Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) By Jack Lively

Tom Keegan, recently separated from the U.S. military, is doing his Jack Reacher imitation and bouncing around where ever the train takes him. He winds up in a small French town and immediately gets involved in intrigue.

A slow to develop story but worth staying with it. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) STRAIGHT SHOT by Jack Lively is the first book in the Tom Keeler international mystery and crime series and the first book that I have read by this author. The story is set in current times in France. Tom Keeler is an ex-Special Forces operator who has just left the military and is traveling around Europe. He decides to go to an area of France that this mother was from to see if he can find any relatives. As soon as he gets there, he is mistaken for someone else and the action starts. Who can he trust? What is really going on in this community?

This book has mystery, crime, romance, family, vigilante justice and much more as its themes. Tom was a compelling character with a strong sense of right and wrong and clear goals. The secondary characters enhanced the story and had varying degrees of depth. The plot twists and turns in a believable way with some unexpected results. The descriptions gave a clear sense of time and place without being distracting.

Overall, this is a well-written, dark and gritty story with some graphic scenes. If you enjoy vigilante justice thrillers in an international setting, then this may be the series for you.

I won a digital copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Thanks go to Goodreads, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) Straight Shot is the first book about Tom Keeler by Jack Lively and what a great book it is. I am really glad I found this for me new author. Keeler is just out of the military and is travelling through France when he comes to the town where his mother was born. In search for relatives he finds murder and mayhem and trafficking. Lots of action and betrayal in this book. Did he find some relatives? Well read the book and find out... Highly recommended. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) The book started really well. Tom Keeler is attacked by street thugs, case of a mistaken identity. Soon the thugs manage to kill the intended target - an Afghani. Tom teams up with the police to find why the Afghani was killed and stumbles upon a conspiracy. Very average plot, but still looked very promising. It could've been had the author wrapped up the story under 250 pages. But the author kept dragging the story with confusing and pointless incidents. The action isn't crisp and by the end I was just skimming through the pages. Not sure if I try the subsequent books. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) Quirky Different Good

After reading lots of “typical” action books, this one is a breath of fresh air. Still plenty of action, some of it shockingly presented, but there’s also a surprising lyrical quality to the writing. Looking forward to book 2. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1)

Ex-Special Forces operator Tom Keeler is a rambling man. He’s just passing through the town of Alencourt, France, and in less than an hour, someone tries to kill him.

Nice place, nice try.

But it’s a case of mistaken identity, and they picked the wrong guy.

The French police can’t be trusted, except for the beautiful Cecile Nazari.

She finds out fast, that keeping up with Keeler is a dangerous occupation.

Because someone’s preying on the weak and unprotected.

Someone murderous.

But they never counted on coming up against a guy like Keeler. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1)

Anyone read the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child?

Well...

Ex-military. No fixed abode. French mother. Very able in a fight situation. Comes to town. People mistake him for someone else but he overcomes that issue. Gets it on with a female local Police officer. Short sentences. Short chapters. Seem familiar?

Not terrible by any means but so like Jack Reacher that the second volume is entitled, Breacher. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) American Special Forces veteran Tom Keeler travelling through France stops in a small town to look up relatives in a kind of Jack Reacher scenario resulting in trouble with Euro bad guys. Good characters and plot premise but more mystery than thriller in a been there, done that story. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) While this book did have several interesting twists and turns that kept you involved in the story, it was too much of a Jack Reacher copycat for my liking. I've read all of books in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series and have always enjoyed the wit and carefreeness of his character. In Straight Shot, not only does Tom randomly decide to stop in a French town where his mother had spent time in her youth, he helps to solve a huge crime that was going on within the community that no one seemed to know about. Tom is a likable character and comes with skills from his military training where he was an investigator. Again, this aligns with Jack Reacher's background and his former connections.
My husband and I listened to the audio version of this, and while the reader played the character well, even his voice parroted the voice of the audio versions of some of the Jack Reacher books I have listened to.
I think this author is talented enough that he doesn't need to create works that parallel so closely with another author's very famous character. When that happens, I will be interested in reading another one of Jack Lively's books. Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) Straight Shot by Jack Lively

Ex-Special Forces operator Tom Keeler is a rambling man. He’s just passing through the town of Alencourt, France, and in less than an hour, someone tries to kill him.

Nice place, nice try.

But it’s a case of mistaken identity, and they picked the wrong guy.

The French police can’t be trusted, except for the beautiful Cecile Nazari.

This very much reminded me of the Jack Reacher series. A well thought out plot even if it does get off to a slow start. Short sentences are used to draw the reader in and plot twists used to hold the readers attention. A must read for fans of Lee Child.

Rating 4/5
Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1) **** I was provided a free copy of this book in return for an honest review ****

It took me a moment or two (hour, really) to get the flow and rhythm of the author’s book. Not sure what I thought “straight shot” was going to mean for this book ..... but, I was incorrect.

The writer brings a fresh approach from beginning to endin (I won’t give any spoilers but .... nice plot twist in the end. I love books with cliffhangers... but I do prefer there to be another book if you drop cliffhangers!!!!!

I was hoping for full-on romance with police detective but maybe in the next book..... Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1)

review Straight Shot (Tom Keeler #1)