Breaking Cover (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: Johnny Trent, Florida Bob, Nathan Trent (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shamus-finalist Rhoades (The Devil's Right Hand) delivers a gripping stand-alone thriller. Undercover FBI agent Tony Wolf had infiltrated a meth-dealing biker gang until his cover was blown; since then, he's been living under an assumed name outside Pine Lake, N.C. Not even his wife or his employers know where he is. One day while out for a drive, Wolf spots the face of one of two kidnapped young brothers in a van's rear window. Wolf follows the van to a trailer, where he makes short work of the boys' kidnapper. By so doing, Wolf reveals his location to those who have been watching and waiting for him to reappear—drug-crazed bikers thirsty for vengeance, FBI agents hoping to either rescue or silence him and an aggressive local reporter. Wolf proves to be the sort who, once cornered, is far more deadly than his pursuers could have imagined. The action escalates to a powerfully violent, powerfully satisfying conclusion. (Aug.)
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From Booklist

Rhoades takes a break from his Keller series, featuring the Gulf War–haunted bounty hunter (Safe and Sound, 2007), with a stand-alone thriller starring rogue FBI agent Tony Wolf. Forced to break cover after rescuing two abducted children, Wolf—officially dead but living under the radar in rural North Carolina—suddenly finds himself on the run from both his former colleagues in the bureau (including his wife) and, more seriously, from the gang of drug-dealing bikers he infiltrated in his last FBI assignment. Tired of running from trouble, Wolf decides to go on the offense: take down the bikers, and expose the mole in the FBI power structure who is feeding the bikers information. If thriller fans are thinking Lee Child here, they’re right on target. Like Child, Rhoades dishes out one airtight action scene after another, mixing in just enough character-building moments and holding our interest in a full cast of nicely developed supporting players. All that, and a Sam Peckinpah–like bloody, bravura finale that will leave even icy-veined thriller fans panting for breath. --Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312371551
• ISBN-13: 978-0312371555
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #666,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars all the way ... no doubt about it, August 15, 2008

By	Charlie Stella (Fords, New Joisey) - See all my reviews

This is a very hard to put down read ... easily one of the best books I've read this year. A guy who has to do the right thing (because it's his nature to do so), does it and unleashes the demons of his past (to include a nasty biker crew out to kill him, a beautiful loving wife he's left behind and a federal bureau of investigation that thought him dead ... but there's a hostage involved and an agent on the take. The Protagonist (two names so I won't confuse here), has the kind of gravitas that is as endearing as it is convincing. Breaking Cover immediately engages and you'll want to keep going (sorry, no spoilers if you're looking for one) ... the cast of characters are diverse and interesting and the fast pace between the subplots makes for a very thrilling ride. I started it very early in the morning (this morning at the gym) and except for showering/dressing/driving for (and to) work, didn't put it down again until I had to (at work--although I finished it there--what long bathroom breaks are really for). Breaking Cover is my very first J.D. Rhoades novel ... it won't be my last.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few times I've become short of breath from turning pages so quickly, October 15, 2008

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

If you are not already familiar with J. D. Rhoades from his excellent Jack Keller series, then BREAKING COVER will hit you like a two-by-four between the eyes. Over the course of three novels, Rhoades has quickly established himself as a writer's writer, with his work being textbook exhibits of how the job of writing the edge-of-the-seat thriller is properly done.

BREAKING COVER is a stand-alone work, taking place a step or two outside of the Keller mythos. Fans will not be disappointed by his absence, however temporary, as there are enough explosions, fisticuffs and general mayhem to fill three books.

The opening scene takes place in a convenience store, where gas is sold out front and just about everything you can reasonably think of is inside. Rhoades nails the setting right down to the last nuance, including a description of the cashier that is so dead-on as to be jaw-dropping. It is one of those heartbreaking homemade "Have You Seen Us?" posters on the side of the cash register, with a picture of two missing young brothers, that is the early tipping point for the book. For, indeed, shortly after buying gas, a customer sees one of the boys, apparently being held captive in a white van. He follows the vehicle and initiates the rescue; although he should be hailed as a hero, he bails.

The reason is that the rescuer is Tony Wolf, a former undercover FBI agent who dropped off the grid and out of sight several years before. Wolf has been presumed dead, not only by his former employers but also by his wife, Kendra, an FBI agent herself. When he fell off, Wolf was working undercover with a biker gang whose viciousness almost defies description; his self-initiated exit interview from the gang involved a fiery double-cross that left one of the gang leaders a paraplegic. Now that Wolfe has suddenly resurfaced, alive and well and on the run, he has both the FBI and a crew of gang members full of simmering revenge after him.

Wolf, however, has not spent the past few years assuming he was in the clear; instead, he has been preparing for the inevitable. And when the day of reckoning comes, Wolf is more than ready to dole out street justice to those who have it coming. There are some factors, though, that he cannot anticipate, including a dogged television reporter who keeps getting in the way; his wife, who insists upon being a part of the investigation; and a traitor within the FBI's own ranks. The book has more than one surprising and explosive ending, and while you might guess one of them, it is doubtful you will anticipate them all.

Reading BREAKING COVER is one of the few times I've become short of breath from turning pages so quickly. I kid you not. You should get a note from your doctor that your cardiovascular system is in shape before you beginning reading this. But it'll be worth every minute on the treadmill.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rhoades Creates Another Great Character, July 27, 2008

By	eburchelli (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews

I could hardly wait for Mr. Rhoades newest book. I ordered it in January and it arrived earlier this week. It portrays a new character, Tony Wolf, an undercover FBI agent, as Axel McCabe, who infiltrates a motorcycle gang and all their society misfits. The story is believable in its entirety and as he backtracks to give details of his actions that led him into four years of forced hiding and later when he ties things up by breaking cover. The story moves right along with the usual vivid portrayal of all the gory details his character Jack Keller helped identify as Rhoades style of writing. Maybe Tony's story is even more gruesome. I hope to read more about Tony in subsequent books. I'm also hopeful Jack Keller will re-emerge in the future. As an afterthought, I really liked Deputy Buckthorn. Maybe JD will give him his own book(?).