Review: The Good Fight (The Last Enemy Series Book 1) by Dan E. Hendrickson

Intrigue and adventure abound in The Good Fight, the first installment in the Last Enemy thriller series by Dan E. Hendrickson.

Twenty-five-year-old Danielle Edwards is the heir apparent to Edwards Auto, the thriving family auto business founded by her paternal grandfather. Danielle is still reeling from the recent deaths of her parents and grandmother after their plane had crashed into the Pacific while on their way to Australia. In Danielle’s mind, it should have been her father at the helm of the family business but with his death, it’s now all hers.

However, Danielle isn’t ready to take it all on just yet so for the moment, she’s with her maternal grandparents in South Texas, teaching dance to children, her other passion. Meanwhile Charles Yaeger, Deputy Director of the FBI out of Philadelphia – and her father’s former roommate – has been on the hunt for a Russian assassin who, thirteen years earlier, had masterminded a pirate attack of a cruise ship off the coast of Cozumel.

Thanks to the actions of Danielle’s father, Commander Jacob Edwards, captain of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter at the scene, a major international incident had been averted but as Deputy Director Yaeger continues to chase this assassin, his investigation takes a startling turn…

The Good Fight is an entertaining thriller that combines the auto business with drug cartels, assassins, murder, and smuggling – certainly not your typical bedfellows. Thanks to an authoritative voice, Hendrickson manages to make it all sound convincing; his use of Coast Guard terminology is authentic and his knowledge of cars, car detailing, and the business of buying and selling cars presumably comes from his years in the business. Hendrickson applies equal parts intrigue and action with dashes of romance to his storyline, keeping things crisp and interesting.

The author has taken the road less traveled with The Good Fight, writing the story in present tense, rather than in the more conventional past tense. This stylistic choice is somewhat distracting and quickly becomes confusing when Hendrickson switches to past tense to add backstory to his narrative. There are also paragraphs with shifting points of view, which also distract from the narrative. The most significant of all the technical challenges may be the long chapters, separated by section breaks. Many of these section breaks should actually be new chapters since shorter chapters maintain momentum.

Another element, and enormously important one for a book, is its cover, which should convey the essence of the book, and this cover falls well short of doing that. The watercolor cover art is whimsical, and would be more suited for the cover of a romantic summer beach read than one in the thriller genre. Additionally, “The Good Fight” is the title of a popular TV show, confusing issues further.

All this is a shame because the novel itself is a highly entertaining thriller, covering ground not seen in other books in the genre. Despite some technical issues, The Good Fight will surely satisfy thriller fans.