Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun story with perfectly captured characters
Cons: Climax a little
weak, needless conservative bashing
The Bottom Line:
Action and good twists
With perfect characters sure
To please fans of show
The Bad Beat is not a Bad Burn Notice Tie In
Anyone who knows me knows I am addicted to all things USA Network. So, in the interest of brand loyalty, I have to read the tie in novels to their shows, right? Fortunately, it's a real pleasure as Burn Notice: The Bad Beat proves again to be an entertaining read.
For those not familiar with Burn Notice, it tells the story
of Michael Westen, a former spy who was "burned" (read fired) from
the CIA and dumped in his home town of Miami . While trying to clear his name, he takes on
odd jobs helping people who have fallen victim to the criminal element. He is aided in these jobs by former navy seal
Sam Axe and ex-girlfriend and current gun smuggler/dealer Fiona Glenanne. Since Miami
is his home town, he also must deal with his mother, and they have a strained
relationship at best. Those who follow
the show know that the new character of Jesse Porter was introduced in the
fourth season, but Jesse only gets mentioned briefly here.
Michael isn't looking for more work when Sam shows up with a
simple job backing up someone against some loan sharks. But when the villains show up, they turn out
to be Russian mobsters. Digging deeper
they find out that a college students really needs their help.
Brent Grayson has ripped off these mobsters by claiming to
be a company about to unveil a revolutionary form of energy. He's used that money to pay off some of his
father's gambling debts. Now he's got
mobsters on one side demanding their money back or the real specs of this new
energy on one side and even more bookies demanding money for his father's
gambling debts on the other. Meanwhile,
his father has completely disappeared.
Can Michael, Fi, and Sam help Brent, or have they bitten off more than
they can chew?
Just like the show, we've got a client in over his head
against impossible odds with only our heroes to help. There are some twists and turns before we
reach the climax as well as gun battles and explosions. The stories are always filled with plenty of
action.
All of this translates very well to the page. The story moves forward quickly, and the
tension keeps mounting. I will say the
ending of this one seemed a little easy to me, but I'm also not sure how else
they would resolve things, so it's a minor point.
What does continue to annoy me about these books is the author's
habit of throwing in gratuitous swipes at conservatives in them. It's only three or four a book, but since
this doesn't happen in the series, it feels forced and off putting. Just leave those sentences out, and you ruin
nothing of the story.
But the characters are well drawn as always. The author drew in a couple of secondary
characters from the series, and it was fun to see them. The new characters come across as real. But it's the series stars where the
characterization shines. The book is narrated
almost exclusively from Michael's first person point of view and much of it is
done in the style of the voice overs on the show. A couple of chapters are told from Fiona or
Sam's viewpoint, and they feel differently enough to work. Speaking of Fiona, this book has one of my
favorite scenes involving her character ever.
Despite all that happens there, you can't help but laugh at her scene in
the tea shop just because of how it is presented.
Even though this is based on a TV show, non-fans will still
enjoy it. Nothing of the ongoing story
arcs are included, and enough background is given that you can jump in here and
enjoy the ride.
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