A “Kill Chain” is the military description for combat in three phases: One, determining what’s happening, Two, deciding what to do about it, and Three, taking action. It’s also a term that’s now used by electronic security experts to describe, intercept and prevent intrusion and theft from computer systems of information, money, or both. Simply put—the kill chain must be broken in order to prevent a successful attack from outside.
In author Dominic Martell’s newest thriller—and fourth of the series—entitled Kill Chain the writer revisits a character named Pascual Rose, a former terrorist who’s been living quietly in the Catalonia region of Spain for the past twenty years, regretting his former life, but not quite repenting from it, while ekeing out a living translating legal documents.
His quiet, humble life is upended without warning however, when a menacing pair of operatives calling themselves ‘Lila’ and ‘Felix’, track Pascual down and offer him a carrot and stick deal he can’t refuse. The carrot . . . one million dollars in an untraceable bank account in the Cayman Islands. The stick? “We will kill your wife and son.” All Pascual has to do is travel to various tax havens in Europe and around the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, where he’ll open bank accounts using his real name, with seed money provided by the pair of thugs. Their plan is to steal an epic amount of funds in a cyber attack. As Pascual travels, he’s approached by a tough and beautiful woman named Artemisa Pereda, who turns out to be a lawyer. She alerts Pascual to an international scheme of lies, corruption and murder involving several countries, informing him of dangers he’s not likely to survive. And all of a sudden, Pascual is in the clutches of the German Police, the Spanish Police and some evil Russian gangsters . . . as well as the diabolic Lila and Felix . . . while the Kill Chain gets longer, and the attacks more frequent and deadly in this kinetic, propulsive and electrifying international thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page . . . and looking for the next caper from author Dominic Martel and the wily Pascual Rose!

Pascual Rose Is Forced Back Into The Criminal Life He Left Behind

Pascual is enjoying a leisure family life far distanced from his prior terrorist background. That is, until he is approached by a beautiful woman and her thuggish companion. She makes him an offer he can’t refuse, primarily because they threaten the life of his family. All he has to do is cooperate in a clandestine scheme for him to open various Swiss-style bank accounts in several European countries. For what purpose? He doesn’t know, at least in the beginning. There is an unexpected problem, though, when Pascual is contacted by another person who wants a piece of the action. They, too, demand his loyalty, and the danger gets even more complicated from there. Pascual plays his role brilliantly, constantly vigilant and playing each character off the other in this fast-paced and ever-changing mystery.

The story draws you in deeper and deeper as you learn more about the scheme and the people involved. There is a lot of background information on locations and banking procedures, while the tension builds as the scheme becomes more complex. Pasqual had his hands full keeping each faction separate as he works to figure out how he can remain alive at the end. It’s a complex story with many plots and sub-plots, cover-ups and double-crosses to keep you turning pages and trying to anticipate what will happen next.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, Meryl Moss Media, and Dunn Brooks for my enjoyment and review.

The flawed protagonist model is explored in this mystery. Martell brings back Pascual Rose, a spy who has been out of the limelight for decades. I haven't read his earlier works featuring Rose, but that didn't matter as this novel is self-contained. Rose is picked by a mysterious couple of criminal masterminds with the promise of a million Euro payday. The story gets quickly complicated with a cyber hacker and others who try to compromise him. You are never sure of anyone's motivations and who he can trust. My own work in writing about cybersecurity made me interested in this novel, and Martell sticks pretty close to what is believable and technically accurate. Rose races around the world establishing bank accounts and tries to understand why he was picked by the couple to represent their enterprise. Martell has many well-drawn characters who are in pursuit, and Rose must also collect his wife and son and try to save their lives. Highly recommended.

This was a solid espionage story featuring a protagonist who is an ex-terrorist who has been living under the radar for the past twenty years. (His earlier escapades were written about in the ‘90s.) He is ‘hired’ under duress (either his wife or his son would be killed if he didn’t cooperate) to travel throughout parts of Europe, Africa and the Mid-East to open commercial bank accounts for large sums of money and eventually learns that these accounts are for converting bitcoins back into currency. I won’t go further into the plot because of spoilers, but it is well developed although, in my opinion, slow reading. All in all it made me think of many of the remarkable non-action driven spy novels of the last century. Thanks to Net Galley and Dunn Books for an ARC for an honest review.

Gotta be honest: Before I got an invitation to read and review this book, I'd never even heard of main character Pascual Rose. In part, that may be because he hasn't been heard from in quite a few years. Apparently, the former terrorist turned on former colleagues and, for the past two decades, has been living under the name of Pascual March (also apparently, Pascual must be a very common name in the Barcelona area, where he now makes his home. Otherwise, surely he would have changed his first name as well).

