I just loved getting to enter this world. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just had so much fun with these characters. I look forward to reading more wonderful stories in this series.

I absolutely loved The Gatekeeper, and Dez Limerick, in my opinion, is one of the best new thriller heroes. I was happy to grab a copy of Deadlock.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick ("Dez" to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back.

Jaleh Swann is a business journalist looking into an auditor who was mugged and killed while working on the books of a major tech corporation named Clockjack. When she lands in the hospital just one day after her Portland apartment is ransacked, her sister, Raziah, reaches out to an old friend for help, Dez has no choice but to answer.

When hired thugs come to the finish the job and attack the Swann sisters at the hospital, Dez does what he does best. Now, the two captured men (and the corpse Dez left behind) attract the attention of not just Clockjack, but of the Portland police, the D.E.A, and the U.S. Marshalls. Dez and the Swann sisters are on the run from powers beyond their control and means. Outnumbered, under resourced and outgunned, Dez must use all his skills to keep his friends safe. After all, the one thing Clockjack didn’t count on? A good man with a simple job to do.

James Byrne has created an interesting and amusing hero in Dez Limerick, and this reader looks forward to more! Highly recommended. #Deadlock #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Dez and following along as he helped damsels deal with their dangerously distressing situations.

I bought James Byrne's inaugural book in the series, and I'm happily anticipating his next one!

Desmond "Dez" Limerick. Retired from his position as a Gatekeeper in the military, he now lives in the states playing music and helping out friends when needed. When Raziah Swann, a singer in a band he plays with asks for help, he promptly goes to her aid. Raziah's sister Laleh is a journalist who has been attacked for no apparent reason. When the attack is tied to a high tech firm, the question is what
does Laleh know? Once the enemy is identified, Dez will do whatever it takes to ensure the sisters are safe. His enemies will have to try to stay a step ahead of Dez.
A fast paced read - looking forward to the next book.
 #Deadlock #NetGalley

“Deadlock” is the second in a series about Desmond Aloysius Limerick, a non- government aligned “gatekeeper,” but it satisfyingly reads as a thrilling standalone. There are some references to the previous installment, but they are understandable as background facts. They will tempt you to go back and read “The Gatekeeper” once you’re so entranced with the remarkable character that Dez is.

Dez is a multilingual freelance expert with a unique English accent who opens “doors” and closes them again. It’s a concept for missions of intrigue, but he’s in California for R&R, guitar playing, and making friends. One of those friend’s is singer-songwriter Raziah, who enlists Dez’s help when her sister, Laleh, investigative crime reporter is attacked in Portland. Laleh was following up on the story of a young business auditor’s murder. He was doing a review of Clockjack, a huge business entity in Oregon, phone manufacturer ala Apple, and publicly a do-gooder organization. Dez, however, eventually deduces that Clockjack is an empire of evil, and how he arrives at that conclusion (and what he does about it) is the fun and action-packed part. As he would say, “Ta.”

I loved the lead character and the twisty plot. Dez has a sense of morality you can root for, even if that leaves a lot of bodies in the wake. 5 stars! A great popcorn thriller and a series worth another sequel.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Dez, however, has twinkling blue eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The beauty of the Mount Hood area is part of the story.

This book sounded amazing and I didn’t even realize it was number 2 in a series, I am going to order book 1 now! “Dez” is such an entertaining character, I found myself laughing and enjoying myself the entire time I read this. Espionage and humor? Sign me up! Magnum PI meets Mission Impossible! I loved that the chapters were short and the book just flew by… finished in just a couple days. I learned so many new ways to kill someone too… 😉 can’t wait to continue this series!

This is a terrific, fun, entertaining, humorous, fast paced, action packed thriller from James Byrne, the 2nd in a series featuring Desmond 'Dez' Aloysius Limerick, a Brit with a covert history of working as a shadowy legendary 'gate keeper' in the security services. He has left all this behind for a more laid back existence as a bass guitar player in California, a good man with the scars on his body that speak of his past, and his friends can count on him if they find themselves in a tight spot. The book opens with a joint American-British operation in Chechnya which does not end as planned, with Dez making an enemy of MI6 agent, Arabella Scott. In the present, talented singer and songwriter, Raziah Swann, calls on Dez, asking for his help when her business journalist sister, Laleh, ends up in hospital in Seattle in Oregon.

