Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I first discovered Lee Goldberg from his series of “Monk” novels. I really like his style of writing. It is light, yet fast paced and is filled with witty dialogue. This novel is written in much the same style, but is much more of a fast-paced thriller. I stayed up way too late finishing this novel, and that is my highest compliment!

Sometimes it’s fun to read a suspense novel with plenty of humor. Lee Goldberg’s Ian Ludlow series is the key, and Killer Thriller is the second in the series. Ian Ludlow is the author of several popular spy novels, but he has captured the focus of the CIA because the plots in his novels seem to happen in real life. With his sidekick and researcher, Margo French, Ian travels to Hong Kong to write a spy novel that includes a global conspiracy; although just in Ian’s imagination, if his plot was real, it would cause epic disaster to the US. Of course Ian, who writes well but isn’t all that bright, has no idea that there is actually a global conspiracy, the Chinese believe he is an undercover spy, and he finds himself in grave danger. Although laughable that anything this serious could really be going on, Ian’s uncanny ability to write thrillers that seem to come true is amazing, since he’s had absolutely no spy training and gets out of his predicaments by the skin of his teeth.

Goldberg has done a good job of developing his characters, and they are comical, rather than serious. Of course there is plenty of suspense and plenty of ups and downs, due to Ian being clueless to what the Chinese think he is. Goldberg tells a good story, and makes it fun for readers. This is a series that readers who enjoy comic relief should pick up and read.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Killer Thriller y Lee Goldberg, is hopefully an unbelievable and unrealistic spy adventure novel. The two main chracters, Ian Ludlow, a creative writing professor at UCLA who is also a novelist and his partner Margo French who is also an employed of the CIA travel to China to see the movie production of his last Clint Straker novel. Once in China they become aware of a China's plot to kill the US President and take control of the U.S. They succeed at the end. The book is amusing, easy to read and keeps the reader interested until the end.

This book was ok, I like his writing with Janet Evanovich better. Good storyline and I did enjoy it, just not what I expected.

*DNF*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm just not feeling this one. Time for me to put it down.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s not the type I go for usually. The action packed stories I tend to like on the screen. This one is about an author who has a knack for his ideas coming true no matter how absurd it seems or even dangerous. Can’t wait to read more by this author. I mean he even wrote Monk and that’s one of my favorite tv series of all time.

Nothing super new here--an author, mistaken for a spy, lots of action and running around. Seems familiar but was well done enough that I would like to read more about Ian.

The Killer thriller is the second in the series, but can be read as a stand alone book. The book was okay.

I recently read The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad about spies and violence and politics and it was very good. Killer Thriller is not “good” in the same way, but it is fun and funny and over the top, and it knows it. This is the second in the series and although it works as a stand-alone, the first one is a blast, so I’d read it first.

Ian Ludlow writes cheesy thrillers and one is being turned into a movie. He and his assistant Margo head to Hong Kong to participate in some of the publicity surrounding the shooting and to do some research for the novel he’s working on. The problem: once again Ian’s plot, although outrageous, is too close to reality for him to be safe. This time, his story’s about how the Chinese government is planning a coup of the U.S.A using sleeper agents in high government positions and the surveillance technology that they have hidden in all of our electronics we have purchased. The trouble for Ludlow is this is actually happening and the Chinese government thinks he knows about all their top-secret espionage. So, of course, they need to kill/kidnap him. Happily, Margo has acquired all kinds of lethal skills that help keep them safe until they can uncover the plot and save the world.

Killer Thriller does not take itself too seriously. The situations are ridiculous and dangerous and crazy and funny. It’s a great light read. The plot holds together well enough and the characters are all perfect for the story.

You are back with Ian and Margo. Starts off with another book signing and then he is off to China for the filming of the Clint Striker film. Margo has come to Ian because she is having some issues after their last adventure, so he takes her along with him to China. What Ian does not know is that his new book which is about China is a lot alike what is actually going on. there are certain people in the Chinese government that are a concern in just what is real in Ian’s book and how did he get the information. There are a few different storylines going on throughout the book which makes for a good read. The bantering of Ian AND Margo also make the story move along quickly. Once again it will take Ian coming up with a plan to save the day. The story will start in the U.S.A. to go to China, then to France and end in back in the U.S.A. There are a few surprises that keep this story moving along. I liked all of the characters and as much as difficult to follow up a second book from a very good first this is a very good job. A very good read.

I really enjoyed this book! I'd've finished it in a few hours if real life didn't get in the way. It's the next book about Ian and his writer imagination and his trusty sidekick Margo. This time, one of Ian's books is being made into a movie and he's sent to Hong Kong to watch the filming and shoot some publicity photos. And Margo joined him for this trip.

And now we have the Chinese government making his soon-to-be-written story to life. And so we're off! Gotta love Ian's imagination! And Margo is such a hoot. I like how they work together. And the twists in this was fun and unexpected.

Wonder how long do we have to wait for another of Ian and Margo's adventures?

Thank you lots NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book! Loved it!

Thriller novelist Ian Ludlow is preparing for a trip to Hong Kong to research his latest book and shoot some promos for his book-turned-action movie Straker. He is reunited with Margo French who tags along as his research assistant. But once in Hong Kong, the Chinese government thinks Ludlow is a real American spy sent to investigate a Chinese plot to topple and control the United States. Ludlow has again eerily outlined the real plot in his latest manuscript. Ludlow and Margo evade Chinese government assassins thanks to Margo's fighting skills acquired as a newbie CIA agent. They safely escape to Singapore with a Chinese defector who holds the key to the Chinese blackmail plot involving the US Vice President. The story ratches up its pace when it becomes a race against time for Ludlow and Margo to get to Paris to save the American president from an assassination attempt during his dinner with the French President at the Eiffel Tower.

