Baja Blitz

Not again ? HOW MANY times is Mike Newton going to release the same title with names changed from the previous title. Sure if you haven't read his previous titles in the series this is a pretty good read but only on that basis. If you are reading the series in order you will be disappointed in this rewrite. my two bobs worth........

This is a sleek well oiled machine of a Newton novel that is everything you can expect from the author of the old-school style of Executioner stories. From beginning to end, the story is a fast paced and gripping action novel that contains a solid plot and good side characters to go along with the usual Bolan blitz. And what's more... there is Johnny Bolan. Fans of the Bolan brothers working together will want to grab this book. No other writer can write the story of Johnny Bolan into the series the way Newton can, and it works out great in this book. All the action takes place in the San Diego area, and a brief scene in Baja. This is Johnny's territory, and we get to see a lot of both Bolans at work in this area. Mack's blitz is typical, seen many times before, but it is fun seeing him do what the executioner does, and I liked the Louisa character, her role in the novel was written very well. I would have liked to see this book as a superBolan, I thought it could have been expanded to be one, there was a lot of potential that could have been there, but the 220 pages limit was handled well by Newton. Everything wraps up nicely by the end. Definitely one of his better novels in the series, and I recommend it to all.

Johnny Bolan hears about 15 dead illegal aliens at the US-Mexico border. In over his head, he calls for his older brother to help out. Together, the brothers Bolan take out a villain intent on dominating the border. Great book. Always good to see Johnny involved. Also, the involvement of corrupt cops puts the brothers a bit at odds with each other -- Johnny feels if they are corrupt, they've lost any claim to protection, while Mack refuses to drop the hammer on even a criminal in uniform. Their ally Louisa was a good addition. While Mack is on his typical blitz, Johnny and Louisa are running their own investigation. All together a well-written, exciting book. Only thing that keeps it from 10 stars is the fact the Mack has his government ties. If he gets caught blitzing the bad guys, he walks, which takes away from the excitement that was there in the earlier mafia war days. Still, a very good read.

This is a difficult story to judge since there is nothing to judge the book on. Johnny Bolan for some reason becomes interested in the massacre of fifteen illegal Mexican immigrants. He investigates and decides to call in big brother for help. What follows is the usual plot of Mack Bolan running around San Diego destroying various targets. Eventually Mack and Johnny's ally, a female police officer, is kidnapped, so Mack runs around leaving messages all over town for the girl to be returned alive. This is just a standard formulaic plot the has been used time and time again.

This was typical Mike Newton, with Bolan using classic Executioner tactics to take down the bad guys. But as far as the Bolan Brother adventures go, it wasn't the best. The action scenes, until the end, weren't as grand as previous entries. Story kept me interested, but didn't live up to the last few Bolan/Johnny books.

I have just begun to read Bolan books agian (after an almost 20 year hiatus) and Baja Blitz was just like old times. Mack blitzed the hell out of Ramos, and having Johnny around added to the story. The charaterization of the homicide detective was well done also. Altogether a great read and enjoyable way to kill a rainy Sunday afternoon. Highly recommend this one.

A good johnny Bolan story with big brother Mack there to back his little brother's play. Not your typical executioner story. I really enjoyed this one.

PREDICTABLE. VERY PREDICTABLE.