The Gatekeeper

A Thriller

By: James Byrne

Narrated by: John Keating

James Byrne's The Gatekeeper introduces Dez Limerick in the most anticipated new thriller in years.

A highly trained team of mercenaries launches a well-planned, coordinated attack on a well-guarded military contractor—but they didn't count on one thing: the right man being in the wrong place at the right time.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick (“Dez” to all) is a retired mercenary, and enthusiastic amateur musician, currently in Southern California, enjoying the sun and sitting in on the occasional gig, when the hotel he's at falls under attack. A skilled team attempts to kidnap the chief legal counsel of Triton Expeditors, a major military contractor—in fact, Petra Alexandris is the daughter of the CEO—but their meticulously planned, seamlessly executed scheme runs into the figurative "spanner-in-the-works," Dez himself.

After foiling the attack, and with nothing better to do, Dez agrees to help Alexandris with another problem she’s having—someone has embezzled more than a billion dollars from her company and left very few tracks behind. But Dez is a gatekeeper—one who opens doors and keeps them open—and this is just a door of another kind. And the door he opens leads to a dangerous conspiracy involving media manipulation, militias, an armed coup, and an attempt to fracture the United States itself. There’s only one obstacle between the conspirators and success—and that is Dez, The Gatekeeper.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2022 James Byrne (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Enjoyed the book

I loved the dry wit of Dez who seemed to be an unlikely hero. This book is far outside my normal read. I only picked it because my brother, a reacher fan, liked it soooo much. I ended up loving it.

Great Read

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

My favorite character of all time.

I have listened to this book 4 times now. Dez Limerick is a character that I thoroughly enjoyed from page 1 and the story kept me turning pages. I've read Deadlock and can't wait for a book 3. Loved this book and would recommend to anyone. narration brought Dez to life.

One of the best characters I’ve read in a while

The main character in this book is great! Seems like a super hero (was a black ops operative) but is a very likable and relatable guy. My wife and I listened to this book as we traveled but didn’t finish it until after we got home. We listened to it well into the night as it was so captivating. The book is exciting and kind of a mystery until the end :) Please give this one a try!!

Good yarn, Luv

I have to admit, I almost stopped listening after the first five minutes. I thought it might be a good story, but I wasn't sure I could deal with the accents. I was wrong.
As the book moved forward I became more Ii nvested in both the characters and the plot. It moved quickly from action scene to action scene and the filler in between always advanced the narrative rather than being fluff.
I immediately searched for other books by Mr. Byrne, but alas I have been left waiting and wanting more.

It’s a keeper!

Long time since I’ve listened to a whole book without getting too bored. It was pretty funny and I wanted to keep listening just for the attitude and personality of Dez.

Narrator really makes this story!

I very seldom review a book, and this is not my usual genre, but, I dip into Reacher, Rapp, et al occasionally.
Kudos to Mr. Byrne for writing such an engaging and self deprecating character in Dez! He did a very good job with all his characters
We all know that the audible version can make or break a book, and I think John Keating really knocks it out of the park.
Kudos to Mr. Byrne for writing such an engaging and self deprecating character in Dez!
Looking forward to more from Mr. Byrne and Dez.

great entertainment

I liked this way more than I expected. Worth a listen and hope for a sequel

Electrifying thriller that offers a new and welcome approach to the thriller genre.

Dez is a highly skilled man from a shadowy world who has been thrust into the middle of a sinister plot.
Pretty standard plot for the action/thriller genre. What's not standard is the hero in question. Dez is an unassuming man with a delightfully dry sense of humor who'd just as soon play his guitar.
The story was fast paced and engaging. It was interesting looking at the United States from the vantage point of a foreigner.
There were a few times logic had to be suspended, but nothing so majorbas to wreck the story.
The narrator did a fantastic job bringingbthis story to life. This book lived on my TBR for too long. I wish I'd read it sooner.

Very good

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and sincerely hope that there will be a next one. Good pace to the story. Funny, too, along with the drama. The plot was believable as well, so scary possibility. Enjoyed the narration as well and will look to find others he has done.