Northwind: Robert Hoon Thrillers, Book 1

Robert Hoon needs a drink. No; what he needs is a purpose. What he’d like is a drink. And then another. When asked to track down a young woman who has gone missing in London, Hoon wrestles with his conscience but already knows that he will help. And Hoon’s type of help is fairly specialised.Hoon is no mug. He has been there, done it, and bought the faded T-shirt. If you can even understand him, you might be fooled into thinking this old Scottish drunk is no threat. That would be a mistake. Hardened by the streets, not the armed forces, Hoon isn’t just not afraid to fight dirty, it’s the only way he knows.There is humour on pretty much every page here. If you are familiar with the wonderful Barney Thomson series by Douglas Lindsay, you’ll know the sort of ride you are letting yourself in for here.I absolutely adored this book. Plotting, whip smart dialogue, fully fleshed characterisation, vividly described settings; it’s all here.Hoon is my kind of literary character. I wouldn’t have him any other way.

I'm one of the readers who adore Bob Hoon. I loved his character in the DCI Logan books and I have been waiting very impatiently for Northwind to arrive. I think it was a big gamble giving the foul mouthed fellow his own book but my goodness it has paid off. This was an absolute belter of a story. My heart rate has only just returned to normal. Yes, the language was a bit fruity in places, but this is Hoon we are talking about. I'd think we would worry if he uttered a sentence without a swear word in it! The story was riveting and I feared for Bob a few times. Yet again, as with all this authors books, I read Northwind in one sitting. I do try to stop to make them last but it's impossible as you get so caught up in the writing it's hard to leave. If you haven't read any of JD Kirks books, please do, you really are missing out. Now I have to wait until February to get the next instalment, it's going to be a long winter! Bravo again JD.

I have hugely enjoyed the DCI Logan series and Bob Horn’s part in those. I like JD Kirk’s writing style, so set about this with enthusiasm. Oh dear! Hoon transforms into a cross between superman and Jack Reacher with a touch of an obscene Billy Connolly (whom I adore, for the record). Just a bit too much for me. It IS fiction, I am well aware, but I do like my detective/crime fiction to have one foot in something resembling reality. Plot, somewhat under-worked out, with a conspiracy twist to cover its holes. Despite it being JD Kirk, I doubt I’ll sign up for the next Hoon, but most probably will stick with Logan, as he has such a good team around him

I absolutely loved this! I’m a big fan of Jack Logan and co, but whenever Bob Hoon pops there is always something to chuckle about. He is such a larger than life character anyway, but this new book we get to see Hoon in the flesh, a rounded out character, of human foibles but rock hard loyalty and even more rock hard insults! Added to that a man who takes no prisoners on a righteous mission and you’ve got a bloody good read! If I don’t get to find out more about the mysterious Loop, and get more Hoonerisms, and get Bob a good woman I won’t be happy. Love it love it!

What a book Northwind is. Absolutely brilliant. I was so looking forward to it but also a wee bit hesitant as love the Logan books so much and really didn’t want to be let down if it wasn’t up to scratch. Have had that experience before when I love a series of books then read a new/different series by the same author and it’s awful. I definitely needn’t have worried. Hoon could easily have, in another writer’s hands, become nothing more than a caricature. Instead, I loved getting to know and understand him more, peeling back some of the layers but still laughing out loud at all of the characteristics and Hoonisms that we all love (or hate!) in the Logan books. Even if you weren’t a fan of Hoon previously, I’d be surprised if you didn’t love this book. Roll on the next one!

Love him or hate him, you'll end up rooting for The Hoon after you've read this. Everything you'd expect in a book all about Bob Hoon, anger, extreme violence and of course the funniest swearing you'll ever read. But there's more, much more. You'll see a very tender side to him that you thought couldn't exist, a sexual side (not pretty!) and an outstanding performance in the kitchen. This is a belter of a book and Mr Kirk pulled it off brilliantly. I want to thank JD for covering a really dark but important subject that doesn't get nearly enough attention as it should. Well done!

I've read all the Jack Logan books so far and always look forward to the appearance of Robert Hoon with his unique style of verbal abuse that he fires liberally at all those around him.It was really exciting to see that there is a book with Hoon as the main character. I hoped it would be full of inventive expletives but also more about him as a personThe book is 339 pages and 43 chapters.I couldn't help but smile at the paperback cover which, oddly, looks more like a James Bond story than one about a sweary ex-cop.Hoon's character transfers well from the main series with a new cast of supporting characters from his past, establishing a backstory to be developed.The missing daughter of a friend gives Hoon a reason to be in London. This separates the story from the Logan books sufficiently for this book to stand up on its own.Of course, there are a few references to Logan and the team. The dynamics of the team is a huge part of the attraction of the Logan books and I found that I missed them in this story.JD Kirk stretches the extremes of plausibility with all the action that he gives to Hoon. Most of the plot is credible but the investigation techniques that Hoon choses are fairly unlikely. Some of Hoon's extreme violence works well but there is so much here that it starts to lose the shock factor which is a shame.On the other hand, as the violence builds up and flips over into fantasy the book is at its best. Hoon is described as a combination of Jack Reacher and James Bond - very true!!This is a definite change of pace from the Logan books and I needed to tune into the violence, once I did then I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to the next one.