Member Reviews

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.

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Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Fight to Survive was intriguing and kept me guessing until the very end.

In this novel, ex-CIA assassin Eva Driscoll has found a new life in Australia and believes she’s outrun the Executive Security Office, the most powerful and secretive organization on the planet. But the ESO has been watching her every move and when they approach her with a high-risk mission in North Korea, Eva is forced to co-operate with the organization she once vowed to destroy.

Couldn't put this book down!

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An wonderful story that will captivate your attention until the end! You’ll forget the world is going on around you as you immerse yourself in this story.

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In the third of this series, Eva Driscoll get's caught up in a mission into North Korea and ends up in a jail with a difference. This was a fast action read.

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Author Alan McDermott (http://alanmcdermottbooks.co.uk) published the novel “Fight to Survive” in 2019. He has published a dozen novels. This is the third of his "Eva Driscoll" thrillers.

I categorize this novel as “R” because it contains scenes of Violence. This novel continues the story of the ESO and former CIA agent Eva Driscoll.

Driscoll had thought she had escaped the ESO. She still wants to destroy them, but they pressure her into working for them. The ESO needs someone smuggled out of North Korea. As risky as this mission is she has little choice but to accept it.

What she finds in North Korea is something that she feels compelled to destroy - a prison that is selling organs. She compiles the ESO to back her so that she can free the prisoners in North Korea. Driscoll pulls most of her old team back together to strike inside of North Korea.

They not only want to free the captives, but they also need to find a way to free themselves from ESO surveillance. Driscoll knows she can't trust the ESO. Will she and her team be able to pull off the rescue and escape the ESO?

I enjoyed the 5+ hours I spent reading this 262-page thriller. I thought that this was a good thriller. I have read all three of the 'Eva Driscoll' books ("Run and Hide" and "Seek and Destroy" were the other two). I have also read a couple of McDermott's other novels ("Gray Salvation" and "Trojan"). I judge them all to be well written and enjoyable. The cover art is a little plain, but not bad. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

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Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Typical fast paced crime drama. The third in a series, but it’s very possible to read it as a stand alone.

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Fight To Survive is the third book in the Eva Driscoll series. I haven't read the first two books, but felt this book did stand alone. I liked the fast pace and all action of this thriller and look forward to reading the first two books soon.

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Another in the Eva Driscoll series from Alan McDermott. Thoroughly enjoyable read although a bit far fetched in parts. Recommended reading

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This is the 3rd book in the Eva Driscoll series and it does not disappoint. I have now read them all. Well written and packed with suspenseful action.

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Fabulous story, great plot. Really great author, and story. Look forward to reading more by Alan McDermott.

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Alan McDermott writes a good story, weaving action and narrative at a good tempo. This book is no exception.

If you're not already a reader, you will need to consider whether to read from book one in his back catalogue, but either way,you'll definitely be hooked.

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Having read the first Eva Driscoll thriller, I missed out on the second, but this story is a standalone read, with all the necessary backstory.

Eva is attempting to stay under the radar, but her compassionate nature, which is at odds with her profession, forces her to do the right thing, but at what personal risk? Her next assignment comes from the organisation she is hiding from, they make it impossible for her to refuse, but are they organising her demise? What follows is a well researched, action-packed extraction from North Korea, it doesn’t go to plan, and when she escapes against the odds, why would she ever go back?

The characters are realistic, and there is a return of some old friends, the violence is believable, but not too explicit. The plot is fast-paced and relentless, there is no time to get bored. The twists are well-thought-out and give this series its edge.

The perfect series, for lovers of international and political thrillers.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas and Mercer via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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In the book Fight to Survive, author Alan McDermot continues the story of ex-CIA agent Eva Driscoll as she tries to begin a new life by hiding from the ESO. But they find her and threaten her to get her to work for them. It’s simple, get a man out of North Korea. But simple things have a way of becoming complicated with Eva. Great story and I would recommend this book. Look forward to reading the next book in the series. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The author does good work.This is the first novel I have read by this author, and I will look forward to reading his other books. The character development was delightful, and the action scenes were exceptional.A real page turner.

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Another corker

"Fight To Survive" is the third in the Eva Driscoll series. After opening the kindle to decide what to read, it was so exciting to encounter Eva once more. Just like meeting an old friend again.

Eva has decamped to Australia in the vain hope that she can escape from the clutches of the Executive Security Office who, she knows, will one day want to get even with her for past misdemeanours. Once the ESO has demonstrated its power and long arms, Eva is persuaded to travel to North Korea to make contact and bring back a defector. Getting into the country is easy; getting out proves to be a little more challenging.

