Really tough and smart (sometimes smarter than me) spy story; a problematic killer for the state .. a legal sane psychopath, as he called .. gets sent on a suicide mission to a dark place in Sierra Leone, encountering a south Londoner who he can trust. Innocent bystanders get used up but things get more and more strange as Max gets taken in by strange researched in depths ... clearly based on Joseph Conrad 's Heart of Darkness .. even the target is called the same, Kurtz, we feel a tough ambient as people are killed and make decisions to kill. Are they murderers or killing for good cause? Intriguing if sometimes atmospheric but confusing, very satisfying after all that. central character is a likeable survivalist.

This is a story of state sponsored assassination by a public official whose career is murder. It raises questions for the reader about morality and the probity of government. It is well written with an unexpected but satisfactory ending. It deals with a murky world which many readers will dislike.

Thank you for letting me read this book. It was a powerful read, one that I couldn't do in a single setting but was glad I persevered. Like a thriller, suspense novel. Good read. Stayed with me a while afterwards

James Brabazon’s debut novel The Break Line is a novel not for the faint hearted, it is strong meat indeed. I found it compelling reading in the genre of Andy McNab’s, Stephen Leather’s and Chris Ryan’s military thrillers. However, that’s where the similarity ends as this novel pulls no punches. We are introduced to Max McLean pseudo civilian, assassin and sniper. The sort of guy you wouldn’t want to be top of his hit list. I’m not going to describe the story as I don’t want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment. I will say it should come with a health warning, I doubt if you will be able to put it down and there will be some very grim passages to absorb. As I write this (feeling rather jaded) I confess to burning the midnight oil until daybreak, as I was so enthralled and needed to know the conclusion to the story. My recommendation; buy it but do not start reading until you have a few free hours ahead of you!