The Naked Edge

DM books are always exciting with excellent pacing. He knows how to keep the reader engaged. The characters are broken but likable you will definitely get hooked.

The book introduces Cavanaugh, the main protagonist, and his wife Jamie. A retired protector, Cavanaugh's mundane life is interrupted by--for lack of a better way to put it--his past life. The chaos that ensues turns the story into hyperdrive. Interesting to this section is the back and forth of the PoV. Not from the persons with Cavanaugh but the ones trying to take him out. This is the reader's first insight to the antagonist Carl. It takes a good span of the book for him to be drawn out and his relationship to Cavanaugh to be revealed. Of course the premise of the story gives it away somewhat.While the multiple PoVs are a way to give a broader scope in the story, it becomes a little overindulged in places. For example, we see the depths the main antagonist--Carl--will go through to reach his ultimate goal by the callous way he kills. However, we are shown through casual vanilla characters, in vivid detail as an airplane explodes in midair. The passage before, and Carl's previous actions, gives the reader enough insight into what happened to his victim.Great cinematic detail, but a bit cumbersome to read. It leaves little to the imagination, giving too tight a control to the writers creation.Even with that little quirk, we get the exceptional research and outstanding writing expected from Mr. Morrell. The characters, as a whole, are well-developed. They leap from the digital page and compel compassion--on both sides. On one hand, you witness the destruction of something Cavanaugh has just inherited--Global Protection Services. He goes from someone who reluctantly takes on something bequeathed to him to a man fighting to keep it afloat. The human element explodes as one by one other protectors fall. We see a transition from Cavanaugh, through the writing, analyzing everything. The people he comes across are described in painstaking detail. It falls in line with his former work. You can't protect someone if you're not aware of your environment. We come to understand his revelation to his childhood friend, Carl's, behavior. No matter how depraved someone seems, hindsight compels us to analyze what we could have done to prevent that person from straying.The cat and mouse games are extraordinary. The way Carl is painted stroke by stroke gives the reader the insight into the warped sense of wanting acceptance. He is a person who craves attention by going to the extreme. The compelling part is, though he's the proverbial bad guy in the book, you can't help but feel the slightest twitch of remorse for his situation. Does he get what karma's dealing out in the end? Absolutely, but it doesn't deter from the sickening human factor he exhibits.A word of caution to those stuck in the past: If you're looking at the cover art of the book, calculating the knife factor and adding the cat versus mouse ratio to equal the next installment of Rambo, back away from your eReader. David Morrell does not subscribe to the cookie cutter thriller.

David Morrell has been one of my favorite writers over the years, because he has written numerous thrillers that are consistently well-researched, gripping, and interesting. With the release of "Naked Edge" as a Kindle exclusive, Mr. Morrell has accomplished a few things: he has embraced the e-book technology, he has brought back a familiar character from a previous novel for a new adventure, and he has proved yet again that he remains at the top of his game as a writer."Naked Edge" features the return of Cavanaugh - the protagonist of "The Protector" - though a reader new to Mr. Morrell's work would not really need to know what happened in "The Protector" to jump right into this novel. As the story opens, we find Cavanaugh retired and living in a remote part of Wyoming with his wife. Mr. Morrell doesn't waste any time letting the reader get settled in for a bucolic, relaxing tale. Instead, the reader is rocketed into a breakneck pace, as Cavanaugh and his wife are brought back into the Global Protective Services fold, ambushed by an unknown party, and are trying to stay alive long enough to figure out who their pursuers are - all while other protective agents are being killed all around the country. We come to learn that Cavanaugh's adversary is an old childhood friend, Delta Force colleague, and disgraced protective agent. This former friend means to seek vengance on Cavanaugh for reasons unknown to both he and the reader, as Mr. Morrell skillfully avoids telegraphing that and what is to come, which heightens the suspense and keeps the reader guessing as much as the protagonist.At the same time, we learn that Cavanaugh's adversary is proficient in making and using knives. This is where another of Mr. Morrell's talents comes out; that is, by "teaching" the reader something - whether it be spycraft, weaponry, aviation, or another trade - through the plot. He does so without paralyzingly, agonizingly detailed descriptions that other authors tend to run into; the reader learns while still racing along at top speed. Mr. Morrell is noted for researching the subject - or an aspect - of his novels before writing them, and so he conveys that he did his homework yet again on knives for "Naked Edge"."Naked Edge" really does not let up on you until the very last page, and so the reader is left quite entertained and, in a way that is almost a sort of "adrenalin rush" for readers, leaves you wanting more. Again, Mr. Morrell is a rare breed; he writes a story that is not too short, but not too lengthy, and is paced well. Many of his contemporaries could also learn from his writing style. I thoroughly enjoyed "Naked Edge", and recommend it both to fans of Mr. Morrell's other works and those just in the mood for an action-packed thriller.

The Naked Edge by David Morell is a high octane thriller in Lee Child mode. It explodes into action from page one and never lets up. Morell, consistent, reliable, never disappoints. I have loved his books since I first came across Rambo (First Blood) in the early 1970s. Many books were to follow including The Brotherhood of the Rose in the 1980s, The Fraternity of the Stone (late ‘80s), The Covenant of the Flame (mid-90s), to select only a couple. The great thrillers just kept on coming and The naked Edge is another one in a great line.The protagonist in this tale, Cavanagh, is cut straight from Jack Reacher cloth and, also like Reacher, he is faced with an implacable foe who is equipped with all the military and fighting skills Delta Force could give him but lacking in any form of morality, empathy, or any modicum of restraint. This foe is driven by a hatred so intense that he is prepared to sacrifice everything, his work, his freedom, his very life and the lives of thousands of others, to wreak his vengeance on the man he once called friend.No one does blood, guts and gore better than Morell and inevitably the two men clash in a tense and brutal climax. There is nothing neat or skilful about the pain-racked, groping, grovelling, blood-soaked struggle that brings the climax to an end. The enemy pulls every dirty trick in the book while Cavanaugh, forced into retreat, valiantly tries to improvise responses that merely see him succumbing slowly to the relentless onslaught that threatens to overcome him.Lovers of fast-paced, well written thrillers need look no further the The Naked Edge for their next purchase. A really great story.

This excellent thriller has been available on Kindle-only since last year and has no reviews on Amazon.co.uk so I felt compelled to add one for several reasons.This brings back his character from the Protector in a more personal story about old friends who become enemies. The themes of brotherhood are evident in this book which is a much improved addition to the Cavanuagh series.Morrell has a knack for introducing spy/operator trade craft in his novels in this is no exception, but he also includes some wonderful knife information (the Naked Edge of the title) and images.The plot is fast and the action doesn't let up, keeping you tense and on the edge all the way through. If you enjoy David's other action/thriller novels then do not hesitate to pick this up too!

Great read, non stop suspense - Morrell at his best

Good old thrilling adventure. Edge of the seat action. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend. You won't be sorry

A great read. Usual David Morrell standard. A cracking novel from start to finish, one of the best yet. Recommend.