Bonded, Ian Austin

The 4th in the Dan Calder series, set around a terrorist bombing plot at Auckland International Airport, these are high octane, high risk thrillers written by a former cop and security specialist, who obviously has a lot of information about the way that these sorts of events play out.

Calder has had a complicated path from his home in the UK to New Zealand, from being an English cop to semi-exiled to New Zealand and into the role of investigator on the spot for each of the previous novels (THE AGENCY, THE SECOND GRAVE and FROZEN SUMMER). Very much an on the spot investigator again, Calder is at the Auckland Airport, running a training session, as a terrorist attack occurs. Clashing with authorities, he's summarily dumped from the investigation and continues lone wolfing his way through some decidedly hair raising scenarios.

This whole series is very much in the thriller / lone wolf category - with Calder nearly always put upon, nearly always clashing with authorities, and able to perform feats that make you wonder how he's ever going to survive. He's also from the not-super-hero's / ordinary blokes with principles and the determination to carry them through group of central protagonists.

A tendency towards info dumps and a lot of research making it onto the page may make this series less successful for fans of the past-paced, high-octane, never a moment's let up style of thriller, but if you like your thrillers with a depth of detail then it could be for you, although I'd have to say I think it's a series that benefits from reading in full, in order. There's a lot of back story to Calder and his previous outings that will help you understand where he's coming from and why he's going where he's headed.