Final Second by John Ryder

Today I'm helping to close off the #BooksOnTour blog tour for Final Second by John Ryder and I'm delighted to share my review below. Huge thanks to Noelle Holten at Bookoutre for my invitation and my review copy which I received via Netgalley. 

The Blurb:

Sometimes it takes a stranger to find a killer…

In a small farming town in rural Wisconsin—where generations of families have lived in peace for decades—no one expects trouble to come calling.

But then a farmer’s beautiful young wife is found brutally murdered, with a chilling calling card that suggests she’s just the first victim of a serial killer. And the FBI elect not to send one of their own. Instead they send a stranger to town—former Royal Marine turned mercenary, Grant Fletcher. And they’re giving him no choice. Find the killer. Because we know what you’ve done.

With the threat of the executioner’s chair hanging over him, Fletcher finds himself in an impossible situation—and a race against time. Catch a murderer whose killings are escalating with every day that passes. Or face certain death…

Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne and David Baldacci’s Amos Decker will love the Grant Fletcher series.

Final Second was published by Bookoutre on 5th October 2020 and you can buy it here.

My Review:

This is the second outing for Grant Fletcher, following on from First Shot. You don't need to have read the first book to enjoy Final Second as anything you need to know that happened previously is explained, but done with a light touch. You should read First Shot, though, because it's ace. 

The best friend of FBI Special Agent Zoey Quadrando is murdered. Tied up with her own case and unable to investigate Jane's death herself she asks ex Royal Marine Grant Fletcher to look into it for her. He knows that he is being tested, but doesn't know by whom so he heads off to Wisconsin troubled by the request but determined to do right by Quadrado, who he met on a previous case.  Medford is a small town with a close knit community who are all shocked by the violence that has visited their neighbourhood. But Jane's death is just the beginning ... 

I liked Grant Fletcher very much. He is a caring, decent man still mourning his wife many years after her death. He will always do the right thing until he has to do the wrong thing. And his fighting and survival skills are well honed from his years in the Marines. But he is not a thug, far from it. He's beautifully written, a three dimensional, well rounded character. He and Quadrado, who is young and ambitious, make a good team. 

The book is full of twists and turns, red herrings and dead ends. It's full of action with tension rising as the story progresses. Ryder has clearly done a ton of research into farming and milking processes and there are also impressively detailed fight scenes. 

The storyline easily held my attention and kept me turning the pages (or in this case swiping right!) and I read it in just a few hours as I was so desperate to find out what happened next. The denouement was tense, violent  and bloody. And throughout there is a shadowy threat hanging over our protagonists which keeps everything interesting. 

A brilliantly written, exciting story full of thrills and spills with two beautifully drawn, engaging protagonists, Fletcher particularly, and a cast of colourful characters.  I loved it and look forward to reading more from Ryder.  

The Author:

John Ryder is a former farmworker and joiner. He’s turned his hand to many skills to put food on the table and clothes on his back. A life-long bibliophile, he eventually summoned the courage to try writing himself, and his Grant Fletcher novels have drawn inspiration from authors such as Lee Child, Tom Cain, Zoe Sharp and Matt Hilton. When it comes to future novels, he says he has more ideas than time to write them.

When not writing, John enjoys spending time with his son, reading and socialising with friends. A fanatic supporter of his local football team, he can often be found shouting encouragement to men much younger and fitter than he is.

You can find him on Facebook and Twitter.