In The Serpent's Fall by JD Zeeman, Jack Dunning, ex-special ops military, haunted by an incident that brutally took away his wife and child, has retired to manage a diner in Cape Town. When a terrified young woman, Amanda, a witness to a crime committed by the local Serpent biker gang, seeks shelter, Jack hides her. Convinced that Jack knows her whereabouts, the gang demolishes the diner and threatens Jack while increasing pressure to find Amanda. Jack has had enough, and to protect Amanda as well as exact revenge for the destruction of the diner, Jack takes the battle to the gang, swearing to rid the city of their unlawful domination.

J.D. Zeeman's creation of the primary protagonist, Jack Dunning, is a masterpiece of character development. Jack reminded me of two well-known TV/movie characters from the mid-80's and 90's… Angus MacGyver, a secret agent armed with remarkable resourcefulness to solve any problem, including weaponry, in the field, using any materials at hand, and the near-invincible Rambo. I was equally impressed with Zeeman's use of short sentences in a staccato sequence that not only highlighted the intensity of the situation at hand but also supported the fast pace of the entire story. Verisimilitude, a sense of reality, is a trademark that I look for in every fiction book I read, and Zeeman continued to impress with his descriptions of weapons and the tactics that led to their engagement. Jack is the star, but every character, protagonist or antagonist, is true to life, from everyday people on the street to the biker gang and their notoriously rich manipulators running a drug and money laundering operation. I'm hoping for a sequel.

The Serpent’s Fall by JD Zeeman is set in Cape Town, where danger and violence walk hand in hand. After Jack lost everything, Tony offered him a place to stay while working at Tony's Diner. Jack's world is turned upside down when Amanda seeks refuge in the diner. Amanda witnesses something she was not meant to see and is chased by the Serpent Gang. Jack finds himself in the middle of Amanda's nightmare, and he will stop at nothing until she is no longer in danger. Calling in a favor from a friend who owes him, Jack arms himself for a one-man war. Though a wanted man, Jack refuses to stop until the gang threatening his friends is destroyed, each violent choice dragging him closer to the man he once was.

JD Zeeman wrote an outstanding thriller driven by sharp character work and a relentless pace. The characters were well-developed, realistic, and relatable. Jack wrestled with the violence he both despises and was used to in his prior life. Amanda's fear was real, and I had compassion for her. The plot was emotionally charged with themes of redemption, loyalty, and faith running throughout the book. The pacing was fast and fitted Jack's plunge into chaos. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was reading until late at night. I could not put the book down; I had to know what would happen next. The events were vivid and descriptive, and it was easy to join Jack in his mission to get rid of the Serpent gang. The Serpent’s Fall is a satisfying read and is brilliantly written.

The murder of a political candidate awakens a former black ops specialist who unleashes retribution on a formidable drug ring in the sensational thriller, The Serpent’s Fall by JD Zeeman. Following the tragic death of his family, Detective Jack Dunning relinquishes his position at the police force and disappears from his former life. After taking revenge on the person who destroyed his happiness, Jack becomes a cook and lives in the backroom of a diner. His quiet life changes the night Amanda inadvertently witnesses the Serpents, the local gang, murder a high-ranking official. Terrified for her life, Amanda runs into the diner. With the Serpents not far behind her, Jack lets Amanda hide there. When the Serpents threaten Jack as well, the war is on. Jack won’t rest until the whole gang has left town or is dead. But can he do it alone and still survive?

The Serpent’s Fall by JD Zeeman is an explosive tale about a formidable hero. My attention was caught on the first page, and I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it. Packed with violence and a bit of gore, the story has an edge-of-the-seat plot that moves at a fast pace. All the characters are compelling and a little frightening. Jack’s character is fascinating. He is the ideal anti-hero: resourceful, ruthless, and complicated. At times, his actions were more frightening than the actual villains of the story, creating a riveting tale loaded with guts and gore. Everyone who loves thrillers infused with danger and suspense and shocking twists will not want to miss this one.

In JD Zeeman’s The Serpent’s Fall, Jack Dunning lives in a back room above Tony’s Diner, years after a bombing ended his police career and destroyed his family. One stormy night, a young orphanage worker named Amanda stumbles into the diner, claiming she witnessed the killing of a prominent political leader in an alley controlled by a criminal syndicate known as the Serpents. When armed men arrive searching for her, Jack hides her and discovers that the gang is tied to a major narcotics shipment moving through Table Bay Harbor under the protection of influential politician Javon Zwane. Drawing on skills from his past in a covert military unit, Jack launches a calculated effort to dismantle the Serpents while moving Amanda between safe locations. His campaign draws the attention of the gang’s leader, Koketso Modise, and sets the stage for an escalating confrontation across the city.

JD Zeeman’s The Serpent’s Fall is a contemporary South African thriller with everything I like: a flawed protagonist, a deeply embedded criminal syndicate, politicking, a lot of guns, and a pace that keeps the pages flying. Jack is brilliant in how decisive his actions are. Zeeman has built up a guy who knows what he is doing, whether it is fabricating a working duplicate key from soot and tin, or crosscutting gunfire across the unfinished floors of a skeletal high rise. Amanda develops from a shaken eyewitness into someone willing to stand up to intimidation directly, refusing to surrender when doing so might have ended the pursuit. Zeeman's head bad guy, Koketso Modise, is believable in his ritualized punishment and calculated displays of dominance. The settings are visually depicted to the point of cinematic, with Cape Town becoming almost a character in itself. From the docks of Table Bay Harbor to posh houses and a vault of toys in Signal Hill, Zeeman pulls together a spectacular contemporary thriller with a masterful shock ending. Very highly recommended.