At Dawn (Alex Troutt Thriller, #4)

by John W Mefford

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

At Dawn by John W. Mefford is the fourth installment in the Alex Troutt thriller series and like the previous books can be read as a stand-alone. In this installment, Alex has returned to her hometown to visit her dad. The purpose of the visit was to re-establish her relationship with her dad, spend quality time with her children and re-connect with old friends. She also wanted to use this time to contemplate her growing attraction to her team member, Brad, who was eleven years her junior. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a vacation was slowly turning into something unpredictable and dangerous when she found herself caught up in the midst of chaotic events.

The story started out on an adrenaline high. I was expecting this pace to last throughout the entire story. Alas, this was not the case. The pace fluctuated. One moment there was action and suspense and then the story switches to the everyday drama of a single mother and her children. It was about 60 to 70% that things really picked and from then on it was non-stop action.

Alex has found herself in the middle of a drug war. There are many players and she has no idea who she could trust. When the matter hits close to home, she knew she had to get involved before things escalated out of hand. What appeared to be unrelated events was indeed related to what Alex was facing. As the story progressed, the dots connected and everything became that much clearer.

I have to admit that figuring out who was involved and what was going to happen next was not that difficult. This, however, did not stop me from enjoying the story. If anything, it made it more exciting as I was eager to find out if I guessed right.

I found Alex to be a strong and memorable character. She has been through a lot both physically and emotionally, but she does not allow those events to hold her back from being a loving mother and a hard-working FBI Agent. I admire her ability to balance her role as a single parent to a pre-teen and a teenager with that of her job. This installment revealed more about Alex in her role as a mother. It demonstrated the lengths she would go to protect her children.

Verdict: This is a great addition to the series. It’s filled with action, suspense, drama and comedy. If you enjoy a good mystery/thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, then you will love this series. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.