I’m sure he would have turned it down if he had known how complex the task was, and how his involvement could lead to his death and the death of Donno’s whole family. Born in Portsmouth and raised in rural France, Ant set his sights on a career in the armed forces and didn't stop striving until he achieved his goal. A mum who’s son served with Mallory, he flies across the globe to help her other son who is dire need of help. You take Lee Childs character, Jack Reacher, and straight away, you are Reacher, every punch, kick or headbutt dished out, your the one doing it and feeling it.

What I liked the most about this book was that this was not the typical thriller where some tragedy the hero could do nothing to avoid happened and that is used as a reason for him be some masculine fantasy of what a "real man" is supposed to be.Faced with being out of the military after a raid went sideways, he reluctantly agrees to help the mum of one of his injured comrades. It's about time that we have a UK version of Reacher, Mallory can be, I want him to be, hopefully we get that as the character grows in the next book. Perhaps it's redemption, perhaps he's looking for revenge on the world, but suddenly Mallory has a purpose, and nothing and no one is going to stand in his way.

A frightening tale of struggling in extreme situations where only your wits and your military training can keep you safe. What follows is sequence of exciting twists and turns with Mallory travelling to SA to look for Scott and ending up being chased by a group of ex military men on a mission. It's dark, gritty and nail-biting with high stakes and increasingly palpable suspense that cannot fail to give you palpitations. Readers who prefer action rather than brain teasers and superheroes who talk with their fists rather than their cognitive abilities will definitely enjoy this novel. Yes it’s very generic, the mentally unstable ex-soldier wanting to make amends for his platoon dying in battle, blah blah.

And so ensues a deeply dangerous and heart-pounding journey across the globe, and, as always, once Mallory has committed himself to a situation there is no going back in his mind. The hero of the story, Mallory, ex special forces, is employed to travel to South Africa, to discover the whereabouts of the brother of his comatose army friend who has disappeared. Descriptive moments, no doubt inspired in part by Middleton’s own life, are life like, on point and transports your mind well. Middleton’s first foray into fiction is a decent action thriller, ticked all the right boxes for me. This is a compulsive, exciting and action-packed international action-adventure thriller with never a dull moment and a riveting, superbly woven plot that is all about vengeance and redemption.

I read through it in a couple of evenings and from start to finish it kept me thoroughly entertained. One time when he is visiting, Donno's mum approaches Mallory and she tells him that she is worried about the safety of her son, not Donno, her other son Scott. This book was available on Pigeonhole, and so I thought I’d give it a go, despite not being a fan of the author. It’s here: the landmark debut thriller from superstar Ant Middleton, million-selling, number one Sunday Times author of First Man In and Mental Fitness and star of SAS: Who Dares Wins. I started this book without any expectations but was pleasantly surprised by the beginning: I liked Mallory a lot more than I expected to like a thriller hero.

This is not a genre I would normally read, however it was offered on pigeonhole, and the author is from my city, so I couldn't resist it.

Pacey, action packed and backed up by a great mystery and characters I really got behind, this was a fab debut and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Mallory in the future. Was also pleased to see that Ant did not fall into the male author trap of over-sexualising the female characters (e. Ant Middleton’s previous self-help books have mostly been self-congratulatory exercises in money-making, and now this book is his first foray into novel writing. Perhaps it’s redemption, perhaps he’s looking for revenge on the world, but suddenly Mallory has a purpose, and nothing and no one is going to stand in his way.ANT MIDDLETON HAS RELEASED FIVE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL BOOKS INCLUDING OFFICIAL SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERS FIRST MAN IN, THE FEAR BUBBLE, ZERO NEGATIVITY, AND MENTAL FITNESS. Is a story about ex special forces soldier Mallory and how he suffers from a trauma from his last mission where some of his fellow soldiers where injured and killed. Mallory found himself in a position where he had to do an impossibly difficult decision and has to live with the consequences. Then Donno's mother asks him for help: her other son, Scott, has gone missing in South Africa, and she wants Mallory to find him. After a mission to grab a High Value Target (hvt) goes wrong, Mallory consumed by guilt, is drifting through life with no purpose.