I wanted to like this but it went too far over the top for me. It's got a fast pace but well, there is no such thing as a CIA assassin and the vast global conspiracy, while it's something you can read about, got a little too deep for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I DNF but that doesn't mean others won't like it and that it wouldn't make a bad movie - with a female action hero!

Run and Hide is the first installment in new to me author Alan McDermott's Eva Driscoll series. Protagonist Eva Driscoll has been trained to be a lethal force to be reckoned with. But, after her Special Forces brother Jeff is murdered in a cover up operation, she will stop at nothing to expose the truth. But, is she ready to face a foe so formidable it has the government in its pocket? This is a fast paced, action packed story that will grip your attention from the first page and hold it right thru the disturbing ending.

In New York City, former Army Special Forces combat veteran Rees Colbeck encounters men who claim they are from Homeland Security. After escaping using techniques learned in a previous life, he escapes and a thrilling chase ensues. In a stunning reversal of fortunes, Rees finds himself being rescued by a woman who tells him that he is being hunted by those who operate and run the US government called ESO. He will learn that Eva is the sister of Jeff Driscoll who served with him, and is now dead as is the others that he worked with.

Rees has no idea why they have targeted him, or the others, but allies himself with Eva who seems as though she can more than take care of herself. In fact, Eva has a way of introducing people to fatal accidents and making others look like amateurs. Eva trained with the CIA to do wet work for them. She may be the most dangerous operative to ever live, and she knows where the bodies were buried which makes her a target for those who want to keep her from revealing everything that she knows. Eva isn't perfect. But, she is damn good at wiggling out of life and death situations.

Along with too smart to be appreciated computer genius Farooq Nasser, and two former British Mi-5 members, Sonny Baines and Len Smart who work for former SAS leader Tom Gray, the group targets a conspiracy that has its hands in ever single level of the American government, banks, and other assets as well. With a snap of their fingers, this group, led by Henry Langston, can eliminate anyone they think goes against their prosperity, and can make or break a presidential candidates chances of winning the White House.

Run and Hide is well written story with plenty of suspense and action for everyone. Eva's eyes get a rude awakening in this story. She once thought she was doing work that was in the best interest of her country. But, after she learns about her brother and the others, and looking at her own actions, she understands that she was just a piece in a much larger game that will pit her against her former agency, as well as those she once worked with. A bit of a warning. There are so many different characters who get involved in telling this story. Conspiracy theories, money, greed, power in the hands of a cabal? Yep, it's all in here.

Taut suspense novel, that kept me reading solidly until finished. Eva is out to find who killed her brother and made it look like a suicide, and more importantly why. Along the way she makes a team of sorts and gets answers to her questions. The action is good with holding the suspense aspect as the what happens next continues. Likable characters, vile villains, and lots of action carries this book, hoping we see a follow up of this story. I received from Netgalley for an honest review.

Thank you Thomas Mercer/NetGalley & Alan McDermott for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My first time reading an Alan McDermott book & it definitely won't be the last! This was a fast paced thriller & held my attention throughout the entire story. When Eva, a former assassin for the CIAs, brother is murdered she is forced to figure out why and take revenge to the extreme that opens into a world of action packed storylines, attention to detail, with lots of twists & turns. I highly recommend this book!

Whew, what a read...... the prologue has you hooked and the chapters won’t let you go. I was drawn in by the writers ability to keep the action going at a pace that was just perfect. You really root for the protagonist here especially in the beginning when he is being chased and shot at by men in an SUV. Then he is swept up by someone on a motorcycle and then put into a trunk of another car. Ther is always something to keep you interested and wanting to know more and more. The writer weaves the story together in such a way that you feel as though you could be a part of it. If this could be made into a movie, I would be the first one to purchase tickets to see it.


Thank you so much netgalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

5++ stars ⭐️ out of 5

This is certainly full of action - it starts from the beginning and rarely halts. McDermott displays an ability to include the gory details of murder and death but with enough description of the characters and surroundings to provide a feasible setting. The plot is fast-moving - possibly a little too much so at the beginning to feel familiar enough with the characters - but further clarifications ensure you want to continue to the end. Overall a definite recommend for lovers of action and thrillers.

This is a really good thriller. Pacy, full of action, lots on fights and chases and nefarious shadowy organisations. It's got all the elements and has been put together in a highly readable explosive book. I do recommend it if you enjoy this sort of story

3.5 Stars
Eva Driscoll is used to chasing down bad guys, but now the bad guys are chasing her. She knows they won’t stop until she’s dead. After her brother is killed in a faked suicide, Driscoll teams up with ex-soldier Rees Colback, the one person who can help her find answers. Together they’re determined to uncover why members of his Special Forces squad are dying in mysterious circumstances.
If you like conspiracy theory books then you’ll thoroughly enjoy this. It was a well written fast paced book that concentrated on action to the detriment of character development. I liked Eva but felt as though I didn't get to know her the same for Rees. There are twists & turns throughout the book, I also found I had to suspend belief at times but it’s fiction so I could live with that. I enjoyed the book & from the ending suspect that there will be more books to follow

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Definitely a page turner...with a strong seemingly invincible female character, Eva Driscoll. I have to admit I was very squeamish when she was exacting her revenge from several adversaries. Non stop action along with unbelievable ways people use technology to destroy others. Scary but also thought provoking, especially given today’s political climate. I will have to read the next one to see if a suspected romance is in her future. Thanks to Alan McDermott, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book, soon to be published on August 22nd.

