Operation: Running Brook

A Sam Barrett Novella

Fiction - Short Story/Novela
215 Pages
Reviewed on 12/23/2023
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jon Michael Miller for Readers' Favorite

Operation: Running Brook by Alex A. Jameson is the first in a series of military-type stories titled The Sam Barrett Ops. Sam is short for Samantha, and in Running Brook, the tale opens as Sam has lost much of her memory. She wakes up in a hospital, her left foot in a cast, with muddy boots, $10, and no ID. Thus begins her odyssey to discover who she is. The first half of the novella involves this identity-seeking process during which we discover her to be highly intelligent, courageous, sensual, and good with guns and Harleys. The second part of the operation involves her becoming a personal security guard (an undercover Air Force assignment) for the daughter of the owner of a large military supply corporation specializing in body armor. This corporation may be selling the government defective equipment to increase its profits and, while protecting Brooke, it is Sam’s mission to find out.

I enjoyed the fast pace of the story. Alex A. Jameson does not mince words nor wax poetic. I liked the short, declarative sentences designed to perpetuate action, which is constant as Sam discovers who she is and then takes on a dangerous assignment that involves love affairs (straight and bi), guns, workouts, lockpicking, cybercrime, stakeouts, shooting ranges, secret meetings, self-defense lessons, office sex, drinking, kidnapping, sentimental reminiscences, Paris, disguises, tech savviness, spyware, shootings, deception, shell corporations, car chases, stabbings, car bombs, hot-wirings, military supply exhibitions, and family emotions—to name a few. Jameson’s military-like writing style is built for speed and clarity, though the plot twists kept me mentally alert. Albeit the focus is on Samantha, the author switches points of view with ease when necessary. Operation Running Brook made me want to read more in this exciting series.