Slip of the Hand by J.P. Farrell

Slip of the Hand by J.P. Farrell is a dark, complex web of a tale which follows several, originally unconnected protagonists whose lives crash head-on across several horrendous sets of circumstances, resulting in multiple murders, kidnap, assault, corruption, armed robbery and mafia hits. Leading figures from the worlds of politics, the armed forces, organised crime and the legal system, plus several innocent – and other not-so-innocent – bystanders find their lives turned upside down in this explosive, action-filled crime thriller. Ex-Navy SEAL, Jack Bolton, is considering the next stage of his life when a tragic event sets him on a dangerous course, and into the path of US Presidential hopeful, Sam Atkins, Mafia Godfather, Frank Gallo, a disengaged serial killer, a Mexican drug cartel and the CIA.

Slip of the Hand is an incredibly well written and cleverly plotted thriller, which grabbed my attention from page one and tightened its grip as the plot progressed. At first I didn’t know how the various strands of the story would connect, but J.P. Farrell expertly weaves the threads together to build up an epic picture of action, loss, grief, revenge and redemption, and asks some difficult questions about ‘good’ versus evil and who the bad guys really are. The book has fully three-dimensional characters, believable dialogue, one or two lighter moments to lift the mood, and more twists, turns and shocks than I could shake my proverbial stick at! I wasn’t prepared for the ending which, although very fitting, was still shocking and in some ways uncomfortable. I would highly recommend this to fans of intelligent and thoughtful thrillers. Reviewed by Julia for Readers’ Favorite.