No Way To Die: Synopsis
A deadly threat. A ghost from the past. And time is running out…
When traces of a radioactive material are found alongside a body in Key West, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the crime scene. This is not just an isolated murder: a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees.
The threat hits close to home for Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the terrorists’ bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past.
Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction across the country.
No Way To Die: Mr Frankowski’s Thoughts
Heroes. They are never spotless. They make mistakes. And sometimes, they become villains to transform into heroes again.
This plasticity of heroism is impeccably studied by Tony Kent Tony Kent in No Way To Die, his fourth novel in a Devlin/Dempsey series, debuted in 2018 with flawless Killer Intent. Over the course of four books, Kent established himself as a master storyteller, bringing the grandiosity of bombastic action films into the universe of political intrigue, uncomfortable questions of loyalty, extremism, and the sheer human will fuelled by steel resolve and often a misguided sense of duty.
The Study of Heroism
This plasticity of heroism is impeccably studied by Tony Kent Tony Kent in No Way To Die, his fourth novel in a Devlin/Dempsey series, debuted in 2018 with flawless Killer Intent. Over the course of four books, Kent established himself as a master storyteller, bringing the grandiosity of bombastic action films into the universe of political intrigue, uncomfortable questions of loyalty, extremism, and the sheer human will fuelled by steel resolve and often a misguided sense of duty.
In this genre-bending thriller, Tony Kent once again delivers a phenomenal amalgamation of a high-paced action thriller, raw drama and political fiction, coupled with King-esque character development, which the author of Power Play swiftly delivers with a surgical precision of a single sentence. To me, this is one of the measures of a great writer and Tony Kent is growing to be one of the greatest.
This takes me to the next point: consistency. Every novel penned by Mr Kent is a natural extension of its predecessor. Despite being different in style, pace and delivery, they share the voice and tonal consistency. No Way to Die takes it further. The fictional universe created by Kent is firmly planted in our reality, with multiple mentions of real-life events intertwined with the story’s narrative. It gives the series a new dynamic and sprinkles it with a healthy dose of relatable authenticity. Nothing is too outlandish or over the top. Although dynamic and heartstopping, action sequences are delivered with grace and quiet confidence. Kent doesn’t rely on any genre tropes. He deconstructs them and adds them one by one into his writer’s toolkit. And yet again, it’s consistent with his work started with Killer Intent.
No Way to Die: The Audiobook
And then there’s an audio version of the novel. Indeed, after reading a pre-release ebook and getting a hardback on the publication day, I knew I had to listen to the audiobook. And disappointed, I wasn’t. Superbly delivered by Simon Slater, the unabridged version of No Way To Day took me straight back to the BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime territory. Acting and delivery are spot on, and the production value of the book is simply spectacular. The publisher, Elliot & Thompson Audio, superbly recreated the stereo and “crackliness” of two-way conversations via CB/ham radio, which indeed contributed to the overall dramatic effect.
On a final note and without revealing any spoilers… No Way To Die is also an exquisite trip down the memory lane of the series. For a plethora of reasons, the characters allude to multiple events from Killer Intent and Power Play, firming up the Kentverse as one of the best fictional universes I’ve ever come across. The book’s grand finale brings us a resolution and, I dare say, redemption to ALL of our heroes. And that heroism, along with its multifaced, fickle nature, is a motif explored by Kent. All sides depicted in the novel have valid reasons for their action. They all have their motives, and neither is truly evil, whichever way we look at it. Our heroes can be villainous, our villains heroic. The cast and crew are nuanced, and the story doesn’t provide a clear-cut picture of good and evil. The machiavellian yet emotional aspect of the main plot becomes a study of nature, nurture and circumstances. And it has to be savoured.
No Way To Die by Tony Kent is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Audible.
About Author:
Tony Kent is the author of the successful ‘Killer Intent’ thriller series, featuring unorthodox criminal barrister Michael Devlin, United Nations intelligence operative Joe Dempsey and tenacious TV reporter Sarah Truman.
The series began with Tony’s debut novel – the political action thriller ‘Killer Intent’ – which was released in January 2018 and selected for the inaugural Zoe Ball Book Club on ITV. ‘Killer Intent’ became a fixture in the WH Smith bestseller list for almost four months of 2018 and was included in the Crime Time Best of the Year 2018. The series continued in February 2019 with the release of legal thriller ‘Marked For Death’, which was picked for the Richard and Judy Book Club that summer and which cemented Tony as a fast-growing name in crime fiction. The series now continues with the upcoming launch of the third instalment, ‘Power Play’; enjoying incredible advanced reviews from some of the biggest names in the genre, ‘Power Play’ is an international political thriller that moves between Washington DC, New York City, London and Afghanistan as Joe Dempsey investigates the White House itself, discovering that ‘The Enemies Are Not at the Gate. They’re Already Inside.’
Tony grew up in London with ambitions to be both a thriller writer and a criminal barrister. He achieved the latter aged just 22 and in the two decades that followed he has prosecuted and defended in many of the most serious and widely reported trials nationwide, although the bulk of his time has been spent in London and the world famous Old Bailey. His legal practice has focused on terrorism, murder, corruption, kidnap, extortion and fraud, and has brought him into close contact with Scotland Yard, GCHQ, the Security Service and the Ministry of Defence. He has also defended in matters with an international element involving agencies such as the FBI, and he was part of a small selection of barristers picked to train State Prosecutors and Public Defenders in the United States. For over a decade he has been recognised as a ‘leader in his field’.
Tony is also a former sportsmen, having played Rugby Union for many years as well as being a former champion boxer. As a boxer he competed internationally at heavyweight and won a host of domestic amateur championships over a successful 12 year career in the sport.
Thanks to the combination of his experiences both professionally and in sport, Tony brings a wealth of detail, personal insight and real-life experience to the legal, the procedural and the violent elements of his unputdownable thrillers.
In 2018 the rights to the ongoing ‘Killer Intent’ series were purchased by Liberty Films – an independent production company owned by BAFTA Award winning director Duncan Jones and his producer/partner Stuart Fenegan – who, along with Tony, are currently adapting the first book as the opening season of an ongoing Devlin/Dempsey TV Series.
