Review: THE UNWANTED by Brett Battles

THE UNWANTED continues to push Quinn further from his occupation as a ‘cleaner’ and more towards spy/counter-terrorism territory. Not that the transition is a bad thing, however the feel of THE CLEANER (book 1) and BECOMING QUINN (prequel) are much more in-tune with the character I’d come to enjoy.

THE UNWANTED is pure action laced with conspiracy theories and a separatist group known as LP which is determined to change the face of American politics and big business. The Office, headed by Peter, Quinn’s boss, looses some of its allure as the LP rise to prominence.

THE UNWANTED almost signifies the end of an exciting chapter in the Quinn saga with the emphasis on alphabet agencies and more extreme missions rather than clean-up jobs of past books.

Nate and Orlando are just as important as Quinn himself with Quinn assuming the role of a father-type figure to Nate and husband to Orlando to create a family dynamic built upon events of THE DECEIVED (book 2) and THE CLEANER.

There are some really interesting plot twists, though not as earth shattering as THE DECEIVED, the reasoning behind the disappearance of a kidnapped 5yr old will shock the reader – it certainly did me.

Overall, THE UNWANTED, is a solid spy thriller and one that doesn’t read well as a stand-alone (I had to refer to past books to determine the significance of returning bad guys). I’m jumping straight into THE DESTROYED (book 4) to ensure the events of THE UNWANTED aren’t diluted by ability to recall important actions/characters. 3.5 stars.