Overall I thought The Bouncer was a solid piece of fiction.

The first half was definitely the strongest as we were introduced to Joe "The Bouncer" and were quickly taken on an adventure. From there we met a slue of characters and stumbled into unforeseen set backs which were equal parts comedic and the right level of overdramatic.

I loved the ensemble of quirky characters in the novel and would love to find out more about each and every one of their journey's. I did find however that the story of the protagonist did get lost after the first half, where I wasn't even sure if it was Joe's tale anymore.

In a way it was all one big jigsaw puzzle, with each event being connected; seemingly or otherwise. The only issue I found with this, is that when situations/events did come together and were a success, it was all accidental. It would have been nice to have seen some things being worked for by the characters instead of just falling into their laps.

Interesting, fun and surprisingly moreish.

There’s a lot going on in The Bouncer – FBI agents, high military security classification, mafia, strip joint, terrorists, high stake robbery, CIA, murder.... too much going on. There were a lot of storylines - that intersect (which I usually like) but like I said, there was too much going.

I did enjoy this book. It had a good pace to it. I think fans of action would realy like this book. There wasn't anything exceptional, to be honest.


Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press for this ARC.

I think the description of this book led me to believe that it would contain more of an urban fantasy or romance bent. So I was disappointed, but that's not the book's fault - more due to my personal preference.

Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press for this ARC.

I've been so bad......read, read, read, reading and not posting ratings or reviews. I'm trying to catch up.

This was an okay book and I enjoyed it. The story moved along at a good pace for me and the characters were interesting enough. But not that memorable. But it seemed to be the same old good guy disguised as a bad guy / bad ass with superman abilities on a chase story. I would read more books by David Gordon if they fell in my lap, but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to look for them.

The book was entertaining, but to be honest, it wasn't one that will stick in my head a week later. Although I enjoyed the storyline, I couldn't get into the characters much. I didn't care about them one way or the other. So, if you want a simple read that entertains you, but doesn't move you much, then it's a fine book to read.

I wouldn't recommend it to my middle school students.

This book was given to me for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I will start off with an unusual fact. For some reason, this book made me smile and even laugh out loud a lot. Even though I'm sure, it's not intended to. I think it was because due to all the small bits and pieces and so many various characters that seemingly jumped in and out of focus The Bouncer reads much like a typical British comedy where not everything that's dire and serious is supposed to be taken that way.

I'm not saying it's a mockery, I'm hinting at its unique style and mood.

I loved the harshness of where and how the places where set. And especially the way things and the happening was described. It felt real in that same film noir that's a bit funny way. It was easy to imagine Billy Bob Thornton somewhere there, maybe even having a smoke in the background.

To me this kind of writing and structure left loads for imagination and being a very imaginative person, maybe I had a blast reading this only because of that.

I think this is a fantastic book for those, like me, bored of the conventional storytelling, of the same old Girl plots, the chiseled jaw on every man that's supposed to be handsome etc. This was fresh and truly unpredictable.

On the downside, I wouldn't say it was exactly unputdownable (seems to be one of the publishers' favorite target describers these days). It's not addictive. More like a series you watch while eating lunch. Something you can devour in bites over a prolonged time knowing there aren't many others like it out there, so savor it while it lasts.

This title was not for me. I tried to get into it, but it was a slow build and I just couldn't finish. I am giving it 2 stars and I don't leave reviews for books that are less than 3 stars on social media or Amazon.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book before release.

I really couldn't get into this book.

Fun read. I liked the author's snappy dialogue and wit. The plot was a little complex and yet easy to follow. Nice easy thriller, I'd read more by this author.

This was a good fun read that kept me glued to the book all through my flight. I liked the characters and would have liked a little more detail and back story to them. Sad there was not much romance but there was good lot of humor and friendship and that kept this boat floating for me.

The book missed to close all the plots effectively. Like it was so sudden that scene in end .. it was no where in picture I felt.

Thank you to NetGalley and David Gordon for allowing me to read and review The Bouncer. I really liked this book! 4 stars!

I got the feeling that the author was happy to throw into the story as many 'baddies' as possible and then shoot them at regular intervals. Sometimes slightly ludicrous, but luckily with plenty of humour. I could not relate to Joe with little or no family background, and even less with the FBI agent who just happens to be a single mum. Maybe I was put off by the simplistic title to the book? Surely, somebody could have come up with a more suitable title? Not for me I'm afraid.

The Bouncer by David Gordon is a fast paced thriller that features a US Special Forces veteran, various factions of organized crime, the FBI, the CIA and a domestic terrorist. Gordon is a master at intertwining various plot lines and a myriad of characters that keep the reader fully engaged and somewhat off-balance throughout this novel. Even the ending comes as a surprise!

Spoiler Alert! My scientific training makes me very doubtful that a virus can be killed by 20 minutes in the microwave.

Gordon sure bit off a lot of plot lines for us to chew on here. It's a bit all over the place (and would perhaps work best as an action film), but a decent and fast read all the same.

It is an action packed book, you got the action from the very first page and then ride the journey full of fights, guns and women.

A bouncer named Joe, got caught in a scheme-gone-wrong to other double cross mess. Through out the book we will familiarized with Joe’s simple way of thinking, his PSTD, his army background and life story. We will also read on about the mafia and gangster whose moral (or interest) make them can’t turn a blind eye toward terrorism.

From the first passage we will be led to see Joe as a good man in disguise, I even thought that Joe is some undercover agent. However I still don’t reach any conclusion in the end. Just a notion that Joe is the only man that could passed thru others mafia territory freely to catch terrorist and an inkling that they may be a sequel or series for The Bouncer.

Thank you netgalley and mysterious press for advance copy.

Really enjoyable fact paced, high action, crime thriller. I enjoyed all the twists and the back and forth chase/attraction between the bouncer and the FBI agent. Definitely a unique take on this kind of story. * I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

A great Action Thriller.
Although far fetched in places did not distract from the story and left me wanting to read more about the characters.
Brilliant

Loved this book. So great. I don’t know what it was particularly that grabbed my attention and kept me from putting it down, but this book has something interesting about it that makes it a real page turner. I would be very interested in reading additional stories following Joe “the bouncer”. I liked that it turned away from the traditional crime novels. No typical detective or cop with an attitude. I like that you couldn’t really tell how Joe would act. Every scene was a mystery to me. But I felt like that is part of the appeal. Keeps you on your toes.

Thanks to Mysterious Press and David Gordon for an advanced reading copy.!

There’s a lot going on in The Bouncer – FBI agents, high military security classification, mafia, strip joint, terrorists, high stake robbery, CIA, murder, drugs, organized crime, stolen firearms, cross dressing, grand theft, germ warfare, double crossing, and more. Unfortunately, there’s too much going on. Each of these storylines is poorly elaborated and underdeveloped. I felt the author tried hard to create interest and had too many situations to cover properly.

Terrorism was alluded to often, but the terrorist himself – along with a quick one-paragraph history lesson explaining his reasoning – didn’t show up until about 70% into the book, and, I’m afraid, wasn’t very credible. The terrorist/terrorism premise is weak at best.

I never got to like or dislike any of the characters since I never really got to ‘know’ them.

Somewhere in the book’s description was mentioned that there would be a heavy dose of fun. I never saw it. There was, however, definitely a lot of action in the book. I think this book has a lot of potential but that it needs to be whittled down a bit in some places and expanded in others.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Great book. Some of the "bad" guys were truly bad and some of them, like the main character Joe, were quirky "bad" and very likable. The author managed to make crime bosses sympathetically human as they deal with everyday life. Hope this is the start of a series. It's well laid out with a lot of story lines started.