Laleh's home has been ransacked, she had been following the story of an auditor who was mugged and killed. The auditor had been working on the popular do good IT B Corporation, Clockjack, but all his notes are missing. Dez finds himself going into action almost as soon as he arrives at Laleh's hospital, slipping with ease into using skills from his past, taking out 2 men and killing a third, men linked to Clockjack, men who immediately attract the attention of the police, the DEA and the Marshall Service. Deputy Chief Marshall Conroy Sims, finding himself politically constrained, personally helps Dez as he makes inquiries looking into why the Swann sisters are being targeted. There is plenty of danger and violence in this edgy and twisty narrative where the bodies pile up, a story of corporate secrets, deception, cover ups, lies, and corruption with an international agenda.

The highlight of this series is Byrne's creation and development of the character of the offbeat Dez, he is funny, charming, who catches people offguard, including the army of opponents he faces as he relentlessly picks his way round the numerous obstacles that come his way. He is not a man to be underestimated as Clockjack are to find out to their detriment. If you love good thrillers with great characters, then this is for you, it left me looking forward with great anticipation to the next in the series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I really liked this book, but something about it, maybe the pace, had me reading it in a week rather than my normal couple of days. The chapters were short and it was just too easy to find a reason to put it down. But the plot was great and the main character, Scottish crime fighter Desmond Limerick, was fabulous.

This has Dez fighting tons of mercenaries and their crooked leaders to protect one of Dez' friends and basically save the world. Yes, it was a bit far-fetched, but Dez used Mission Impossible-like techniques to single-handedly catch the bad guys. The book is set up for a sequel. for which I will definitely keep on the lookout.

Because the pace was slow and it did not keep me up way too late so I could read just a little more I would not give this 5 stars, but it was so good and the characters were fabulous, so I would say 4 1/2, rounded up to 5.

I LOVED this book. I purchased the first for my family and will make a preorder for this one as soon as possible. No, I will not buy if for my school library, because it may not be appropriate for teens, but Dez is a combination of Mission Impossible, the A Team and McGyver. All the action you could want with a touch of humor. The end suggests a follow up, and I cannot wait. I received this as an arc from Netgalley and was not influenced in my review.

Who can kill a person by hitting them in the temple with a marble? Desmond Aloysius Limerick can. He is a polite man with a shadowy past and exhibits the skills, both physical and technical of a trained mercenary. Deadlock is the second of Byrne’s books, after The Gatekeeper, featuring Dez Limerick. In this outing Dez has retired from his previous life in espionage as a gatekeeper and now lives a simple life in Los Angeles where he occasionally plays the bass guitar with his friend Raziah Swann. When Raziah’s sister Jaleh is mugged and her apartment ransacked, Raziah asks Dez for help. Jaleh, a journalist, is investigating the suspicious death of a man who was auditing an Oregon-based tech corporation. As Dez digs deeper into the company, Clockjack, he realizes that the people at the top are funding and hiding a secret army determined to overthrow the government of a small African country for nefarious reasons. The people at Clockjack want the Swann sisters dead and Dez must do everything in his power to keep them and himself alive. Deadlock is a fast-paced thriller full of action and violence, yet Dez continually brings an element of dark British humor into the story. As I said when I reviewed The Gatekeeper, Dez reminds me of Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne and MacGyver all rolled into one. The author hints to another Gatekeeper story in the future.

I know we all love a good thriller. This was a humorous, action packed book that I enjoyed. I think I would have enjoyed much more if I read the first book but, I still did enjoy this one!

Deadlock by James Byrne

Dewey Andreas and Jack Reacher are sissies compared to Desmond Aloysius Limerick or Dez as known to his admirers, detractors, and friends. Dez is retired from special operations. Living in the States he is asked by a bandmate to protect her sister. From this simple request, extraordinary mayhem ensues.
Byrne is a master of action. He also creates a character in Dez who is simultaneously fearsome and lovable. I normally read three books simultaneously, Dez forced me to concentrate on one book, I liked it that much. The qualities of loyalty, camaraderie, and indomitable fortitude in defense of friends capture your attention.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and heartily recommend it.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of this book for an honest review.
This is an action packed book but there is some humor in it too. Dez is like a Jack Reacher character who is always willing to help others. I didn’t realize this was the second book I do think the first book should be read The Gatekeeper so you are more familiar with the characters.

