The Masters’ Key by Helen Hanson is FANTASTIC!
This is one of those reviews that, if I was on my toes, would have been written back in May of 2015, and is part of my Blogging Shame Challenge.
Helen Hanson is firmly on my grab-every-time-I-see-one-of-her-books list.
Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA
MY REVIEW
I love conspiracies and political thrillers. The Master’s Key by Helen Hanson is filled with over the top suspense.
Technological terrorism that is terrifying to even think about.
We have betrayal, computer attacks, revenge, malice, and so much more.
The characters run the gamut. From good to bad: the evil bitch that’s pissed she didn’t get her way, the greedy partner, the CEO whose demands cross the line, the sick woman who’s heart is pure and the man who loves her.
The Masters’ Key is very frightening…filled with the technological implications and disasters that can occur when a psycho has you in his sights. I love trying to figure out characters motivations, but this psychos thoughts are so far past my understanding. Would anyone be safe, anywhere, if he wanted to get to you? I don’t think so.
I would like to reach into my Kindle, grab him around the throat, and…
Action packed. The tension level is off the charts, as I see the bad guys in every shadow, around every corner, and behind every door.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Masters’ Key by Helen Hanson.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Clint Masters returns from the pit of disaster . . .
With his allies at the CIA, Clint battles a mysterious new threat targeting his company and the citizens of Boston who now live in fear. Under a gag order from his last confrontation, Clint can’t reveal the truth about the tragedies.
In spite of city-wide panic, Clint sees the terror attacks as personal. And he learns that not everyone at the CIA wants to catch the killer. With public suspicion at redline, Clint must fight to survive.
But can Clint capture the elusive and ruthless maniac? Or will he become the next victim?
An espionage and suspense thriller with a techno bent, THE MASTERS’ KEY is set in Boston and DC.
The Masters CIA Thriller Series: RECOMMENDED READING ORDER:
3 LIES $3.99
THE MASTERS’ KEY $3.99
DEAD STORM $3.99
A BOX SET IS AVAILABLE FOR $9.99
INTERVIEW WITH HELEN HANSON:
Q: What does Helen Hanson bring to the thriller genre?
HH — Heart-skipping pace, life-critical stakes, and broody, looming danger wrapped in a twenty-first century skin. We live in a time when technology surrounds us. The kid down the street has instant access to information unfathomable a century ago. Consequently crime had gone digital, online, and victims rarely see what hit them.
Because of my background, I present the technology employed by my characters in a fluent way to readers. They say I write about techno topics in a way that makes them enjoyable. I don’t burden the prose with jargon. Most readers want to know what kind of gun is fired, not how to field strip it.
Q: Tell us about your characters.
HH — My characters are unique beings, each requiring a different spark to light the fire. I explore their sparks.
I create believable characters with realistic dialogue engaged in page-flipping action. I like to watch ordinary people find the extraordinary in themselves when facing adversity. No one is surprised when Jason Bourne takes out a detachment of Marines, but we can’t say that about waitress Maggie Fender.
My protagonists don’t possess the Special Forces skills of a super spy. They stumble into dangerous situations and use technology to advance their position even if it isn’t strictly legal. The stakes have to be worthy of a fight.
Plus, they’re witty people who possess veins of humor. As in life, it punctuates disaster.
Q: Where do your thrillers take place?
HH — The action in my thrillers takes place in a variety of locations around the globe. So far, we’ve landed in: Russia, Boston, San Francisco, Pakistan, Washington D.C., Santa Cruz, Venezuela, Half Moon Bay, and Mongolia. Since the characters across my novels exist in the same story world, they often appear in other works, though the current titles are not a single series.
Q: Do you write your thrillers in series?
HH — At the request of my readers, I have. The sequel to 3 LIES is now out and called THE MASTERS’ KEY, with a third volume on deck. After that, I’ll expand from DARK POOL and OCEAN OF FEAR because those characters are bound to find new adventures. With an FBI agent, a hacker, and a robotics expert in the lineup, they offer continuous fodder for action and suspense
ABOUT HELEN HANSON
Bestselling author Helen Hanson writes thrillers about desperate people with a high-tech bent. Hackers. The CIA. Industry titans. Guys on sailboats. Mobsters. Their personal maelstroms pit them against unrelenting forces willing to kill. Throughout the journey, they try to find some truth, a little humor, and their humanity — from either end of the trigger.
While Helen writes about the power hungry, she genuinely mistrusts anyone who wants to rule the world.
Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the redwood curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.
She is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. Helen and her husband spent their first anniversary with their flight instructor studying for the FAA practical. If you were a passenger on a 737 trying to land at SJC in 1995, she sends her most sincere apologies. Really.
Born in fly-over country, Helen has lived on both coasts, near both borders, and at several locations in between. She lettered in tennis, worked as a machinist, and saw the Clash at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium sometime in the eighties. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, and a dog that composes music with squeaky toys.
If you enjoy her books, please consider writing a review. If you don’t, please be kind.
For a FREE Thriller, visit HelenHanson.com
