#Review - Blood and Roses by Mark Dawson (Action, Thriller)

Series: Beatrix Rose # 3
Format: E-Galley, 224 pages
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Action, Thriller

Beatrix Rose has worked her way through her Kill List. Four are dead and just two remain. But now her enemies know she has them in her sights. The hunter becomes the hunted.

In a thrilling conclusion to the breakneck trilogy, Beatrix and her daughter must fight them in North Africa, New York and finally in the swamps of North Carolina. It's a lightning-paced roller-coaster of action that pits a deadly assassin against the might of the most powerful private army on the planet.

It's long odds for Beatrix. And that's just how she likes it. 

Blood and Roses is the final installment in the Beatrix Rose trilogy. As a summary, ten years ago Beatrix Rose was at the top of her game and called number one by the group known as Group Fifteen. She carried out off the books dirty work for a man called Control. When she discovered that Control was corrupt, five of his best assassins were sent out to kill her. They ended up killing her husband instead and left Beatrix without her daughter Isabella for the 8 long years that she was hiding out in Hong Kong. Bad mistake. 

There were six names on Beatrix’s Kill List. FOUR have now been eliminated: Oliver Spenser (Russia), Joshua Joyce (Somalia), Lydia Chisholm (London), and Bryan Duffy (Iraq). All that remains is Connor English and the man Beatrix calls Control (Lucian Finnegan). Beatrix is followed home to Marrakesh by Connor and group of elite mercenaries working for Manage Risk. By the time it is over, Connor will have met his fate, Isabella sees action for the first time, and Beatrix decides that is time to flee for London, and then on to New York for one last trip together before Beatrix cancer ends her life. She also asks Michael Pope to bury Isabella's information so nobody can find her if things go sideways.

As this story kicks in, readers get a real sense that something awful is going to happen before Beatrix gets her ultimate revenge on the man who ordered a team of assassins out to kill her. For a whole year, Beatrix has been training her 13-year old daughter how to shoot, and survive. Beatrix is a really amazing character who can kick ass and take names with anyone from any genre. She's hardened for revenge, but that doesn't stop her from making arrangements for kids who had their lives torn apart by war. 

If you've read this book, please don't spoil it for others. Let them figure out what happens with Beatrix, and Isabella. I dare say that the arrival of John Milton in the final sequence, along with Michael Pope, was surprising, but not shocking. Dawson hid his cards very well right up until he showed them. Once again, Dawson's very British dialogue takes some getting used to. As with the previous installment, I recommend having access to the internet handy so that you know what he's referring to.

I joked around when comparing this series to Kill Bill, and did, in fact call it Kill Bill Volume 3 because both women are named Beatrix. Both women were targeted. Both women lost their daughters for a time. Both went on a killing spree that took patience, skill, perseverance, and determination to get the job done. In the end, I do think that it does help to read these books in order. I do think that you SHOULD try John Milton's story called Ghost, and I do think that perhaps there needs to be a spin off for a certain character that takes place 10 years into the future. 

**I received this book for free from (Publisher) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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#Review - Blood Moon Rising by Mark Dawson (Thriller)

Series: Beatrix Rose # 2
Format: E-Galley, 224 pages 
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Thriller

Ten years ago, Beatrix Rose headed an off-the-books hit squad to carry out the dirty work of the British government. When she discovered that the commander of the squad was corrupt, he sent five of his assassins to rub her out. But they failed. Bad mistake.

There were six names on Beatrix’s Kill List. Two have been accounted for, and she has number three in her sights. But Bryan Duffy is in Iraq, surrounded by mercenaries, and there’s no easy way for Beatrix to get to him and no easy way to get out.

Blood Moon Rising is the second installment in the Beatrix Rose trilogy, or as I like to call it, Kill Bill: Volume 3. As a summary, ten years ago Beatrix Rose was at the top of her game and called number one by the group known as Group Fifteen. She carried out off the books dirty work for a man called Control. When she discovered that Control was corrupt, five of his assassins were sent out to kill her. They ended up killing her husband instead and left Beatrix without her daughter Isabella for the 8 long years that she was hiding out in Hong Kong. Bad mistake. There were six names on Beatrix’s Kill List. Two have been accounted for: Oliver Spenser was eliminated in Russia (Reading Ghosts, a John Milton thriller would be helpful), while Joshua Joyce was killed in Somalia (See In Cold Blood which you must read before Blood Moon Rising).

