Book Review: The Killer Half

Reviewed by Lindsay Crandall

One part thriller, one part romance—The Killer Half is an action-packed story you won’t want to miss.

Author JB Blake sets up this romantic thriller with Hawk in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, hunting with his dogs after an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps. It’s here in the desert that he stumbles across a heavily used human trafficking trail, currently being used by a cartel scouting group, and it leads him to discover plans for an armed invasion of America. Blake then leaves that particular story to tell the story of Hawk, a legend, who served in the war in Afghanistan with his truly unbelievable trio of dogs.  

The beginning of The Killer Half is all war stories. Readers are introduced to the band of Marines who served alongside Hawk and are told of the unit’s adventures while deployed together. Hawk and his partner Jade are a well-known hunter-killer team who are called upon often to complete seemingly impossible rescue missions.  

Eventually, the two men are approached by the Department of Defense and temporarily suspended from active duty to complete contract work for foreign entities. During the commission of one of these contracts, Hawk witnesses an event that simultaneously breaks his heart and his spirit, leading him to decline reenlistment before heading back to America.

Blake picks the story back up in the present timeline with Hawk back in the desert, uncovering the planned invasion of America. Using every contact he has available to him, Hawk organizes the resistance to this historic invasion of America. Not only is he now fighting to save his country, he’s fighting for someone special, who has restored some of Hawk’s faith in himself.  

Blake paints a vivid picture of a truly spectacular, and at times, unrealistic, plan to invade the country. He is clearly knowledgeable of the inner workings of the military and firearms. The text is laden with military jargon and technical aspects of weaponry that some readers will appreciate while others may perceive as overly descriptive. But the plot is clear and engaging nonetheless, and although there is a large cast of characters, Blake focuses on only developing a few as primary characters, leaving the rest to support the story.  

Blake wraps this story up with a thoughtful conclusion and an ending you will not see coming. Readers who want their war stories with romance and thrills will love following Hawk and his fellow Marines in The Killer Half.

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Romance

Print Length: 338 pages

ISBN: 978-1639885046

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