Book review : Dead Or Alive - Dean Carson

Dead or Alive by Dean Carson is another book that I managed to pick up at The Works for a bargaintastic £1.

The novel features Eli Varrick, a macho, fearless and ruthless bounty hunter. He reminded me very much of Bruce Willis/John McClane in the Die Hard movies - he's pretty much indestructible, surviving bombs, bullets and knife attacks, and a bit brash, but his heart is in the right place so you can't help but like him. While he is happy to bump off evil lowlifes (if the price is right), he refuses point blank to kill women, children or innocent victims as collateral damage. Well, in theory anyway - as the novel progresses, he has to bend his own rules slightly just to stay alive.

Understandably, in his line of work, Eli has made himself a lot of enemies, so the hunter soon becomes the hunted. Although he often works for governmental agencies and official organisations, his work is completely off the grid, so when he finds himself in a tight spot, he can't count on anybody to help him out. Although his quick wit and even quicker reflexes get him out of many life-endangering situations, he does trip up and make mistakes and bad judgements sometimes, which helps to make him seem more human and likeable.

It's all fairly predictable but it's a high octane page-turner that had me gripped, perfect for some light escapism after some very hectic days at work. 

The front cover says "An Eli Varrick Bounty Hunter Thriller" which suggests that it is part of a series, but this book was published in 2015 and I can't see any mention of any others, neither by Dean Carson nor by the author's real name, Anthony Galvin. That's a shame because he's a character who has a lot of potential.

star rating : 4/5