Silent Night (Sam Archer Book 4)

having read his first novel in the Sam Archer series i was curious to see how well he developed the character. while i have to say there are some things that i found kinda annoying--basically an action movie turned into a book and a bit more wishing that the author understands that you don't need to explain every detail to his readers.

it was however a solid read with clear plot lines, the secondary characters could use a little more flushing out. but he does had several twist into this that you're not exactly sure what's going on until the last minute.

While I truly enjoyed the story, I found the British spellings, grammar, and references off-putting. People getting in lifts, instead of elevators, cars pulling up to kerbs, rather than curbs, all would draw my attention from the story. Barber could simply have changed his language settings to American English and done another spell-check before publishing in the states. That said, still an enjoyable, imaginative yarn. Can't wait to read the rest of this series.

First, a note to the author: silenced weapons are not silent. They do not go "pfft" like you see in a goofy Bond flick. They reduce the noise down to 130, possibly 120 decibels, even with a subsonic round. Think of a jackhammer or a rock concert. Sorry, but that is not silent.
Second, keep trying. Sam Archer is a great character. Read some of the other comments and work on your authenticity.

The story had an interesting, & suspenseful beginning that carried through about ninety percent of novel. Then it became unbelievable, like the author just wanted to end it. Plus it supposedly was happening in New York and English words were used that were not American spellings and/or pronunciations.

Although some words are not spelled as I expect such as Kerb instead of curb; the story is so compelling it holds your interest and you forget or just ignore the small things. I will read another story by Tom Barber.

I liked the story line, but the (British?) terminology drove me nuts. I guess people living in other countries feel the same when American authors write stories about their cities and countries using American descriptions.

This is my first Tom Barber book and will definitely not be the last. I love the way he writes with twists & turns and plenty of action throughout. I agree with another reviewer who said “it would make a good movie”.

Sam is assigned to an NYPD terrorism task force. They're called on to investigate a death in Central Park and learn it was a test of a stolen virus. They had to find the files or thousands would be killed.

An English author writing a story which takes place in New York, really ought to learn how we spell words here!! His Archer books are OK for a rainy day, but they won't win any mystery writing awards.