Things You Need to Know Before You Read the Book:
There are some content/trigger warnings in The Parachutist. They are:
Moderate to graphic violence
Gun violence
Death of a parent (s) and wife (William was declared killed in a helicopter accident/ William’s wife died from a brain tumor)
Assault
Murder/Attempted Murder (The General attempts to murder William and Tom-Tom during the Gulf War. William and his team murder a bunch of people. Sammy the Snake murders even more people. One of The General’s operatives tries to murder Dana).
Sexism (Dana goes up against the sexist head agent in charge of the robbery case. She also experiences sexism numerous times during the book.)
Ableism (Towards the end of the book, Sammy employs a person with autism. William and Sammy make several jokes while the person is standing there.)
If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book.
Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):
William and Tom-Tom have been waiting for years to get their revenge on the corrupt general who left them for dead when their helicopter crashed. Essentially, ghosts, because they were declared legally dead, they can infiltrate and collect information that will help them with their plan. They planned to rob the Federal Reserve in New York City and other banks and pin the blame on the general. Can they do it? Can they rob the Federal Reserve and pin everything on the general? Or is there another player in this game? And will this unknown factor turn everything on its head?
Main Characters
Corporal John “Tom-Tom” Brazer: I didn’t know what to think of Tom-Tom. He was quiet and got things done. But he also gave off super shady vibes. I felt that there were things he wasn’t telling William, and there were also things that he was holding back.
Major William Paradise: William suffered the most out of everyone in this book. The helicopter crash seriously injured him and gave him amnesia. He remembers going to the embassy with John and being shot out of the sky. He also barely remembers his wife and daughter. He is executing the plan to rob the Federal Reserve and a highly skilled crew he gathered. I went back and forth on liking William. I also went back and forth with pitting him.
Lance Corporal Sammy “the Snake” Madino: I didn’t like him immediately. There was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. But, I was astonished when it was revealed what he was doing.
Dana Anderson: She is a young FBI agent dying to sink her teeth into a case. When the opportunity arises, she jumps on it. I felt terrible for her because she was blindsided by her mother’s confession as soon as she was on the case. That threw her off her game and caused her to spiral. I wondered how she would be connected to Tom-Tom, William, and Sammy. Also, she is someone who doesn’t take any crap from anybody. I liked it.
My review
The Parachutists is an enthralling thriller that I couldn’t put down. It was also a twisty-turny book that had me guessing what would happen next.
I enjoyed reading this book. Even though there are several storylines, I kept sight of who I was with, what they were doing, and what the fallout would be. Usually, I wouldn’t say I like books with numerous storylines, so it surprised me.
The Parachutists was a very twisty book. I didn’t know what would happen from one chapter to the next. I didn’t even know who would be alive from chapter to chapter (the author had zero reservations about killing off characters). Again, this is not something I usually enjoy, but in this case, I did.
I also enjoyed how the author ended this book. He was able to close every single storyline in a single chapter. I enjoyed seeing certain people getting their just desserts. I also enjoyed seeing other people getting what was owed to them.
Many thanks to R.L. Minnich for allowing me to read and review The Parachutists. All opinions stated in this review are mine.