I wanted to like this book as it sounded good but I couldn't get into it. I would have not reviewed but NetGalley insists on a review to keep your profile rating up even when you say you are declining to read it.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publishers for a ARC copy for review.

Aidan Snow thought he could escape his past. But now it’s back, with a vengeance.

Ten years ago, SAS Trooper Aidan Snow was left fighting for his life after a mission went wrong and ever since he has been haunted by the image of the man with green eyes. The man who should have killed him.

Now, Snow is finally living a peaceful life in Ukraine… Until Taurus Pashinski, the green-eyed man, returns.

As Snow’s past catches up with him he finds himself thrown back into the world of espionage with a vengeance. Taking in the end of the Soviet Union, it draws a picture of the ensuing lawlessness, especially in its southern Moldavian and Trans-Dniester region.

This was an interesting read, a good main character in Snow. my problem with the books was all the real difficult "Russian" names, too many characters with names I could not remember, so found it difficult to follow who was on what side, who was good or who was bad,Snow and Vickers fine.

Although a basis for a good thriller become very hard to follow and keep up to date with so many characters in the different countries.

So with apologies only three stars for me, but I do believe this author is good, and with being able to understand and follows the characters would have gained an extra star from me.

Very enjoyable book. Real page turner.
First part of the book is about the characters and getting to know them, second part much more action.
Looking forward to more in this series by Alex Shaw.

Unfortunately I only made it through a few pages of this book, I got my authors mixed up. It was not the type of book I enjoy reading

Cold Blood by Alex Shaw.
When I first read the synopsis for this book and saw it was about an ex SAS trooper I wondered if we were going down the well trodden paths of deniable/Black ops. The answer is no. The main character Aiden Snow is a man living and working in the Ukraine as a teacher. Trying to do his best and forget the demons of his past. Demons which catch up with him in the form of ex Russian Special forces men who are now gangsters. And one in particular who is the stuff of Snow’s nightmares.
The main character is portrayed as an ordinary bloke who has a past, he is not especially heroic nor is he portrayed as being somehow invincible.
I enjoyed this book, it is written in an engaging style which makes it hard to put down. There is plenty of believable action throughout the book, which form part of an intelligent plot. I shall most certainly look out for the others in this series.

'Cold Blood' is the first book of a new political espionage series featuring ex-SAS trooper Aidan Snow, who is now working as a physical education teacher in Ukraine.

I thoroughly enjoy my spy thrillers, but I found this one a little tame if i'm honest. I know this is the series opener and we obviously need to get to know lead character Mr Snow in order to decide whether we are to continue with the rest of the series, but I felt this was much more of a character based story with a lack of attention given to the plot until the very last minute. The premise is most definitely a sound and tasty one, However, the slow pace made getting through most of the book a chore rather than a pleasure. It certainly did not have the requisite thrills, spills and chills to label it a thriller. There was also an issue with many characters being introduced, most of whom were completely unnecessary to the unfolding story. One thing I will say is that the setting came across as very authentically described, so I wasn't surprised to learn the author had lived in Kiev, Ukraine in the 1990s. It does however jump around unexpectedly between characters and countries which is not always easy to follow. I did like Shaw's writing style, but with the other issues it wasn't much of a redeeming feature. Hopefully it'll be a feature I continue to enjoy in upcoming books. I have high hopes for this author as he appears to have all of the components to create a bestseller if he can just execute his idea well enough!

You may really appreciate this is you like your thrillers relatively slow and more character based than anything else. I won't write off this series as of yet with it just being the first book, I hope that the following books are much more tense and suspenseful than this one was, and that the monotony of the scene setting disappears as we progress. As I have a fascination with eastern european countries and cultures, the setting really piqued my interest massively, and i'm pleased to say that the author made the most of it. I look forward to revisiting Ukraine in future books!

Many thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Cold Blood by Alex Shaw is the first book in the Aidan Snow series

Snow is an ex SAS soldier who us now working as a PE teacher in the Ukraine.

Whilst out one evening he recognises the person who tried to kill him but who Snow thought was dead.

The premis for the book is good however it took too long for the pace to ratchet up especially as it is supposed to be a thriller. The first third of the book is scene setting and with a large cast it did seem to go on to long.

The last part of the book though was a lot better and I would read the next one in the series as hopefully the scene has been set

This book i found is a very tame read, more discussing the characters than action. Aidan snow, ex sas, was a little rusty since he spent a few years as a school teacher. staying with the story was a little difficult with the names and i found myself looking back to remind myself who was who, overall i did enjoy the book and will read the next one when it becomes available