Customer Reviews

Change of Heart

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2 star:		(1)
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Burping Frog Publishing is Jack Allen's new publishing company, located in southeastern Michigan. Change Of Heart is their very first novel, to be followed by An Innocent Among Them, Widow of Calcutta, The Lennox Conspiracy, and Breathe of the Flesh. Specializing in spy thrillers and espionage novels, Burping Frog Publishing is a welcome addition to the burgeoning small press industry, which is where the real action is.

In Change Of Heart, we meet a Mel Gibsonesque Naval Intelligence officer named Joshua McGowan. Joshua is, on the surface, mild-mannered until he finds himself in a combat situation. The first scene finds Josh on the streets of Baltimore, stubbornly tracking an espionage operation. His own personal code of ethics requires him to follow through on one operation before tackling his overriding orders to escort a former KGB spy who has been sprung from a Russian prison by Josh's friends in the CIA. New recruit Jerry shows the reader Josh's amazing character:

"Jerry always took that for a load of crap, until he looked into the eyes of the man sitting next to him. Josh was not just some average field agent working a tedious surveillance job for an intelligence organization. He had been changed. He was a soldier, a hardened warrior. Jerry looked away. He completely underestimated his partner. But then, how could he not? To look at Josh he'd never know what he was made of inside."

Change Of Heart takes the reader for a thrill ride from the very first chapter, as Josh tries to rescue the reluctant and beautiful Valeria Konstantinov, former KGB agent, who is being used by both sides for information and power. We see the streets of Baltimore, take several helicopter rides full of thrills and spills on the way to the waters of Japan, and finally step inside the new Kremlin as the old guard makes a bid to return to power.

Josh McGowan is a hero everyone will love. He is handsome, unaware of his appeal, has a moral code that is beyond most people's ken, and refuses to quit. A great start for Mr. Allen!

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Jack Allen's Change of Heart is a very well done spy thriller, complete with a likeable hero and a very plausible, yet still very exciting storyline. Josh McGowan has been assigned to bring a young female former Soviet operative to the US after she escaped from a Russian prison. Of course, nothing is ever easy, and Josh meets with many compelling roadblocks along the way. The story is told in an engaging fashion--readable, detailed, exciting. Josh, and the story, were not overwhelmingly "macho". The plot is full of many interesting twists, which are all grounded in reality. Enjoy.

Josh McGowan: international (and yet patently American) man of intrigue.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Brave the action, adventure, and breathtaking stunts McGowan executes as he works to rescue a young Russian, a woman of mysteriously high importance to intelligence and military figures of the former Soviet Union. But why is she so important to them? What secrets does she hold? McGowan would like to know, but she's not talking.
What we're talking about here is an adventure, a spy/military/political thriller, and first and foremost, an action novel penned with a gift for the mode by author Jack Allen - so much so that this novel might easily translate into one of the action flicks Hollywood is so fond of turning out.
If you are a fan of spy novels or action flicks, take Allen's "A Change of Heart" out for a spin. But be careful; on Allen's roadways, the rules tend to disappear.

"Change of Heart" is Jack Allen's first novel. While I do not usually read spy thrillers, I felt a sense of duty to do so this time, since he is a fellow Michigander. In addition, someone who can call themselves Burping Frog Publishing is worthy of attention, if not respect. The news is good. This is an old fashioned spy thriller with all the appropriate parts - evil master spies, beautiful women, a true hearted hero, and all the epic action and violence that a reader could ever ask for.

Josh McGowan is the hero in question. He is part of Naval Intelligence and has spent most of his career doing the hard and dirty work of a field operative. The opening scene of the book has McGowan busting up an undercover information theft with a chase scene the has him destroy a truck with one car and then bring down a boat with another. All in a days work for Josh, who has just been ordered to Washington for an even more harrowing assignment. As part of a protection deal, KGB Colonel Mironov (the nasty of this story) has provided the prison location of Valeria Konstantinov. She is a spy that US intelligence is anxious to talk to. Valeria knows the location of Dr. Otto Jones, an explosive expert who is aiding the Communist Party in its effort to retake Russia. Valeria has been freed from prison and smuggled off the Siberian coast by the CIA. Josh's assignment is to bring her back to the States.

In a series of confrontations with every thing from a destroyer to sharks, Josh barely makes it to Japan with Valeria. Josh wants to head for the U. S. Embassy, but Valeria is intelligent enough to figure out that she does not want to face interrogation. Playing on Josh's feelings, the beautiful spy manages to escape him and sets up a meeting with her Russian lover. Unbeknownst to everyone, Mironov is planning a double-cross and manages to recapture Valeria, who figures greatly in his plans to resurrect Communist Russia. Josh is caught up in a series of events that will take him to Israel and then back to Russia in his efforts to save Valeria and defeat Mironov's plan.

This is a pretty wild tale, long on action, with good solid details. Characterization, no surprise, suffers in this kind of novel. But many of the players are painted well, even if a bit sparingly. I wouldn't hold this against this kind of fiction. Only John Le Carre is prone to pushing the envelope towards making spy fiction great literature. The story is far from boring and will carry the reader right through to the end. My only real complaint is that, while the story reads believably while you are in the middle of it, there are a few places which don't quite make sense in retrospect. Like McGowan taking the time to erase a disk drive in the middle of a warehouse complex he is shortly going to completely obliterate. These few idiosyncrasies do serve to move the plot along and are easily forgiven. I found the book to be great fun, and hope Jack Allen gets to write many more. Recommended.

