What do readers think of Sentinel by Matthew Dunn? Write your own review.

This book is a page turner, a political/spy thriller, with nonstop action. I am glad I found the glossary at the back of the book before I started reading it because there are a lot of technical military and government terms. I learned enough about the main character to like him but look forward to more character development. I almost read the whole book in one sitting. Can't wait to read his first novel. I would enjoy following a character like Will through several undercover assignments, such as with the Jason Bourne books.

If you are familiar with the spy novel genre via Clancy, Le Carre and Ludlum etc., “Sentinel” by Matthew Dunn will disappoint. Although the book starts off with a bang, it quickly becomes one very long and tedious road trip. Traveling miles and miles of desolate, frozen roads from Ukraine to Russia both on foot and in cars occupies most of the novel. Granted, there are the usual forgers and counterfeiters, agents from various intelligence agencies, and double-crossers but their characters are undeveloped and pretty much left behind as the main character, an M16 field officer attempts to stop a war between Russia and the United States. The premise of the plot is not very believable and the surprise ending really isn’t much of a surprise. Hope that Dunn’s next Spy Catcher is more adept.

I loved this book. Will Cochrane is Jason Bourne and James Bond in one body and even then still tougher than both. This is a real spy thriller and the tension goes up and up and up until the end. The action is nonstop.

It reminded me most of Ludlum's work but this book is smaller than most of Ludlum's. I would suggest that this book will interest male adult readers mostly but there are women out there like myself who enjoy this genre and I have to say it is the best I've read in a long time.

It has the intelligence of the British spy thriller writers like Le Carre but the action of the American writers. It has it all including a plausible plot, travel, romance and strong characterization. There are so many twists and turns it will make you dizzy.

Perfect summer book but beware you may not be able to put it down once started. If you are like me you will head for the bookstore to find Mr. Dunn's first book and then you'll be waiting for book number three to come out.

The Sentinel is a heart racing page turner. Matthew Dunn engages the reader from the opening chapter and never lets go until the end. Will Cochrane is a character the reader will want to see more of, tough, resourceful and intriguing. One can't help but wonder at his backstory. Set in snowy Russia, this is a thrilling chiller of a story.

I really tried to like it because I enjoy spy/political thrillers (authors Olen Steinhauer, Alan Furst), but this left me cold. The main character, Will Cochran, has no personality. He and the other characters seemed one dimensional. The story itself was interesting - rogue Russian agent setting off a nuclear bomb that would be blamed on the U.S. and war would result. But the buildup was not exciting - 18 pages describing the tracking of a defecting U.S. sailor - boring. Detailed descriptions of weapons - boring. I would rather have a complex storyline with interesting characters.

I enjoyed the read, wished I had noted the Glossary at the end. I was thinking half way through, all the ABC terms were hard to keep track of, kind of dragged down the reading, he needed to give us a dictionary of terms. I felt bad when I got to the end and found the Glossary, just what I was looking for. The beginning was intriguing, the second half was the best. I'd read something else by this author.

In this spy catcher novel, Matthew Dunn demonstrates that he is very knowledgeable about all things military, undercover missions and the dangers that accompany them He so portrays with careful precision the place and the dangers that Will and others are in, that the reader is able, sometimes with bated breath, to be right behind them in the snow. Don’t be amazed if certain portions of the novel have you not only a little anxious but even frightened for the safety of the hero. That’s what is supposed to happen. I find it hard to get into a book and feel that although I am following the hero through awful dangers I don’t really know him. This was for me the one flaw. Be sure, however, that you have the time to read undisturbed to the very end. Stopping part way to eat or go to bed or to work is very hard.

The author may have the skills needed to write a report for one of his 70 successful missions (per the back cover) but he does not have the ones needed to write a novel. I found myself wincing at his phrasing and sentence construction on nearly every page and thus found it very hard to get into the story.

Luckily the plot was the same stone cold killer, super strategist and sexual dynamo with a (sadly alienated) heart of gold that I've read many times before - see Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher, etc. - so I didn't have to expend much brain power in following along.