Joshua Hood brings his well-seasoned military-writing chops to bear on a new hero, Travis Lane, who is looking for a way out of debt and depression after an injury bounces him from the service he so loves. With his brother-in-law killed in action, Travis' sister is left holding the bills due for the family farm, and Lane has to find a way to come through.

Joining a private military company that specializes in client protection and extraction any where in the world, Lane goes from the frying pan in to the fire with a hot retrieval in the Congo. As an Air Force Pararescueman, Travis was used to putting himself in harm's way for others, but he learns that just when things can't possibly get any worse, they do.

Hood's pacing and character development is first-rate, giving you what you need to know while moving the plot along. Great action sequences

Fantastic story that does the remarkable in these days of gear, the story is on people and not on the equipment. I don't know who Joshua Hood is, but I either met him and forgot or served in some of the same spots before or after. This one is pretty close to the cut!!!!

For fans of Andrews & Wilson - totally check out this new series. A fast paced military thriller that should not be missed! Also - Joshua Hood wrote the Treadstone Series (spinoff of the Jason Bourne books) This guy hits it out of the park again with The Guardian. The action scenes will leave you breathless and wanting more. They are so vivid the pages will not stop turning - its like watching it on the big screen! I cannot wait for another!

Love Hood’s other books and this one didn’t disappoint. A bit different than previous books but a unique plot and character set. In a thriller world full of CIA and Navy Seal type characters, it was nice to read about an Air Force PJ with a different skill set. Hope to see more of the Mia and Lane combo in future books.

Josh Hood brings the action in the Guardian., When a UN investigator Angelo Garza goes missing in the jungle of the Congo, his former girlfriend Mia Webb wants answers for his disappearance. What Mia does not know is that he got too close to illegal activity and his investigation needs to be silenced.

Enter Travis Lane, a former PJ from the Air Force who is looking to get back into the game after being medically discharged from the Air Force. When MIa goes looking for answers she is caught in the cross fire and Travis is sent to help her.

This book is full of action, awesome military weaponry and edge of your seat action sequences. If you like action and military thriller novels this one should be added to your TBR list!

The Guardian is Joshua Hood's finest work to date and should be on everyone's summer reading list. Travis Lane is on the cusp of retirement from being an Air Force PJ due to injuries and was looking towards the future and whatever that entailed. His brother-in-law, also a PJ and retiring, was moving to Broadside Solutions;, a private company who promises their clients their own personal rescue team if they ever need to be evacuated or rescued. Anywhere in the world under any conditions they will come get you. Rich people. When Lane's BIL is killed on their last mission, Lane takes his BIL's position at Broadside Solutions in order to save the family farm and is immediately dispatched to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to find and rescue an American kidnapped in the jungle. The crap hits the fan for Lane and his new teammates from the word go and the PJ motto of “These things we do, that others may live.” will never be truer if any of them want to make it out of the Congo alive.

This was so freaking good! Hood writes heart-pounding action better than almost anyone today.. Add in complex, authentic characters and the undercurrent of heart coursing just below all the action is a recipe that is hard not to relish.

The Guardian is a topflight thriller and has my highest recommendation!

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Guardian.

Josh Hood knows how to write and exciting military thrillers and does not disappoint here.
Travis Lane leaves an extensive military career to join an independent force who focus on the rescue of kidnapped high profile individuals. Highly trained and equipped Broadside Solutions are ready to go at a moment’s notice. Circumstances dictate that Lane is deployed immediately on a risky mission that leaves him alone in the most dangerous of circumstances.

The author has been there and done it, so he clearly knows his stuff and has the talent to turn that knowledge and experience into page turning thriller.
This is great stuff. I hope this is the start of a series.

