Book Tour: The Failsafe Query by Michael Jenkins

I’m delighted to share my review of The Failsafe Query today. This is part of the damppebbles blog tour, so be sure to check out all the other reviews, too! Thanks to Emma Welton for letting me join the tour, and to author Michael Jenkins for a review copy of the book.

My thoughts

I’ve read books two and three in the Sean Richardson series, so it’s interesting to go back to the first one and see where Sean started.

In the post 9/11 era, the US government launches a war on Iraq, based on intelligence claiming the dictator has weapons of mass destruction. The UK government wants proof so they can support their allies. But everything Sean Richardson finds points in a different direction: Iran. Jenkins does a great job conveying the time period. The Americans’ speed in declaring war. Politically expedient decisions from the UK government. Black market racketeers. Corrupt leaders willing to deal dirty for a profit. Terrorists eager to grasp nuclear materials from poorly secured stocks in former-Soviet central Asian countries. It’s a powder keg, and Sean Richardson is right in the middle of it.

Pacing

The book is mostly well-paced. After an initial surge of action, there’s a bit of a lull before we skip forward eleven years and get to the main story about the missing intelligence officer.

But once we get there, the pace picks up and races toward the end. Sean is rescued from a prison in Kabul (don’t ask, it’s complicated) by his old military buddy Swartz just so the disgraced ex-agent can hunt down Alfie Chapman and, more importantly, the missing list of Russian moles. Why Sean? Because this is a deniable action. If he succeeds, terrific. If he’s caught, the government can deny they had any part of his activity. He’s not one of them anymore. It’s chilling.

Double-crosses and deceptions. Reveals and complex rescues. And under it all, the question that is never answered and can never be answered: what is the full truth? There’s not a single character in this book who knows everything, not even the powerful Jack H. But that’s life in the intelligence world. Sean’s life is spent looking over his shoulder for possible danger. And even then, he can’t avoid it.

Characterization

Since I’ve already read The Kompromat Kill and The Moscow Whisper, I already know Sean and it’s difficult to judge how new series readers will react to him. My gut says that they’ll find him sympathetic, flawed, and relatable.

Sean loves the idea of a quiet family life and for a while, he seems destined to find it. But adrenalin is addictive, and nothing could be more adrenalin-raising than the life of an intelligence officer. He trusts (almost) no one. It’s a good motto for a spy, sure, but it leaves him lonely. Sean isn’t some frozen automaton who is incapable of friendship. He craves human connection. It’s cheering to see the few times when he does connect, such as when he joins forces with his old military buddies.

You never really know what might happen or how Sean might finagle his way out of danger . . . or if he ever does. Even if he survives to the end of the book, he’s an adrenalin addict and intelligence work is his fix.

There are some really fun minor characters. Sean has buddies with some colorful nicknames, such as Billy Phish, who trains cadaver dogs, bomb disposal expert Phil ‘the Nose’ Calhoun, the legendary John ‘Jugsy’ Stokes, and ‘One Eyed’ Damon, a bartender with some unsavory connections who will do anything–legal or not–for pay. These characters do a great job of helping Sean, not only in his missions, but in bringing him back from despair.

And then there’s the devious, devilish Natalie Merritt, a hidden mole in the UK government who has no qualms about using sex and violence to get the information she wants. Beware any hired help who don’t meet her standards of competency. And she’s got Sean in her sights.

Security versus transparency

There’s an underlying tension between security and transparency. Alfie Chapman, the missing agent, had been close to releasing classified information to a journalist. There’s an inherent conflict of interest between intelligence work, which requires–demands!–secrecy, and journalism, which requires information. Jenkins teases out some of the nuances in this conflict as the book progresses and leaves us with some thought-provoking questions.

A few quibbles . . .

Jenkins tends to use too many flashbacks. Those aren’t necessarily bad, especially when the reader needs to know this information for the story. But it slows down the forward momentum of the main storyline. I also felt a bit confused as to when certain events were happening, particularly after a long flashback ended and the story returned to the present time.

Certain things become repetitive. For example, there are times when agents remind one another of how dangerous and/or secretive some planned action is. We might read it both in dialogue and in Sean’s (or another POV character’s) silent ruminations. In some cases, it’s information that is really unnecessary to share. (After all, the reader expects the actions of a spy to be secretive and dangerous, and the agent certainly knows it is!)

The dialogue needs some polishing to sound more natural. It tends to be used to convey information too often and overuses names, which sounds stilted.

But the weak points of the writing craft are either easily correctable ones, or ones that will develop with time and experience. As I’ve read books 2 and 3, I can say with some assurance that Jenkins’ writing has grown stronger with each book.

One favorite thing . . .

I loved the cadaver dogs, Mike and Foz! They’re incredibly well-trained and earn their pay. But they’re lively and fun to watch in action. Every time they showed up, their enthusiasm energized an already-energetic story.

Overall

This is a good debut novel and I fully expect to read more about Sean Richardson in the future. I heartily recommend The Failsafe Query to those who love spy thrillers.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Buy the book

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3eM9w5V

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/35gCfN1

Blackwells: https://bit.ly/3kje98F

Follow the tour

About Michael Jenkins

I started climbing at 13, survived being lost in Snowdonia at 14, nearly drowned at 15, and then joined the Army at 16. Risk and adventure was built into my DNA and I feel very fortunate to have served the majority of my working career as an intelligence officer within Defence Intelligence, and as an explosive ordnance disposal officer and military surveyor within the Corps of Royal Engineers. 

I was privileged to serve for twenty-eight years in the British Army as a soldier and officer, rising through the ranks to complete my service as a major. I served across the globe on numerous military operations as well as extensive travel and adventure on many major mountaineering and exploration expeditions that I led or was involved in.

I was awarded the Geographic Medal by the Royal Geographical Society for mountain exploration in 2003 and served on the screening committee of the Mount Everest Foundation charity for many years. It was humbling after so many years of service when I was awarded the MBE for services to counter-terrorism in 2007.
Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FailsafeQuery

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefailsafethrillers/

Website: https://www.michaeljenkins.org/

Like The Failsafe Query? Read the sequels!

I reviewed The Kompromat Kill, book 2 in the Sean Richardson series, for another damppebbles tour and the author graciously gifted me a copy of book 3, The Moscow Whisper, which I reviewed in October.