Overall, I enjoyed this novel.

A few issues:
1. British spellings in an American novel
The novel takes place in America, with an all-American cast of characters, yet there were times when Brolly uses the British spelling of words. Colour instead of color; fibre, centre, honour, that sort of thing. There were also times when he used words more common in British than American English: grotty or fug, for example, aren’t used much in America. This seems petty, but it can be distracting to American readers. (Especially readers like me, who notice details like this. Sometimes I wish I could turn off my typo-radar!) I read an unedited ARC, though, and I trust that some of this will be corrected for the final version. I’m not “counting off” for this!

2. The sudden sexual relationship between Rose and Lynch
I don’t think this is quite a spoiler, really. It’s (almost) a truth universally (or in this genre, at least!) acknowledged that two investigators of the opposite gender must be sexually attracted to one another.

Here, though, I didn’t buy it. Having sex to relieve their tension makes sense. But there wasn’t enough buildup to this point. I didn’t see a lot of sparks flying. Granted, up until then, they’d been dealing with non-stop violence. But I wanted a bit more awareness of each other’s sexuality before this.

3. A little too much telling
This is a writer thing. There were times when I felt frustrated at being told when I wanted to be showed and experience the characters’ emotions. For example, a lot of Rose’s feelings about her troubled relationships with her younger sister and her mother, dying of dementia, felt like it was told to me. I never felt immersed in Rose’s emotions and her internal conflict between the demands of work and the demands of a sick mother.

Whether a normal thriller reader would feel bothered by this, I don’t know. Writers tend to be hyper-aware of itty-bitty story craft issues that regular people aren’t. But for me, this issue detracted from the story.

Now for the fun part: what I enjoyed!

1. The violence is well-handled.
The seeming-house-invasion-gone-wrong ends with extreme violence and multiple deaths. Many people die in the course of the novel. Toward the end, there are people being hurt. Given the nature of these criminals, this is expected.

Brolly gives just enough detail in describing the crime scenes that we understand the horrible nature of the crime without feeling like voyeurs. He doesn’t resort to sensationalism when showing crimes as they are committed, either. Lynch watches people being hurt, but instead of describing how or what is happening, we get his emotions and reactions. This lets us fill in the blanks for ourselves. Very effective.

2. Lynch is a complicated man.
He’s a courageous, intelligent man who strategizes and acts professionally, even in deadly circumstances. (Even though he’s been ousted from the FBI for years! I guess you can take a man out of the FBI but you can’t take the FBI out of a man.) Even though he is divorced from his wife, he wants to protect her from the Railroad’s violence. He also is surprisingly accepting and protective of her new boyfriend, and acknowledges that the new guy’s presence helps Lynch’s relationship with his ex-wife. Ironic. Definitely not what I expected. (Nicely played, Mr. Brolly!)

Yet there is great darkness in him, too. His drive to find the Railroad and his son has made him obsessive. There are glimpses of guilt, too, as he feels responsible for his son’s abduction. This grief and fear make for a compelling character and it really drives the story. (What parent can’t identify with this compulsion to protect their child?) He is capable of violence, though he takes no pleasure in it.

3. The backstory is woven into the story.
Obviously, there’s backstory: Daniel’s abduction, Lynch’s investigation, his divorce, and the FBI’s refusal to let him investigate. But we receive the necessary information at strategic points throughout the narrative, rather than all in one big wad somewhere at the beginning. We learn what we need to, when we need to. It’s difficult to do this without confusing the reader. My inner writer applauds.

There’s even a delightful hint that Lynch has been through a terrible traumatic experience sometime in the past involving captivity, a killer, and a SWAT team rescue. (Okay, delightful‘s a stretch. It really sounds horrible!) But it intrigued me, and though I didn’t get answers in this book, I hope to get them sometime in the future. Which brings me to my last point:

4. The ending sets up for sequels.
The last chapter–no spoilers, I promise!–hints at more books to come. Consider it a bit like MCU’s end scenes, whetting our appetite for the next big movie. Only here, it’s the next big book, and I didn’t have to sit through all the movie credits to get it! Nice.

My verdict
While there were definitely some distracting issues with the narrative, this is a good start to a series. Lynch and Rose are promising as series characters, and I’m interested in seeing how their relationship develops as they investigate crimes. Will Lynch be reinstated to the FBI? I don’t know. I hope so. 4 stars.

Thanks to #NetGalley, Oblong Books, and Matt Brolly for letting me read an ARC of #TheController in exchange for a honest review. I appreciate it.

This review of The Controller also appears on Goodreads, will be posted on Amazon on the release date, and will be live on my blog on May 17.

Samuel Lynch is an x FBI agent who is still searching for his missing son years after his disappearance. He is focused on finding those who took him. The reader is led into some dark places in this one. There is a secret organisation to contend with. Lynch believes they abduct people around railways. He partners up with Agent Rose to assist his search
This was a high action book with many twists and turns. I was trying to work out the plot throughout. I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it.

Lynch is an x FBI agent. After his son goes missing he has lost his job and his wife. He is consumed with finding the people responsible for taking him. Brolly takes you down this dark path, a secret society of sorts. Lynch believes he has found this group that abducts people along railroad lines. He happens to team up with Agent Rose to try and find his son. This book was action packed. I have never read of book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised! Brolly has you thinking from beginning to end.

The only thing in this book that threw me were two works used that didn't fit. The setting in the Texas area and all characters are from the United States. So I didn't see the word mum or whilst fitting with the book setting. In the states we say while and mom. Obviously this is a very minor issue.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast paced thriller! You have it all here.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.