Frank Bowen’s mission is to find a GCHQ whistleblower but in doing so unwittingly risks everything, including his own family’s safety.
As part of a covert team, assigned to dangerous missions, Bowen believes he knows what he’s up against, until a team of Russian mercenaries are thrown into the mix, leaving everyone and everything hanging in the balance.
It’s a race against the clock to save all … the clock to save all that he holds dear and uncover the dark truths behind his mission.
Pandora Red is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that will keep you turning the pages throughout.
more
Enjoyable action packed espionage thriller. There’s a prequel novella, False Flag, that isn’t required (there’s enough background dropped in that you wouldn’t *have* to read/listen to False Flag, but it’s a solid addition that I’d recommend) to enjoy this book.
Like False Flag this is a little slow to start, but doesn’t take as long to get going. Also, the author does several flashbacks, one of which pauses to have its *own* flashback that personally I just wish maybe would have been presented as a prologue or in a bit cleaner/linear fashion.
Frank is sent to recover a woman and the info/data she’s stolen which quickly turns into a “who is really the enemy” situation. This works well to keep the listener on their toes. A nice mix & ratio of espionage, action, mystery, and suspense.
I honestly thought the cover looked like it was hinting at a romantic suspense element – but there is nothing along those lines. (I was relieved, because while I’m a fan of that genre, it wasn’t what I was looking for in this listen).
The overall story arc is resolved, but the ending definitely shows the author’s intent to keep the series going.
Chris MacDonnell does a good job with narration again. A variety of voices & accents are well done. I always knew who was talking.
Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
This is an espionage/spy thriller with several fights, murders, and instances of peril. Attempted rape of a main character. Frank’s wife & child are kidnapped. Secondary character commits suicide.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from FreeAudiobookCodes.com and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Great conspiracy thriller…
This is the second Frank Bowen thriller and it takes place about 8 years after the events of False Flag. During the intervening years, Frank has trained relentlessly for his field position with MI6 and had some adventures about which he reminisces briefly in this story which takes him to Central America and Cuba as he and his team search for a rogue data analyst codenamed Pandora. This analyst has uncovered a vast governmental conspiracy centered around covert intelligence-gathering and surveillance of the general public. At immense risk to her personal safety and at the cost of her career, this dauntless young woman makes a copy of the top-secret files outlining the plans for instituting this surveillance and makes a run for it. Reminiscent of the Edward Snowden saga, this is a fast-paced thriller featuring a lone whistleblower on the run whilst trying to get information to the masses about the government-sanctioned infringement of civil liberties and personal privacy. Our hero, Frank, is dispatched with a team of MI6 agents to recover the data and the analyst but nothing goes as planned and the adventure, danger, and suspense fuel a wild and harrowing ride to the very end. For those choosing to listen to the audio version of this story, you will be delighted to know that Chris MacDonnell reprises the role of narrator and, one again, treats us to a stellar performance.
While I did purchase a copy of this story (in the 99 Degrees Thriller Boxset), I was provided with a copy of the audiobook version of Pandora Red by the author and I am voluntarily offering this honest and unbiased review.
Pandora Red, my second read from author Jay Tinsian0.. Extremely well written, the characters, well developed. I’m a character reader, I get into the characters. Who and what they are. Why they do the things they do. The things that make a reader get invested into the characters and thereby the book and this book does! I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. I was impressed and enjoyed the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Chris Macdonnell. I look forward to reading more in this series & from this author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).