THE
KILLER
HALF
Hawk wasn’t looking for a war. But after he left behind the war in Afghanistan, a new war found him.
His naïveté about the purpose for the war in Afghanistan was gone. Witnessing the death of someone he was close to was the final blow that shattered his spirit. Hawk declined reenlistment and went home brokenhearted only to find another war beginning. Would he always be just a cog in a combat machine? Would Hawk become a warrior again?
In a chance fight with a border-crossing scouting party, Hawk discovers a plan for an armed invasion of America. All of his combat instincts return. Using all of his special operations contacts, he organizes a resistance. Will the resistance succeed? Will he find love again? If Hawk is torn between combat and love, which would win, the killer half, or a man who could truly love?
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Reviews
Blake’s latest book is a taut cat-and-mouse tale that keeps the action moving and readers on the edge of their seats. Hawk is back from Afghanistan but still struggling to come to terms with all that he had to do in the name of patriotism. While hiking with his dogs, an unexpected incident puts him in the path of a border-crossing scout party, and he discovers a sinister plan calling for the armed invasion of America. As his combat instincts return, Hawk knows he must put up a resistance and face the enemy. Blake supplies plenty of villains, including cartels and terrorist organizations, courageous heroes, high action, bloodshed, genuine friendships, a touching love story, and human drama. The characters are instantly likable. Hawk, especially, is an endearing protagonist, a nice blend of sharp intelligence, quick wit, and lightning-fast impulses; he doesn’t mind taking the law in his hand and delivering justice, especially when it comes to dealing with the scum of society. Blake ably unpacks an intricate storyline, providing readers with a captivatingly dramatic portrayal of the political tumult in the face of cross-border terrorism. His knowledge of military technology and maneuvers adds authenticity. A taut cat-and-mouse tale that keeps the action moving and readers on the edge of their seats. Readers who come for a propulsive military thriller high on action won’t be disappointed.
The Killer Half by J.B. Blake is an action-packed thriller that follows Hawk, a soldier, and his return from service in Afghanistan. Hawk served as a well-known and respected “Mr. Fix It” for the army, doing the dirty jobs that others either wouldn’t or couldn’t do. Once Hawk is back home, the familiar surroundings of civilian life feel more foreign than ever. He quickly learns that adjusting to home is more difficult than anticipated, and as Hawk settles back into civilian life, his only companions are his military-trained dogs and arsenal of weapons.
As Hawk adapts to his new life, he unexpectedly discovers a young girl in trouble during a hike in the desert. It is clear that she is about to be assaulted by human traffickers, which Hawk quickly, and skillfully helps the girl break free from, only to discover there is much more lurking beneath the cartel-backed criminals. As Hawk uncovers the onset of a multi-stage invasion orchestrated by the cartel and Muslim extremists, who plan on invading the U.S. with the purpose of trafficking drugs, and people and subjugating its populace to Sharia law.
At first glance, the plot feels outlandish and over-the-top, but it successfully delivers raw, entertaining action from start to finish. Hawk embodies the epitome of action heroes, a one-man army who is good at a lot of things and applies these skills throughout the book. What I enjoyed about this book is how well the author delves into Hawk’s struggles with PTSD and trauma from his time in Afghanistan. Despite Hawk’s trigger reaction to events and his preference to resolve issues with a gun, his character displays some depth and dimension, alongside his battles with villains and developing love interest.
The Killer Half is a thrilling novel for fans of easy-to-read action, with unrelenting plot twists and exciting characters. While the story provides a steady dose of action, the book also explores themes around religion, politics, the American border, and the war in Afghanistan, which may seem divisive or offensive to some readers. The gist of the story is unapologetic, with a poignant view and a strong voice. I recommend The Killer Half for its action-packed and character-driven story.
Reviewed by Lindsay Crandall
Author JB Blake sets up this romantic thriller with Hawk in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, hunting with his dogs after an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps. It’s here in the desert that he stumbles across a heavily used human trafficking trail, currently being used by a cartel scouting group, and it leads him to discover plans for an armed invasion of America. Blake then leaves that particular story to tell the story of Hawk, a legend, who served in the war in Afghanistan with his truly unbelievable trio of dogs.
The beginning of The Killer Half is all war stories. Readers are introduced to the band of Marines who served alongside Hawk and are told of the unit’s adventures while deployed together. Hawk and his partner Jade are a well-known hunter-killer team who are called upon often to complete seemingly impossible rescue missions.
Eventually, the two men are approached by the Department of Defense and temporarily suspended from active duty to complete contract work for foreign entities. During the commission of one of these contracts, Hawk witnesses an event that simultaneously breaks his heart and his spirit, leading him to decline reenlistment before heading back to America.
Blake picks the story back up in the present timeline with Hawk back in the desert, uncovering the planned invasion of America. Using every contact he has available to him, Hawk organizes the resistance to this historic invasion of America. Not only is he now fighting to save his country, he’s fighting for someone special, who has restored some of Hawk’s faith in himself.
