Straight Shot: A Tom Keeler Thriller: Book 1

About things involving the military, please learn the difference between 'ordinance' and 'ordnance'. Spell check is NOT your friend.Ah yes, the lib fantasy of routine torture by U.S. military of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. You really had to go there?Except for the above egregious violations of definition and reality, the book was relatively okay. Because of the above it rates no better than three stars and should be one star. Some calumnies are not forgivable.

This reader did not finish the book. Only made it to 25%. Gave up because nothing happened. Waiting for some action. A shame. Nothing happened. This is how the author writes. Short choppy sentences. Sometimes incomplete. Then some longer passage of strained prose with poor metaphors that seem to be on the verge of becoming interesting but never quite work and then you realize you’ve read a paragraph of meaningless words that don’t add anything to the story. Probably paid by the word?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Action adventure is my genre of choice for entertainment, and this fit the bill. The action was intense and a little over the top,but, typical of this type of book. It is a satisfying balance of action ,suspense, and mystery with a dash of romance. People with delicate sensibilities who do not like to see the bad guys get their " just rewards" may want to skip this. For the rest of us I say "heck yeah!".

His sex appeal is over done and there are pieces that do not fit. Otherwise, a thriller not requiring too much thinking.Read it and promptly forget it.

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the hero, the writing style and the story. It was nice to have an action thriller located someplace other than the Middle East. It had a little bit of everything, action, romance and suspense. It was a little too gory sometimes, but that did not keep me from enjoying the book. In fact, I went on to read the novella "Switch Back" and enjoyed that also. Looking forward to the next book.

Straight Shot is the first book about Tom Keeler by Jack Lively and what a great book it is. I am really glad I found this for me new author. Keeler is just out of the military and is travelling through France when he comes to the town where his mother was born. In search for relatives he finds murder and mayhem and trafficking. Lots of action and betrayal in this book. Did he find some relatives? Well read the book and find out... Highly recommended.

I don't know much about this author, Jack Lively, but I can say he's a hell of a writer. If you enjoy action, suspense, romance, twist and turns, oh and did I mention "Action, " then this is the writer for you. Can't wait to read the others in this series and then more of this author's works. Excellent read and written very well and surprisingly found no grammatical errors. Jack Lively I'm a fan.

It's always a shame when an author comes up with a good story and a good lead character and then only writes two books. I've read both of the time keeler books in they're quite interesting. The problem is there's only two of them. And he hasn't written anything in Tom Keller since those two. Could have been a good series but got stopped short period

I'll start by saying that I'm a pretty avid reader, but I often find that I start books and, unless they hook me pretty quickly, I don't finish them. This was not one of those books. This book got me from the very start, and didn't let go until the end (and then it stuck with me, and left me really looking forward to the next one)It would be easy to liken Tom Keeler to Reacher. I do not doubt that some reviews will do this. But honestly, if they do, they are selling Tom Keeler, and Jack Lively, short. For all that I love Reacher, Keeler seems a more well realised character. His skill set seems more plausible, his social skills more well rounded.The pacing of this book is excellent, the writing is engaging, there is time to get to know the characters but when the action kicks in it is frenetic and well detailed and believable. I can't speak highly enough of Jack Lively's writing. I got this book for free on Kindle but, having read it, I went back and paid for it, and for the other books in the series, because I absolutely think they are worth it.

Despite the fact that this is written in the first person which I do not normally read and contains American spelling and terms, I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced romp through the French countryside dealing with a topical issue dynamically. If you like Jack Reacher you will love this . Our hero is newly retired unlike Reacher and his creator who are getting past it. The action sequences are well described and realistic and for once our action man remembers to pick up weapons and spare rounds. The romance is tastefully done. Having lived en France the culture is well described and the town and countryside has a feel of realism. My only gripe is that whilst the book is in American -English the conversation between characters is in French allegedly and our hero seems to be totally fluent although not a French National or having lived there. Nevertheless highly recommended and will be purchasing the next in the series . No doubt as his adventures in Europe continue his linguist skills will come in handy.

I read loads of thrillers as well as stacks of sci-fi, plus I'm partial to King and Koontz. I half expected this to be another version of Jack Reacher because of the basic history of Tom Keeler. But Jack Lively has started to flesh his character out nicely. The punchy, brief prose was a little jarring at first and I wondered if it might annoy me too much but I settled into the authors style quickly and I actually very much enjoyed the story, presented with excitement and without being too wordy or bloated. Really enjoyed the read and I'm looking forward to more. Cheers.

.... you're going to like Tom Keeler. A Lot.Despite the fairly formulaic good guy, irresistible to woman, defeats bad guys with extreme prejudice story line, Straight Shot delivers an easy page-turner with fast paced action, swift retribution and for once, a pleasant rural setting in a sleepy French backwater.Likeable characters on the side of good, definitive "baddies" and a moral but not overpowering message all make for a good read. Just right for a beach read when we can but in the meantime, it still makes a better than average bedtime story!

This story is action packed, has a decent plot and is always engaging with interesting characters. The body count is high, and the main character is formidable. Tom Keeler is ex special forces, now with time on his hands and seeking to find out more about his mother's early life in France. Some locals attempt to assassinate him in a case of mistaken identity - which does not end well for them. Ultimately the tale is not particularly original or especially remarkable but I found that I was compelled to read on with little regard for lack of sleep. Devotees of Lee Child, Mark Dawson and the like might well find plenty to like here. Caught up in the story I was minded to give at least 4 stars, however at the end, on reflection, it was debating whether 3 or 4 was appropriate, with quite a lot of belief suspension required at times and characters being basically good or evil, but with the good ones being surprisingly capable of killing the evil ones with minimal hesitation. Having acknowledged these shortcomingsI am still sure that I will soon be reading the sequel ! Sometimes is just good to be carried along by the story suspending belief as and when!