Book Review – The Guardian – Joshua Hood
After reading author Joshua Hood’s new book, “The Guardian,” I could only imagine Marvel Comics or DC Comics creating a new ‘action hero’ named “Captain Action!” I think Joshua Hood is one of the best military, action thriller writers in the genre! This book was an intense, ‘petal-to-the-metal’, all out, ‘hold-on-to-your-hat’ action thriller! Protagonist Travis Lane, a former elite combat Air Force Pararescuer - better known as ‘PJs’ - is left with his family farm after his brother’s death but can no longer afford to kept it. Desperate to help save the farm from financial ruin, Lane is paid well because of his elite military background to join a private military company that provides security protection for VIP-like clients all over the world. Lane’s very first mission takes him to Congo, Africa to find and retrieve a kidnapped American client in the middle of the unrelenting African jungle. While saving the kidnapped American, Lane also undercovers an illegal mining operation which complicates the mission to intensifying the innumerous body count. Hood’s personal experience as a paratrooper in the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division – known for their parachute assault operations – is evident in this extraordinarily actionable thriller. The plot was genuine, the storyline filled with adrenaline and suspense, and the characters were powerful, absorbing, and realistic. The Guardian was a well-crafted, exhilarating action thriller that is entertaining and literary fulfilling. Nothing typical or mundane about this exhilarating tale. Authentic. Exciting. Compelling and Captivating, The Guardian is a definite ‘must read’ thriller by ‘the master of action’ – author Joshua Hood. Thank you NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Joshua Hood for the Advance Reader's Copy of The Guardian.

An outstanding start to this new series! Rich well developed characters and a fast-moving story line leaves you breathless and at the edge of your seat in this high-octane action thriller. I couldn’t put it down. This thriller grabs you from the first page and doesn’t give you a moments rest until the last page. I can’t wait to see how this series unfolds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Great book! Really enjoyed it. Story is about Travis Lane a tier one operator with medical training. He transitions from military service to a private contractor to try and make enough money to save the family farm. The first mission shows that the private contractor is more interested in money than humanity. Travis has skills and character and navigates through the situation as best he can. Looking forward to the next one.

Joshua Hood is back, and he will wow you with some of the best action scenes in his latest The Guardian. Starring a new protagonist in Staff Sergeant Travis Lane, Hood takes you on a journey that highlights those who are damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

Staff Sergeant Travis Lane is serving in a Special Forces capacity on of the Air Forces premier tactical teams when his brother-in-law, TJ Owens, takes his last breath while the two are deployed. Lane is forced to do some soul searching afterwards and decides to hang up his door-kicking boots. What awaits him when he returns home to Tennessee is the opportunity to keep the family’s property from foreclosure, but it means risking his life.

Lane auditions himself for a spot on the Broadside Solutions recovery team at the same time FBI Special Agent Mia Webb finds a notorious criminal working a mine sight in the Republic of Congo. As things turn upside down for Mia, Lane and the team find themselves barreling to the southern hemisphere to save the lives of those who contract their services.

Hood captures timely news headlines in this epic adventure that features some seriously bad dudes. Drawing on his personal combat experience, Hood stands out amongst the crowd with vicious action and premier storytelling. He draws you in with clever intrigue and hair-raising situations involving antagonists that are Vince-Flynn level bad guys. I believe that Hood really shines with his ability to bring a fresh plot to the thriller genre while sticking to the core of what he knows best, action. The Guardian gives off fast paced and enthusiastic vibes while still allowing you to get to know the characters on a bit of a more personal level. There is still plenty to unpack as he doesn’t unwrap everything in this, which I hope means we get a sequel.

The Guardian is a combustible tale that is electrifying, engaging and extremely hazardous to the health of every character involved. The action is unrelenting, the pacing is set to ludicrous speed, and the body count is massive. Joshua Hood has delivered a no holds barred story tailor made for the hardcore military thriller fan.

After his brother-in-law is killed on an operation and his family farm is on the brink of foreclosure, Air Force PJ Travis Lane joins Broadside Solutions, a PMC that provides protection and rescue services for high-net-worth clients. And while the money will go a long way to supporting his family, it’s the adrenaline rush that Lane is running towards. Which he gets in spades when his first mission takes him to Africa and puts him in the middle of a firefight to save a kidnapped American and bring light to illegal mining operations in the region. And with bodies dropping left and right, it’ll take every ounce of his elite skillset to save the client and come home in one piece.

