Audiobook10 hours
The Bomb Maker
Written by Thomas Perry
Narrated by Joe Barrett
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
A threat is called into the LAPD Bomb Squad, a team dispatched to a house whose owner is away, and a bomb disguised inside photography equipment exploded in the kitchen. But it is a second bomb hidden in the basement that has devastating consequences-half of the entire Bomb Squad is obliterated within seconds.
The fragmented unit turns to Dick Stahl, a former Bomb Squad commander who now operates his own private security company. Having just returned from a grueling job in Mexico, Stahl is reluctant to accept the offer, but senior technicians he had trained were among those killed. On his first day back at the head of the squad, Stahl's team is dispatched to a suspected car bomb outside a gas station. It quickly becomes clear to him that they are dealing with the same mastermind behind the weapon that killed fourteen highly trained men and women barely twenty-four hours before-and that the intended target may be the Bomb Squad itself.
As the shadowy organization sponsoring this campaign of terror puts increasing pressure on the bomb maker, and Stahl becomes dangerously entangled with a member of his own team, the fuse on this high-stakes plot only burns faster. The Bomb Maker is Thomas Perry's biggest, most unstoppable thriller yet.
The fragmented unit turns to Dick Stahl, a former Bomb Squad commander who now operates his own private security company. Having just returned from a grueling job in Mexico, Stahl is reluctant to accept the offer, but senior technicians he had trained were among those killed. On his first day back at the head of the squad, Stahl's team is dispatched to a suspected car bomb outside a gas station. It quickly becomes clear to him that they are dealing with the same mastermind behind the weapon that killed fourteen highly trained men and women barely twenty-four hours before-and that the intended target may be the Bomb Squad itself.
As the shadowy organization sponsoring this campaign of terror puts increasing pressure on the bomb maker, and Stahl becomes dangerously entangled with a member of his own team, the fuse on this high-stakes plot only burns faster. The Bomb Maker is Thomas Perry's biggest, most unstoppable thriller yet.
Author
Thomas Perry
Thomas Perry is the New York Times bestselling author of nearly thirty novels, including the critically acclaimed Jane Whitefield series, The Old Man, and The Butcher's Boy, which won the Edgar Award. He lives in Southern California. Follow Thomas on Facebook at @ThomasPerryAuthor.
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Reviews for The Bomb Maker
Rating: 3.83333332173913 out of 5 stars
4/5
69 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thomas Perry's "The Bomb Maker," features a title character who is never named. This is fitting, since he is a one-dimensional villain who is scarcely recognizable as human. He is a megalomaniac who embodies greed, duplicity, and malice and takes pleasure in destroying people "from a safe distance." The bomb maker knows that "the planet is full of substances that could be made to explode" and uses his knowledge to design and create sophisticated devices made to fool all but the most savvy demolition experts.
When the bomb maker commits an outrageous act that shocks the citizens of Los Angeles, Deputy Chief Dave Ogden calls in forty-four year old Dick Stahl, a retired Explosive Ordinance Disposal Expert. Stahl's impressive resume includes stints in various war zones and the LAPD, where he recruited and trained members of the LA Bomb Squad. Currently, Stahl operates his own successful security company. He is a shrewd individual who carefully analyzes each situation before taking action.
This novel is an escapist thrill-ride, a gladiatorial contest between two well-matched opponents. There are riveting scenes in which Stahl painstakingly tries to defuse bombs with hidden traps. He and his colleagues wear heavy suits with Kevlar and steel plates, and when necessary, use a containment vessel, a robot, and/or mirrors and video cameras to get a closer look at the bomb's components. The writing is crisp and descriptive without being ornate, and the story has a forward momentum that makes us eager to learn what will happen next. Although suspenseful and fast-paced, "The Bomb Maker" is neither nuanced nor realistic. The plot includes an unnecessary romance; petty political infighting; and shadowy terrorists whose contrived relationship with the bomb maker weakens the book's credibility. Still, this is a nail-biter that will make you appreciate the brave men and women in bomb squads all over the world who take terrible risks to protect others from harm. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Audiobook. I have read/listened to many of Perry's books and generally I like them. They are perfect for traveling, walking the dog, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, etc. There does seem to be a common theme in all of them regardless of whether the protagonist is a "good" or "bad" guy and that's the sort of savior or lone man/woman against hoards of overwhelming odds. It makes for an enjoyable read if a bit implausible.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another great story by this author.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love a good Thomas Perry and this is one. A good and credible story well told.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perry strikes again. A stay-up-late-until-you-finish-it book. I learned a lot about bombs. (I hope not all of it is accurate.) Perhaps not Perry's best, but plenty good enough.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5If you are looking for a good, quick read filled with action and a bit of suspense this may be for you. I felt like I learned more about bomb making than I really wanted but that knowledge helped lend credence to the bomb maker's actions. While entertaining, I found a number of weaknesses in the plot including a superficial development of the bomb maker's character and an ending that seemed rushed and anticlimactic. I guess I feel cheated that there wasn't a head to head resolution of the cat and mouse struggle between Stahl and the bomb maker that carried the first seventy-five percent of the book.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Ends too abruptly and without the proper catharsisGenerally speaking, Thomas Perry writes by using only one plot mechanism: the hunter & the evader. The inventive ways that he tweaks that mechanism are what has made him a reliable suspense writer. He alternates having the heroes & villains as being either the hunters or the escapers. It is not necessarily always the police doing the chasing or the villains being the escapers.His "Jane Whitefield" series is built around a heroine whose whole premise is to hide people, a one-person witness protection agency. His "Butcher's Boy" is a hit-man on the run from all those trying to run him down whether the police or other villains. In last year's "The Old Man", Perry set himself the challenge of portraying the escapee as a senior citizen and the result was one of his best.Unfortunately this year's "The Bomb Maker" falls flat in the challenge department. The most unique feature about it is that the villains are unidentified and mostly anonymous. That may of course agree with a lot of unsolved or even solved crimes in reality but does not provide much of a catharsis for the reader. The hero is supposed to pass through a journey that purges an element of villainy from the world, thereby earning our empathy and identification. When the object of the purging is relatively unknown, the solution and satisfaction feel unfulfilled and empty.I still appreciate Thomas Perry for always attempting a new angle to his plots, but this one just did not conclude in a satisfactory manner
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Story is gripping and well-written. BUT the ending had so many loose ends, I was disappointed.