One Of The Best Abrahams Books To Date
5 out of 5 stars
I will say upfront, this will be a hard review to write. Not because it was a bad book. Not even close, this book was amazing. But… it’s going to be hard to talk about the different things that happened (especially one BIG thing) without spoiling it. So, I’ll have to tip-toe around some of the topics I usually cover.
No Good Deed starts off where the last book left off, no surprise there. Abrahams jumps right into it – not giving me time to prepare for the onslaught of action throughout this one. Abrahams is able to write these details and scenes where lots of things happen with such ease. There was a scene where they were near train tracks, then some things happened, then some more things, then more things, and writing it (without the details) makes it sound confusing but it was just action, boom, boom, boom. Then emotion “oh god, did that really happen”. Then more emotion as I reacted to how the characters were feeling. Then a “whoa, wait, really?” moment. Then some more “wtf”. I write this and am very vague with it but the funny part is that if I didn’t say train tracks – it describes like 2-3 moments in the book. And each time I was sitting here with bated breath trying to figure out what was going to happen and who was going to make it out alive.
I’ve read the entire Traveler series – I know how Abrahams’s series go and he STILL surprises me. More than ten books later, each one has its own flair and its own feeling/emotion that it gets me every time. I will say that where Battle was a damaged human, Beck is even more damaged but he’s still likable. Numerous times throughout No Good Deed he would ask the people he was traveling with their opinion, to which they’d usually reply with his quote of “you said this isn’t a Democracy”. But it was never said with malice. It was just stating a fact. Also, the “demons” as he calls them are really interesting. Especially when they pop their heads up at interesting moments in the book (I’m looking at you, scene-where-they-could-smell-a-specific-smell).
I have LOTS I want to talk about and a lot of things I can’t. But I will say that the scenes where Beck is described always cracked me up. The different tales that were woven about him and his reactions to them. BUT the scene that stands out to me that I can talk about without spoiling anything was the interaction between Beck and two other guys. Beck was trying to smile (which he admits he doesn’t know how to do) and they looked at him and asked what he was doing… I won’t spoil the entire bit but it was a really nice comedic break in an otherwise heavy book.
Overall, No Good Deed was excellent. I have a hard time saying this but it might be one of my favorite books from him. It had all of the things I liked about Battle/Traveler and added in a lot more. There were just so many different things, scenes, emotions that the Traveler was missing being a lone-wolf – that Beck (while also a lone wolf) has. Okay, enough gushing – you can tell I liked the book a lot. I’m just happy that it went the way I expected while still surprising me and leaving me with an “I HAVE TO READ THE NEXT ONE” feeling.
Oh, and with all good Abrahams books – there are lots of different callouts and inside jokes related to his own other books and books written by his friends and colleagues. I know that Franklin Horton was mentioned, Battle I believe was mentioned again, and I think I remember Konkoly being mentioned as well. (Just went back to the Kindle edition and confirmed all of them were mentioned). It’s just a nice little wink that he gives to himself and others that always makes me smile. And I’m always on the lookout for more.
Book Description:
Apocalyptic survivor John Beck has beaten the wolves who prey on the sheep. But can he defeat his own demons on his path to redemption?
John Beck is on a mission to find his daughter. After learning she has left him handwritten letters as clues, he and new friends embark on what could be the end of his quixotic odyssey to reunite with his daughter. But before he finds her, dangerous obstacles stand in his way and they could as quickly kill him as lead to his salvation.
No Good Deed is book two of The Crusader EMP Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series and is perfect for fans of Franklin Horton, AR Shaw, Kyla Stone, and Ryan Schow, and Jack Hunt.
No Good Deed by Tom Abrahams
Narrator: Kevin Pierce
Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
Series: The Crusader #2
Published by Piton Press on December 14th 2021
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic
Format: Audiobook
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Also by this author: Home (Traveler #1), Canyon (Traveler #2), Wall (Traveler #3), SpaceMan
Also in this series: Best Laid Plans (The Crusader #1), One In The Hand, Better Late
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