The Guardian kicks off on an emotional note, putting Lane in a vulnerable crossroads situation. But once he makes the call to join the PMC and get a pile of money that will support his family’s needs, things really take off. It’s all gas no breaks with immense explosions, fiery shootouts, tense man tracking, and dead bodies littering the Congo. A veritable cornucopia of death and destruction at the hands of a master craftsman plying his trade at a world class level. And Lane is absolutely world class in his skillset, strategic thinking, execution and never quit mindset. Add in a sound moral compass and he’s incredibly likable and easy to cheer for. I have a feeling Travis Lane is going to be around for a while and become a big hit in the thriller community.

Do not miss this book. It’s a hell of a start to a new series that is filled with action, authenticity and compelling characters. Get on the Lane train before it leaves the station. Trust me, you’ll want to say you were on board from the beginning.

This book is well written, and the 2nd half has a lot of entertaining action, but the 1st half is much too slow with a lot of unnecessary descriptions, like how to park a car or how to drink water from a bottle. The author shows off a knowledge of weapons etc., but uses impossible satellite communication as a basis for the plot.

The Guardian follows other exceptional books by Joshua Hood. (If you haven't gotten into his Treadstone series, do yourself a favor) The Guardian has great characters, an interesting storyline and enough action to keep you wanting to read more each time you pick it up. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The chapters switch between characters, keeping you engaged, needing to see what happens next. It keeps you rooting for the good guys, wanting come-uppance to the bad guys and happy at the end.
Highly recommend.

This was a very interesting, high action thriller, I was hooked in from the very beginning and did not stop until it was over. I think the hero Travis Lane will be a great addition to the thriller world and props to Joshua Hood for bringing him into the genre!

The Guardian is described as an action thriller by Joshua Hood. It is full of action, I cannot dispute that. But to me, it had no soul, no catch wherein I could admire anyone in the novel. There is little character development. So if you like military action with nefarious bad guys and lots of machines, this is for you. I wanted more.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Loved this book! It drew me in from the beginning with an intriguing story. The story follows Travis Lane as his military career as an Air Force PJ ends to finding a way to save his family farm joining a private contractor. This one ends with some threads of the story still being open so I look forward to what could come from future books.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for giving me this advance copy and Joshua Hood for coming up with this great story!

If you are a fan of James Reece, Mitch Rapp and Scot Harvath, you will love this book. Very fun and exciting book. Extremely fast paced with great character development. The story developed its intriguing and easy to follow, yet leaves you wanting more answers and more back stories. Sequel, yes? Travis Lane is a character worth developing even further. I am sensing some good Travis and Mia collaborations in the future. Great work Mr. Hood. Can't wait for the next one.

I received this eARC from Netgalley.com and am providing an unbiased review.

The story synopsis that was provided definitely caught my attention, seemingly a good action/thriller story. I was a bit letdown as I started this novel. The immediate start was rushed in my opinion. You have a quick and pretty vague introduction to a few of the characters, showing very little insight as to their backgrounds, and within a very short time, you are seeing decisions being made by the main character in a 'spur of the moment' type way, that definitely does not fit my idea of how this MC should act. I could understand needing to make seat of the pants decisions, but to blindly jump to a job opportunity, to save the "family farm" which he doesn't even own, to take a job that his BIL was supposed to be doing... just too much stretching for me. I admit, I didn't read any further, as I could only imagine how the rest of the story would go. Overall the writing style was fine, just the storyline felt forced, rushed, and just unacceptable to me.

Joshua Hood is one of my favorite authors and listening to him on various podcasts he seems like a great guy. The Guardian is his latest book and I found it to be an exciting and thrilling story, I really liked it and recommend it strongly. As I understand it a brand new series about Travis Lane ex PJ who leaves the air force due to injury and only wants to take care of the family farm. Well, life happens and he needs money and finds himself in a situation with a great opportunity. He only need to sign up with this PMC and go to Africa and recover a person from trouble. No problems? Well the book is out in stores in the end of June and you really don't want to miss it. It is just great. Fast paced and filled with action and humor. Hood is telling a great story and it's not one of those same old, same old. I think he brings something new to the table and I look forward to the next adventure with Travis. I must thank Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for giving me this advance copy and Joshua Hood for coming up with the story.