Jack Allen's intriguing spy thriller gets the pulse throbbing almost from the start, and doesn't let it stop until the final, surprising twist in the end. This plot-spinner-with-heart knows how to keep his readers reeling with action and high drama, while at the same time, giving them just the right heart changing touches at the most unexpected moments. Readers will delight and stay with Josh, the appealing and delightfully maddening protagonist who takes us all on the East-West ride of our lives. Jan Pierson, Author "The Carson Kids Series."

Altho I found this book somewhat entertaining I found it pretty far-fetched in that SO many unlikely things happened and that Joshua McGowen was shot, cut, knifed, beat up, blown up, crashed airplanes, boats and cars and whatever else and he still prevailed over the "Bad Guys".
And all this happened in less that a week?
And, of course this is just my 1¢ worth.

In Change of Heart, Jack Allen introduces a new adventure hero Joshua McGowan who fits the character as an adventurer who becomes the hero. Up against one "bad guy" after another, blindsided by the antihero Mironov, escort to an uncooperative Valeria Konstantinov, Josh outperforms the "other side" always staying one step ahead even when he isn't sure of the enemy.

The fast-paced book is filled with adventure, chilling situations, and a unique ending, not quite what was expected. Although, Josh works for Naval Intelligence, he doesn't have the mind set of following orders, probably why his military career was a bumpy one.

However, becoming an intelligence officer keeps him in the Navy while making use of his ability to think on his feet, make decisions under pressure and do what it takes to accomplish his mission. The situation in the opening chapter gives a good look into his character.

The story is typical of a spy thriller - interesting characters both good and evil, plots and plotters, lots of action. Josh McGowan, however, was able to kill without a second thought and equally capable of falling in love and feeling the emotions that come with caring for someone, makes the reader care about him. He has his vulnerable moments, which is how Valeria gets away from him by taking advantage of one such moment.

You find yourself not just worrying about how he will get out of danger, but also what will happen to him because of what he feels and what he does. Will he continue in his work? Will he be scarred by what happens? Travel with him from Washington to the Kremlin with stops in the ocean and Tokyo. The reader who wants to know more about Joshua McGowan will be delighted to know that a series is planned.

I really enjoyed the twists&turns in this film from start to finish.you never know what is gonna happen next.it keeps you on the edge&things.I enjoy the Pace&the way everything kinda falls into line here.Jack Allen is a Very Creative Person.I Like how everything works while nothing is for sure in this Book.

This is a well paced, action thriller that has movie written all over it. Action packed, fast paced, it would make a terrific film. The book is a wholly plot driven novel. While it falls somewhat short in terms of characterization, its fast pace and intricate plot keep the reader turning the pages.

The hero of this book is Joshua McGowan, a handsome, young Naval Intelligence Officer with the Special Forces Unit, who has just been given a new mission. A top notch field operative, he is just the man for this job. He must rescue a young, Russian woman, Valeria Konstantinova, an elite member of the KGB, who has been imprisoned in Russia.

The United States is anxious to secure her person, as she is presumed to have information of the whereabouts of Dr. Otto Jones, an American explosives expert who is in the process of devising an explosive that would be undetectable by most current security systems. Dr. Jones has turned traitor and is actively working for Colonel Miranov of the KGB on behalf of the Communist Party.

Colonel Mironov, a sinister, double dealing, KGB capo, has engineered this entire mission, as a part of a plan to restore the Communist Party to its former glory in Moscow, and as a way of potentially getting rid of McGowan, his long time nemesis. What neither Mironov nor McGowan reckon with is that Valeria may have her own agenda.

The action takes the reader from the United States to Japan, the Middle East, and Russia with many life or death, action packed, page turning sequences. Mironov will stop at nothing to derail the democratic process in Russia and start the Cold War anew. The only question is whether McGowan will be able to accomplish his mission, stop Miranov and, at the same time, stay alive.

This really would make an excellent film. I see Josh Harnett or even Ben Affleck in the role of Joshua McGowan. Kathy Bates would be perfect in the role of Rear Admiral Katherine Fillmore, one of McGowan's bosses on this mission. Angelina Jolie would make a perfectly beautiful Valeria, while Arnold Schwartzenegger would be terrific in the role of the evil Colonel Miranov.

Fans of Tom Clancy and Ian Fleming should enjoy this book, as should all those who enjoy a good, old-fashioned, action thriller. This is a solid, debut novel.

I could not stop reading Jack Allens new spy Thriller,"Change of Heart," for 2 days.(I did have to hide it a couple of times because I read most of it at work)Its like watching a movie from start to finish.I can just picture Mel Gibson playing our Hero,Josh McGowan.I'm still thinking about who could play the beutifull,former KGB female spy,Valeria Konstantinov. I can also picture Jerry's face,Josh's new partner, flying airborn on his first assignment with our hero.I honestly bust out laughing at some parts,felt romantic when Josh and Valeria had there first dance,and what she was thinking,and was amazed at what happened next."Change of Heart" is the first in a series of new adventures about Josh McGowan,the American spy with the selfless sense of honor.I can't wait for the next adventure.