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Bob Lee Swagger is living the life of a hermit in the mountains of Arkansas. His life revolves around guns; he has a huge cache, which he fine-tunes and cares for but never uses for killing. He doesn't need much in his life. He's got a loyal dog and plenty of room to roam, and that suits him fine. When Bob served in Vietnam, he was renowned for his marksmanship; currently, he is one of the top shooters in the United States. In spite of himself, he is flattered when a government agency seeks his advice in order to prevent the assassination of the President. Based on his analysis, he is able to determine almost precisely where and when the shooter will make the shot. But things go awry, and Bob ends up on the wrong side of a manhunt. Bob is incredibly innovative in how he eludes his pursuers. Eventually, he hooks up with the wife of a fallen comrade who helps him overcome life-threatening injuries. Eventually, he also works with an FBI agent who is in the process of being suspended; together, they take on a huge force who have as their goal the utter obliteration of Bob. Bob turns into a killing machine; 'overkill' is a word that applies on more than one level. Swagger is one of those implacable men of action that are popular in the thriller genre. He is a very talented marksman; however, I grew weary of page upon page of descriptions about planning for every shot, figuring in wind currents and bird droppings and whatever in an almost scientific process. The pacing moved from breathtaking suspense to yawning passages about types of guns, types of bullets, and so on. At 569 pages, there was lots of opportunity for making the book tighter. In spite of that, my interest in the basic plot never flagged. There were a couple of twists that I didn't expect – I always love being surprised by an author – and the ending was a 'feel good' all round.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, August 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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