mouth speaks a lot to me and with so many good comments i just had to buy the series and i’m very glad that I’ve had the time to read/review the first book in the series.
I’ll pass you over to Rob to give you an intro then you can read my review 🙂
Intro to Enemy series
My Enemy series of books have now sold 200,000 copies worldwide since the release of the first book, Dance with the Enemy, in 2014, which was followed by Rise of the Enemy and Hunt for the Enemy. But for those people not familiar, what are they about?
I set out with the Enemy series to write books that were fast-paced and filled with action, because those are the types of books that I’ve always enjoyed reading myself (not to mention the types of TV and film that I watch too). I had a vague concept in my head as to who the central character would be. A tough guy. An all action hero who’d lived much of his life in that vast area of grey that separates right and wrong, but who had a certain vulnerability about him too. That last part was very important to me. I’d become increasingly tired of heroes who were too perfect, almost superhuman, and wanted a much more grounded and human hero. One who makes mistakes and one who gets hurt. And so was born Carl Logan.
Many years ago Logan, as a tearaway teenager, an orphan moving from foster home to foster home, and increasingly getting himself mixed up with gangs and drugs, was recruited by a shady law enforcement figure – Mackie- as a low level informant. Over the years that relationship grew until Mackie himself moved on in the world becoming a Commander of a secretive intelligence agency known as the JIA (Joint Intelligence Agency). Seeing potential in Logan, largely given his bleak outlook on life and his nothing to lose mindset, Logan was brought into the fold at the JIA and, through years of physical and psychological training, was turned into something of a killing machine, travelling the world and carrying out the dirty work of the UK and US governments, under the radar.
But, despite the brainwashing training, there was always a gnawing inside Logan that he was more than just an assassin, a feeling that wholly comes to the fore when Logan is captured, tortured and left for dead while on a JIA mission in the Middle East. Which is the point in time where the Enemy series picks up, with Logan struggling to come to terms with that trauma, and trying to figure out exactly who he is, with many in his organisation now believing him to be goods damaged beyond repair.
The three books follow Logan from that lowest point on a journey of not just redemption and proving his self worth, but of revenge too, as he tries in vain to get his life back on track and to get his own back on those who’ve wronged him. Starting in Dance with the Enemy, Logan is drawn into a plot to kidnap America’s Attorney General in Paris, and the series follows Logan across the globe as he tracks down the bad guys whilst coming to terms with betrayal after betrayal – some closer to home than others – and all the time wondering where his life is headed, and whether he can ever truly escape his past, and what he is.
My Review – Dance With The Enemy
Carl Logan is a man who has been trained to take orders and not ask questions but after things go wrong on a recent job he’s no longer the same agent he was. He’s been broken and it’s clear throughout the story that while he’s still good at his job he’s just not as focused as he should be.
From the first big scene involving the kidnapping of the Attorney General Frank Modena I was hooked. The detail had me gripped as I focused on the action.
Logan is sent in to find and retrieve the Attorney General little does he know that the man who broke him is involved somewhere along the line.
What happens next is a great spy thriller where Logan has to put the pieces together and find out what’s truly happening. It’s clear to Logan from the start not everything is clear cut as some would like it to be.. so what is the real truth behind the kidnapping??
I won’t give the game away but the author did throw in some great twists. One i’ll admit i thought was coming but as to how it played out i had no idea.. and wow..it’s a good one.
Development is a big thing for me. Not only do i have to like the characters but i need to see a path for them to grow and Rob Sinclair delivered everything i could have wanted with Logan. You’re given tit bits of info building as the story unfolds and this way of developing the lead character really helped hook me in.
I loved that Logan isn’t perfect..he’s far from it. You know he won’t come out of this without a scratch and it just makes the whole tale all the more gripping.
The supporting characters were pretty well covered too. i loved the way the author managed to again give little bits of info.. just enough at the time but never overdoing it..keeping you just a little in the dark to everyone’s motivations.. as it should be with a spy thriller.
When i reached the end i could easily see why so many people had given great reviews..it’s more than deserved.
This tale is ultimately about revenge. It’s full of action and intrigue. The plot has to be the number 1 thing that stood out for me.. lot’s of different motivations and agendas and i just couldn’t put it down
My rating – 5/5 Stars!
About Rob Sinclair
Rob’s first novel, Dance with the Enemy, was published in June 2014 and is the first in the bestselling Enemy Series following embattled intelligence agent Carl Logan. Rise of the Enemy, the second book in the series, was released in April 2015, with the third book, Hunt for the Enemy, being released in February 2016.
The Enemy series has received widespread critical acclaim with many reviewers and readers having likened Rob’s work to authors at the very top of the genre, including Lee Child and Vince Flynn.
Rob’s latest thriller, the pulsating Dark Fragments, was released by Bloodhound Books on 8th November 2016.
Rob worked for nearly 13 years for a global accounting firm after graduating from The University of Nottingham in 2002, specialising in forensic fraud investigations at both national and international levels. He now writes full time.
Originally from the North East of England, Rob has lived and worked in a number of fast paced cities, including New York, and is now settled in the West Midlands with his wife and young sons.
Rob’s website is www.robsinclairauthor.com
He can be followed on social media at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSinclairAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robsinclairauthor/
Dance With The Enemy – The Enemy Series Book 1
Dance with the Enemy is the explosive first chapter in the highly-acclaimed Enemy series of espionage thrillers featuring Carl Logan.
Rise of the Enemy – The Enemy Series Book 2
Redbrick “Carl Logan may be a battled hardened agent, but Rob Sinclair has managed to find his soul” – bestsellingcrimethrillers.com
Everyone has a breaking point. Carl Logan might just have found his. The Joint Intelligence Agency sends agent Carl Logan on a routine mission to Russia. It should have been simple. But when Logan’s cover is blown, he’s transported into a world of hell he thought he would never see again. Something is different this time, though, and before long doubts begin to surface in Logan’s mind as to why the assignment went so wrong. Logan has never been short of enemies. And sometimes the enemy is closer to home than you think. Could his own people really have set him up?
Hunt For the Enemy – The Enemy Series Book 3
They’ve erased his past. Wiped out his very existence. But Carl Logan isn’t finished yet. On the run in a harsh Russian winter, Logan – once an invaluable asset but now branded a traitor – has been framed for murder. His own firm, the secretive Joint Intelligence Agency, have labeled him a rogue operative after two decades of loyal service. The agency is hunting him down… and they’re not the only ones. But there’s much more at stake than just Logan’s life. One by one, agents and informants from all sides, all allegiances, are dying. And Carl Logan is the only man who can put a stop to it, once and for all.
David's Book Blurg 