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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Review: Blood Moon Rising by Mark Dawson

Continuing her quest for vengeance, Beatrix is now after Duffy who is ensconced in Iraq with some other mercenaries and working for a company called “Manage Risk” (clearly meant to be like Blackwater.) Control has gone into hiding and Michael Pope is now the new leader of Group Fifteen. He is surreptitiously helping Beatrix with her search as Britain’s interests in the oil fields just happen to coincide with Beatrix’s plans.

The book is a competent page turner, but I’ve downgraded it a little for some obvious miscues on the part of the author, or, perhaps inadequate proofing. In one situation, Beatrix’s helper uses the thunder and downpour of a rainstorm to cover two sniper shots, yet moments later Beatrix remarks about all the dust from gate she has just knocked down with her car. You can’t have both a downpour and dust, even in Iraq. Another obvious one is when she dials a phone number she has committed to memory yet not a few pages later calls “the only number” she has in her memory and guess what; it’s not the same one. She’s also in the final stages of cancer, often in extreme pain, yet manages to pull off stunts that would test someone in the prime of health. Finally, here’s a tall, striking, blonde woman, in a Muslim country, using only a Hijab to hide her blonde hair and manages to walk around ignored. And what else? A long dress? Pantsuit? Skin color issues? Can’t see her running around wiping out the bad guys in Arab garb and in western clothes she would stand out worse than the proverbial sore thumb. My crap detector was screaming for mercy.

As I have noted earlier, the books are all in sequence and should be read in order. A good action story, but this one had too many holes.

P.S. I saw a Blood Moon last time it came around and have to admit it’s spectacular.

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