Desmond Aloysius Limerick (Dez) is a retired gatekeeper. What's a gatekeeper you may ask? Well in Dez's case, a kind of cross between Jack Reacher, MacGyver, and John McClane. His former profession had him working ops around the world and as a gatekeeper he was responsible not only for getting his teams into whatever location they needed to enter, but making sure they all got out too. He was an expert on entrances and exits of all kinds. His current life has him living in southern California and sitting in on an occasional musical gig. Retirement may be what he wants, but he can't remain idle when he realizes a woman is about to be kidnapped. Saving Petra Alexandris is just the beginning of the story - as you might guess - and Dez soon finds himself not only keeping Petra safe, but deeply involved in thwarting a wide-ranging conspiracy.
I haven't had this much fun with a new action thriller since I don't know when. Well, I do remember, as it was with book three of the Dez series (forthcoming title, Chain Reaction, not yet in LINKcat), which I read and loved so much I immediately read books one and two (Deadlock). Yes the plots and villains are a bit over-the-top, but the down to earth Dez grounds the stories. Dez is a quick-witted, affable (even when fighting for his life) force of nature who has a genuine appreciation for the people in his orbit. He's a hero well worth rooting for. And watching him best the bad guys? All kinds of fun.