Defiant

Kate Preacher Thriller, #3

by

Michael Maloof

With breathtaking action sequences galore, DEFIANT is an absolutely riveting conclusion to this thrilling trilogy!

Defiant is the third book in author Michael Maloof’s action-packed Kate Preacher Thriller trilogy, and it is an absolutely riveting conclusion to this part of her story. In this final tale, recent widow Kate Preacher, critically injured but recuperating, calls in all her markers to finish the mission her deceased spouse, Jake Church, started. From the U.S. to France to Russia to Switzerland, the action never wanes in this intricately plotted tale of love, loyalty, betrayal, sacrifice, and the battle of good versus evil. 

Despite the considerable damage she sustained in the previous novel, Kate Preacher steps boldly into this next part of her story. She’s got a growing support system of strong and capable friends, who do not hesitate to follow her in her mission to stop an evil plan of power, dominion, and mass murder. Just as she’s got their backs, they have hers. 

The plot picks up where UNSTOPPABLE left off. Kate is slowly recuperating but pushing herself to end this thing that Jake uncovered and eventually cost him his life. I loved how Kate leverages every contact she’s made and every opportunity offered to her advantage, while keeping the welfare of her ‘found’ family in mind at all times. 

The plot explores the idea of global threats from bioweapons and increasingly advanced AIs in the hands of an unscrupulous leader, and the resulting picture is frightening, too close for comfort. Familiar faces from earlier in the trilogy return, and storylines in play from the start finally converge. The action is intense, and the action sequences are so well choreographed and staged, especially the heart-stopping scenes set within the mountain in Davos, that I could feel my heart pounding and my whole body tense, wondering if everyone was going to survive (because, as readers learned from the very book, no character is safe!) However, Kate is also still very much a grieving wife, and within the breakneck pace of the story, she experiences the anguish of sorrow, pain, and rage for her loss. Those emotional moments are raw and realistic, the feelings radiating from the pages. 

I highly recommend DEFIANT (and the entire Kate Preacher Thriller trilogy) to readers of thrillers, conspiracy stories, action and adventure, and suspense.

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