But the premise was enticing, and now that I'm finished I'm glad I said yes to this one. In many ways, Pascual isn't a very savory character, but over the years he's acquired a very talented woman (whom he did not marry) named Sara and a now-grown son, Rafael. Rather solidly ensconced in his new identity, lifestyle and work as a freelance translator, he's quite upset to get a text that will change the course of his life, and most likely not for the better. Two rather shady characters ask him to help them pull off a scheme to "move" an enormous amount of money into various bank accounts in exchange for one million euros. Oh yes - in case that's not enough of an incentive for him to say yes, there's a threat that if he doesn't, Sara and/or Rafael may suffer the consequences.

Left with no choice, Pascual agrees; but soon, things get even more complicated as other unsavory characters make appearances - from German intelligence agents who'd love nothing more than to nail him for old activities to Russian agents to whoever's really behind what essentially is an extremely high-stakes money-laundering caper. Confounding the matter is that Pascual isn't exactly at the top of his game anymore, so he needs to depend on other people who may or may not have his interests at heart.

The very complex plot takes him to several countries and puts him up against several adversaries (both known and unknown), with the action picking up considerable steam as time to close the deal - and Pascual to remain alive - start to run out. For sure, it held my attention all the way.

A fast moving complex weave of action and intrigue. Worth reading and a god story. This story will carry you through multiple countries and characters as the twists and turns take place. As fast as you read it seems like the story just stays about one step ahead of you. You will find your self turning pages a t a good pace.

What a ride! This fast-paced thriller kept me breathless. Well-developed characters, plenty of twists, and just plain good writing. Dominic Martell is a skilled author who crafts his plot without resorting to the usual tropes and cliches of the genre. Excellent book; highly recommended. Would be a great movie.

Review of eBook

It’s been twenty years, and after so much time had passed, Pascual Rose believed he’d put the past behind him and found a way to stay safe. But when a couple arrives on his doorstep, they force Pascual into participating in an obviously-illegal scheme in order to keep them from killing his wife and his son. As, at their instruction, he travels from bank to bank, he comes to realize that he’s become part of a money-laundering scheme.

What will Pascual have to do to keep his family safe? Will he identify the people behind the scheme or will his efforts be for naught? Will he forfeit his life?

Well-defined characters populate this complex tale of spies and counterspies as the players in the game keep the tension high and the double-crosses in play. For aficionados of spy thrillers, “Kill Chain” has plots, sub-plots, and surprising twists that keep everyone on edge.

Technology plays a part in the telling of the tale, but it refrains from meaningless mumbo-jumbo as it supports the unfolding narrative. Readers will be pulled into the intriguing narrative as Pascual does his best to thwart the enemies and keep his family safe.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Meryl Moss Media / Dunn Books and NetGalley
#KillChain #NetGalley

He thought he'd left those days behind but now they've made him an offer he can't refuse!

Fast-paced and suspenseful spy thriller with lots of action and a whirlwind tour of so many different countries that it may make your head spin!

Pascual Rose has been out of the terrorist business for 20 years and is now residing quietly in Barcelona with a new identity and a boring translator job. Thinking he's living a peaceful middle-aged life, Pascual is yanked back into action when his cellphone and laptop are hacked by a man and woman who want him to do a little job for them. This piece of criminal activity may cost him dearly as they've threatened the safety of his wife and son, but if he pulls it off, they promise him one million euros. The task involves a money laundering diversion of massive proportions and there's danger at every turn. As he travels from one locale to another, setting up accounts here and there, he finds that he can't trust anyone because he doesn't know who is behind the scheme. NO SPOILERS.

This was a fun read if you like complicated cross and double-cross narratives with lots of shady characters and mysterious, threatening situations. He's no James Bond, but Pascual didn't forget everything from his past days as an operative. I enjoyed the descriptions of the different countries and felt the tension build as he finally started getting some answers when the plot came to its climax. With every move and each decision comes danger. I found the character of the protagonist to be quite complex and interesting even when situations seemed impossible. I haven't read any of the books in the original series featuring Pascual Rose but may have to search them out.

Thank you to Tracy at Meryl Moss Media and Dunn Books for sending along this ARC for me to read, review, and recommend.

Kill Chain

What happens when you're back at a job that you haven’t done in 20 years? And you haven’t kept up with technology? You learn fast but still find that the old ways still have their merits. This was a man who never thought he’d be back in the undercover world. Twenty years had passed and he needed to catch up fast.
There were many subplots that were happening simultaneously and I found I had to backtrack several times in the book to remember who was chasing who.
The reader, along with the main character, also gets an education in banking technology—we both needed it. The character traveled thorough ancient cities, so well described by the author, I felt I could see them. Now that he is back in service, it will be interesting to follow this character in his next escapade and see if he adapts to the new world of secret agents.

Was never able to read the book because author failed to provide it in a format accessible to my Kindle e-reader, even after being made aware of the problem I was having. Too bad; it sounded interesting.