Like Dez said, he grows on you. I enjoyed this escapade more than the first one. I have a series that I will be watching out for, from now on.

Deadlock by James Byrne is book two in his Dez Limerick series. Though part of a series, this novel reads well as a standalone.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick, retired Gatekeeper, receives a call from his young friend, Raziah Swann, and rushes to rescue her sister, Laleh. That simple task becomes a major mission.

James Byrne is a masterful storyteller. The plot and dialogue are above par. Dez Limerick is hilarious and wonderful. An excellent protagonist. 5 out of 5 stars,

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers and the author for an advanced copy for my honest review.

Firstly I must mention I have fallen behind on my large collection of books on Net Galley and will do my best to catch up. After a year of reading physical autobiographies and biographies.

It's great that a publisher excepts your request to read a book, sends you a advanced copy, sadly, this is great, but I did not know this was book two in the series, partly my own fault.

But very happy to say I really enjoyed the book, great character, hints of humour, good action, strong story, although would have enjoyed slightly more if I had read book 1.

Great pace, really builds up pace halfway through and never stops.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick ("Dez" to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back. Now retired from his previous life, Dez is just a bloke with a winning smile, a bass guitar, and bullet wounds that paint a road map of past lives.

Jaleh Swann, a business journalist hot on the trail of an auditor who was mugged and killed, lands in the hospital just one day after her Portland apartment is ransacked. When Jaleh’s sister, Raziah, reaches out to an old friend for help, Dez has no choice but to answer. The Swann sisters have been pulled into a dizzying web of cover-ups and danger. At the centre lies an insidious Oregon-based tech corporation, Clockjack, which has enough money and hired guns to silence just about anyone—including this rag-tag trio. Luckily, Dez’s speciality is not just to open doors, but keep them open—and protect those working to expose Clockjack’s secrets.

More stands in the way of the truth than just one corporation. When hired thugs come to the finish the job and attack the Swann sisters at the hospital, Dez does what he does best. Now, the two captured men (and the corpse Dez left behind) attract the attention of not just Clockjack, but of the Portland police, the D.E.A, and the U.S. Marshalls. Dez and the Swann sisters are on the run from powers beyond their control and means. Outnumbered, under resourced and outgunned, Dez must use all his skills to keep his friends safe and stand up to corporate conniving. After all, the one thing Clockjack didn’t count on? A good man with a simple job to do.

JAMES BYRNE is the pseudonym for an author who has worked for more than twenty years as a journalist and in politics and lives in Portland, Oregon.

As easy four stars

Desmond Aloysius Limerick, “Dez”, is a Gatekeeper; there is no door on the earth – physical and virtual – that won’t open, stay in the position, and close as per his wishes. Having retired from espionage games and relocated to the USA, Dez plays music and leads a laidback life, occasionally using his prodigious skills to help his friends. When one such friend – twenty-year-old Raziah Swann, a talented musician – calls Dez about the jam her sister, Laleh, is in, he promptly reaches Portland, Oregon, expecting to solve the matter quickly. Laleh is a journalist working on a story – nothing sensitive – about a much-respected billion-dollar technological company, and the intimidation, including a mugging, she faces is inexplicable. Dez finds that the people after her seem extremely professional – unlike what one would expect from the security force of a tech firm – and further investigation reveals that they do not exist on any government database. Some large-scale conspiracy is being perpetrated under the hood of the technological giant, and Dez must employ all his considerable skills to prevent the bad ones from achieving their goal while preserving the lives of Raziah, Laleh, and himself.

