Move over, Reacher. There’s a new hero in town.
Blurb: Desmond Aloysius Limerick (“Dez” to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back. Now retired from his previous life, Dez is just a bloke with a winning smile, a bass guitar, and bullet wounds that paint a road map of past lives.
Jaleh Swann, a business journalist hot on the trail of an auditor who was mugged and killed, lands in the hospital just one day after her Portland apartment is ransacked. When Jaleh’s sister, Raziah, reaches out to an old friend for help, Dez has no choice but to answer. The Swann sisters have been pulled into a dizzying web of cover-ups and danger. At the center lies an insidious Oregon-based tech corporation, Clockjack, which has enough money and hired guns to silence just about anyone―including this rag-tag trio. Luckily, Dez’s speciality is not just to open doors, but keep them open―and protect those working to expose Clockjack’s secrets.
More stands in the way of the truth than just one corporation. When hired thugs come to the finish the job and attack the Swann sisters at the hospital, Dez does what he does best. Now, the two captured men (and the corpse Dez left behind) attract the attention of not just Clockjack, but of the Portland police, the D.E.A, and the U.S. Marshalls. Dez and the Swann sisters are on the run from powers beyond their control and means. Outnumbered, under resourced and outgunned, Dez must use all his skills to keep his friends safe and stand up to corporate conniving. After all, the one thing Clockjack didn’t count on? A good man with a simple job to do.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Bookshop.org (support your local bookstore)
With this review, I’m finally caught up with all of my backlog. After this, I’ll actually be doing the smart thing: reviewing immediately after reading (listening). 😱 I would say that I’ve saved the best for last but I have been on a run of very good books so we’ll say that Deadlock was the best thriller in the bunch.
And now for an admission of brain fartism. I bought Gatekeeper, the first book in the series, to read before I listened to Deadlock. Makes sense, right? Did I do it? Nope. More sticky notes (or an organized lifestyle) are needed. But I will read Gatekeeper at the first lull in my schedule. You can bet on it!
Now if you love Jack Reacher but wish he had more personality, let me introduce you to Dez (Desmond Aloysius) Limerick. Dez was once a gatekeeper in an elite British military organization. Now he’s retired, plays bass as often as he can, and helps out new friends. He’s a good person to be friends with but probably not the best to make an enemy of.
In Deadlock, Dez comes to the aid of Raziah Swann, a singer/songwriter, he’s befriended while playing music with her. Raziah’s sister, Jaleh, a journalist has been attacked. Why? She doesn’t know. It couldn’t possibly be the innocuous stories that she works on. But maybe there’s a connection to the death of fellow journalist and friend who was working on a story about the powerful Clockjack corporation.
As Dez gets involved, there is murder. There is mayhem. There is Dez being a smartass, fighting off armies of men, and being charming and deadly, finding friends along the way as well as a few enemies. For readers who enjoy thrillers, this was ten hours of satisfying listening adventure.
Deadlock ends with a tad of a cliffhanger, just perfect to get you salivating for the next installment.
It took me a bit to get accustomed to John Keating’s narration but when I got used to his manner, the hours sped past.
Suffice to say, I’m hooked and looking forward to more Dez Limerick in my life.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for sending me a copy.
