SHORT & SWEET REVIEW: AMERICAN BLOOD BY BEN SANDERS

Note, the format of my Short and Sweet reviews differs in that they simply comprise the book blurb and a short response (hence, the short and sweet).

A front cover endorsement recommending this to fans of Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne piqued my interest, and a review from Carol at Reading, Writing and Riesling piqued it further. I do enjoy reading thrillers, so these two things made sure I put Ben Sanders’ debut American Blood on my reading list. Was it a good move? Absolutely. Here’s the blurb:

A former undercover cop now in witness protection finds himself pulled into the search for a missing woman. An explosive, unputdownable work of suspense from a fresh voice in crime fiction.

After a botched undercover operation, ex-NYPD officer Marshall Grade is living in witness protection in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Marshall’s instructions are to keep a low profile: the mob wants him dead, and a contract killer known as the Dallas Man has been hired to track him down. Racked with guilt over wrongs committed during his undercover work, and seeking atonement, Marshall investigates the disappearance of a local woman named Alyce Ray.

Members of a drug ring seem to hold clues to Ray’s whereabouts, but hunting traffickers is no quiet task. Word of Marshall’s efforts spreads, and soon the worst elements of his former life, including the Dallas Man, are coming for him.

Written by a rising New Zealand star who has been described as ‘first rate’, this American debut drops a Jack Reacher-like hero into the landscape of No Country for Old Men. With film rights sold to Warner Bros, and Bradley Cooper attached to play tortured hero Marshall Grade, American Blood is sure to follow in their award-winning, blockbuster success.