Deadlock by James Byrne, the second outing of Dez following The Gatekeeper, is nothing if not entertaining, predominantly due to the hero’s quirky characterisation. Byrne seems to have gathered the qualities of all the much-admired protagonists from the world of fiction and endowed his hero with those and then some. And the result is entertaining for the most part instead of annoying as one would expect. The other characters, especially the female ones, are engaging too, though the males are not much so, barring a couple. The plot of Deadlock is outlandish, and the actions involving Dez are outrageous, but it is tremendous fun watching him serve up surprise after surprise to the villains. The breakneck pace of the narrative does not give much time to the reader to wonder about the plausibility of the happenings, and this is what escapist fiction is all about. Deadlock works well as a standalone despite being the second book in the series, but the intriguing epilogue keeps future adventures for Dez wide open, and I would not be averse to reading those.

My gratitude to St. Martin’s and Minotaur Books for the Digital Review Copy of Deadlock in exchange for my unbiased review through NetGalley!

Full review to be posted on https://wwww.bestthrillerbooks.com/Kashif-Hussain

Deadlock is a hilariously awesome expansion of the Gatekeeper series, building upon the first book with even more action this time around and somehow even more witty dialogues from the mouth of the smooth-talking Dez Limerick.

Dez Limerick is taking a much needed R&R after his last adventure that left him sore and bruised. But when a friend calls him in tears asking him to come help her sister, Limerick, being the true gentleman that he is, rushes to her aid. True to his word, he jumps headfirst into the fray of a conspiracy involving a major tech company and an audacious concoction of a mastermind involving getting access to criminals from where no one would bother to look twice. Dez has his work cut out for him, but it’s a delight to see him take down his adversaries in cooler-than-ice action sequences.

James Byrne pumps up the action in Limerick’s second outing, with Limerick dishing out iron justice with his fists, and even some well-placed shots of marble (yes, fatal). I didn’t even think that could happen, yet, Limerick does it. There’s no shortage or breathtaking shootouts and witty repertoire in between punches and kicks as Limerick dishes out justice in the most vengeful style.

Dez Limerick is a protagonist like none other, embodying a fun persona even in the face of darkness without making light of the horrific situations. It’s a delicate line that James Byrne walks superbly in his writing. We get a deeper understanding of his past, the myths behind the vaunted Gatekeepers further fueling the excitement and intrigue about his prior adventures. Beneath the happy-go demeanor, Byrne gives readers a glimpse of the layered reality of Limerick as a complicated fellow with a strong moral compass. It’s a great exploration with promise of even more depth to be revealed in the future books.

Deadlock is a must-read gripping adventure that utilizes its distinctive wise-cracking hero to the fullest and makes you crave more of his heroics.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE DEZ!! I bet I could listen to him talk all day long ;) Super cool premise which is hardly out of the realm of possibilty - maybe you shouldn't be giving the villians ideas? Lots of great characters and plenty of humor - popcorn was a RIOT!! I really love the introduction to the rest of us to "gatekeepers", and all their friends

This book was awesome. A special thank you to Net Galley for the ebook ARC, this is not a paid review.
The first Dez Limerick thriller The Gatekeeper) was great and this takes it to the next level. This gives me extremely high hopes for my future reading happiness. It is one of those series that when you are reading the first book , you are like... "This is something special." and you get that little tingle of discovery. It's that good.

In Deadlock, Dex travels to Portalnd to help out a friend /fellow musician (Raziah), whose sister (Laleh) has just been attacked and doesn't know why. IT seems that Lalaeh is a reporter and a friend of hers, and auditor had discovered something weird while doing an audit of the communications company, Clockjack.. ( Think Apple and you get the picture). The auditor is killed and then the reporter attacked. Enter Dez to help the sisters and figure out what is going on while making sure that nothing else happens.
As Dez arrives Laleh is in the hospital and Dez thwarts another attack. Hmmm... Laleh has no idea why.
Clockjack itself is a do-gooder company ( in their eyes) but there are things behind the scenes that don't add up.
Add in the DEA, the Us Marshall's, some very bad mercenaries and people high up in Clockjack who aren't who they say they are and some mischief being done in a small African country and you have one hell of a story.
Read The Gatekeeper now and then pick up Deadlock. You will not be disappointed. Dez Limerick is hilarious and also quite the bad ass himself and if the ending is any indicator, book 3 is going to be a killer!