General Jack Wilder is a super super-soldier. He can beat up bad guys and match wits with evil geniuses. He can shoot his way out of any situation and still find time to make sweet love to the damsel in distress. Wilder will single-handedly save the world while cracking one-liners and busting his friends’ chops. What keeps General Jack Wilder from coming off as a cool jerk is the natural chemistry between our hero and his wrecking crew: PTSD-addled General Jeff Bradshaw and their feisty young ward, Adelaide. Wilder and Bradshaw try to shape Adelaide’s skills as a soldier, but she’s hard to tame. This mismatched trio works together in the line of fire as well as afterward, when the shooting has stopped and the emotional healing begins. Wilder and his team race against the clock to stop an impending war with China. The Chinese believe they’ll have an insurmountable edge in the upcoming conflict. As Wilder pieces together clues and solves puzzles, the body count continues to rise. The bad guys will stop at nothing to keep their military edge a secret.
All the elements of a great action thriller are here in Thomas H. Goodfellow’s final installment of THE INSURMOUNTABLE EDGE. Fast pacing. Gun battles. Helicopter battles. Tank battles. A couple of good ole’ boy heroes and their sassy, young, good ole’ gal protégé. Wilder has the “killing skills” of John Rambo or Jason Bourne, but the cool analytical mind of classic crime-solvers like Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. There is a lot of repetition as characters assess situations and discuss options. But in a story this big and sprawling, it helps keep character motivations clear and readers on point.
Goodfellow makes an interesting choice at the novel’s close. When Wilder and Bradshaw get the opportunity to confront the enemy, they are faced with a moral dilemma that suggests America’s defenders can be savage and brutal. This may thrill some readers and chill others.
Author Thomas H. Goodfellow brings the final installment of THE INSURMOUNTABLE EDGE series barreling into the station with General Jack Wilder’s offbeat crew in yet another fast, fun read for action thriller fans.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader