Poisonfeather by Matthew FitzSimmons Series: Gibson Vaughn #2
Published by Thomas & Mercer on October 4th 2016
Genres: Action Thriller
Pages: 370
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer
Gibson Vaughn, hero of the bestselling novel The Short Drop, returns in a smoldering thriller.
When jailed billionaire Charles Merrick hints publicly that he has stashed a fortune in an offshore cache, a school of sharks converges upon his release from federal prison.
Among his swindled victims is Judge Hammond Birk, the man who saved Gibson Vaughn’s life when he was a troubled teenager. Now Gibson intends to repay that debt by recovering Merrick’s victims’ money.
But Gibson isn’t the only one on the trail of the hidden fortune.
The promise of billions has drawn a horde of ruthless treasure hunters, including an edgy ex-con, a female bartender with a mysterious history, a Chinese spy with a passion for fly-fishing, and a veritable army of hardened mercenaries. To stay ahead of the sharks and win justice for his mentor, Gibson will need all his formidable skills. But at the end of the road, he’ll still have to face “Poisonfeather”—a geopolitical secret that just might get Gibson killed…or worse.
**Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
Poisonfeather is the second installment in the Gibson Vaughn series by Matthew Fitzsimmons. This is a long awaited book after the amazing and huge success of The Short Drop, the first book in the series and the debut novel by the author. I was one of the great fans and I gave The Short Drop a five stars review. I was taken by how good The Short Drop was and couldn’t wait for its sequel, Poisonfeather.
Poisonfeather however doesn’t build on the previous book in the series except for some very few refreshers in the beginning. As for the plot, it has nothing to do with its prequel. That was a disappointment indeed, for The Short Drop was such a perfect plot with many issues at the end that we the readers would have loved the author to build on. No offense taken so far, I delved into the book with high expectations.
Poisonfeather starts with the imprisoned billionaire Charles Merrick who’s about to be released. Charles is a self-centered billionaire who is detached from his surroundings. He can only see his best interests. He can’t wait to be released to enjoy the huge fortune he had stashed in an offshore bank account. Many people had lost their lifetime savings and even faced the worst of needy futures because of Merrick’s reckless financial gambling. With no worries at all, Merrick is only focused on his bright future after prison. He even fails to recognize his ill doings. Reckless and arrogant as he is, he hints publicly in an interview while he is in prison to that stashed fortune. And this was the siren for the gates of hell to open.
Many people can’t wait for Merrick to be released. Most people are seeking revenge, while others are seeking a lot more. Our most beloved hero, Gibson Vaughn, is after Merrick too. Judge Hammond Birk, the man who had saved Gibson Vaughn’s life when he was a troubled teenager, is one of Merrick’s victims. Now Gibson is after Merrick to repay the man who had saved him before.
In an action packed thriller, we follow all those people seeking Merrick. And as the plot moves on, a lot of secrets are revealed.
Poisonfeather was supposed to be a good book with lots of action and suspense. However, it fell short of our expectations (or at least mine). From my point of view, there had been more than one reason for that. First of all, the first half of the book was so slow with almost nothing happening. It was a preparation for the second half. However, it was too slow. The second reason was the unintentional comparison to the first book in the series. I subconsciously did this comparison all along the book. Needless to say, it wasn’t in favor of Poisonfeather. For when compared to The Short Drop, the plot in Poisonfeather wasn’t as consistent as in the first book and the pace was much slower. Another reason was the fact that most of the action was done by the other characters of the book with less action from Gibson side.
Still, I liked Gibson Vaughn. I think many of us do. As a faithful reader, I will be waiting for more books in this series. I think that Matthew Fitzsimmons is a talented writer capable of bringing us many more powerful and amazing books in the future. Also, Gibson Vaughn is a character that had been well developed in the first book. The author can do a lot of work based on such character. The Short Drop on the other hand had a lot of open issues which, from my point of view, can be used in future installments. They can be hinges for many more installments to come and connect to the first book.
Now to be honest, this is a book I had to read and I have enjoyed reading. Even if it had fell short of my expectations a little bit, I believe Gibson Vaughn series is a promising series worth following.
About Matthew FitzSimmons
Matthew FitzSimmons was born in Illinois and grew up in London, England. He now lives in Washington, DC, where he taught English literature and theater at a private high school for over a decade. The Short Drop is his first novel.