Audio Book Review: Bad Deeds by Robert Bidinotto

This is a great thriller with a “To Thine Own Self be True” dilemma.
Bad Deeds
Written by: Robert Bidinotto
Narrated by: Conor Hall

Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
Series: Dylan Hunter, Book 2
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:03-29-16
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Thriller, Espionage
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
The hero of Hunter - number-one Kindle thriller best seller - is back in action!
He sought peace in the tranquility of nature. But can he tame the violence in his own nature?
At a cabin in the Allegheny National Forest, Dylan Hunter and Annie Woods seek to heal the wounds from their ordeal at the hands of a twisted psychopath. And to build a life together, Dylan promises Annie that he'll abandon his violent ways.
But ideological zealots and Washington's political elites have conspired to terrorize and plunder the hardworking locals. These victims have no protector against the bad deeds of the powerful and privileged.
Except for one man.
A man as ruthless and violent as they.
A man committed to absolute justice.
Because Dylan Hunter cannot walk away - not even if it costs him the woman he loves.
©2014 Robert Bidinotto (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Dylan Hunter is a man who finds it hard to turn away from injustice. He is not beyond taking matters into his own hands. After all, he has the training and the funds to take action. He is currently holed up, incognito, in a cabin in the Allegheny Forest in Pennsylvania, with Annie Woods, the woman he loves. She is trying to recover from the trauma of watching Dylan coated in blood from a battle with a prior enemy.

Dylan and Annie are visiting a café when three workers from a local fracking company run in being chased by environmental activists. Dylan soon learns that there seems to be a connection between the activists known as Wild Justice, a “green energy” investment company, CarboNot, and the EPA. These entities are raising opposition to the local fracking efforts, even using false testings to create a moratorium. Dylan decides to protect the workers when he sees the gang that swarms the café with hand weapons.

Although Dylan helped in the initial confrontation, he hadn’t planned to become embroiled in the dispute. But the leader of the Wild Justice group attacks Dylan and Annie. The man had no idea who he was messing with! Dylan, a journalist, will report the issues seeking exposure for the injustice. But exposure isn’t enough. Who else can help protect the local workers and businesses from the power of the government agencies and the elitist investors backing them? This is what Dylan does, but Annie objects to more violence and danger in Dylan’s life. He has to make a tough decision... stay safe to keep the woman he has come to love or be true to who he is.

I enjoyed learning of Dylan’s strong father and the lessons and examples that shaped Dylan into the man he is. I also appreciated the insights that Dylan’s former CIA boss, Grant Garrett, gives to Annie and Dylan. These psychological tidbits, and the loving romance, were neatly woven into the action that develops as Dylan investigates the corruption and how far it spreads. The discussion of the process of fracking and the underhanded schemes of the environmental groups is interesting. Dylan’s tactics and tricks at spying and imposing retribution are even more fascinating. Dylan is not quite as impulsive as before, especially now that he has Annie to think of.

The story moves along at a quick pace with a fine combination of emotion, romance, conspiracy and action. This could be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend reading book one, Hunter, to learn more about the complex protagonist and to appreciate his character growth in this book. This book has a natural conclusion but leaves a very scary opening for another confrontation for Dylan.

Audio Notes: Conor Hall does an excellent narration of the various character voices and the emotions. I was able to always tell who was speaking and the intensity and pacing were spot on.

I was glad to receive this second book in the series from the author for an honest review. This qualifies for my Audio Challenge.