Man, this was bad. I finished it through sheer stubbornness rather than because I was enjoying it. In sure I've enjoyed Coonts' books on the past (albeit a long time ago) but this felt lazy and formulaic, as well as being horrifically Islamophobic. Even the research was lacking (the British PM watches the news on "his local Fox network" FFS). ( )

About half way through book - thoughts:

The suspense isn't there. It's a very dry read so far. It defintiely has an intriguing set up, but I am not feeling anything for any of the passengers of the liner. Shoot, he's been so diffuse on covering as many passengers as possible, I can't possibly remember 3/4 of them. Not a brain chewer of a story so far, but I'm intrigued to see what the US military response now becomes...

Completed book thoughts:

So it's just a steady drive. No real hills, no surprises, no suspense. I had no connection to any character. It has a basic entertainment value, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's good. Adequate maybe.

It felt too diffuse. Too much asides and other viewpoints, not enough focus. Everything after the explosion of Ragnar's lair is feeling very anticlimactic. The primary plot is done. Why are we seeing anything else? ( )

Entertaining read -- just like other Grafton novels. Story is current as pirates inhabit this part of the world and still ply their trade. Characters are believable, even the evil doers. The anti Muslim jihad tone was evident and, I think, detracted from the story. In the middle, I began to wonder if they were ever going to solve the problem. But, alas, it did and concluded with a bang. ( )

A weak ending marred this good story. ( )

Pirate Alley by Stephen Coonts is another in the Jake Grafton series of novels. This one is set in Somalia where Somalia pirates have captured a cruise ship for ransom. Due to political interference, Admiral Toad Tarkington (another character throughout the Jake Grafton series) is not able to prevent the ship from reaching the Somalia pirate port. Grafton as part of the CIA, comes up with a plan to rescue the passengers and ship.

The pirate warlord is in competition with al Shabab (a Islamic terror organization in Somalia) to collect the ransom. Grafton flies into Somalia as the negotiator between the ship owners and the governments to free the ship and passengers. He meets up with a CIA team in Somalia and a couple of Mossad agents accompany him on the mission. Politics keeps rearing its ugly head throughout the novel as the politicians are always interfering with the military mission to free the passengers and ships. Plenty of special forces action n the novel.

An entertaining read like the other Grafton novels. ( )