Loose Cannon - Jack Steele

Loose Cannon is a hard-hitting, fast-paced crime thriller and one that I couldn't bear to put down.

Detective Joe Stone works for the special investigations unit in London and he often comes into contact with members of the two rival mafia families who operate in his area so when Marcia, the daughter of Chico Stettsi, head of the London Mafia, is kidnapped from her home it's only natural that he's called in to investigate.

This is just the start of some brutal attacks and it's not long before Joe finds that he's become a target. As well as trying to figure out who's the mastermind behind all of this he's also struggling with the disappearance of his girlfriend Gemma almost a year ago. He doesn't know if she's alive or dead but he's sure that at least one member of the two families knows exactly what happened to her but with just his gut feelings to go on he can't pursue it any further. Joe has to try and put his feelings out of his mind for now and concentrate on hunting down the psychopath that's on the loose on his patch.

I absolutely loved this book and raced through it in just two days. With it's short but punchy chapters, each one ended in just the right place to make me want to read on. The story flowed effortlessly, the characters were engaging and the pace was relentless as I followed Joe and his colleagues across London as they tried to identify the culprit. Joe is an interesting protagonist who is immediately likable and one that I was instantly drawn to, you know he's a good guy and you want him to be safe and catch the bad guys. Jack Steele cleverly interspersed the story with little snippets about Joe's missing girlfriend Gemma and as a reader my interest was piqued with every mention of her.

As debut novels go, this one is an absolute stonker, as soon as I'd read the last word my first impulse was to email Jack to find out if there was going to be a sequel and here's a part of my email:

"OMG I've just finished reading Loose Cannon this evening. . . . . . . . . .please tell me there's a sequel!! I've never needed a sequel as much as I need one for Loose Cannon!"

I was one happy hippo when the reply came back with a resounding yes, the sequel is being written and it picks up the story two weeks later.

If you enjoy a gripping thriller then this is just the book for you and I would highly recommend it. Jack Steele is most definitely an author on my one to watch list and I can't wait to read more from him.

With kind thanks to author Jack Steele for the review copy.