I first came to know author Robert Liparulo through his young adult Dreamhouse Kings series. I reviewed three so far in the series House of Dark Shadows, Watcher in the Shadows, and Gatekeepers, and found every one to be a real page-tuner. When Robert sent me Deadlock, one of his thrillers written for adults, I was intrigued, wondering what he would do differently writing for adults, which, by the way, was where he first started. His debut novel, Comes a Horseman, was—surprisingly—an apocalyptic thriller. He went on to write about germ warfare in Germ, and then wrote Deadfall, his first novel featuring investigative journalist John Hutchinson. As I dipped into Deadlock, the second John Hutchinson story, it occurred to me that Liparulo might not have intended to write a series about this journalist, but rather had a story that just required two books to tell. And what a story it is!

The previous book, Deadfall, introduced villain millionaire Declan Page, with whom Hutchinson has a deadly encounter. Page is the son of military industrialist Brendan Page. That book put a child in danger, and that put Hutchinson over the edge. In Deadlock, Hutchinson returns to deal with Bendan Page himself and what Hutchinson has come to discover is Page’s sinister training facility for military mercenaries used by governments all across the globe. When his own son is kidnapped by Page’s forces, Hutchison pulls out all the stops until he has a showdown with Page.

Deadlock is a definite page-turner, but Liparulo does more than offer high-tech gadgets and daring escapes. He has the ability to capture character with just a few words. For example, Hutchinson’s meeting with Page at his training facility is civil but ripe with images of who Page really is and what he thinks of himself. It is deftly written. Liparulo also is able to give life to young characters without dropping into stereotype or misjudgements about kids.

Moreover, the thing I have always appreciated about Liparulo’s writing style is his ability to rest lightly on the page. What I mean by that is he uses an economy of language for description and even dialog, but it is always just the right word, with the perfect shade of meaning that paints the mood or character he is writing about. It is always spot on. This is an exceptional skill for anyone, but especially for someone who writes books that are around 500 pages. For those reluctant readers who might be intimidated by the sheer size of his work, be not afraid. From the first page, Liparulo will welcome you in with his prose and the story will sweep you away. Deadlock is a definite winner!