Cold Harbor

Gibson Vaughn

By: Matthew FitzSimmons

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

A Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

After a period of brutal isolation in a CIA black-site prison, former Marine and gifted hacker Gibson Vaughn is free - but with no idea where he was or how much time he's lost. Struggling to maintain his grip on reality, he races to return to the life he left behind. Angry and disoriented, his thoughts turn to vengeance and the man responsible for his rendition. But Gibson's drive for retribution and the ghosts of his violent past plunge him back into a world he wants only to escape.

As old enemies and once-trusted allies resurface, the architects of a murderous conspiracy will beat a sinister path to Gibson's doorstep. In discovering the shocking truth about those he thought he knew best, only one thing is certain: those responsible must be made to answer...and pay.

©2017 Matthew FitzSimmons (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

LOVED IT

I love these books. The narrator is great, the story is great and it's very believable. I have really enjoyed this series.

Great story

complex characters. everyone has good and bad sides and nothing was predictable...and I never say that!

Third Vaughn book transitions back to first

I have really enjoyed Fitzsimmons’ Gilbert Vaughn series. These books move at a good pace, Vaughn is released from his CIA prison, then as he moves to recover and reorient his life, he unwittingly becomes caught up again with his old friends. I like the protagonist and I also enjoy the supporting characters. It seemed to me like the second book was moving Vaughn away from the Jen Charles/George Abai group and into becoming more of a Jack Reacher type (solving domestic issues). But this third book transitions Vaughn back to his original gang. The supporting cast from the second book does make an appearance, but more to close off that storyline. What I like about this book is Gilbert Vaughn as he is a likable protagonist. Fitzsimmons doesn’t always tell us a lot of descriptive information about Vaughn but rather we get to know him through his thoughts. I like the continuous action and Vaughn’s friends and allies. This book is one enjoyable read. What I didn’t like so much was the rather obvious transition away from the trajectory of Poisonfeather. It seemed like the author made a change of plans between Poisonfeather’s conclusion and Cold Harbor. In any case, the story worked well. I would highly recommend this series.

Gibson Vaughn Crazy as a Fox

This continuation of Gibson Vaughn’s sad story is a conundrum. Starts out frustrating and wobbles along until Mr Cronin puts in better energy to conclude the last half dozen chapters. He’s a great reader but not the best voice actor for this story; some voices cannot be discerned from one another, making it tough to follow along without referring constantly to the Kindle print. But overall it’s a great performance and well thought out story. Entertainment v

Book 3 doesn't stand up to first 2 books

While some key plot points are resolved, it was hard to get through first 2/3rds of the book. Last 1/3 brought it home. A depressed, hopeless & mentally ill Gibson Vaughn is hard to take.

intelligent, engaging thriller

If you could sum up Cold Harbor in three words, what would they be?

intelligent, engaging, fast-paced

Who was your favorite character and why?

the main character is relatable and always trying to do good.

What about James Patrick Cronin’s performance did you like?

he did a good job of capturing the right tone without any annoying affectations

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

trust no one

Mixed Bag, Mixed Series

This book in the series, rambles a bit. A main plot line starts, and then we get off on a couple other branches of plots. Seems like the author started, then figured that main plot line could not carry the book. Then came up with a couple other plots that just kind of materialized.

Overall, I like Gibson Vaughn. The first in the series, was one of the best books I have read in a while. Poison Feather was OK, but didn't end very well. I was hoping this would build upon that cliffhanger, but really didn't. Also, his 2 talking ghosts kind of wore out their welcome.

Hope there are more in their series, but needs to get back to something more believable.

Must read all three books together!

DO read this series, but you MUST read the entire series beginning with The Short Drop. I waited a while between the first and second book and had to go back and re-listen to the last part of the first book before I could continue since each book is a continuation, rather than a stand-alone. These three books are great! Big twists and unexpected turns. Strong character development! Well written! Narration is great! I strongly recommend this series!

book 3

another great book by Fitz Simmons. was intrigued from 1st page. could not put it down

Still good but not as good as second book

Sake great prose and pacing. Same flawed but decent characters. Vaughn still makes mistakes. In fact, this series is starting to feel like a “ Getting Vaughn out of Trouble he Created” series.

I didn’t like that Vaughn would have betrayed his country to get an advantage though. That disturbed me and reduced him in my eyes.

Story ends cleaner than the first two books.