‘Extreme Prejudice’ by Gordon Bickerstaff

Synopsis

For a price, he’ll expose a terrorist attack on London, but is the price too great?

If you fear trouble, don’t get into trouble. A foreign embassy official warns the UK government of a bomb attack on London. Zoe Tampsin’s Lambeth Group team is launched into a race against time to find the terrorists.

As Zoe unpicks the details, she suspects the informant didn’t tell her the whole story. With time running out, her team chase a promising lead only to have it wrenched from their grasp. Either the bombers were incredibly lucky, or they received a tip-off.

One of her team infiltrates the bombers. She discovers the attack has started, and her colleague Gavin Shawlens is missing, presumed killed by the terrorists.

While searching for Gavin, a massive disaster unfolds. Can Zoe stop colossal loss of life in a small community and prevent the collapse of a key pillar of society?

My Review

I have been a fan of Gordon’s work for a while now.   I have by no means caught up with everything that he has written but I am getting there.  I read the synopsis of ‘Extreme Prejudice’, which is the 9^th book in the series featuring the Lambeth Group, and it certainly sounded like the sort of book I have come to expect from Gordon- a fast paced, action packed, dramatic, tense and gripping read.  Well it was certainly all that and so much more.  I loved reading ‘Extreme Prejudice’ but more about that in a bit.

As is usually the case with one of Gordon’s books, I was drawn into this book from the synopsis alone and the story within the covers of the book sealed the deal as it were.  The book developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn’t willing to break.  Once I picked the book up, I found it nigh on impossible to put the book down for any length of time.  My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me.  I just didn’t want to miss a single second of the story.  I couldn’t turn the pages of the book quickly enough as I made my way through the story.  All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Extreme Prejudice’ and I had to say goodbye to the Lambeth Group.  I found ‘Extreme Prejudice’ to be a gripping, thrilling, nail biting, tense and dramatic read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

‘Extreme Prejudice’ is superbly written which is also true of Gordon’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading.  He certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story and then some.  For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout.  I have to be honest and say that some of the characters from both sides really scared the crap out of me and I certainly wouldn’t want to meet them down a dark alley.  Reading ‘Extreme Prejudice’ felt like being on one hell of a fast paced, scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.  Just when you thought that you could take a minute to reclaim your stomach, catch your breath and gather your thoughts then off the action would go again.  At times I almost had to read through my fingers as I feared what was going to happen next.  For me, ‘Extreme Prejudice’ is the book equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster movie and far more enjoyable.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Extreme Prejudice’ and I would recommend it to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more of Gordon’s work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.