Poe
By Brett Battles and Robert Gregory Browne
Braun Haus Media
Available Now
Award-winning authors Brett Battles and Robert Gregory Browne have both had very successful careers as thriller writers, with legions of dedicated fans. Now, the two have combined their considerable talents, and the result is explosive.
Bounty hunter Alexandra Poe is no stranger to international security firm Stonewell International. She has rejected their overtures several times in the past, but this time, they have an ace up their sleeve – information about Alex’s father, who she has not seen in a decade.
The mission Stonewell offers Alex requires her to go behind the walls of a Crimean prison, where she must then help a terrorist escape. What is so special about this prisoner? She has recently been in contact with Alex’s father. Alex reluctantly accepts Stonewell’s offer in the hopes of discovering her father’s whereabouts.
Once inside the prison, Alex faces challenges beyond what she expected, including an assassin targeting the prisoner she is supposed to help escape.
Browne and Battles pulled me in from the first page and I didn’t want to stop reading. I loved the characters Browne and Battles created for Poe. It’s nice to see a female lead character who is strong and independent, without feeling like a stereotype or a cookie-cutter character. I would like to see her two male cohorts — Deuce and Cooper — fleshed out a little more in the next installment of the series, and see if there are any romantic possibilities or conflict. Seems like the potential is definitely there for use in future stories.
When I have read a collaboration in the past, I have often been able to tell which author wrote which parts. That was not at all the case with Poe. The authors seem to be writing soulmates, their work combining seamlessly into an exciting story of a daughter’s search for her father and her hope for his redemption.
Poe was a well-written, fast-paced thriller that served as a great introduction to a new character who can definitely carry a series. Luckily, the authors told me there is another story planned with release set for late fall. It probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyhow — I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!
On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Poe a 4.5.
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Tim Busbey 
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