*4.5 stars *

Author, Alex Shaw, certainly knows how to ramp up the tension, and he does this with aplomb, in Total Fallout, the follow up to the excellent Total Blackout.

Ex SAS trooper Jack Tate, is now an MI6 operative, currently working a black op, when Russian born Ruslan Akulov, who killed Tate’s parents, suddenly appears on the world scene, after not being heard of for some time. Akulov is acknowledged as the world’s most deadliest assassin, but that won’t deter Jack from avenging his family, and he’s not averse to crossing the line in his quest either, leading to some breathtaking action.

Akulov himself, is also on the hunt, for members of his old unit - The Werewolves, who hold the key to a weapon that could bring about the end of civilisation as we know it!

From Quatar to Monaco, London, to the US, this fast paced, gripping, and intelligent thriller, rarely pauses for breath, and this reader found that a bookmark was superfluous, such was the engaging nature of Shaw’s protagonist Jack Tate, on this most important personal mission. Tate has a clear, (if highly individual), moral code, that makes him particularly likeable, and I look forward to much more of the same! Highly recommended.

A truly modern spy adventure. Deepfake videos that can't be identified as fake threaten global democracy while Tate is chasing the man he thinks killed his parents? Or did he? Nothing is what it seems. Add on an accidental tussle with a couple of a drug cartels and all hell breaks lose.

Second book in a great new series, Jack Tate strikes again in a rollercoaster ride of suspenseful moments when he has to save his life and the world from his most hated enemy.
I really enjoyed the settings from Qatar and to the USA , trying to catch the Russian,and even crossing the lines in his quest for revenge, Jake Tate is once again a great character that showed me how much I enjoy a great suspenseful book.
Gripping and addictive story that many lovers of the genre will enjoy.

Alex Shaw is turning out some very good thrillers and keeps up his impressive run with this.
This does follow on from the previous novel so worth reading that first.

Former SAS now turned intelligence agent Jack Tate finds evidence about who planted the bomb that killed his parents. British Intelligence is ahead of the Americans so Tate heads to the States on a manhunt that will deliver revenge. But not all is as it seems and Tate may have to team up with the last person he expects in order to stop an even greater threat.
Plenty of these “ex SAS” type thrillers about but most are not written with the deft touch and intelligent plotting delivered by the author. Much to enjoy here, background on characters to explain their motivation, a British intelligence arm that actually feels competent and, of course, plenty of action.
Enjoyed this one, good set of characters, plenty of action and a solid plot.

Jack Tate seeks revenge for the death of his parents caught up in a terrorist bombing in Camden but can he trust his eyes? A video comes to light of the bomber caught in the act and it's one of his old adversaries. Have his eyes deceived him? Evidence gathers that things may not be as they seem and eventually he teams up with the only guy that can help bring the real perpetrator down. Along the way he does make some silly errors such as asking a guy to put cable ties around his own wrists? Is that possible?
Alex Shaw makes use of the AI derived 'Deep Fake' algos to give scaffolding to his story but worryingly his insight might one day come to pass and it will be the weapon of the future.
An action packed thriller that had great pace and excitement.

Jack Tate is a man on a mission - literally - he is trying to track down the Russian assassin who killed his parents. However, the killer, Ruslan Akulov, is after his former team leader from a specialist Russian black ops team. He needs answers, and may need Tates help.

This is the second book in the series. I am glad that I’d read the first one, as it does help with the background to this story. That said, it is still a stand alone, tense thriller. There is action from the start, and it carries on at a brisk pace for the whole book. The way technology is developing gives plausibility to one of the strands of the book, that of the manipulation of news and the truth, quite scarily. I like the idea of an assassin with his own moral code, which Akulov has in spades. A very enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Jack Tate is back in this his 2nd outing in the series, now I would say although can be read as a stand alone it would be good to read book 1 first, the back story is mentioned and explained but if were me I would read them both
So Jack carries on his fight for justice re the murder of his parents in Camden and thinks he has the right man, the man is aware he is being hunted but equally knows it wasn’t him....but how to make Jack believe that?
As with Book 1 there is much adventure SAS style and lots of tense scenes and also some back history on the ‘Russians’ and their elite fighting squad
You do have to check yourself from time to time just to make sure you are on the right page with the right Russian but that’s not a problem, as with Book 1 there is tekky info but again I could understand it!
Its fast paced and comes to a satisfying ending and the epilogue tied up loose ends, wonder if there will be a Book 3?, am hoping so
Well told and full on
9/10
5 Stars

I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley.

This story is a winner right from the beginning. The way that the story started with the meeting by Chen and the emir introduced the nephew who ultimately becomes part of Jack Tate's mission. The mission involves Jack helping bring the nephew to Australia. Jack meets his contact and hands off the nephew. While resting, he receives a message that a video has been discovered that identifies who killed Jack's parents. He is directed to go to Houston to find him.

At the same time, Akulov who Jack believed killed his parents, was notified that the video positively identified him as the killer. To discover more, he made arrangements to meet his broker. After the meeting he made plans to go to Houston and find the people who knew more about this deed. While there, he stumbled upon the attempted abduction of two women and wound up preventing it and also he happened to kill 1 of the brothers of the Mendez cartel.

Akulov ultimately began being hunted by the other Mendez brother in addition to Jack and his brother Simon. As the story unfolds, the importance of the film being abled to be altered and unable to discover that fact came to the forefront.

The action that happens while the search is on is quite immense. The additional support received by Jack was unexpected because of who the party was.

