The Mechanic by Tom Fowler
John Tyler is a former army Special Forces and warrant two officer who alternated between fixing Hummers and tanks and doing missions. Now, all he wants to do is be a classic car mechanic. For me, this book was Reacher meets Bosch. It is all about vigilante justice. There is vengeance as Tyler’s foe is his ex-commander who he helped put in prison. Not much redemption in this first of the series.
The similarity to Reacher is obvious, ex-military vigilante. Where it’s significantly different is that Tyler wants to settle down, wants to have a normal life in the Baltimore area. But like the Reacher books trouble finds him. And as Tyler’s dad tells him, being a killer is who he is. Where does the Bosch similarity come in? Age for one. Tyler is fifty. And he has a daughter. Divorced from his wife who is in prison, Tyler’s raising his now college-age daughter himself. And Lexi wants to help out and does in some significant ways. And obviously, having a daughter or anyone that attached to him, proves a liability as well.
The writing isn’t Pulitzer level writing, but the story keeps moving. The body count is high. Until the end there’s little involvement by the cops and even then, police procedure is pretty much ignored, and Tyler is allowed to get away with a lot of killing. The main bad guy we get a good look into, but the other bad guys are basically cardboard cut outs of military gone bad thugs. Not a big deal for me, as I don’t need a lot of back story on someone whose going to be planted under anyway, but if you’re heavy into characterization, you’ll get it with Tyler, Lexi, and a couple supporting cast members, but not everyone.
Not a lot of mystery, either. Predictable, but enough suspense to have kept me interested. The book ends with a potential romantic interest. Other than that, no loose ends, so next book will probably be new trouble finding Tyler.
The violence is not over the top nor overly graphic. There is some profanity, but again, it’s not over the top. One small on page sex scene that’s fairly muted.
Overall, an okay read. Short enough, fast paced enough, that I kept reading. If you’re into the ex-military turned vigilante sub-genre, then you’ll probably enjoy this one.
As for ranking, it sits at number eight. Not necessarily better written or better story than Into the Flames, but more my type of read.
Book Ranking for 2022
- The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin
- Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner
- Moonlight Awakens by John Matthew Walker
- Win by Harlen Coben
- Murder Board by Brian Shea
- Anna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry Toler
- The Man Burned by Winter by Pete Zacharias
- The Mechanic by Tom Fowler
- Into the Flames by Liz Bradford
- You Are Invited by Sarah A Denzil
- Girl, Alone by Blake Pierce
- One Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.
- Coffin Cove by Jackie Elliott
Commission earned
I found the part in the book where he leaves his daughter home alone knowing the bad guys knew where he lived and they kidnap her. Not true to a character who is so precise in things and especially after his attention to detail in making the government woman safe from harm. Very amateurish from author.
I agree. Good story, but needed some work.