Customer Reviews

Paid in Blood (NCIS Series #1)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Tyndale Press has gone through something of a revolution when I wasn't looking. I'm used to thinking of them as a publisher of traditional religious books. Several of which appear on my shelves. I'm not generally drawn to religious fiction, so I never realized that they are the big player in that genre, so I would never have noticed were it not that Mel Odom, who has written a whole bunch of books in genre that I do read a lot (Buffy, Angel, etc.), also has written several books for Tyndale. One, Paid In Blood, found its way onto my reading pile, and I found my nose buried in a piece of military fiction with a bit of a twist.

This novel, which I hope is the first of a series, is the story of a Naval Criminal Investigation Service team, that, in investigating the murder of a fellow investigator follows a series of clues across the world until they are in a desperate chase to keep a psychotic terrorist from starting world war three. The telling is quite well done. While the plot is fairly obvious - Odom drops in on the terrorists often enough to make sure the reader understands what is going on - Odom has a knack for building the story as a police procedural rather than as a sneak and shoot tale. The result is that the story proceeds logically, with time for both some interesting twists and some solid character development. In other words, actually is a plotted novel rather than an excuse for weapon discussions and maimed fatalities.

Of course, the story is more than just another piece of military fiction. Religion plays a part as the faith of many of the team members is tested. A divorce, the violent death of a friend, another marriage in difficulty, all of these things test the individual members of the team. While I would not normally pick up a novel with acceptance and faith as secondary themes, Odom's writing never comes across are preachy, and the troubles of the characters make them much more human and accessible than they would be if they were all Green Berets on steroids. The result is that I finished the novel once again favorably impressed by Mel Odom's talent.

If you like military fiction I suggest you try this. I think you will find interesting and even a bit unusual in a genre that is often guilty of repeating itself.

As a recently retired NCIS Special Agent, I started to read this book with much interest hoping for an accurate description of NCIS, its mission, and capabilities. Unfortunately, by the second chapter the inaccuracies were such that it totally destroyed any further hope I had for the book.

From the start, it should be noted that NCIS is a civilian federal law enforcement agency responsible for conducting felony criminal investigations specifically involving the Department of the Navy (U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps) and the United States, in general. Its Director and senior management are members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and the Special Agent corps are Federal Criminal Investigators (GS-1811), with the same authority as the FBI, U.S. Customs Service, ATF, U.S. Secret Service, etc. While there is a small cadre of USN Intelligence Officers and USMC Criminal Investigators and Counterintelligence personnel assigned to NCIS, they are subordinate to the civilian law enforcement personnel. The Director, NCIS reports to the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV).

The books primary character/investigator, CDR Will Coburn is a former aircraft carrier Commanding Officer, something that would never occur in reality. First, aircraft carrier COs are O-6 - Captains, not Commanders (O-5) and generally on the road to Admiral. In no way are they eligible nor would they take such a position as a NCIS Special Agent. A carrier CO's age would preclude him/her being accepted to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) - a prerequisite to becoming a 1811. Also, within the USN hierarchy an assignment as a NCIS Special Agent is not career enhancing.

A second major inaccuracy is the fact that NCIS takes over a crime scene out in the local jurisdiction under the notion that NCIS has primacy over all criminal cases involving USN/USMC personnel. In actuality, NIS/NCIS has joint jurisdiction and routinely works with local authorities providing investigative and technical assistance when requested. However, it is not uncommon for local jurisdictions to turn over cases to NCIS particularly when both the subject and victim are military or there is specific federal interest in prosecution. NCIS prides itself on how well they work with local jurisdictions, one reason being a significant number of NCIS Special Agents were recruited from local law enforcement and pride themselves in the relationships they are able to establish and maintain with local law enforcement...NCIS is probably better at this than any other federal criminal investigative agency.

Additionally, it should be noted the requirements to become a NCIS Special Agent. At a minimum , Special Agent candidate must possess a Bachelor's Degree, pass an appropriate physical exam, and be able to possess a minimum of a Top Secret security clearance. NCIS does recruit heavily from the law enforcement and military officer community and also look for college graduates possessing specific language capabilities, area studies, and/or academic backgrounds. Upon hiring they must then complete the FLETC and a special NCIS "add-on". NCIS personnel do not/not attend USN "boot camp".

