End Game – Brilliant Ending to the Trilogy

Matt Johnson has created a brilliant trilogy, with his former SAS officer, now Police Inspector, Robert Finlay. I wish, hope that he changes his mind and turns this into a series of Finlay thrillers, especially as the series ends in the early noughties.

Robert Finlay is called out to an incident at Kentish Town Police Station, where a police officer and former soldier has taken a fellow officer hostage in the toilets of the station. It has been years since he took a hostage negotiation course and is out of practice. Some how he manages to talk the officer down even though the Professional Standards team wanted to go in all guns blazing.

The local commander warns him that Mellor the head of Professional Standards is out to get him any way he can. That he is not a man to be crossed and certainly does hold grudges. One of the reasons why he could never be rotated back in to mainstream policing teams. When one of his friends and colleague is arrested for murder he once again crosses swords with Mellor, who wants to suspend but cannot.

At the same time, he is reporting to his Mi5 handler that Kevin Jones’ house has been professionally bugged and that he may be being set up by outside powers. When Jones’ escapes from the magistrate’s courts, Finlay is suspended from duties.

As Finlay tries to help Jones out the world and his enemies close in on them both and are facing certain death. Will they survive to live another day, especially as Finlay can see that Jones is being set up to take an almighty fall.

All Finlay and Jones can hope is that Mi5, and their former colleagues in the SAS can work out what is happening to them and where they are before bullets are planted in the pair of them. Will Finlay see his children again and his wife Jenny, all he can do is hope and pray that they are going to be fine.

This Robert Finlay series is nothing but brilliance, written by a master of his subject, through experience and knowledge. He delivers fast moving beautifully written thrillers that keep you gripped to the edge of your seat. Simply stunning and such a shame it ends here. ( )

Robert Finlay believes that he has left his military days behind him and it is now time to kick back and enjoy life as a detective working in London. That dream is quickly shattered as a series of odd incidents start happening around him. First an author and his agent go missing just when their about to publish a new book that will shock the world about the Muslim underground efforts growing in the Middle East. This literary work brings back memories of another document that Finlay once held in his hands containing the same secrets. This document also threatened his life and those of his fellow soldiers who were present for the discovery, as over the course of the years many of the men involved have turned up dead.

Finlay has managed to maintain a close friendship with one of those soldiers who was present, Kevin Jones. The two have experienced a lifetime of events together, including fighting off threats against their life. It now seems that Jones has landed himself in a world of trouble with accusations swirling around him for crimes Finlay does not believe he could have ever committed. With the aide of an MI5 operative, Toni Fellowes, Finlay will delve deep in to the heart of the UK's security services to uncover the truth behind the document that has haunted his past and the crimes Jones is being accused of. What exactly does this document say and who is hunting those who have been exposed to it?

END GAME is the riveting conclusion to Matt Johnson's Finlay trilogy. While I have not had the pleasure of reading it's predecessors, WICKED GAME and DEADLY GAME, I can assure you I will be placing an order very soon to get my hands on them! Robert Finlay is the main character in this novel. Finlay is a captivating man with an immense history in his military service that the reader sees come back to influence his current life. Johnson brings the heart of Finlay and the passion that drives him to light through the actions he takes, be it his hostage negotiating techniques, his concern for fellow veterans, or the way he interacts with his family. It becomes clear very quickly that Finlay is a man of many dimensions with a deep core of goodness that drives him to fight for what is right and protect his country. END GAME is equal parts mystery, intrigue, heart, and soul. This novel is perfect for readers looking for a unique take on crime fiction that blends a rarely seen mix of military and government activities with the life of a detective to create a heart pounding story.

Thank you so much to Orenda Books and Matt Johnson for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my review. Please be sure to check out the rest of the blogs showcasing this book on it's blog tour! ( )