The Cabal

Kirk McGarvey is the Grim Reaper! The one absolute about a David Hagberg novel is he has no love of characters-Honest Injun! Except for the protagonist, Kirk McGarvey, and maybe one or two additional characters, Mr. Hagberg kills off his characters faster than a Bavarian lager during Octoberfest! But in a perverse way this adds to the reality of the plot, for many of the characters who die are near and dear to Mr. McGarvey-Hence the Grim Reaper moniker. The Cabal plot is a continuation of Mr. Hagberg's previous two Kirk McGarvey novels, Dance with the Dragon and The Expediter. Both are excellent novels but you do not need to read them to enjoy The Cabal. In essence, Kirk, as the retired DCI of the CIA, is drawn into solving the mystery of a "shadow government" operating within the Federal Government. The murder of his son-in-law, a CIA operative, forces Kirk to go operational once again-And the fun and mayhem begins! A typical Hagberg fast paced read. Good plot, lots of action, an all around entertaining novel. Character development was mediocre as the characters tended to die off rather quickly. I liked Otto, the quirky CIA computer geek, and hope the introduction of "Pete", an attractive tomboy CIA operative, means she will be around awhile since Kirk's wife was killed off. She would add greatly to McGarvey's heavy style. McGarvey is in his 50's now and is beginning to get just a bit long-in-the-tooth for the active CIA operative role he has been playing. It will be very interesting to see where Mr. Hagberg goes with this terrific character as The Cabal ending alludes to another McGarvey tale just around the literary corner. Go get em Kirk but remember you're no spring chicken any longer. All the current crop of action heroes are aging, Mitch Rapp, Gabriel Allon, Harry Bosch, Jack Reacher, John Corey, et al , It will be interesting how much longer the authors can keep these characters viable? Granddads running around chasing bad guys is a wee bit of a stretch. I like David Hagberg and always recommend his novels. Hardbacks are too pricey today so check your local library or wait for the paperback. It is sad that books cost so much today. I thought we would get a break with e-books but that does not appear to be forthcoming. Still, for a fun read Hagberg is the man. I am looking forward to his next novel.

I agree with those that believe that the Kirk McGarvey series by David Hagberg is something special. I have read every one of them and with the exception of Dance With the Dragon, there are just no weak links. This book clearly did not prove to be an exception. It may be the darkest and most pulse pounding of all of them as many bad things happen to the ex-CIA Director between the covers of this novel, but Kirk McGarvey doesn't get nightmares. He gives them to those who mess with him. To try and detail the plot would be a mistake as the reader needs to find his or her own way through the landmines that (literally) await the central character. Tightly written, great action and suspense and an ending which promises more to come. You will begrudge the time that you have to put this book down to do things like eat and sleep.

I've been saying for decades (and by decades I mean 5-6 years, 7 tops) that David Hagberg is fast becoming my favorite Go-To Author when it comes to authentic, pedal-to-the-metal techno-thriller action-adventure writing...let me make it Official now: David Hagberg IS what Tom Clancy USED to be (at least in MY book)...and he did it without adding hundreds of thousands of unnecessary pages of useless fluff to make a book look bigger--if not entirely bloated. Don't get me wrong, Tom--in his heydey--wrote absolutely exceptional thrillers. As he continued to write, I noticed something that continued for a long time: his books got unnecessarily thicker. Sure, they were still good, but they seriously needed editing down (some more than others). Now take the absolute MEAT of what made Tom's books fantastic, and, Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you EVERYTHING written by David Hagberg. I have said for a Loooong time that Kirk McGarvey could kick Jack Ryan, James Bond, Dirk Pitt and Jack Bauer's a$s--and thats on an AVERAGE day...and best of all, Kirk is so much more realistic than pretty much all of them. Sure he's a tough guy, but he's also someone who hates what he has become and yet lives with it and the choices he's made--many which were forced on him, some good, some horrific--and he chooses to move on and do the best he can. It has become increasingly clear since Kirk had to step down as Director of the CIA that his days as an action hero were numbered...but thankfully, this is NOT that day, and 'The Cabal' is NOT that book. In events previously set in motion over the last couple of books (which you really ought to read if you want to get the full potential for how awesome this book truly is), we begin the story with Kirks son-in-law, Todd, meeting with a journalist who has some VERY interesting--not to mention explosive (literally) information on a shadow group of government officials...before we know it, Todd, a CIA Agent himself, is dead--and he isn't the first--or the last. The body count begins to mount--and boy does it. Kirk has moved heaven & earth trying to bury his past and move on with his life and family...only to be drawn, sometimes kicking and screaming back into the world of spies and assassins. The difference this time is that his beautiful daughters' husband has been killed and SOMEONE'S GONNA PAY. Is there really ever ANY doubt that those responsible will receive justice McGarvey-Style? Nope. Finding out all the details of the who and the why along the way certainly make this yet ANOTHER Can't-Put-Down adventure delivered by easily one of the best action authors alive. For those of you unfamiliar with David Hagberg and are itchin' for a techno-thriller that has all the Guts of Tom Clancy in his Prime, but without all the useless pages of drivel, I introduce you to his successor...GET TO KNOW Kirk...and the sooner the better, too. Oh, and do yourself a favor and start at the beginning (if you can, anyway--finding 'Without Honor' is