Contract to Kill by Andrew Peterson, Performed by Dick Hill

This audiobook is Book 5 in the Nathan McBride series.  I’ve listed to all 5 of these so far, but as I’m only now getting around to posting reviews…we’ll start with the latest story.

Dick Hill is an excellent performer in his genre.  I never hear him when I am not reminded of Jack Reacher (“Reacher said nothing.”) and this series is well within his bailiwick.  It’s also hard to think of the Nathan McBride and not compare him with Reacher.  They are similar in natures, and unfortunately story development.

Like Reacher the series starts off with a bang and works itself towards a repetitive fizzle.  Contract to Kill is rather shallow in story depth and there really isn’t much more character development to me.  Nathan is still having difficulties in his long distance relationship, Harvey is still the Jiminy Cricket to Nathan’s Pinocchio.  His Dad still struggles to maintain their relationship, etc, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I like formulaic books, The Dresden Files  stand testament to that, but while I can accept that our main character will always prevail in the end, good over evil, and so forth the story that relates how and why they triumph (and fail) is crucial.

This story introduces us to our requisite ‘bad guy’ by relating an event where he could be tempted to take a large chunk of money for himself…but chooses the virtuous path not to…until later apparently when the opportunity presents itself again in civilian life as a highly trusted member in a private military contractor company.  Things don’t go as planned and he inevitably crosses Nathan’s path, and as things go badly for this former military specialist, instead of stopping, realizing he won’t prevail…he continues on doing more and more reckless things.  This kind of incongruity vexes me.  Either they have prowess in tactics and operations, or they are a desperado with a gun(s) but typically not both.

Nathan, of course, prevails, and honestly there wasn’t a lot more revealed in this story.  This series, I fear, is on the same path as Reacher which I gave up on after the 10th book in that series.  I can suspend disbelief, but not stupidity.

I recommend these books if you are looking for a light, good guys with guns series.  But if you are looking for good stories with interesting increasingly deeper characters I refer you to The Dresden Files.