As Blood Moon Rising opens, Beatrix is hunting down her third target in Lydia Chisholm, and really doesn't mess around playing games with her. Lydia somehow survived 10 years ago after Beatrix stabbed her, but not this time. Moving on to her fourth target, Bryan Duffy, is a bit more complicated. He just happens to be in Iraq surrounded by mercenaries working for a group called Manage Risk. While in Iraq, Beatrix is asked by Captain Michael Pope to help get Mackenzie West out of the country so he can testify to Manage Risks activities in Iraq. 

On the personal front, Beatrix is dying of cancer, and there is pretty much nothing anyone can do to save her. The only question for readers is whether or not Dawson is going to allow her to finish her road to vengeance, or will he allow someone else to pick up her mantle and run with it. If you know who I talking about, please don't spoil it for others. I dare say that things could have been a whole lot more interesting had Dawson explored a bit of a relationship with Captain Michael Pope, who has become the new Control of Group Fifteen. Pope has become an ally, and a provider of supplies for Beatrix. He's also trying to make sure that her actions don't blow back on him, or his group.

Blood Moon Rising takes Beatrix from Marrakesh, to London, to Iraq. Once again, Dawson's very British dialogue takes some getting used to. As with the previous installment, I recommend having access to the internet handy so that you know what he's referring to. Next up: Blood and Roses, the final installment in the trilogy. Will Beatrix finally get her man? Or, will time run out on her road to vengeance?

**I received this book for free from (Publisher) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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#Review - In Cold Blood by Mark Dawson (Adult, Thriller)

Series: Beatrix Rose # 1
Format: E-Book, 204 pages
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Thriller

Beatrix Rose was the most dangerous assassin in an off-the-books government kill squad until her former boss betrayed her, her husband was gunned down, and her daughter kidnapped.

A decade later, Beatrix emerges from the Hong Kong underworld with payback on her mind. It’s a blood feud she didn’t start but she is going to finish.

There are six names on her Kill List. With one already crossed off, Beatrix sets out to find her second target, a mercenary being held hostage by Somali terrorists. Can she infiltrate the most dangerous failed state on the planet and scrub him off the List, too?

Packed with explosive action and page-turning suspense, In Cold Blood is the first novel in Mark Dawson’s bestselling Beatrix Rose series. 

In Cold Blood is the first installment in the Beatrix Rose trilogy. Mark Dawson is a new to me author, and therefore it pains me to say that I did not read the John Milton series story Ghost where Beatrix made an appearance and eliminated one of the names off her list. I do think that Dawson has taken Kill Bill, and made it his own version with yet another hard core assassin. So, let's call this Kill Bill, Volume 3. After all, the main character in Kill Bill was named Beatrix Kiddo aka the Bride and she also lost her lover and daughter to assassins. Not unlike Kill Bill, Beatrix is on a mission to rid the world of SIX particular individuals who betrayed her and left her with no hope of ever seeing her daughter again.

There are now 4 names, plus the man, Control, who sent the assassins after Beatrix. But, Beatrix also has another worry to think about. Can she finish her revenge plot before her cancer wins? Can she protect her daughter and train her to fight against those who might show up one day looking for her? I think that there is a whole lot of background information that is missing from this story. Perhaps Dawson could have linked the actual book where Milton and Rose worked together to rid the world of one of the names on Beatrix's list. I think that perhaps we could have used a summary of who John Milton is, who Control is, and why they went after Beatrix and her family, and why Beatrix spent years in China. I think that the book could have been a whole lot longer, with perhaps more action.

Readers should be warned that Dawson uses Oxford English to write this story. Often times I found myself shaking my head wondering what the hell he was referring to. I even tweeted different variations of American English words just to be snarky. I dare say that those in England will understand, but Americans will be scratching their heads unless they have a dictionary.

The trilogy continues with Blood Moon Rising - Review to come!

**I received this book for free from (Publisher) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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