There are very few authors who can maintain high-quality writing after the first novel, but McDermott is an exception. His writing is crisp and taut and never flags. The pace is varied, but interest is prolonged by the twists and subplots. The language used is straightforward and free-flowing but never panders to or patronises the reader.

This thriller can be read as a stand-alone novel, but the reader would be missing two genuine, literary treats so my suggestion would be to start at the beginning of the series and work up to this one. The ending suggests that there will be another Eva Driscoll novel, so my recommendation is not to waste any time but to get reading.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

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It is unusual to have a female spy carry a series in the manner in which Alan McDermott has developed this series. He has given us a heroine that is tough and not afraid to die for her beliefs, not your usual female character. Our spy works for a controlling group, or they think she works for them. She uses their muscle and resources to fight against what she feels is corrupt and unjust. But, she finds herself in a foreign prison camp with only herself to count on to escape. It's really great to see this character assess and prioritize actions and events to achieve her escape and complete her mission. This is definitely a series to follow and enjoy.

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An action-packed and easy to read book, with good characters and interesting setting. No literary masterpiece, but great entertainment like it's supposed to be.

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Ex-CIA assassin Eva Driscoll has found a new life in Australia and believes she’s outrun the Executive Security Office, the most powerful and secretive organization on the planet. But the ESO has been watching her every move and when they approach her with a high-risk mission in North Korea, Eva is forced to co-operate with the organization she once vowed to destroy.
But releasing a high-ranking defector proves costly, and Driscoll is captured and imprisoned in a secret camp on the Chinese border.
This is the third book in the series & I feel that whilst it could be read on its own it would be better to have read the earlier books as some threads do run from book to book. I really enjoyed the book but felt as with the earlier books in the series I had to suspend belief at times. Twists & turns along the way all added to my enjoyment. A well written, fast paced story
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

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Fight to Survive is the third installment in author Alan McDermott's Eva Driscoll series. It has been 2 years since Eva Driscoll thought she had gotten out from under the constant surveillance of ESO (Executive Security Office) which basically controls the highest levels of government agencies around the world. Eva is living off the grid in Melbourne, Australia trying to avoiding attachments as she mourns the loss of her lover Carl.

But, when she steps into a domestic situation, ESO is quick to remind her that she hasn't gotten away from them and her safety has been all but an illusion. But, this time, they don't want to kill her, they want to employ her. They need her special skill set for a very high risk operation to extract a valued defector from North Korea. As if this was going to be anything but easy, Eva is quickly captured, tortured, and sent to a political prisoner camp where she witnesses some really horrible things before escaping.

Not only does she need to escape and fulfill her mission, what she discovers going on in the prison shocks her to her core and it becomes her personal mission to do something about it and bring justice to the victims. She collects Sonny Barnes, who is now living in New Zealand, as well as Farooq Naser, an exceptional encrypted software expert, in order to take down the prison that appears to be selling organs to rich Chinese and others who need a transplant quickly. Sonny, like Eva, is mourning the loss of his best friend Len who died on their last mission.

I will say this again, this is a series in which you need to suspend reality and all logic in order to enjoy the book. There are some emotional moments in this book. How can there not be after what Eva, Sonny, and Farooq experienced in the previous installment? Is it too soon for Eva to move on after she put her heart into loving Carl? I absolutely believe that you should read the books in order. Yes, the author does a good job of explaining what ESO is, and why they are so damn intent on taking Eva out, but to understand what has happened to drive Eva vs ESO is definitely necessary.

There are two things that really itched my crawl. Why in any Gods name would you travel to North Korea? What would drive a person to put their lives on the line in order to believe that you won't be spied on, bugged, and arrested if you step one foot over the line? The second part is the human organ trafficking that is a real thing folks. It is scary. You can blame countries like China and Pakistan, but there are rich people all over the world who are just as guilty for not wanting to wait on a donor list for a new organ.

The ending is a bit on the curious side. Will there be a fourth installment? Do we, as readers, really need a fourth book in order to be satisfied? Or, do we want one final Eva vs ESO battle royal in which anything can happen?

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ietly hiding out in Australia for the last 2 years. Or so she thinks!

When a neighbour needs assistance from her abusive husband Eva gets involved and before she knows it the ESO are back in her life and making her an offer she really, really cannot turn down.

She is still feeling the loss of Carl and her other friends are scattered to the winds, their final destinations not known to even her. But the ESO is now asking her to do a job for THEM and she alerts the team and manages to get some of them together to pull off the job.

North Korea is not exactly a tourist destination and Eva is quickly captured, along with her extraction target - how on Earth is she getting out of this one?

Eva and the team are back for some fast paced, adrenaline-fuelled, James Bond-esque adventures. We get to see her softer, kinder side when dealing with non combatants and guard dogs. Thankfully no cliffhangers but enough threads to lead on to the next story.

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