Freefall by Adam Hamdy @adamhamdy @headlinepg

Source: Netgalley

Publication: Headline 2 Nov. 2017

JOHN WALLACE IS A TARGET

Hiding off-grid after exposing the shadowy Pendulum conspiracy, Wallace is horrified to discover he is still marked for death.

 THERE ARE ONLY TWO PEOPLE HE CAN TRUST

DI Patrick Bailey is still reeling from the murder investigation that nearly cost him his life.

FBI Agent Christine Ash is hunting a serial killer with a link to an unfinished case

HE MUST FIND THE TRUTH

The death of a London journalist triggers an investigation that brings them back together, hurling them into the path of an unknown enemy.

BEFORE THE KILLER FINDS HIM

Hunted across the world, they are plunged into a nightmare deadlier than they could have ever imagined.

This book is Part 2 of a three part trilogy – the first book being Pendulum. If you want to read this fast paced, all-action trilogy, then you must start with Pendulum.

As we join Freefall, eight months after confronting the serial killer Pendulum, photo-journalist John Wallace is losing himself in a dangerous tribal war in Afghanistan in an  attempt to get over the loss of his love, Connie following his part in the Pendulum affair. But an attempt on his life and those of his Afghani travelling companions suggests he may still be a target. Though unsure how much he wants to resist death, Wallace is horrified by the killing around him and in tracking down the killers, he discovers a link to his nemesis, Pendulum.

The link is the missing piece of a puzzle that has tormented FBI Agent Christine Ash ever since they confronted Pendulum, but with the FBI now considering the case as closed, she has been unable to get any further. Wallace’s proof offers a break in the case, but it is a break that exposes them to terrible danger and throws both of them headlong into a global conspiracy that will have devastating repercussions.

These two protagonists are both severely damaged from their first encounter with Max Byrne /Pendulum as is our third protagonist, Detective Patrick Bailey.  Bailey has turned to drink to cope with impact of his shooting in the last Pendulum encounter. Christine Ash is haunted by a deeply traumatic childhood in a cult that has made trust difficult for her and has caused her personality to become quite fragile under her outwardly fierce countenance.

For Bailey, the re-entry starts with the supposed suicide of a mother and journlist in London. It is the start of an investigation that will throw him straight back into the clutches of his darkest enemies and force him once again to rely on both his wits and his friends to stay in front of the game.

Together these three embark on the second stage of their white knuckle, roller-coaster ride that is the Freefall conspiracy.

This is a suspense-filled thriller that is relentless in its action and provides surprise after surprise as our protagonists have to cope with attacks and onslaughts that lead to more and more intense, tension fuelled moments and an avalanche of death and destruction.

It is, at times, hard to believe all that these characters have to go through and a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is inevitable, just as it is in a Bond film, which is what Freefall reminded me of.

Hamdy never lets up on the action or the pressure on his characters and Freefall has no fairytale ending as the Freefall conspiracy seeks to harness technology for its own dominant purposes.

In fact, the conclusion of this book leaves us wondering quite what is going to happen next – I’m just hoping that it will not be too long before I find out!

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About Adam Hamdy