Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsHighly recomend these stories and rhe author but his fact checking needs work
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2020
I have read several of the Camel Club stories and really do enjoy them. I've read many other stories by this author and really liked them as well.
My problem with them is a great big gaping hole in the Camel Club series and, to a lesser extent, all of his othr books. He seems to be unaware that it is completely illegal for the CIA to operate in ANY capacity within the territory of the United States. Any reader of good spy fiction is aware of this. The FBI, in fact, would actively oppose any involvement of te CIA and would never cooperate with them. Not only do these stories ignore this he actually invests the CIA with the power of criminal investigatonand arrest within the USA. Epic Fail on the part of these stories. This is way too big a departure from reality to be put down to poetic license for a story of this genre. I hope it was done in ignorance of the rules because otherwise he's countimg on his readers to be too igmotant to notice and care.
I'm one of tbe later books in this series a character instslls an electronic devise in a computer that will cause the CPU to fail in such a way as exlplode and kill anyone within 15 feet. You do realize that computer savy people are among those most likely to read books, right? And that that scenario is laughably silly?
It's true that fiction requires the suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader and these moments (except the CIA thing) are relatively minor plot devices to make the storyline work. I'm generally OK with that but, like Tom Cruise's motorcycle tires magically changing from street tread to knobbies as he goes from pavement to asphalt and back again, some of these requests of the reader stretch the patience and tolerance.
All that being said I find his work entertaining with good, well written characters and situations, the above notwithstanding, well thoughtout and fast paced with the right mix of humor thrown in thanks to the interesting and unlikely mix of characters in the club.
I very much recommend these books but, due the flaw in the basic premise I can't give it 5 stars
