Does not disappoint!

DOWNBURST is Book 2 in the former military cop Rachel Hatch series by military thriller authors L.T. Ryan and Brian Shea. Remember that she is called Hatch rather than Rachel, never Rachel. Book 1 is titled Drift and it was released in audio format in late March 2020. Downburst was released in Kindle format on April 2, 2020 so I borrowed using Kindle Unlimited and read it early in April. (Book 3 titled Fever Burn is set in Kenya and it was released in Kindle format on June 5, 2020. I have no idea when it will be released in audio format.)

Hatch is an former military policeman who was forced to retire after 15 years of service due to a serious injury to her right arm. She returned home to find that he older sister had been murdered leaving two teenagers. After solving that murder in Drift she set out to find out why her dad who she idolized had been killed when she was in her early teen years. Downburst finds her in a small New Mexico town following her dad's trail.

Hatch has a lot in common with Jack Reacher including the military police background, the insistence on being called by her last name, and the trail of bad-guy bodies she leaves in her wake.

This is a fun series made more so by the excellent narration of Marnye Young. Thanks to Audible listener Shelley for finding this series for us.

12 people found this helpful

This series has great potential!

This is book two in the Rachel Hatch series. Rachel arrives in a small New Mexico town with a lead to a person who may have information about her deceased father. What she finds instead is a town ruled by bikers and gangs. Wouldn’t have bothered her until it became personal. Lots of action. This is a fun read.
Marnye Young does a great job narrating.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Thank You.

10 people found this helpful

Female Jack Reacher

Well-written and hard to stop listening. For those of us who are die hard Reacher fans, discovering this series was an amazing find. In many ways, I actually enjoy this character more than Reacher in that as a female, she can tap into a different set of emotions as she helps administer justice for those in need. Can’t wait for the third installment!

1 person found this helpful

Downburst

Good story with lots of action. Some unnecessary details. Like the narrator and the character.

horrible series.

I always try to find a positive with a writer, but this series is so ridicules. I suppose I should use some imagination. How when she supposedly went through special forces training twice. shot or pummeled every bad guy, etc etc. see if I can get my credit back for the next book.

Read the Book, Skip the Audio

There are so many good narrators out there now. Why would any author allow a second-rate narrator to do a hatchet job on their work? I really don't like nit-picking the hard work people do, but I'm tired of C-grade narration ruining my enjoyment of a good story.

Since I review on average more than 300 books a year, most of them are audiobooks. I love the freedom to multi-task while listening to a good story. But when I spend more time listening to the poor phrasing of the narrator than following the story line, that distraction becomes more than just a nuisance. Is there some cheap narrator's school out there that teaches people it's a great idea to ignore the author's phrasing and just read sentences in 4 to 5 word bursts? The truly amazing part is that this narrator continues to read the other books in the series. *sigh*

As for the story itself, when I wasn't distracted by my pet peeve, it was good for its genre. The reader needs to recognize that the Rachel Hatch series is a bit of a modernized female Dirty Harry. It's great if you're into justice at any cost and are capable of suspension of belief for certain plot points. It's not so great if you demand total realism in your read. Rachel Hatch is an interesting character who drags her psychological baggage with her in pursuit of information about her father's killer. But in the 80's style of Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone she can't walk away from a perceived injustice against innocent people.

Enjoyable read. Crummy listen.

Great series

I am really enjoying this series. I think I read somewhere this character is like a female jack reacher. I agree. I listened to this book in one day. Same with the first. It grabs you right away and I love all the characters and seeing the main character change and grow. I hope this series continues for awhile. It’s fantastic