No Way To Die by Tony Kent

The latest book in a favourite series of mine is on the blog today and I couldn't be happier. No Way To Die is the fourth Dempsey/Devlin book from Tony Kent. Published by Elliott &Thompson, it was released in hardback and on eBook on 18th November. The paperback will be out next April. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my very handsome review copy.

The Blurb

When traces of a radioactive material are found with a body in Key West, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the scene. This is not just an isolated murder - a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees. The threat hits close to home for Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past. Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction across the country.

 

My Review

I'm always excited for a new Tony Kent novel because, having now read three of the four (need to go back for number two), I know I'm in for a treat. 

Joe Dempsey is in the airport waiting to fly to London to see his dearest friends when he finds out about the murder of a patrolman and heads to the crime scene instead. There is a possibility radioactive material has been handled there, hence the interest of Joe's International Security Bureau. But this is just the beginning of a race against time which not only involves the ISB but also several other law enforcement agencies and someone very unexpected from Dempsey's past...

This is a fairly hefty tome coming in at just short of 500 pages but it never feels it. Short, sharp chapters and a whole heap of excitement meant I powered through this in two days. This is a book that hits the ground running and doesn't pause for breath until the end. It's action packed and super tense. 

Joe Dempsey is the hero we all need. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, always calm and ready for absolutely anything. Fear never stops him. We learn a little about him when he was younger in this book, which was welcome, just adds to his character.  There is a personal angle for Joe in this book and I really liked that. And I love Eden Grace, Dempsey's most recent recruit, who we met in the last book. She's pretty awesome. In fact, women feature heavily in this story which you wouldn't necessarily expect from such an action packed thriller. Aside from Grace, O'Rourke was the standout from these. From the remaining cast of characters, which is quite large, Vega broke my heart. 

This is the first book I've read that's tackled the Covid 19 pandemic head on. Others have touched on mask wearing and hand washing but Kent has cleverly incorporated it into the plot without ever making the story about it,  if you know what I mean. I know from the acknowledgements that he started out writing a very different book but the pandemic changed that. But the book he ended up writing is fabulous, focusing on a domestic terror threat, which I'm sure is a constant and very real worry for the US. 

No Way To Die is everything you could want from a thriller. It's explosive, action packed and tense. It's full of shocks and surprises. It pulls you in from the first chapter and keeps you there. You won't notice the time passing, I promise you. Tony Kent has delivered all that and done it with heart. There were moments amidst the chaos and shooting that I found really quite moving. In case you are still wondering, I loved this book! 

The Author

Photo by Neil Spence Photography

Tony Kent is a practising criminal barrister who draws on his legal experience to bring a striking authenticity to his thrillers: Killer Intent, Marked for Death, Power Play and now No Way To Die. Ranked as a ‘leader in his field’ Tony has prosecuted and defended in the most serious trials during his twenty years at the Criminal Bar - specialising in murder, terrorism, corruption, kidnap and organised crime. His case history is filled with nationally reported trials and his practice has brought him into close professional contact with GCHQ, the Security Service and the Ministry of Defence. He has also defended in matters with an international element, involving agencies such as the FBI. Tony also appears as a criminal justice expert on a number of TV shows, including Meet, Marry, Murder (coming soon to Netflix), My Lover, My Killer and Kill Thy Neighbour (both Channel 5). Prior to his legal career Tony represented England as a heavyweight boxer and won a host of national amateur titles. He lives just outside of London with his wife, young son and dog.