I realize this book is a work of fiction and while I have no real problem with the plot and its execution, its description of NCIS is so inaccurate I could not make it through the book nor can I recommend it.

NCIS - Paid in Blood, where to start? First off the spine of the book says `Novel one' which indicates that there are more coming in this series, so rather than repeat a lot of what's been said in the other two reviews lets look at that aspect. I read an average of 4 - 6 books a month, split between fiction and non fiction, balanced between SCI-FI, Finance and Spirituality. That being said I've delved into my share of series books. If this is indeed the 1st book in a new series, as it appears to be, I have to say that Mel has done something that seems VERY difficult in writing. He's made a 1st book very easy to get involved with. Typically many series books start off using the first volume to fill in the entire back story on every primary character being utilized. Although I do agree that knowing the characters past helps you become involved in their present and care about their future, there have been some very good Volume One's that have been VERY hard to get through, due to all the back story. Whether it's LEFT BEHIND, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE or LORD OF THE RINGS, the stories themselves are great the books are good, but the depth at which most authors seem to subject their readers to detail of history is overwhelming!

Not Mel, he drops you SMACK DAB in the middle of it! There is action and intrigue from page one! Now this is not to say that the characters history is ignored, instead it's fed to you a little bit at a time, in just enough volume to make it palatable and yet still keep it relevant to the story at hand.

Mr. Odom should also be applauded at the amount of precise detailed military information that he relates to each character and their story. Not since Tom Clancy in the early 80's have I read a novel with as much accurate detail in relation to the story and the tools being used. More over this isn't simply a recitation of facts and figures in relation to bullet grains and wind velocity, this information is made integral to the movement of the plotline.

But most importantly I think that any prospective reader should know up front that Mel has brought us back to a method of story telling that seems buried in the past, but that made so MANY books great! His chapters are short, legible and leave you at a cliff hanger at the end of every one! Whether you like Dan Browns Da Vinci Code or not, I believe that the thing that has made it such a HUGE success is that he brought reading back to the average person! The average chapter in Da Vinci was about 4 pages, and it always left you wanting more! NCIS does the exact same thing! The chapters are more than 4 pages, but within each he moves along several different characters, each being left in a situation where you the reader are holding your breath! I'm not quite old enough to remember the Tom Mix movie serials of the 50's but I absolutely understand the concept! Leave your fans for more! Even the END of the book leaves the reader going `Hey wait! What happens NEXT?'

I first read Mel Odom in his `sideline' to the Left Behind Series "Left Behind-Military", and although I am avidly awaiting the continuation of that series, I personally feel that the writing, story, plot and character development in NCIS far outweighs that of the other series. Perhaps it has to do with the investment he as an author makes in characters and a universe of his own creation. Whatever the reason, I for one hope that this does become a series and will be looking out for the next volume. Also a search through this bookstore shows that he has done an awful lot of work with other characters and universes that I'm a fan of. So if, like me, you buy and enjoy this book, I'd strongly recommend you see what else he has on tap.

I really enjoy the NCIS TV series (minus the copius sexual innuendos) and thought this would be a good, wholesome addition.

Plot:
An NCIS agent is killed when checking in on a coworker's stepson. Will Coburn and his team begin to investigate. As they wrap up the NCIS agent's murder, they realize that something worse is going on: military weapons are being smuggled. What follows is a fast-paced ride through the US, Korea, and Okinawa to find the culprits and stop the ultimate plan: to start World War III.

Good:
At first, I was rather bored. Not realizing where Odom was going, I thought that he was using the NCIS agent's death to show his readers how good his NCIS team is and then would segue into the real mystery. So I kep reading and going, "Okay, when is the mystery going to start?"
That's when I realized that the NCIS death led to the mystery. Odom wraps up the NCIS agent's murder (which is indirectly related to the main story) so that he can focus on the true mystery--the nuclear war that someone is trying to plan out. As the mystery unravels and the team finally discovers the identity of the one trying to start World War III, the pace gets faster and faster and ends in an explosive conclusion.
The author beautifully wove the main story--a possible nuclear war between the superpowers--into the death of the NCIS agent. Further, I was so amazed at the twists and turns in this novel! They were odd (inserting terrorists into the U.S. Navy), but not so odd that you think, "Am I reading science fiction?"
The characters are real and personal. Each person's role in the team makes sense (the author isn't making up some stupid task just so he can put a character in it) and is unique. I just wish they didn't all have supremely depressing personal stories (minus, of course, the late, great Frank Billings). On the other hand, life is tough.

