The Watchman (Ben Bracken Book 5) by Rob Parker

 

The Watchman (Ben Bracken Book 5) by Rob Parker.

Published 24th June 2021 by Lume Books.

From the cover of the book:

One last mission for an old friend. What could go wrong?

It’s sold as an in-and-out jaunt to The Big Apple, to pick up a harmless envelope. But when Ben Bracken is offered the assignment, he’s a little hesitant. He’s a family man now, with a duty to stay alive for his loved ones.

But, with the request coming from fellow former military man and trusted friend William Grosvenor, not to mention the eye-watering payout, one last job can’t hurt, can it?

So begins his American road trip, one that takes him from the city that never sleeps to the misty swamps of Florida. All in pursuit of one highly coveted envelope. Because it turns out, this job isn’t the walk in Central Park it was promised to be.

As he’s pursued by New York’s most dangerous mobsters, factions of federal law enforcement, and American Intelligence, Ben’s hunch is that their joint quarry must hold something of international significance.

He’s not wrong. The contents that’s slipping through these influential fingers contains evidence of the world’s biggest cover-up. Evidence that will rewrite history books and incriminate one of the most powerful men on the planet.

It’s probably best it winds up in the right hands.

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As a huge fan of the Ben Bracken series I knew I was going to be in for a treat with book number five, The Watchman, and I was not wrong ladies and gentlemen!

If you have followed this series, you will know that Bracken has been through more than a few adventures in the past, but he has now settled into the life of a family man, albeit with an adventure here and there on the side as part of his role as an advisor for the NCA (National Crime Agency).

This time around, Parker has something quite different in store for Bracken: as he is asked by his old friend William Grosvenor, Minister without Portfolio, to do something off the books for the first time in quite a while - a seemingly quick and easy errand to hop over the Pond to New York and pick up an envelope containing some rather sensitive information, that it would be better remained secret. One last job? An all expenses paid visit to the Big Apple? Why not?

Within minutes of Bracken getting settled into his swanky apartment in New York, he heads to his prearranged meet with CIA operative Luca Jones to collect the envelope, and the bullets start to fly. The pursuit is on, and Bracken and Jones, as possessors of this little envelope, are apparently the prey. What's worse is that there is more than one party after the information contained in the envelope, and they are more than willing to kill to possess it. What exactly is this information, and why do a number of security services, and a bunch of burley mobsters, want to get their mitts on it?

What follows is an explosive road trip full of bloodshed and double dealing, that takes Bracken and Jones, now joined by an unusually ruffled Grosvenor, from New York to Florida and beyond, as they try to keep the envelope and the information it contains out of the wrong hands - information that would rewrite history and implicate some very powerful men in the process. But that's not all, because scenes from a murky undercover past of some of the players in this games-within-games production intrude with enough regularity to give you a hint that something pretty momentous lies at the heart of the mysterious contents of the envelope in question.

I really enjoy the way Parker likes to mix things up in a series that, while mostly comprising gritty, Northern Noir crime yarns, also has the occasional injection of delectable Bond-like plotlines. This instalment definitely follows a more cinematic, international conspiracy thriller theme, harking back more to Bracken's previous trials and tribulations from book two, Morte Point, than to his other adventures, but it also brings in an intriguing twist that is very unusual for both Bracken and Parker, as it is set in America - and what a backdrop it is. This story takes us from swanky highrise apartments and hotel rooms, overlooking New York tourist vistas; to grubby small town, Eastern Seaboard motels populated with tough biker gangs; to the crocodile infested swamps of Florida; all the way to a location ingrained in the American psyche, which I will not reveal here.

This is just as non-stop, pacy as I have come to expect from Parker - once the action starts, it's buckle up and enjoy the ride stuff, with some clever little twists, great characters, an inspired take on an event that has enthralled conspiracy theorists for years, and a first class surprise at the end that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Bravo, Mr Parker!

It seems likely that this may be the last adventure for Ben Bracken, which makes me a little sad, but there is so much in these pages that confirms my belief that Rob Parker has blossomed as an author, and has a very long career ahead of him in this writing game. This is a very grown up international conspiracy thriller, sure to please lovers of the genre, and can easily be read as a standalone if you are so inclined - but honestly, this is a series that has many delights, and it is always so much better when you can pick up every nuance and casually dropped reference to what has gone before, so why wouldn't you go all out and read them all? I highly recommend each and every one.

The Watchman is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer in ebook and paperback formats.

Thank you to Rob Parker and Lume Books for sending me a paperback copy of this book in return for a honest review, and to Kelly Lacey of Love Books Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Rob Parker is a married father of three, who lives in a village near Manchester, UK. Author of the Ben Bracken series A Wanted Man, Morte Point, The Penny Black and Till Morning is Nigh, The Watchman, and the standalone post-Brexit country-noir Crook's Hollow, he enjoys a rural life on an old pig farm (now minus pigs), writing horrible things between school runs. He writes full time, as well as organising and attending various author events across the UK, while boxing regularly for charity. Passionate about inspiring a love of the written word in young people, Rob spends a lot of time in schools across the North West, encouraging literacy, story-telling, creative-writing and how good old fashioned hard work tends to help good things happen.