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MWSA Review
Adam Sikes’ thriller, Landslide is one long adrenaline rush. Protagonist Mason Hackett, a US Marine combat veteran, is settled in London, minding his own business. Imagine his shock when his old Marine buddy’s face is plastered on the news, especially since Hackett saw him die fifteen years ago. The claim that his old friend is a journalist, has a different name, and is detained on the Russia-Ukraine border perplexes Hackett even more. A cryptic plea for help clinches it and Semper Fidelis—the Marine motto, Always Faithful—kicks in, and we’re taken on a wild, violent ride. Hackett’s seat-of-his-pants tenacity while searching for his friend forces him to face his own demons while fending off what seems like half the Slavic world. “[N]eighbors had become enemies, families had split, and sometimes people never revealed their true loyalties, exacerbating the distrust and making everyone suspicious of another’s true intentions.”
Written before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and with Sikes’ first-hand experience as a combat Marine and CIA operative, the story is eerily feasible. Despite too many clichés throughout the book, Landslide is a contemporary, intriguing, espionage thriller.
Review by Sue Rushford (June 2023)
Author's Synopsis
U.S. Marine veteran Mason Hackett moved to London to start his life over, and he's done his best to convince himself that what happened fifteen years ago doesn't matter—the people he killed, the men he lost, the lives he ruined. But when Mason sees the face of a dead friend flash on a television screen and then receives a mysterious email referencing a CIA operation gone bad, he can no longer ignore his inner demons.
Driven by loyalty and a need to uncover the truth, Mason launches on a perilous journey from the Czech Republic to Romania toward the war-torn separatist region in eastern Ukraine to honor a fifteen-year-old promise. The answers he seeks—the fate of a friend and his connection to the underworld of international arms dealers and defense corporations—throw Mason into the cauldron of a covert war where no one can be trusted.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 369
Word Count: 96019