One is Evil
A Bobby Greco Thriller Book 1
by Jeff Buick
A wealthy and influential woman whose life is about to be torn apart has only one hope – a disgraced homicide cop. Bobby Greco, set up by dirty cops and thrown off the Orlando force, takes a job investigating insurance fraud. His involvement in a high profile case means no one around him is safe – not even his ex-wife and kids.
Bobby uncovers a secret that threatens someone at the top of the American political system, and as they scramble to protect the country from the fallout, the real endgame becomes clear. Dangerous military technology is at risk of getting into the wrong hands.From the halls of power in Washington DC to the frozen wastelands of Siberia, the chase is on – and the clock is ticking.
This is Book One in the Bobby Greco thriller series, stay tuned for more wild adventures in Bobby's life.
Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐
One is Evil is a mix of mystery, procedural, crime drama, international intrigue, and political thriller. Jeff Buick knows his stuff when it comes to creating an atmosphere, a sense of dread, and he utilizes that with this introduction to Bobby Greco. This one does have a sinister tone through most of the story along with a steadily rising tension that leads to an edge of your seat sequence of action scenes. Buick also has a knack for well-timed wit to break the tension when needed.
Our main character is, of course, Bobby Greco, but we don’t meet him at first. Once we do, it’s hard not to like this ex police detective. He’s a bit jaded, rightfully so, but he’s also come to grips with life as he knows it, and he’s finding his way back up after being knocked down. We’re also treated to a handful of secondary characters who pop in and out throughout the story as it gains steam. Some of them are as likable as Bobby, and some, not so much. When it comes to characters, I have to say that Buick does give us some well-drawn, colorful characters. Case in point: Pat. You just can not help but love Pat. He’s an absolute hoot and just loads of fun to read.
All of that should’ve come together for an exciting read, and I suppose it is exciting if not predictable at times. It’s also farfetched at best. The more I read, the more outrageous this story became. Yes, this is fiction, and it’s a combination of several mystery and thriller tropes, so I should and do expect a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to be required. However, this one takes suspension of disbelief to a whole new level. There are just too many things here that I couldn’t swallow, too many things that would have to happen in perfect order for any of this to be remotely possible – and that’s just bad guys’ story. When you factor in the one thing that started Bobby down the road to danger and intrigue, and another character’s part in it all, a character who just so happens to have all the right skills and contacts to move things along, it’s just too much.
We also have the ever-growing ties to people in high places. Bobby actually mentions the whole six degrees of separation thing at one point in the story, and that seems to be a theme here. And that would be okay except with each new revelation, this story becomes more and more convoluted. And that just leads back to my problem with stretching the believability scale.
Nevertheless, this fast-paced story did hold my interest. I liked Bobby, and convoluted or not, believable or not, I wanted to see how it would all play out. The problem is this case is so outlandish, so completely over the top, I can’t imagine what the focus of the next Bobby Greco thriller would be.
❃❃ARC provided by Reedsy Discovery and the author.
One is Evil is a mix of mystery, procedural, crime drama, international intrigue, and political thriller. Jeff Buick knows his stuff when it comes to creating an atmosphere, a sense of dread, and he utilizes that with this introduction to Bobby Greco. This one does have a sinister tone through most of the story along with a steadily rising tension that leads to an edge of your seat sequence of action scenes. Buick also has a knack for well-timed wit to break the tension when needed.
Our main character is, of course, Bobby Greco, but we don’t meet him at first. Once we do, it’s hard not to like this ex police detective. He’s a bit jaded, rightfully so, but he’s also come to grips with life as he knows it, and he’s finding his way back up after being knocked down. We’re also treated to a handful of secondary characters who pop in and out throughout the story as it gains steam. Some of them are as likable as Bobby, and some, not so much. When it comes to characters, I have to say that Buick does give us some well-drawn, colorful characters. Case in point: Pat. You just can not help but love Pat. He’s an absolute hoot and just loads of fun to read.
All of that should’ve come together for an exciting read, and I suppose it is exciting if not predictable at times. It’s also farfetched at best. The more I read, the more outrageous this story became. Yes, this is fiction, and it’s a combination of several mystery and thriller tropes, so I should and do expect a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to be required. However, this one takes suspension of disbelief to a whole new level. There are just too many things here that I couldn’t swallow, too many things that would have to happen in perfect order for any of this to be remotely possible – and that’s just bad guys’ story. When you factor in the one thing that started Bobby down the road to danger and intrigue, and another character’s part in it all, a character who just so happens to have all the right skills and contacts to move things along, it’s just too much.
We also have the ever-growing ties to people in high places. Bobby actually mentions the whole six degrees of separation thing at one point in the story, and that seems to be a theme here. And that would be okay except with each new revelation, this story becomes more and more convoluted. And that just leads back to my problem with stretching the believability scale.
Nevertheless, this fast-paced story did hold my interest. I liked Bobby, and convoluted or not, believable or not, I wanted to see how it would all play out. The problem is this case is so outlandish, so completely over the top, I can’t imagine what the focus of the next Bobby Greco thriller would be.
❃❃ARC provided by Reedsy Discovery and the author.
No comments:
Post a Comment