Overkill: An Alex Hawke Novel

Ted Bell’s latest entry in his Lord Alex Hawke series, Overkill, continues the adventure of the protagonist Alex Hawke against his archrival Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the book, Hawke and his ten-year old son, Alexei, go on a ski trip to Switzerland for some father and son bonding. However, as Alexei and others are riding in a ski lift, it suddenly and violently explodes, trapping them in the air with no way of getting down. As the people on the lift are eventually rescued and taken to a hospital, Hawke makes a startling discovery: Alexei was never admitted. Realizing his son was kidnapped, Hawke is in a race against time as he searches for his son.

Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin, who faced backlash in Russia, fakes his own death by having his private jet crashed in the Alps. Hawke realizes there is a connection between Putin’s supposed death and the disappearance of his son.

Like the previous Bell books, Overkill has lots of twists and turns as well as action. However, this time Bell made the plot less believable than in his previous thrillers. Nevertheless, Overkill is still a good read reminiscent of James Bond and Jason Bourne.