I received a free electronic copy of this ARC from Netgalley, Andrew Grant, and Random House Publishing - Ballantine. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I enjoyed the chase in Too Close to Home and the style of Andrew Grant. This is an author I will watch for.

This is a novel set in New York City present time and several other time periods, seen through the eyes of one protagonist - Paul McGrath. Paul is recently retired ex-military, serving in the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade for many years, and is currently a janitor at the New York County Courthouse. Where he cleans up several kinds of messes... Paul's father recently died and left him the house in Westchester that he grew up in, and a complete surprise, a big old place, long empty, a classic brownstone in Hell's Kitchen.

This was the second in a series but completely stand alone. I will be looking for more from Grant. He writes a tight mystery with personable protagonists and a clean trail of clues. Especially I enjoyed the fact that the majority of the story is told in the present, and the back story is told chronically at the end of the book. Much less confusing than some of the back and forth stories I have read lately. Also, it has about 300 pages with only 25 chapters - I don't think I realized how much these two factors have disappeared into a more muddled storyline.

Paul McGrath appears a simple man with few needs, a lifestyle he enjoyed in the service and has patterned his retirement around, as well. He has few acquaintances left from the old days and doesn't have much time to make new friends. Hopefully, that will all change - when he sorts out this latest series of clues to fill in the blanks of his father's history. And though his mother died when he was very young, there may be blanks that need filling there, as well......

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. If you are a fan of Lee Child then this book by his brother will be good for you. It really could be call a Jack Reacher lite story. There are actually references in this book to the Reacher series. Here the characters and story are not so nearly well developed as the Child books.

I rated this book very highly. It was creative, entertaining, and an easy read. A continuation, I think, of the first book and the concept of the Janitor is unique. It starts out as a vigilante novel but ends up as a spy novel. Nicely done.

An intriguing story about a guy who is trying to find new purpose in his life after retiring from the military. Paul is an unusual operator because of his past experiences. Throughout the story you will see him discover family secrets that will change his outlook. He looks out for the underdog and wants to see those doing evil suffer. He uses all his training as he and his friends try to solve several problems at once. He is excellent at multitasking and problem solving which makes this an even better story.

I love the character of Paul McGrath in this book. This action packed, fast paced book kept me busy flipping the pages. Well done!
Many thanks to Ballantine Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't realize this book was a follow-up. I was confused and felt like I was missing something throughout the first few chapters, so I gave up. Not the books fault, but I would advise reading the first one before this.

An interesting follow up to the first book in the series. A bit complicated and hard to follow at times. It was definitely interesting though. It could have used a bit of simplifying in my opinion. I really like Paul McGrath though and can’t wait to see what he gets up to next.

Former military intelligence officer Paul McGrath is working as a janitor in a courthouse while investigating his father's murder. While there he meets a man who has committed arson and he and his roommate investigate his case as well.

This was a pretty fast paced read that I really enjoyed. The character development is fairly well done (this is action driven, not character driven) and the pacing is excellent. If you want a fast paced thriller, this is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, Ballentine Books, and Andrew Grant for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

Paul works as a janitor in the courthouse. It gives him great cover, who would ever notice him, and he has access to all sorts of information and people. He wants to mete out justice and right the wrongs done to people. A fun read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a rather prolific reader of books - for several years I've topped the 100 mark - it's not easy to find one that has a noticeably unusual plot or an unusually intriguing character. And since the lion's share of my reads are in the mystery/thriller genre, uniqueness is even more constrained. So it is that I'm delighted to find this series, of which this is the second installment.

Central character Paul McGrath is an interesting guy - a highly skilled former military guy who's back home in Albany, N.Y., working at the courthouse as a janitor and fancying himself a vigilante of sorts whose mission is to right society's wrongs. The case in point here involves his own father; McGrath believes he died as a result of a corrupt legal system that allowed the "murderer," a man named Alex Pardew, to go free. As McGrath pokes around in courtrooms to look for evidence that he's right - specifically a file that's gone missing - he meets a businessman who's been accused of arson. Yes, I did that, the man says, but emphasizes that it was because the man - a venture capitalist - is involved in shady deals, insider trading and otherwise bilking millions out of his clients.