I thought this book was a gripping read for an action book. This is the first book I've read from Alan McDermott and I thought it was quite fascinating.

The plot was written out well and I found it to be quite a good plot. You could say that this book has some adventure in it. That will make you want to keep reading this gripping novel.

This book is a real page turner that will keep you reading the book until you finish it

Overall, this was a good read and would like to read it again someday.

This well written book has nonstop action. Eva thought that the work that she and others were doing for the CIA was for the best interest of the country. Now that her brother and all but one of his military buddies were killed, Eva wants to know why. I don't want to spoil the book by describing the plot anymore. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I really liked this book and look forward to reading more in this series. It was interesting to see pivotal scenes at times through different characters' eyes. Like an Arthur Hailey book, there are many characters, but this makes for a richer story. Part of what Eva unravels could be believable today.

Run and Hide was an action packed adventure. Eva Driscoll was an excellent main character. I only pray there are some women as tough and quick thinking as her. The whole idea behind ESO is scary in that it seems totally plausible! I loved all the twists and turns but especially how it ended. I would definitely read a sequel!

Sure to be a runaway hit, this is full-throttle, topically-prescient entertainment of the highest order.

This story takes off on the very first page and doesn't slow down.

We become invested and intrigued by Rees Colback and Eva Driscoll's problem in the very first chapter. We are compelled to keep following them as they build their team to try to fight the ESO. Not an easy task when literally every government agency is tainted by ESO money.

It is interesting to see how the small team tries to circumvent all of the obstacles that are thrown in their path.

This is a fast paced thriller. I enjoyed reading this and look forward to the other Eva Driscoll books that are to follow.

If you are in the market for a thriller, give this one a try. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Murder, corruption at the highest levels wrapped up in a fast paced thriller combining some favourite characters and a new heroine. I couldn't put this one down.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end. It was a refreshing change to see Eva take the lead in saving combat-trained warrior Rees from the men who are out to kill him, and appreciated how the two of them developed respect for each other's skills and came to work together. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but did not promise to give it a favorable review. #NetGalley #AlanMcDermott

Compelling. Political-Action thriller. All apply, Eva has earned her status as an agent of the US government to deal with people and situations that can't be handled through standard methods. Right, she's an assassin and a good one. The Powers That Be made a huge mistake when they killed her brother and went on to the men on his military team. She is one of the few people clever, brave, and deadly enough to get those answers.

Even she can't do it alone. She recruits a too small team of exceptional men and the mission begins. This time she isn't taking orders. She's giving them.

If you like strong, capable women, you won't find one better. She finds answers she doesn't want, however, that isn't stopping her. A page-turner with plenty of action. A strong recommendation from me.
Arc provided by NetGalley, however, the review is freely given and completely my own.

This was such an addictive read. Conspiracy theories, money, greed, power, and Eva Driscoll,formerCIA. Nothing was predictable in this book. Such a great fast paced read. I just regret that I did not get more time to read to finish it faster.

This is an easy read fast paced thriller!
Members of an Army unit are being killed, a sister of one and one of the unit members still alive. Are trying to find out why they are being killed. While try and stay a one step ahead of very powerful organizations with world wide tentacles. That are trying to stop them from finding out the reason why!
It has lots of action from the start until the end, do they find out the reason before they are killed?

Run and Hide by Alan McDermott grabbed my attention right away from the first few pages and kept it throughout the entire book! From the first few pages, I quickly gather that Rees Colback is not your average man. He is a quick thinking fighting machine, which is good because everyone is after him. A last minute way out is presented to him in the form of Eva Driscoll, who appears on a motorcycle and helps him get away. The two of them start on an adventure to find out why her brother was killed and why they want Rees dead. Along the way they gather support for what becomes their fight against the ESO (Executive Security Office). The ESO is bad. Super rich, horrible men who are controlling the government, justice system, police, and the media.

What do you want in a spy novel? Action? Conspiracies? Bad guys and better good guys? A female protagonist that is so strong and powerful you find yourself looking for flaws?

The characters are pretty amazing, Eva is very much a leader and strong....actually, let me just let you know she doesn't believe in showing mercy.... She does have a big heart and we see a glimpse of that through stories told about her by her friends. Strong enough to do what needs to be done without overthinking it. She's so independent and efficient.... an improved version of Jason Stathum in one of his amazing movies. That is who she reminds me of. We all have our favorite spy characters or actors and Stathum is mine, so this is a huge compliment. I also loved Sonny and Len- I will have to check out more of McDermott's novels so I can get to know them better. They were characters that are easy to underestimate. I love that!!

The writing is good... back and forth between different perspectives...and the conspiracy is one of the better ones I have read in a long time. Very believable...kind of looking around wondering if the ESO exists.... I definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more Eva Driskoll novels in the future. (Hoping for more character development there too).

Thank you to NetGalley, Alan McDermott, and Amazon Publishing UK for an advanced reader's copy to review. Thank you for your hard work! As always, my opinions are my own.