Please note, Retribution is the fourth book in an ongoing series. With that in mind you’ll probably not be surprised when I tell you this review will likely contain spoilers. After surviving the wilds of Siberia and a fight to the death with Snezhana, Joanna is back running for her life on the island where it all began. Will she be able to survive the wholesale slaughter of The Race, the machinations of The Organisation behind it all, as well as Elena’s thirst for revenge? Regular readers will know I have been reviewing each new book in The Race series by Joan De La Haye. Book four, Retribution, has now released into the wild so it seems like the perfect time to jot down a few thoughts*. Joanna Parypinski has fully embraced her life as a runner. She has accepted that this is now her lot in life. Through training and some appropriately cutting edge medical treatment, she is at her physical peak. Her patron, the ever enigmatic Von Zimmer, has offered her a chance to help in shaping the world. Joanna is prepared; she will be the best runner and she win the next Race. From her perspective it…

Please note Besieged is the third book in this series. If you haven’t read book one and two then I suspect this review is going to contain some spoilery moments. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Joanna has survived the wilds of Siberia only to find herself under attack from all sides as well as from within the safety of her Patron’s inner sanctum. With a war brewing and attempted assassinations, will she be able to save herself and those closest to her? Most importantly, will she be able to keep her head in a fight to the death with no rules? When it comes to thrillers, I enjoy the unrestrained escapism of the genre. I firmly believe you need to go all out. Action/adventure stories should be fuelled by one hundred percent pure adrenaline. It should leave you breathless and always hungry for more. The Race by Joan De La Haye does exactly that. Published as part of an ongoing collection of short novels, each new episode is worth waiting for. Joanna Parypinki is settling into her life as part of the global conspiracy that is The Race. Wars are fought, economies are covertly manipulated, and billions of people…

Please note Training Days is a direct sequel to The Race and it is likely this review may contain spoilers if you don’t read that first. You have been warned. How you choose to interpret that warning is entirely your own business. After winning The Race, Joanna Parypinski’s journey takes her from a castle in Germany to the wilds of Siberia, plunging her ever deeper into a world of political games and deadly intrigue. Once again, she must fight to survive, but how can she be victorious against an opponent she didn’t see coming? Sometimes my brain cries out for nothing more than a bit of good old fashioned pulpy entertainment. Last year, in a move away from horror, Joan De La Haye released a thriller called The Race. Its premise couldn’t have been simpler – a race, first past the post wins and when it comes to your competition, there are no holds barred. I was intrigued by the idea of the global conspiracy that surrounded it all. I liked the suggestion that a shadowy organisation controlled by the great and the good was running everything in the world based on the outcome of a bloody gladiatorial challenge. Wars,…

Joanna Parypinski is drugged, kidnapped, and forced to fight for survival, for the entertainment of the world’s rich and depraved, as well as the chance to win her weight in gold. In the race for her life, glory, and gold, Joanna must kill or be killed. Sometimes I like nothing more than a straightforward thriller. My needs are simple – a plot that whips along at breakneck speed, a protagonist made of steel, and a few twists and turns to keep things interesting. The latest from Joan De La Haye, The Race, does exactly that and then some. The thing I liked most about The Race is the premise. It manages to be deceptively simple but still effective. Just imagine it, you wake up in an unfamiliar location, surrounded by complete strangers. You are all given a simple choice – participate in a race to the death or face immediate execution. I suspect in my case I’d be dead within approximately twenty seconds, but Joanna Parypinki fares slightly better than I. When she finds herself in the world’s most brutal competition she steps up. Joanna finds herself in a situation that she is barely prepared for. The good news for…