I have enjoyed this author's previous works so it's not surprising that this was a fabulous story very exciting, a page-turning gem look for my full review coming soon

Book 1 of a new series featuring Levi Yoder, a man whose life has enough twists and turns to qualify as the local soap opera while he tries to do the right thing for the right reason for the wrong people. Throw in the fact that he's retired from life to wait for death then learns that he's going to live a little longer than predicted and you've got an original story line that works to keep readers, especially, this one, reading instead of doing chores. I loved Levi's dilemmas as he works to fix the problems of the good guys and the bad guys without getting killed for his trouble. Make sure Perimeter is on your TBR list!

Great novel which I really enjoyed. Great character, great plot and an author I will be watching for sure.

Headline : A Broken Arrow thriller
Stars : 2
Whilst most novels require some suspension of belief I unfortunately found Perimeter not just on the metaphorical belief fence but well over it.
It almost seemed every page had some random new skill or contact that all conspired to ensure the hero – or anti-hero – overcame all challenges put in his way.
From Asian mystics to Mafia Dons to an Amish upbringing and not forgetting a bewildering range of other useful characters all somehow in debt to the hero.
I think that there was a very good story and credible hero in these pages but left with the feeling that a good editor was needed to bring focus and some plausibility to the story.
This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Note :
The above review was posted on Amazon on 1 October 2018

‘Mr Yoder, I’m sorry to have to tell you this.’

Meet Levi Yoder. He’s told that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and needs to start treatment right away: without treatment he will only live for four to six months. Levi, a ‘fixer’ for the mob, is stunned. Levi prepares himself for death, but then finds himself in complete remission. How is a man supposed to live a life he thought was ending?

And from this beginning, the novel takes off on a frenetic journey through many different countries, a number
of different cultures and some quite improbable experiences. I kept turning the pages, muttering to myself ‘Surely not’ and ‘Unbelievable’. I kept reading, both amused and entertained by Levi’s journey. It was all too unreal… but about half way through some of the science hooked me and held my attention for the balance of the novel.

So what did I like about this novel? After my initial misgivings about probability, I enjoyed the fast pace of the story. Levi remained largely unbelievable, but his adventures were interesting. And the science and technology held my attention.

What didn’t I like? I thought that the frenetic pace undermined any credibility that Levi Yoder could have as a character. There was not sufficient information to enable me to accept that he had this complicated past with so many different connections. A slower pace might have given the character more credibility, a little more background might have improved my acceptance. Levi seemed to exist as a vehicle for wondrous science, superhuman powers and to demonstrate technology. All of that might be fine, but I need my characters to have a little more credibility.

If you enjoy fast-paced stories, are more interested in the ‘how’ than the ‘why’, this may well be a novel you will enjoy.

‘It suddenly all made sense.’ Not really, but sometimes fiction is like that.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Levi Yoder is a different and great protagonist. He deals with many issues as he recovers from the death of his wife and is forced to track down an assassin who is trying to kill him. The story itself is a thrilling mystery that mixes a little fantasy into the plot. It is well-written and completely different from other books in this genre. The style of writing makes for easy reading, but conveys much information. Levi travels the world, becomes a self defense master and goes back to his original job as a fixer for the New York mob. Action takes place in exotic locales as well as Amish farmland and the city. An astonishing amount of information is contained within this book.

Suspenseful, with tightly-drawn characters and a plot from today's news. I found the dialog to be realistic, and the responses to various situations believable. If you demand your fiction mystery/suspense selections be intelligently and logically written, this novel is not to be missed.

This was a rousing good story which needed a rigorous edit. Covering at least four continents and a dozen cultures including urban America and the Pennsylvania Amish, the book featured the intersecting points of view of Levi, an unlikely mob fixer, and Madison, a Navy officer turned CIA operative.

The science and technology in the narrative seemed solid, but other procedural points showed lapses that a strong editor would have caught. Levi is arrested by the county sheriff's department, and would have been taken to a county jail -- but Rothman describes a high-security prison setting, with indeed, a "prison guard" telling him he'd go to intake in the morning.

Early on, cliched descriptions made frequent appearances ("The moment he first saw her, it was like he'd been struck by lightning. His skin had tingled and he'd barely managed to catch his breath" and “He felt the gamut of human emotions”). In several places, a repeated adverb shows up carelessly, two and three times, on the same page.

The story was strong enough for me to carry on reading, but the niggling irritations really damaged the writer's credibility. Also, the dialogue was inconsistent, with each character's conversational patterns slipping in and out of formality, slang, fluency, etc.

The story arc was powerful, but the narrative didn't hold up its end. I read in the afterword that the writer decided to self-publish, and it explained a lot -- most publishing houses have an editorial team that would have magnified the punch of this book.

This is a very different thriller, and different is GOOD. There's a lot of action and it's almost impossible to guess what will happen next. Good read!

Lazarus (Levi) Yoder is an exciting new protagonist who makes his debut in M A Rothman’s new thriller, “Perimeter”. The title refers to a weapons program in Russia, but the story is about much more. Yoder has lost his wife in an auto accident for which he feels responsible. But in losing her , he has also lost all directions in his life. A chance encounter with an ancient relic and a ten-year worldwide “walkabout” leave him transformed as returns home to his roots in Amish country trying to find his purpose. There a brutal murder of two youngsters starts a chain reaction that leads to NYC, Nepal, and Russia, and involves the Mafia, CIA, and FBI. Non-stop action at its finest and promises of more to come!