Review of SHOW NO MERCY by Brian Drake

 3 of 5 stars

I was excited to read this book by Brian Drake because I had read Justified Sins by this author and enjoyed it.  His portrayal of one of the characters, Mr. Pierce, captivated me.  It was masterful writing.

SHOW NO MERCY is a classic spy story.  We have the good agents, a rogue agent and, of course, the bad guys -- terrorists who want to blow up the world. Unfortunately, the main character, Michael Dodge, doesn't show the depth I expected. I wanted to know what made Michael tick. The author gives up snippets, but for me, they were not enough to let me truly understand Michael and his motivations.

Michael Dodge has been assigned to find out what's the story with Harry Ames, a respected CIA agent, who appears to have gone rogue. Complicating the story is Tracy Ames, Harry's daughter, also an agent, and assigned with Michael to find Harry. Further, Harry seems to have been a somewhat surrogate father to Michael.  With such conflicting emotions, I wanted to know how Michael felt.  How would you feel if you had orders to kill the only father you've ever known?  I was also disappointed that the author did not define Michael and Tracy's relationship.  Were they more like brother and sister or was there something more there?  Tidbits throughout the book didn't clarify their relationship.

Don't get me wrong, the story is not all bad.  Michael and Tracy's globe hopping trying to find Harry is thrilling and there are enough twists and turns thrown into the story, that you will want to know what happens.  Will Michael get to the terrorists in time before they blow up an American city?  Will he find Harry?  And what's with Harry?  Is he deep undercover or has he had enough of rules and regulations and joined the terrorists for the chance at a bucket load of money?  Read the story and find out!