
The Good Fight by Dan E. Hendrickson is the first novel of a planned trilogy titled the Last Enemy Series, centred around the exploits of the Edwards family. Commander Jacob Edwards, although a Coast Guard hero, was forced to retire after he killed a notorious pirate off the Mexican/US Coast. Commander Edwards had planned all along to leave the Coast Guard and help out in the family business, run by his father Jim, one of the largest vehicle wholesale auction firms in America. After Jacob, his wife and his mother are all tragically killed in a plane crash his daughter Danielle seeks solace and comfort from her maternal grandparents in Texas. What none of the family realises is that nothing in their lives is coincidence. Jim Edwards and his family have been targeted from the beginning by an evil, criminal who seeks to become the biggest money launderer in the US. So begins this fast-paced thriller as Danielle seeks to put the past behind her and start again.
As a debut novel, I found The Good Fight to be an action-packed, explosive adventure, which bodes well for the full series. Like all new authors Dan E. Hendrickson still has things to learn regarding sentence structure, tense and dialogue, but that doesn’t detract from an interesting premise, a twisting plot and some excellent action sequences. Although I figured out the final twist fairly early on, the read was still enjoyable and the authors writing style encouraged a fast read. The characters were a little overdrawn perhaps, especially Jacob Edwards who came across somewhere between Captain America and Superman. That having been said, Danielle, as a lead female character was strong, independent and very tough, but still retained her femininity, which is a credit to the author. I suspect the second and third instalments of this tale will be just as interesting and exciting. It will be fascinating to watch the development of Hendrickson as a writer through the next two sequels. A good start to what promises to be an exciting series.
