His name is Trevor Byrne, special agent for an unnamed government agency. He’s also an amalgam of some of the greatest aggressors and spies out there. Imagine combining a healthy dose of Sam Durrell, a dash of Remo Williams, some Nick Carter and, of course, a smidge of James Bond. John E. Bailor shows these influences in his debut novel DEATH DEALT THE HAND, and for this type of story, that’s a good thing.
From that character description, you can guess what kind of book this is: a great, postmodern version of the pulps. We meet Trevor in the middle of a contract job: in the guise of a delivery man to dispose of a big-time embezzler. Right from the point the first bullet is shot, you know what to expect from the rest of book: just a total balls-out action-adventure.
To say that the body count starts to pile up is an understatement. But we also see Trevor’s sensitive side (how many other super-spy types have a pet rabbit named Cadbury?). As soon as this mission ends, Trevor is called upon to investigate the DNAY genetic lab, which seems to have gotten FDA approval with no resistance, and too fast for certain government agencies.
Trevor first goes to the source: a doctor at the FDA who signed off so quickly. Deadly results are the outcome after Trevor leaves, which is nothing compared to what will be waiting for him later that night. There is a truly an evil bad guy in the form of Karl Joseph, the DNAY CEO – a man with a few issues. To really go into this character would ruin some of the great surprises. But I’ll take a guess that he probably had a poster of Oliver Cromwell on his wall as a youth.
All this builds up to the point of his great plan, which could easily destroy a vast amount of the earth’s population. Bailor never lets up on the action, fully delivering on all counts, like all the DESTROYER novels that I’m guessing Bailor must have read. There is only one hiccup: Bailor alludes to a mysterious organization that has ties to Joseph, but is never explained. But that’s probably the only issue I had with the story. Bailor has crafted a fine debut that leaves us with possibilities of sequels. –Bruce Grossman
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
That may be good, but that awful cover would keep me from ever picking it up. I wish more independent publishers realized just how valuable professional design really is.
I agree with admin. That cover would never draw me in, it screams vanity project. Photoshop is not a cure-all. However, I’ll keep your recommendation in mind.
Thanks for the great review and, yes, I did read just about every Destroyer novel! I even had a short Destroyer story included in the Destroyer World: New Blood anthology Warren Murphy published.
For the record, Trevor will encounter that mysterious organization again, but probably not until the third novel. I didn’t want to lose the focus on this adventure so I saved that for later.
Sorry to hear some of the posting comments about the front cover. I thought the designer did a nice job with it and I’ve heard female readers thought Trevor was hot.
Thanks for reading the review and considering my book.
Best wishes,
John E. Bailor