This improbable story was a quick, entertaining read. The book ends with a way forward for Ludlow and Margo to continue their combined spying and writing adventures.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

"Killer Thriller" by Lee Goldberg is as wonderful as the title promises. The second novel in his Ian Ludlow/Margo French series the author builds upon their adventures after they teamed up in book one. Ludlow is an author of popular novels and Margo who was merely an author escort (for signings and such) find themselves in adventures right out of the pages of fiction.

This time around Ian and Margo head to Hong Kong where Lee can oversee the filming of one of his novels. There, the plot of the film has gained the attention of people who believe that the film company, Ludlow, French and all are a onto their crimes. From this begins an adventure which is truly hard to put down. Reading the novel can only be compared to the most enjoyable roller coaster ride that does not let up until the "whoosh" of the air breaks leading the reader in to the satisfying conclusion.

Though it might help to read the first book in the series - "True Fiction" - it is not necessary. Goldberg is one of those good authors who serves his readers well. If you forgot the plot of the first, or pick this one up first, he provides the reader with enough back story to remain fully engaged with this book.

When an author’s own work comes to life making him the star of his own story, things take an interesting and thrilling turn. Killer Thriller is not to be missed.
Ian Ludlow has become an international bestseller with his latest thriller. Everyone loves his stories, but what everyone might not know is his fiction has a way of becoming reality. Ian finds himself in Hong Kong with his assistant Margo French to promote his book being made into a movie and uses the time to research his newest story idea. While he is there, he uncovers a conspiracy by Chinese intelligence connected to those in power in the United States and puts himself in the crosshairs when the Chinese learn what he is researching. Without meaning to, he has stumbled upon this plot and must find a way to keep the whole thing from blowing up in his face. Now Ian finds himself trapped in his own thriller, on the run from assassins and trying to prevent an epic disaster using his imagination to solve the craziest of problems even he couldn’t write.
This was my first Lee Goldberg novel to read and I must say I am disappointed I didn’t find this series sooner as I loved it very much. Even though this was the second in the series, I enjoyed it greatly as a standalone. The characters were fun, witty, and flawed enough to make them believable in everything they did. Ian and Margo, the main characters, are a perfect pair. She is sarcastic, and he has a dry sense of humor but is able to inject humor into his writing that bleeds off the page and into his own life. There is action, adventure, suspense, romance (kind of) and enough humor to keep it lighthearted at just the right moments.
There is a fair bit of language and adult content in the book making it unsuitable for a younger audience. With that said, it is exactly right for its intended older audience. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, but it reminded me a lot of one of my favorite authors, Robert Dugoni and his writing style: sharp, tight and full of adventure. I highly recommend this for those that love adventure and a very well written thriller.
I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Lee Goldberg is a good writer. And a fun writer. His latest, Killer Thriller, is a fast read. Humor, it has been said, is subjective. Lee's and mine exist in different parts of the known galaxy. I understand the sarcastic style he is approaching; I simply did not enjoy it.

I started reading Lee Goldberg because I loved,, loved loved the Mr. Monk TV series. Then another of his characters, Charlie Willis, enchanted me for a couple of books, and I found Goldberg's standalone novel, The Walk, memorable for its true heart, its insider peak at the movie biz, and the variation on a theme running through all the author's work (ordinary guy faces extraordinary circumstances with humor and common sense).

Which means that, for me, reading the two Ian Ludlow novels has been like attending a family reunion of a fond, wacky clan. There was the constant, goofy dialogue, the practical improvisations in the face of death (in two scenes Ian's assistant Margo fends 0ff attackers with a giant dildo and with fish from an outdoor Chinese market -- whatever is at hand.)

The premise of the Ian Ludlow series is that the unprepossessing novelist and screenwriter has the uncanny knack for writing fiction that reflects -- and in some cases predicts -- clandestine geopolitical reality.

Don't be put off by the plausibility of the premise -- the books are pure fun. Or are they?

That said, I didn't enjoy this story quite as much as I have Goldberg's other books. But I am definitely along for the ride for Ian and Margo's next outing!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reader's copy.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and Lee Goldberg.
This is my first instalment of the Ludlow thrillers and it surely will not be my last.
Fast paced, action packed ride with the funny duo of f Ludlow and French who are fighting crime in Hong Kong.
Could not put this book down. Loved it.
Highly recommend

I love the Ludlow thrillers. I highly recommend reading the first one before delving into this one, to understand the characters, general themes in the series, and the references to the first book.

This one felt especially timely given the political climate of 2019. There are a ton of "coincidences" in this book, but they work within the confines of this universe. It's a pretty fun play on how fiction can imitate life and vice versa. If you're looking for a good action-packed thriller, give this one a shot.

Free version given from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Killer Thriller is another action packed, suspenseful ride by Lee Goldberg. Ian Ludlow and Margo French are together again fighting crime, not what Ian thought he was going to be doing in Hong Kong. He traveled there to watch the filling of a Clint Straker movie, based on his first book, pose for some publicity photos, and to get inspiration and details for his current Clint Straker book, with Margo as his research assistant. When they again realize that the plot of his next book is actually happening in Hong Kong, both their lives are in danger and they have to fight to survive.

I loved this book and could not put it down! I think this is one of those times that the sequel might be better than the original book. Ian and Margo get into and out of more thrilling and terrifying situations, which keeps the reader turning pages into the wee hours of the night. I'm looking forward to another book in this series. If you are a Stephanie Plum fan, you will enjoy the mishaps and solutions of Ian Ludlow.