This is the first book I’ve read in the Seamus mccree series and so was unfamiliar with the characters. Even so, the storyline was intriguing and I got to know some of the characters along the way

To start with, this is the 5th book in this particular series. Not having read any of the previous books, I felt a little lost and did not really connect with the characters. That being said, the book seems to be well written with many twists and turns along the way.

Seamus is on assignment for his bodyguard business. The young man he is protecting is scheduled to testify in a money laundering trial. Needless to say, those he will be testifying against want him to disappear before trial.

The story premise is okay ... but there are negatives. Leaving his charge in a cabin alone, Seamus, his son and young grand-daughter take off on a 4 hour jaunt. A storm catches them by surprise and it's many hours later before they arrive back at home.

The young man he is protecting is nowhere to be found. Did he leave on his own ... or was he forced to leave?

When people start showing up dead, Seamus has to piece together whether it's his charge or if his neighbors are involved. In the process, he uncovers more than he bargains for.

Coming from a law enforcement family, I expect some level of credibility to the storytelling. Sadly, I did not find it here. Bodyguards generally carry a gun ... which Seamus doesn't appear to have. Bodyguards do not leave their charges alone for any reason, especially if it's a teenager. If you have not read any of this series, I would recommend starting at the beginning, not with the 5th book.

Many thanks to the author / Wolf's Echo Press / Netgalley for this digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Incompetence! I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Written by James M. Jackson, and published by Wolf's Echo Books in 2018, the story is set in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan, where Seamus McCree has purchased a summer cabin, and where his three year-old granddaughter owns an additional three sections (1,920 acres) of timberland. Seamus is assisting the U.S. Marshall’s Service in protecting a witness until after he has testified in court against his former employers. Naturally, those people would rather not see him make it to court alive, so there is ample reason to worry for his safety. Seamus, his son Patrick, who is called “Paddy,” and Seamus’s three year-old granddaughter Megan, go into town from the cabin to buy groceries and a fierce storm hits the area, blowing down numerous trees. When they are finally able to make their way back to the cabin, their guest is gone—disappeared. Tracks in the yard indicate that a truck and trailer had been in the driveway, but Seamus has no idea who it could have been.

Seamus has a partner, Abagail, in their witness protection business, and she is currently protecting another witness in Louisiana while she has tasked Seamus with the responsibility of looking after his charge in Michigan. She is furious at Seamus’s failure to guard his witness, and tells him that he created the problem, so he must solve it. Seamus needs to find his witness, a man named Elliot, although he learns later that Elliot is not his real name. Why has the man gone missing? Has he seen somebody who frightened him?

Seamus McCree strikes me as a man who is totally incompetent in his role as a protector of federal witnesses. He screws up constantly, and his incompetence could cost him his business partner and soul-mate, Abigail. He is facing a hired killer, and he doesn’t even arm himself for the protection of his loved ones and his own life. How stupid is that? He knows that the killer might be gunning for him, for his son Paddy, and for witness Elliot, yet he believes that he can protect all of them with his quick wit? That’s just criminally stupid, making him an unappealing protagonist, in my view.

The story has a very unsatisfying ending. It seems that almost everybody in the book is an incompetent, including law enforcement officers at all levels and in all places. I really do not like these kinds of stories. Like most people, I like winners, and I like to read stories about winners. In this story, the good guys lose and the bad guys wins. If, like me, you like stories about winners, you probably will not like this book. I didn’t. It started out fine, but then just gradually slid to the bottom in my assessment. I can’t really recommend this book. I probably will not read about this character again, although the author seems to be a capable writer. If you are comfortable with an unhappy ending, go ahead and read this book. But you’ll do it without my recommendation. Only two stars for this one.