The fifth novel in the Sam Capra series. (Can be read on its own, but it's always nice to be caught-up properly.)

A well-written thriller, with well-drawn and likeable protagonists, and plenty of action. Abbott knows how to tell a story, and structure it to keep us reading (despite just a few moments where the momentum dipped a bit).

If you're a fan of international thrillers, then give this series a try.

The First Order, book five in the Sam Capra series, by Jeff Abbott continues the odyssey of Sam and his search for his lost brother. A search that is at the root of his career with the CIA and then his alignment with a shadow espionage agency that may or may not be on the right side of the law.

It was the worse day of Sam Capra's life as he watch an online video, showing the execution of his brother Danny by terrorists. The tragic act left Sam's life shattered and that of his parents as well. But Sam has now dedicated his life to finding his brother's body and the terrorists responsible for this act. To do so he has joined the CIA and trained as a espionage agent and assassin. When he left the CIA, he joined with a shadow agency to further his obsession.

But now, he has uncovered evidence that the dark truth he believes may all be a lie. Danny is not dead and worse, has been trained as an international assassin. Now Sam realizes that perhaps his brother has been near him all along. That Danny has not only been alive, but able to make contact at any time, but has chosen not to. Worse, Danny may have taken a job that could plunge the world into chaos by assassinating the Russain President. Now Sam must not only find his brother, but stop him.

Jeff Abbott writes thrillers. Pulse pounding, action packed books that you often feel like you stepped into the middle of the foray from the very first page. The First Order is not quite on that level and suffers from the sentimentality of the brothers and their estranged relationship. Sam as a character is slipping in this one and some of the supporting cast steps up, but not quite enough. It lacks the sense that you are a part of this world and this is really happening. The suspension of belief is so needed in a book like this that has roots in reality.

This is Timothy Dalton James Bond. You know the character and the story but it just doesn't deliver.