This book was recommended to me by my mother. It was a very different genre from what I normally read so thus it was hard to get into... A lot of the armament and military terminology flew over my head. I really enjoyed the storyline following the female sniper, Mili, which is the reason my mother thought I would enjoy it. She's a serious femme fatale badass. However, I just wasn't connecting with the male main character Bob Lee Swagger, so I don't think I will read any more books in this series.

Altogether not my favorite genre, but the parts following Mili were exciting and the ending was very satisfying. Solid 3 stars for me, but if you like the genre you'll most likely love this one.

This is the first Bob Lee Swagger book that I have read by Stephen Hunter, and it won't be the last, I'm sure.

The story is a fast paced mystery/thriller, written about the same historic incident from two perspectives. The first narrative takes place in 1944 in the Ukraine. The second perspective is from "the present", by people investigating the 1944 historic event. This style worked very well.

I quite enjoyed the flip flopping between the present and the past, as the story unfolded (in the past) and was deduced (in the present). The characters and locations were very easy to follow as to who was where. And, for the most part, all the parts came together at the end.

The only part of the story I thought was a bit weak, and the reason for the 4 start rating, was with the secondary plot weaved into the main story. Although it was interesting within itself, the tie in to the main story line was pretty weak. There was no important connection, other than one of the characters had connections to both story lines. As well, the termination secondary story did not tie in with anything. But perhaps the author is preparing for another book.

In the end, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written mystery/thriller yarn.

couldn't finish

I apparently felt differently than most readers about this book.

As I mentioned in an earlier update, I had to go from CD to book because the story was dragging horribly, and that gave me the opportunity to scan the uninteresting parts. By that, I meant that I would scan or skip a paragraph on occasion. I started the hardback at the 35% percent point of the book. At the 60% mark, I started skipping chapters.

The story is -- Vietnam sniper Bob Lee Swagger, 68, was bored out of his mind (I can relate). A writer contacted him about a story of a female Russian sniper in WWII, and he went to Ukraine to help her suss out the story.

I read Swagger stories to read about Swagger. Every other chapter was about him. Most of the others were deep dives into WWII from both the Russian and German sides, with an Arab throw into the Third Reich for additional taste. IN ADDITION, there were about a half-dozen "Interludes" about present-time Israel and shipping Platinum from South Africa to Russia -- a country that mines the most Platinum of any other. I'm sure there was SOMETHING relative to the story regarding that, but I stopped reading the Interludes and do not believe I missed anything.

If this was a novel about WWII from both sides regarding a female sniper, it probably would have been a decent book.

But in the Swagger chapters, Swagger figures out in 2-3 pages what it took the author 10-20 to describe in the WWII chapters.

I just think it was a horrible presentation. I would give it one star, but the ending was solid, so I gave it a 1.75 rating.

Sure. Straightforward and professionally done. BL Swagger, still working after all these years.

remove the action set-pieces, remove the ss n weapon descriptions, and you have a fairy tale story here! Pity that Hunter goes for a lame tale hete, since he is an excellent story teller (time to hunt, dirty white boys). Hope his next effort is much better!

Bob Lee Swagger is a crochety old man, and he's bored sitting at home on his ranch in Montana. He needs an adventure. His reporter friend (Kathy Reilly) calls him and asks for his help in tracking down the story of Mili Petrova, a great (and beautiful) Russian sniper from WWII who was somehow erased from existence. But even though it was 70 years ago, it seems there are some folks who don't want Mili's story uncovered.

The story alternates chapters, with Mili's adventures in Russia and Ukraine mixed in with Bob's attempts to find her history. (I think this is a similar pattern to the one Stephen Hunter used in Black Light)

Can Bob and Kathy find the truth before they get themselves killed? And what really happened to Mili? The story drags a bit in the middle, but the end is exciting and the characters are great.

Not to shabby.