Bad:
I really don't have a lot of problems with this book. Mostly, it was a little gory, so if you don't like hearing autopsies or going over how someone died or reading about lots and lots of blood, don't read this. The characters are kinda grim--Will is going through a painful divorce, Maggie's father is a control freak, Estrella's husband committed suicide, Shel and his dad don't get along, and Nita doesn't want to be a wife and mom. I would have liked to have seen more character growth and coming to grips with their problems, but if this is going to be a series, that's okay if the author takes his time.
Last problem is that the investigation of the NCIS agent in the beginning is too fast. In less than a day, they have processed the crime scene, interrogated neighbors, found the chop shop, brought down the criminals, and gotten a statement/confession. I know Odom was closing this up so he could focus on the real story (good move) but worth noting.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
No language. Sexual situations consist mostly of brief mentions of scantily dressed women in bars. Several people are shot at or die in the novel. Grisly descriptions of autopsies.

Overall:
If you like crime scene and mystery mixed with great characters and a military setting, you will like this novel. Can't wait to read his next book!

I found this book to be a somewhat entertaining read, but as a law enforcement officer who has worked with the real NCIS I found many of the same factual errors that other reviewers have mentioned that were hard for me to get over:

1. A Navy Commander would not have been in command of an aircraft carrier.

2. The US Navy rank is Warrant Officer, not Warrants Officer.

3. NCIS is primarily made up of civilian Special Agents. I don't know if they still even have them or not, but at one time NCIS did have a small number of military Special Agents in certain positions, but those military Special Agents would have no authority to arrest civilians. (Although, like military police, they could detain civilians if on a military base). Even civilian NCIS Special Agents could not arrest a citizen of a foreign country in that country (i.e arresting a S. Korean citizen in S. Korea).

Like I said, all in all, it wasn't a bad read if you don't know how far-fetched some of the details are................

Although this book has religious overtones they are almost inserted as a distraction from the story rather than the theme, except for one small miracle. Most of the detail seemed very plausible although Max the attack Labrador seemed a bit beyond belief having owned a series of black Labradors who would be more likely to lick to death than anything else; there are also noticeable errors in the description of photographic equipment. This aside and I have no knowledge of forensic processes everything seems to hang together well. It is an exciting tale which moves quickly and although the first of a series does work as a standalone novel. I could visualise the characters, even the Labrador, and locations which added to the realistic feel. The plot is fairly straight forward rather than multi-stranded It starts with a prologue that seems to have little relevance to the rest of the book as it is about a Yaseen the ultimate villain in the story being let down over the supply of missiles, the story then switches to a murder victim and the search for the killer however everything soon comes together and everything is tidied up nicely.

This book is unrealistic...if you have a military/law enforcement background it will disgust you. "Special Agents" running around with 2 pistols out shooting gangster style haha

I found this book in the free ebooks section and I had it for 2 weeks before I was bored at the pool and started reading it. It took me two days, but it was an awesome book!

I couldn't put it down. I plan on buying the other two books.

I love fiction but am not fond of fantasy and characters who exercise unrealistically poor common sense. This was obvious when the main character did not notify the proper chain of command after he theorized correctly that a terrorist-lead, nuclear-missile armed ship is headed straight toward them. After the initial meeting with the sub's Captain (not the Commander) who sends an arrest team after a culprit, he never issues orders to protect his crew or sub. Another poor decision was made to surface the sub to send a message about a new murder not about the nuclear missile threat. This made the sub a sitting-duck waiting to be attacked. What sub Captain or Commander would make dumb decisions like this? Even after the torpedos hit, the NCIS team ask each other what is happening. The whole book was strange. I felt no real attachment to any of the characters. But I'm very glad our real life military functions better than this!

I could not beleive this book was free.. but I am going to plurchase the other two books in this series...it only took me two days to read this, it was a "could not put down book", even tho it was time to go to sleep I tried but my mind kept wandering back to the book and I absolutely had to go back to reading..GREAT JOB by author..keep up the good work..you just got another fan !!!