Somehow I've managed to be utterly oblivious to the existence of this entire series and picked this up on a whim. Quite how there's a preceding 24 I'm not sure, but it does explain a few references to prior events that I'd assumed were only for colour, but presumably featured in various episodes.

Ben Hope is an ex-military special forces soldier who's now running his own kidnap and rescue business with a few contacts. This job sends him out to australia where one of his co-worker's brother has gone missing. {erhaps just missing - aus is a big place as the author reminds us many times - but it doesn't feel right to Ben so he cancels his family plans and heads over.

The pacing was actually pretty good for a book 25 deep into the series, it's bound to have got a bit repetitive but
seemed ok. It's a little lite compared to say Jack Reacher and also predictable, but not terribly badly done. I'm never a fan of cutting away to the bad guy's point of view unless it's to make them a relatable character, and so Wiley is too stereo-typical the evil developer. The police were actually reasonably cast, and all parties acted to avoid contact with them, which is better than many in the genre. A lot of australian colour seemed forced and artificial - but I've never been there so can't really compare.

Excessive smoking (especially for a special forces guy) and insufficient crocs. Perhaps I'd try the early ones to see whether there is innovation and spark that is slightly missing from this one. ( )

Brilliant book with Ben Hope at his best in Australia. ( )