Third book in series recommended by my son. The first two books in the "Atticus Kodiak" series (KEEPER and FINDER)were entertaining, if somewhat amateurish. However, in the third installment I think we find Greg Rucka maturing from a comic-book style of writing to a more serious, refined action narrative.

Notable is Rucka's overdue character treatments - they are less objects for him to perform violence with, and have a little more depth to them. The plot inconsistencies are lessened, and one gets the sense that Rucka is beginning to get two very important things right:

First, he seems to display an undercurrent in the storyline that indicates that this will be a prolonged series. For better or worse. He's giving us more real-to-life characters and developing their interactions as if they were more than just objects for his violence.

Second, Rucka finally seems to be taking his story line seriously - where the first two books (KEEPER and FINDER) seem focused primarily on describing violence, Rucka appears to be trying to learn something about the subject matter he's chosen. This translates into a deeper, more cogent story.

More to come - my son is providing me with a copy of SHOOTER AT MIDNIGHT (4th in the series) and I'll be following that with CRITICAL SPACE (the 5th title).

I do hope that my shoulder heals before my brain turns to tapioca. ( )

Novels like this can be like watching TV or very average action movies. They hold your attention for a while, maybe get you through a cold (as in the present case) or an airport wait, but are ultimately unsatisfying.

This book does feature very effective pacing and centers on an intriguing plot device: a super assassin hired by top payers like cigarette companies. I also liked the first person narrative, which made it feel somewhat like the classic detective novels. And kudos to the author for scrapping the technique used by thriller authors of writing filler chapters to supposedly build tension--almost everything here seems to advance the story.

As in the case of the aforementioned action films, though, this book features plot implausibilities galore (which I will not bother fleshing out). Dialogue occasionally draws attention with its predictability and use of cliches. And besides the protagonist, don't expect any interesting or complex characters: everybody's pretty much from the Acme catalog. ( )

This one wasn’t quite as good as the last one but at least the characters acted consistently with the other book. In this one we’re introduced to Natalie’s father who really owns Sentinel Security. He’s an asshole with a giant sized ego. He sets up a protection job for Atticus and while he’s on it the principal almost dies. Natalie kills the killer and it comes out that the whole thing was just a decoy and that the killer was one of the 10 best in the world – nick named John Doe. It doesn’t check up with the facts and it is soon revealed that the principal was just an actor and the whole thing set up to draw out this assassin. But the assassin isn’t really John Doe.

Instead, the real John Doe is still focused on the real target, the tobacco case witness. A couple of things happen and Trent is forced to let Atticus and his crew in on the protection. The day comes when the killer says the target will be killed – nothing happens except the court reporter who has to file the transposed deposition with the court is killed and the transcript stolen. This means the deposition has to be done again.

Atticus goes off the case then the principal says he won’t testify without Atticus and Natalie (who has quit Sentinel because of her father’s little stunt) and their crew. So he’s back on and the 2nd deposition day is now the last chance the assassin has of hitting his target. Except John Doe is now Jane Doe and she has bugged Atticus’ apartment and knows all their plans. By the time Atticus discovers this, it’s almost too late to come up with another plan. They do but it’s of little use. Jane Doe gets very close but she doesn’t succeed. She isn’t killed either. She slips away.

Atticus Kodiak does not want charity from the father of the woman he has been seeing, but when the principal requests that he take the job, Atticus reluctantly says yes. It starts out as a simple baby-sitting gig: Atticus and a team of Sentinel Guards are to protect a wealthy man from the family of his former girlfriend. Everything is not what it seems, however, and Atticus quickly discovers that he has not only been played, but he is also drawn into something much more sinister and dangerous. One of the most dangerous assassins is targeting Atticus’ latest assignment.

The third installment in the series is the best yet. There is a part of me that is turned off all the testosterone in the Atticus Kodiak series, but they books certainly do not lack in the suspense department. Smoker proved to be an entertaining and fun reading experience. Atticus continues to try and build up his reputation, blaming himself for past mistakes even though in truth, he had little control over what had gone wrong. As the series progresses, he is a much more human and real character and less of an action figure, although there is still plenty of that to go around. Readers see more of Natalie Trent, one of the strong female protagonists of the series that you do not want to mess with, in this novel. ( )

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