To discover who the real killer of Jack's parents, what Blackline had a part in and how the entire thing was resolved, you must read this book. You definitely won't be disappointed.

The second in the Jack Tate series by the author. Note, this book does refer to elements from the previous book and I would recommend reading that first (I did and I loved it, so followed it straightaway with this one!)

This is a story based in the spy world of the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6 as people refer to it sometimes, with a former SAS soldier turned spy trying to determine the identity of a bomber that killed his parents after new evidence surfaces.

This is very James Bond or Jason Bourne-like and that isn't a bad thing, The pace of the book is fast and the action very good, and if, and I mean if, there are any parts that seem illogical the pace of reading pushes you past them very quickly so that you don't notice.

Very good book, and written superbly, so much so I have added the author to my "must have" list for future novels.

I was provided a free ARC from NetGalley in return for a honest review.

This is certainly a fast moving book showing expertise in spying, killing and faking events. It is ruthless in the extent to which characters are killed. There are several plots which come together gradually. Mexican cartels, national assassination squads are all featured. Even governments supposedly on the same side do not share information. Much of the rivalry started in the Russian group of Werewolves, a small group undertaking undercover assassinations. Two of the group, Akulov and Vetrov, fell out when professionally involved and now seek to be the first to murder the other. Akulov is described as ‘the most feared Russian assassin in living memory’. He is now a freelance assassin who claims to have moral values. Then there is Jack Tate, a British undercover operative, whose main purpose seems to be to avenge the murder of his foster parents. That seems to be of lesser importance given all the rest that is going on. It all ends with events which justify its title, A Total Fallout. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy subterfuge and can cope with the multiple assassinations.

My apologies: I posted a review of "Light Perpetual" here by mistake: this actually is the review of "Total Fallout"

This is a very competent sequel to the author’s novel “Total Blackout”. However, this time around the “superweapon” is much more credible and has interesting implications. Indeed, the main reason why I am giving this five stars instead of four is because I think the author is presenting a possibility to which we should give some serious attention. In effect, it is a weapon which allows one nation, or organisation, to get two or more of its enemies (or victims) to use their own weapons to destroy each other, largely at their own expense.

Even as the action level of the plot is about not knowing what the truth is or who you can trust -and this makes it an effective thriller- the question the novel is asking is whether in the very near future we will be able to trust any news, idea or information to be true. The answer seems to be: perhaps, but only by looking at everything we know and examining many obscure or neglected sources, rather than relying on and taking at face value what we are told by convenient, “trusted” or “authenticated” sources, any of which might be subtly corrupted or seamlessly falsified.

This isn’t a highly intellectual book, but it is asking questions which the high intellectuals, so far, ain’t competent to answer!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I am really, really enjoying this series. This book takes place about a year after the first one ended. It had everything I want and love in a book - thrills, suspense, lots of action and so many plot twists. The author, for me, has created such a likeable, believable main character I just root for throughout the book. The book moved from past to present so effortlessly and I enjoyed reading of the background history of some characters. The book was fast paced from beginning to end and had me hooked from page 1. I particularly like the authors writing style and that the story is told through different characters. Overall, a cracking second book I couldn’t put down and I didn’t want to end. 🤞for a third book in this series. 5 stars

A good action story. Tate and his brother go after the Russian, Asulev who killed their parents, but soon discover that all is not what they seems. Shaw with great writing skill manages to make murderers and assassins into heroes. Although, it's a case of how many people can our heroes shoot without being shot themselves, it's a good, fast paced book.

A fast paced thriller where elite operative Jack Tate is sent to hunt a Russian assassin that he knows killed his parents and twenty others; he's seen the video proof and wants his revenge. The assassin however, isn't hiding from Jack, he's sending him a message because he needs Jack's help to prove his innocence.

Another blockbuster from Alex Shaw. Non stop action and a storyline that had me hooked from beginning to end. I really enjoy spy thrillers and this was up with the best. The Brits and Russians clashing on US soil. What more could you wish for.. Great Read!

Jack Tate is back and on the trail of the Russian known as Werewolf 6 who he believes killed his parents. Action from the beginning to the end. A great read for everyone, enjoy.

Wow!

Jack Tate returns with another action-packed adventure thriller, that continues on from "Total Blackout".

This time Jack, his brother Simon Hunter, and his SIS colleagues come up against the world of fake news, digital hacking of real videos to create ones featuring things that did not happen. "Total Fallout" also sees Jack's "old foes" return in the guise of Blackline.

I quickly fell back into Jack's world and thoroughly enjoyed the fast pace of his latest escapade, and even found myself chuckling a few times at the film and TV references used.

It was fascinating to read about the digital hacking of real videos to manipulate evidence, but I was equally intrigued to see how SIS' IT expert went about verifying the integrity of the videos - having watched a BBC drama on this very topic not so long ago.

The phrase -

"seeing is believing"

according to the Cambridge dictionary is -

"said to mean that if you see something yourself, you will believe it to exist or be true, despite the fact that it is extremely unusual or unexpected"

But after reading about Jack's latest adventure, I will have to keep an open mind.

Will Jack beat the clock to prevent Blackline succeeding with their latest plot to takeover the world? You will have to read to find out yourself ... but be warned, don't believe everything you see - if you have the slightest doubt, dig further ...

Thank you to Alex Shaw for this latest instalment of Jack Tate can't wait to see what's in store next time.

Also thank you to HQ Stories for the eARC.

Tate is incredible and I highly recommend this book, it is a brilliant read and I stayed up most of the night reading it.