Cold Barrel Zero

By: Matthew Quirk

Narrated by: Peter Coleman

You can't outrun your past.

A code hidden in plain sight. An American black ops team that went too far.

John Hayes, a disgraced elite soldier, returns from exile and risks everything to get back to his wife and daughter and to take revenge on his accusers with a series of escalating attacks inside the United States. Thomas Byrne is the only man who can stop him. Byrne once fought alongside Hayes as a combat medic, but he gave up the gun. Now a surgeon, he moves from town to town trying to forget his past - until he is called upon by a high-ranking government official to help capture the man he once called a friend.

Hayes and Byrne were once closer than brothers. But with the fate of the nation hanging in the balance, both must decide whom to trust - and whom to betray. In a final explosive battle for justice, they face off along a rifle's cold barrel.

Cold Barrel Zero brings together the blistering pace of Lee Child, the nonstop action of Vince Flynn, and the richly drawn characters and moral stakes of Daniel Silva. An experienced reporter armed with deep behind-the-scenes research into America's Special Operations forces, Quirk takes the military thriller to a new level of suspense.

©2016 Matthew Quirk (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Twists and turns!

Very entertaining and filled with surprises right through the end! Matthew Quirk is a great story teller!

Good story, robotic narration

Good story, surprising twist at ending. Not sure why this is described as John Hayes Book 1 as he was a s secondary character. Almost didn’t listen to entire book due to monotone narration. So glad author changed narrators for later novels.

Best action book I’ve read

Cold Barrel Zero was hands-down the best action book I’ve ever read. Definitely the best book I’ve read by Matthew Quirk so far. I loved how the characters were developed and how the story was narrated. Definitely recommend!

Skip it. Not like the earlier stories.

What disappointed you about Cold Barrel Zero?

I thought it might be a good thriller story like the earlier works (The 500, The Directive) but it was some shoot 'em up with medical advice. Almost as if the author wanted to show off some new found medical knowledge.

What three words best describe Peter Coleman’s performance?

Not the right narrator for the type of story.

Any additional comments?

The download was not chapterized nicely. Playback showed 10 chapters but there were 50 some in the book. Almost as if the audio editor was lazy and just left the breaks where the CD version changed discs.

The Hayes or Byrnes Series.

Seems quite odd to call this series the Hayes Series. All told in 1st person by Byrne until the last 25 min. Story had interesting ins snd outs, but really rambled along. Not too impressed.

Hard to follow ok story line

Was hard to follow found my attention wandering I listen to a lot of books and I almost didn't finish this one

A Complete Waste of Time

Would you try another book from Matthew Quirk and/or Peter Coleman?

Not a chance on Quirk and doubtful on Coleman, though I have to cut some slack for the latter since he was reading such an abysmal story.

What was most disappointing about Matthew Quirk’s story?

Where do I start? Honestly, this book did not have one redeeming feature. Admittedly, we all have different opinions and reactions to books, but I normally like books of this genre, which is why I was so surprised by my total inability to become engaged. The story concept was OK, though certainly not original, but the development of the characters and plot was awkward and puerile.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I'm not sure he did detract from the book. More likely, the book detracted from him.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Major disappointment, but in myself for staying with it for so long (probably over two thirds).

Any additional comments?

None

I really wanted to like this

Any additional comments?

I thought that the book had a decent premise however I began to find the protagonist deep psychological problems to be entirely too grating. I realized then that by way of comparison I like Jack Reacher in part because he's borderline on being a sociopath and and he's not driven by deep seated demons that torment his soul and cause chronic insomnia. Cort Gentry in the Grey Man series is driven not by some misplaced guilt but the very real problem of exactly why is everyone so intent on killing him

I'm just getting tired of adventure novels where it appears that the author wants to get some sort of sympathetic response to a guy who'd in reality be totally dysfunctional and possibly suicidal