Bodyguard of Lies

I bought this directly from Bob at the Las Vegas Writer's Conference in April. I've been a fan of his Area 51 series, right until the last book when he turned it into a vampire thing. I like his writing style and figured this one would be a sure bet. I was not disappointed. From start to finish, it is a good ride. I liked the two women, even though their pasts were a little murky and took a while to draw out. Neely's was a little better defined than her companion, Hannah. It seemed kind of weird how well Hannah adapted to their situation, especially for being a housewife. Yeah, maybe it wasn't all that realistic, but it didn't bog me down and I saw why at the end. I actually liked the ending, even if it seems like a setup. At least the characters didn't die, as in another book I recently reviewed. The only thing that bothered me was when he mixed points of view within scenes. He kept jumping from Neely to Hanna's head, sometimes within a paragraph, and that kind of threw me off a little. It might not have fifteen years ago, but after being intensely indoctrinated into the world of writing, this problem really jumps out at me. However, that is a trivial thing and not enough to dock a star. This is a good summer read and I highly recommend it.

If I were to recommend this book to anyone, I would do so with the caveat: Give the book a chance to get rolling. It takes about 50 pages for the book to really hit stride. Until that point, the reader is mostly treated to a short action scene at the beginning of the book, followed by many pages of character development. Now, character development is not a bad thing. In fact, I would say that Mr. Doherty does an excellent job of creating interesting characters that have depth in this story. However, in the past, Doherty has used action scenes as vehicles to show character detail. This time around he tends to use more static scenes that consist mostly of dialogue or mundane interactions with the surrounding environment. Is this bad? Nope, not at all. It's just not what I'd expect going into a Doherty book. Keep in mind that this formula only applies to the first 50 pages. Around page 50, the story explodes. The characters begin to fire on all cylinders, action scenes help move the story forward, and story twists begin to make themselves apparent. At this point, I was locked into the story and found it very difficult to put down. This was the kind of storytelling I expected from Robert Doherty and I'm pleased to say it's his best effort yet. Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, and without reservation. Just give the book a chance to get rolling.

If you enjoy government/espionage-style thrillers, this is a great pick. It reads very easily but has enough twists and turns to keep your mind spinning. You'll be up all night to find out how it ends!

See storyline above. I thought this was a fantastic thriller. There is suspense and action to please all thriller fans. Doherty creates a relentless story with two very likeable protagonists. In fact I hope he somehow writes a series featuring 'The Cellar'. Highly recommended.