Key West Dead by Mark Nolan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jake Wolfe and his ex-war dog Cody are back in another of their thrilling adventures and this time, they are in Key West in Florida so that Jake can attend the wedding of a friend, it is a barefoot beach wedding at one of the resorts on the Marina and while Jake is mingling with the other guests and catching up with people, he has a feeling that all is not well, his neck is tingling and the feeling of a premonition of danger, despite the fact that most of the guests are veterans and it is probably one of the safest places in the Keys, but this feeling only intensifies when a drone passes by and looks directly at him, even though this particular hotel has a no fly policy. After the ceremony finishes and the reception is over, Jake and Cody sail the newlyweds to their cruising sloop, however, as they approach it, Cody alerts Jake that he can smell something on the boat, the newlyweds stubbornly don’t allow Jake and Cody to investigate, preferring to set off on their honeymoon instead. Unfortunately, minutes after they set off there is an explosion followed by a ball of flame as the boat blows up in front of Jake. As the authorities arrive and take control of the situation, Jake is struggling with feelings of guilt and remorse and he is blaming himself for not insisting harder on carrying out the check until he sees the same, or very similar drone flying around and this throws him into a rage where he threatens the person behind it and swears revenge.

The next day, all the local news networks are talking about the devastating event and the person who has claimed responsibility for it by sending them the drone footage, as well as their ransom demand for $30 million from Monroe County. Meanwhile, the criminal being discussed is planning their next targets, the timings of them, planning the method of placement and finding out as much as they can about the man who threatened them. Jake is having breakfast with friends and trying to make sense of what happened when Jake receives confirmation that his request to take Cody to check some of the other marinas in the area has been approved and so the pursuit of the bomber commences in earnest. When the group leave, Cody turns up outside the restaurant and so Jake splits off from the others to take him for a walk back to the marina, but just as they are passing the county courthouse, Cody signals that he senses something followed by Jake seeing an individual jumping out of a car and heading away on a bicycle. Jake realises what is about to happen and shouts a warning before firing a gun shot in the air to encourage people to listen and just as the two clear the area and take cover, there is a blast from the abandoned vehicle. Jake goes into marine mode and starts to fight the fires in the immediate area while making sure that people are ok while demanding that someone calls the authorities. When they arrive at the area, he again has to make a statement and he is again annoyed that he wasn’t able to stop it, or protect the people around him, but as he talks it over with people later on, he is even more resolved to help solve the mystery of what is happening.

As the days follow on and more attacks are planned and carried out, the locals and tourists are becoming increasingly worried by the situation, as are the local government, but they are worried about the economic impact it could have on this area which revolves around tourism. Will Jake and Cody be able to figure out who is behind the attacks and why before more innocent lives are lost, or will they be the next victims before they get the chance? This is another thrilling race against time where an ex-marine and ex-war dog take on another criminal with malicious intentions.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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