*Book source ~ Many thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Michael Chase is told his dad died in China, but months later he’s led to believe that his dad is alive. An experienced backpacker, he travels to Hong Kong under the guise of traveling the world’s backpacking trails in order to discover what has happened to his dad. However, he barely sets foot in Hong Kong before he’s running for his life, trusting people on blind faith and following the clues that put him on the path to finding an historical relic that could change the world. He finds out that, not only is his dad not the person Michael thought he was, but he’s been searching for this relic for decades. Michael’s world has been turned upside down, but he has no time to dwell on this surprising new reality. With agents of several factions on his trail, he has to stay a step ahead, find the relic and stay alive.
A true thriller the story unfolds quickly from the beginning and careens to the finish. Michael arrives in Hong Kong, all hell breaks loose and it’s a race to the end. It was fun riding along as Michael figured out the clues and with each one it brought him closer to finding out what happened to his dad. As with any good thriller (well, in my opinion anyway) the story is told from several viewpoints and I had to figure out who were the bad guys and who were the good. It also helped to ratchet up the tension as well as pull the pieces together. The story was an interesting one even if the relic was a bit farfetched. But then, who knows what secrets governments around the world have buried. While I did enjoy the multiple viewpoints, it was at times a bit confusing. There were times when I didn’t have a clue how anyone fit in this puzzle and instead of being intriguing it was frustrating. On the whole though, this is an excellent thriller.
Also, since I listened to the audiobook, I have to say that the narration was often irritating. While the voice was pleasant to listen to, it was if parts were edited in and sounded completely different from the regular narration. If they had not been done in the middle of passages it might not have been as noticeable. As it is, I would be extremely hesitant to listen to another Fantasy Press audiobook. Though I would be more than happy to read Book 2 in the Michael Chase series, Blown Circuit.
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