5 Wine #Review of THE BREAK LINE by James Brabazon!

Title: The Break Line

Series: Max McLean #1

Author: James Brabazon

Genre: Thriller

Format: hardcover 363 pages

Published: January 29th, 2019 by Berkley Books

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Source: publisher

Reviewer: Lexi

Rating: 5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Officially, Max McLean doesn't exist. The British government denies all knowledge of the work he does on their behalf to keep us safe. But Max and his masters are losing faith in each other. And they've given him one last chance to prove he's still their man.

Sent to a military research facility to meet a former comrade-in-arms, Max finds the bravest man he ever knew locked up for his own protection. His friend lost his mind during an operation in West Africa. The reason? Absolute mortal terror.

Max is determined to find out why.

Ahead lies a perilous, breathtaking mission into the unknown that will call into question everything that Max once believed in.

Acting alone, without back-up, Max lands in Sierra Leone with his friend's last words ringing in his ears: 'They're coming, Max. They're coming . . .'

The Break Line is a debut dripping with authenticity and menace. Smart, unputdownable and packed with irresistible set pieces and jaw-dropping plot twists, this is a thriller like no other.

Lexi's Thoughts:
You need a great action-thriller read and THE BREAK LINE is it. Brabazon’s writing will transport you to Sierra Leone with vivid detail and heart pounding action be it from the CIA, Israeli intelligence, Russians, or West African rebels. 

Your mind will be spinning as you go along with Max who is trying to untangle the spiderweb of people trying to kill him. And it all began with the woman he was supposed to kill but didn’t. He has honor and draws the line at taking innocent lives. 

But that choice ends up with him being assigned to what begins to seem like a jungle suicide-mission. Yes, Max has been trained well, he’s a British spy, but he feels unprepared for challenges after challenges that keep stacking up against him. And when he discovers what the rebels have really been doing, the experiments the scientist within their ranks has been concocting, things get really frightening. 

Book one of the Max McLean series is an amazing fiction debut by Brabazon. His real life experiences shine through and really create a layered backdrop for Max. But it’s Max’s character that is the true gem of this book, he’s smart, honorable, complex, and physically able to handle the job. Max is the new Jack Reacher and I can’t wait for book two!