An action-packed chess match between grandmasters of death, Deadlock is one of the most entertaining novels you will read this year. It’s intense, cerebral, and quite hilarious. In fact, Deadlock gets my vote for the cheekiest thriller of 2023. James Byrne bowled me over with this smashing tale.
Dez Limerick heads to Portland at the request of his mate Raziah, whose journalist sister was just hospitalized after being attacked. While protecting the sisters, he gets sideways with the security muscle of Oregon’s largest tech corporation, Clockjack. Turns out there’s much more happening at Clockjack than their stated mission of improving the world through technology. Dez inserts himself into the mix to do what he does best – namely open doors and keep them open by any means necessary – and finds a sinister group of mercenaries led by a brilliant psychopath hellbent on achieving massive amounts of power and money. Outnumbered and with danger around every corner, Dez will have to use every ounce of his superior skillset to keep his friends safe and take down the evildoers before they can enact their master plan.
There’s no overstating the high level of entertainment that Deadlock provides. It starts with Dez, a smart, capable and irreverent protagonist who you can’t help but fall in love with. Whether it’s his wisecracks in the face of harrowing situations, his protective nature and strong sense of doing what’s right, or his ability to fell large humans just by chucking a small metal marble at their heads, Dez worms his way into your heart and you can’t help but root hard for him to be successful in all his numerous pursuits.
Beyond the humor – of which there are many laughs to be had – the action sequences are expertly crafted, the characters are perfectly developed, the dialogue is snappy, and the story is fresh and timely. It starts off hot and constantly escalates, blending brute force violence with intellectual gamesmanship and cunning tradecraft, with several curveballs to keep you on your toes. It’s simply a fantastic reading experience.
The thriller world needs Dez Limerick and thankfully he appears to be sticking around for a bit. Which is brilliant news for the genre. Aye, that.
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