Aha, McGrath says - right up my alley. So together with his former GI friend Robson - with whom he lives in his father's $40 million mansion - he sets out to investigate, with a priority on his father but the hope of seeing justice done in both cases. Along the way, he considers visiting the home in which he grew up, now inhabited by his father's former housekeeper. He hasn't purchased much furniture for the home he occupies with Robson, so perhaps, his friend suggests, he can take a few things from the other home. Just as he's about to agree, though, he learns that the housekeeper has died. Needless to say, that makes removal of any furniture much easier, but it raises other questions that may lead to answers McGrath isn't expecting to hear.

There are a few twists and surprises as the investigations proceed (complete with some awesome technology hacks by Robson and another computer-genius friend), but near the end come a frenzy of flashbacks that bring even more surprises for McGrath - and readers, of course. All in all a terrific (and, at 288 pages, quick) read and a great start to a new series. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

I thought this book sounded interesting but I found to be alittle confusing. I’m not sure who everyone was or what was really going on. It just wasn’t my type of book.

I thought this was a great book! I look forward to reading more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

A Sherlock Holmes, wanna be? I tried to enjoy this story, found it dry and a little dull. The two main characters move in and out of criminal circumstances hunting clues and bad guys. The book is ok, just did not hold my interest. I kept jumping to other books and going back to this. If you enjoy who-done-it’s you may enjoy this one.

The three main thoughts running through my head as I read this were, "This author is extremely intelligent, This author is an excellent writer, This author had to have done his research for this one!" I also felt like I would never finish the book so checked Amazon to find out if it had, like, 600 pages (only 288). While it's usually a bad thing to feel like you'll never get to the end, it wasn't necessarily so with this one. It meant I could read it in smaller increments and still keep up with the story. It's been a very busy few weeks for me, and most books would have left me confused with the intervals in between story visits. Great read!

Paul McGrath was previously a military intelligence office and now is working in a courthouse as a janitor as a disguise. He is actually seeking information about his father's murder. McGrath seems to get involved in doing the honorable thing and setting things right in bad situations. This was a complex mystery he had to unravel to find out what actually happened to his father. An interesting story. McGrath could be a new hero on the horizon.

I enjoyed the story and McGrath has potential for a series character if Grant decides to go that route. Thanks to Andrew Grant and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Paul McGrath is ex military currently working as a janitor in the courthouse. He works there to right wrongs. I have read the first book in this series and this is a continuation of the story. There is a lot going on and a lot of characters to keep track of. There is suspense, with some surprises that I didn’t see coming. This book was interesting enough to keep me reading but I didn’t enjoy it as much as others I have read by the author. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I enjoyed readying this in the form of an ARC from Net Galley

Kind of an "Equalizer-lite", but solid with room to grow into the inevitable series.

This is a "new to me" author but if his other books are anything like this one I'll be reading those too. Do you love books where the lead character has a strong moral compass and a need to set things right? One who gives the regular folks a leg up on events set in motion by the uber rich or powerful? Then you'll like this new, well paced novel. It features a former US intelligence officer working as a janitor, using his positions 'invisibility' as a smokescreen. You'll never see the plot twist coming but you'll love the ending.

Too Close to Home is Book 2 of the Paul McGrath series by author Andrew Grant. I have not read the first book, but I believe this is a great stand alone as well as part of a wonderfully written series. Paul McGrath is working as a janitor for the courthouse so that he can get access to a specific file about the person who defrauded his dad and possibly even murdered him. This book takes off with a bang, as Paul discovers another wrong that needs to be corrected and he likes to take justice into his own hands.

I like that Paul clears his mind through cleaning and isn't embarrassed to work as a janitor. He recognizes the advantages that the position offers him in terms of access and anonymity. No one really notices him much, which helps him investigate this missing file and other cases that come up.

Why did I enjoy reading Too Close to Home? The action kept me engaged and entertained...and the team work between Paul and his partner was good too. A balance and respect seems to lay there and I would love to learn more about the duo. I really loved the ending, I was so intrigued with the back story and am eager to read the rest of the series and need to know when the next book will be released. I will go back and find the first book which is titled: Invisible: A Novel (Paul McGrath Book 1) which was published January 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Andrew Grant and Random House Publishing Group- Ballatine for an advanced digital reader copy of Too Close to Home for me to read and enjoy. As always, my opinions are my own.

This is the first book by the author that I have read. It is a solid book, but not what I call a page turner that the reader cannot put down. The premise is a janitor, who has an interesting history, who helps to solve crimes and right wrongs. Parts of the book are very good while others a little slow. Also, there seemed to be a rapid conclusion involving a number of flashbacks to fill out the story. Overall, not a bad read, but not an author I would go out of my way to read again.

I have also posted my review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.