When the Deringer pistol that
shot Abraham Lincoln is stolen and ends up in the hands of a Russian military
general, covert agent Blake Deco is tasked by the FBI to head to the Balkans to
recover the historical weapon. Meanwhile, the United States media is abuzz with
news of the mysterious disappearance of Hollywood movie star, Goldie St.
Helen.
After Blake’s return from overseas, he receives a tip from a Mexican friend that a drug lord, obsessed with the beautiful actress, is holding her captive in Tijuana. With the help of a reluctant army friend, Blake mounts a daring rescue. What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for Goldie—or that a killer is hunting them.
After Blake’s return from overseas, he receives a tip from a Mexican friend that a drug lord, obsessed with the beautiful actress, is holding her captive in Tijuana. With the help of a reluctant army friend, Blake mounts a daring rescue. What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for Goldie—or that a killer is hunting them.
Gun Kiss (Romantic/Men’s
Action/Thriller)
By Khaled Talib
Imajin Books
ISBN #978-1772233490
231 Pages
Price $16.99 (Paperback)
Price $5.99 (Kindle)
Rating 4-Stars
“A Fun Story”
The author gave me a
copy of the book for an honest review. Blake Deco, is an ex Delta Force member
who now owns a small café, Mama Tacos, and
also does some side work for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), especially
retrieving stolen historical objects. We see him retrieve the gun used by John
Wilkes Booth to kill Abe Lincoln at the beginning of the story, then upon
return to California he’s contacted by a friend in Mexico with an important
message: A recently kidnapped movie star is being held in the compound of a
Mexican drug lord. With his partner, Jack Rowan, he drives to Mexico and in a
daring night raid rescues Goldie St. Helen; then with the help of the Mexican
police they make it back to the U.S. with the actress. But now the drug lord is
after him and wants the actress back, plus there may be someone else after him.
The story starts off
with some really nice action, but bogs down fairly quick with a lot of dead
space and nothing happening. The story didn’t know if it wanted to be a men’s
action novel or a lady’s love story. There are plenty of romantic scenes
between Blake and Goldie, and some humor as well. In fact, the first quarter of
the book gave me the impression that Blake Deco and Jack Royan, were doing a
good imitation of Jake Speed and Desmond Floyd. Anyone remember them? A men’s
action adventure that made it to film, but never made it to novels that I am
aware of. Jake Speed was a parody of the men’s action novels, and this romp
reminded me of that parody. The book also needs a good editing. Now don’t get
me wrong, the story is fun, and I enjoyed it. I was just expecting a men’s
action novel and got a romance novel instead. Heck, I still watch Jake Speed at
least once a year. Give GUN KISS a try. I think you’ll like it. I know I did.
Highly recommended.
Tom
Johnson
Author
of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI didn't think anyone but me remembered "Jake Speed." The novels were billboarded in the back of a few Gold Eagle (who published Mack Bolan) titles. Then the film tanked. AFAIK, none ever appeared. (Possibly they got converted to Executioner titles, like the leftover Daggar books.)
If you look closely at the film, two versions of the novels appear. One set looks generic and without publisher logos. The others, obviously cut in after production wrapped, show Gold Eagle covers.
Too bad Jake Speed did not become a cult favorite like "Buckaroo Bonsai" did.
Bob
You're right, Bob. Heck, I liked Jake Speed. I wish I could get a copy of the screenplay, I would type my own copy of the book out (LOL).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, Tom.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Khaled. A good read.
ReplyDelete