Deadlock

A Thriller (A Dez Limerick Novel, Book 2)

By: James Byrne

Narrated by: John Keating

In this sequel to the highly praised The Gatekeeper, Dez Limerick, one of the best new thriller heroes returns.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick ("Dez" to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back. Now retired from his previous life, Dez is just a bloke with a winning smile, a bass guitar, and bullet wounds that paint a road map of past lives.

Jaleh Swann, a business journalist hot on the trail of an auditor who was mugged and killed, lands in the hospital just one day after her Portland apartment is ransacked. When Jaleh’s sister, Raziah, reaches out to an old friend for help, Dez has no choice but to answer. The Swann sisters have been pulled into a dizzying web of cover-ups and danger. At the center lies an insidious Oregon-based tech corporation, Clockjack, which has enough money and hired guns to silence just about anyone—including this rag-tag trio. Luckily, Dez’s speciality is not just to open doors, but keep them open—and protect those working to expose Clockjack’s secrets.

More stands in the way of the truth than just one corporation. When hired thugs come to the finish the job and attack the Swann sisters at the hospital, Dez does what he does best. Now, the two captured men (and the corpse Dez left behind) attract the attention of not just Clockjack, but of the Portland police, the D.E.A, and the U.S. Marshalls. Dez and the Swann sisters are on the run from powers beyond their control and means. Outnumbered, under resourced and outgunned, Dez must use all his skills to keep his friends safe and stand up to corporate conniving. After all, the one thing Clockjack didn’t count on? A good man with a simple job to do.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2023 James Byrne (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Exhilarating." —Publisher's Weekly

"Adreline-charged! An action-packed, twist-a-minute thrill ride... Dez is the hero we never knew we needed." —Lisa Gardner

Loved it

This was book 2 and you should really listen to them in order. Love when I discover a great author. I'm hooked. Fantastic fun and fast paced thriller

Great series!

Really enjoyed these 2 books! Dez was original, funny and very entertaining! Great listen!
Would recommend

Second book better than the first!

I am a major fan of this series. I look forward to more. Dez rules!

Tough to put down

Entertaining main character, great dialogue. Great book to listen to. Can't wait for the next book.

Great Stuff

I really enjoyed this audiobook, I would highly recommend it. Great narration and an action story.

Quite enjoyable

This is the second book in this series where we are introduced to Dez Limerick, a really funny self-deprecating character with some pretty impressive talents who it turns out, is also an extremely loyal friend to those who he considers friends.

The Gatekeepers are apparently a very talented group comprised of members whose specialties are to not only have the ability to open ANY door, but to KEEP them open as well. And by "door", that means ANY kind of door, whether a physical door or a digital door.

His skills are definitely needed here when an old friend - Raziah - contacts him because her sister - Jaleh Swann - was attacked and hospitalized. Jaleh had started writing an investigative article into a company after a friend of hers was mugged and killed while auditing a certain company.

Needless to say, there are a LOT of moving parts in this one and Jaleh hadn't even realized at the time that there was more to the story - much more. As Dez starts to jump in to discover what exactly Jaleh had involved herself in, he and the Swann sisters realize that this particular story that she was beginning to write is worth killing for because nothing is what it seems. The main characters/antagonists are the kind of bad guys , the seriously bad guys, that have no problem "taking care of " business because they have too much to lose.

Without going into spoilers, let's just say that this book is full of lots of action and plenty of intrigue. Dez is a really funny guy whose "aw shucks" demeanor lets everyone underestimate him and that is what allows him to start getting to the bottom of an unbelievable tale of corruption so big and so diverse that it goes all the way up. There are so MANY high level people that involved that even law enforcement agencies are being pressured to walk away.

I listened to this on audio and thought John Keating did a fine job with the narration. There are all kinds of accents portrayed in this book from English to Scottish and many others in between. To an American who can't really tell the difference of all of these accents in terms of accuracy, I enjoyed listening to them.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

A bespoke and entertaining thriller.

I really enjoyed the back story that this second novel added to the legend that is Dez Limerick. He's and entertaining and likable character who has a way of making you laugh even in the most dire of circumstances.

This book is in no danger of becoming a literary classic, but it was a great read worth experiencing. If you are on the fence. Buy the book it's well worth the time and money.

WRITE A THIRD BOOK.

Dez as a good guy.

The epilogue seemed to be setting up the next book. Don't like when that happens.