"Friends and favors - some things should never mix"

By: Tod Goldberg

Genres: Thriller Spy

Posted: October 26, 2010

Michael Weston is a burned spy living in Miami. With the help of his sometimes girlfriend and gun smuggler Fiona, his ex-SEAL buddy Sam Axe, and occasionally his mother and brother, Michael does the odd job for those in need of his special talents. Burn Notice is an original USA Network TV show, and The Giveaway is one of the show's tie-in novels.

While Michael often seeks out the help of his money-laundering friend Barry, this time Barry comes to Michael with the request to help out Bruce Grossman, a gentleman thief who robbed the wrong biker gang in order to fund his mother's cancer treatments. Per his personal code, Bruce is willing to give the documents, patches and some of the money back, but the Ghouls motorcycle gang is out for revenge and nothing short of Bruce's dead body will satisfy them. Fortunately, Michael has a plan that involves exactly that.

I'm a huge fan of the Burn Notice TV show and was excited about reading this tie-in. The author has done a great job of capturing Michael's thoughts and tone - you can hear Jeffrey Donovan's voice from the first page as a typical episode opening. Fiona and Sam and Michael's mother are also true to the characters depicted on the show. The plot follows the pattern established with planning, misleading, things gone awry, and Fiona's tendency for violence. The only aspect of this novel that was out-of-sync was the political references that are completely out of character and irrelevant to the story. While it will not keep me from reading the other Burn Notice tie-in novels, it would be nice if this author didn't put his personal politics into my TV show.

Book Summary

Ex-covert op Michael Weston owes favors to Barry, the local money launderer. Now Barry wants to call those favors in. Barry has a friend, Bruce, who is an ex- legendary gentleman thief. But with an ailing mother to support, Bruce has returned to his illegal vocation. Unfortunately, his most recent job involved stealing from the notorious Ghouls motorcycle gang, and they're looking for some serious payback. Unless Michael can convince them otherwise...

Burn Notice: The Giveaway by Tod Goldberg

Burn Notice: The Giveaway

by: Tod Goldberg

Signet
July 1, 2010
On Sale: July 6, 2010
Featuring: Michael Weston
288 pages
ISBN: 0451229797
EAN: 9780451229793
Paperback

Available in: