Tristie Merritt leads a renegade band of ex-soldiers. Their daring scam will take millions from a furious British government and give it to veterans’ charities - if MI5 don’t catch up with them first. Then, when faced with the ultimate terrorist outrage at 36,000 feet, MI5 and the CIA find that Merritt is their one hope of preventing global disaster.
Like the prose in this debut novel, there’s little need for this review to beat about the bush: Charlie Charters’ Bolt Action is a terrific, intricately plotted and devastatingly realistic thriller that is bound to have any reader absorbed from first to last.
The main attributes that set this novel apart are, well, just about everything. The characters are not only well rounded, each protagonist could easily be given a novel of their own in future. The scenario is not only credible but is written almost in the style of a war game, without the Tom Clancy "I know more than you" confusion. The settings are so real they are tangible and the pace is that of, well, a speeding 777 on its way to blow up a major city without a pilot at the helm.
Indeed if there is one fault, it is in the dialogue which, on a few rare occasions, comes across as a little too casual. That aside, however, this is a fantastic introduction from a British author who should soon be a household name.