Blake paints a vivid picture of a truly spectacular, and at times, unrealistic, plan to invade the country. He is clearly knowledgeable of the inner workings of the military and firearms. The text is laden with military jargon and technical aspects of weaponry that some readers will appreciate while others may perceive as overly descriptive. But the plot is clear and engaging nonetheless, and although there is a large cast of characters, Blake focuses on only developing a few as primary characters, leaving the rest to support the story.
Blake wraps this story up with a thoughtful conclusion and an ending you will not see coming. Readers who want their war stories with romance and thrills will love following Hawk and his fellow Marines in The Killer Half.
The Killer Half: The Legend of Blackhawk 6-Deuce is a novel about combat at home and abroad. It follows Hawk, who has become disillusioned with the war in the Middle East and has walked away from one battle, only to find himself in unexpected combat territory at home. He feels sadness and remorse, and as though he’s been used. But he’s not used up, because he returns to full-on combat mode when he uncovers a scheme for an armed invasion of America and makes a stand on his own country’s soil.
Readers who look for action-packed stories that also retain a good degree of reflective insights about the nature of military combat and civilian efforts to sustain democracy will find The Killer Half replete with thought-provoking passages as Hawk considers the political influences affecting his task of protecting his country. JB Blake is a student of military history and behavioral science (among other research interests), and these lend a fine foundation of reality to a story steeped in unexpected encounters and a relatively unique form of dialogue between characters which eschews the usual quotation-mark usage. At times, the story feels more like a film script or play because of this, but the format supports the action and interactions, highlighting the plot’s impact.
The tension is well done and the changing settings and clashes are particularly compelling and realistic in their portrayal. A cast of supplemental characters bring Hawk’s actions to life, as well. The “you are here” descriptive moments are especially well detailed: “The pilots flew back and forth once over the valley where nothing was moving. If anyone had moved, they would have shot them. These helicopters were violent, deadly weapons, and the men flying them knew exactly how to use them to maximize death on the ground. They were made for assault and for close air support of infantry, and they had done their job with destructive efficiency. Snakes flew over the volcanic tube and fired into it, but they couldn’t get an angle to be effective. They hovered for a time away from the wash to see if anyone would come out. No one did. The enemy could still hear the helicopters because of the distinct sound their rotors made.”
Libraries seeking thrillers that take a character’s military service history to evolve it beyond the usual formula writing approach will appreciate the evocative originality of The Killer Half which brings to life not only battles, but unexpected romance and characters whose hearts shine with love and conflict alike.
Interviews
Your author bio states that each of your career paths have “led to interactions with fascinating characters whose traits could be woven into The Killer Half.” Can you tell us more about these people, and the real-life inspirations behind the characters in this novel?
In my corporate career I’ve worked with people whose backgrounds included those who were Chicago street-hustlers/degenerate gamblers, to the most senior executives in major corporations, and everyone in between. In my university teaching career, I’ve experienced students who were online poker players, those who were serious entrepreneurs, and combat vets with serious PTSD issues. In my time serving in a chamber of commerce, I’ve interacted with many politicians whose ethics ranged from honest to highly questionable. The funniest, most interesting people I’ve met are the Chicago street-hustlers/gamblers, and senior HR staff members in large corporations.
How did your experience studying military history and behavioral science influence the story of The Killer Half?
Studying military history gave me a realistic picture of combat, special forces, and some of the many pressures they must face. I have a degree in behavioral science. It helped me to understand the patterns of behavior when people receive specific forms of stimuli, how they deal with it, and what they do to combat the sometimes-negative effects of it.
Although The Killer Half is your debut novel, you have also written nonfiction books about business practices and strategies. What inspired your pivot to fiction writing, and did your previous writing experience translate into the process of writing a novel?
The business books were practice for writing the novel. They were also a release for me to speak up about certain business practices that are unfortunately common in the business world. I was inspired to write the novel after reading a magazine article about a “rape tree.” There was a picture of a tree with the undergarments of many women hanging on it. An ugly old table was positioned in front of it. The Coyotes (men who lead border crossers into the US) would select women from the company the men were leading, take them to the table, gang rape them, and hang the garments of the women on the tree as a symbol of conquest. I was outraged by this ugly behavior. I wondered what I would have done if I saw this occurring. This led to a series of dreams that happened every night for about two years. It became a story and I thought I should write it down before it vanished from my mind. When I began to type the story from my mind (nothing was written on paper) I had about two-thirds of what became the book.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing a novel?
In this case it was the constant re-reading for editing purposes and finding a publisher or agent. I believe many publishers and agents went out-of-business during COVID.
What’s the most gratifying thing about writing a novel?
Seeing something that I had dreamt into existence come to life.
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
I’ve been learning that all my life. I’ve done a huge amount of public speaking and I had to learn to communicate in this way.
What authors do you like to read? What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I have a huge library and I’ve read everything from classical literature to military history to the most up-to-date business and leadership ideas.
The Killer Half follows a dispirited military veteran who stumbles across a plot to invade America and is forced into action to stop it. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I read a magazine story, with pictures, of a horrible thing that happens to some women when they are being led illegally across the border. The leaders will take some of the women to a predetermined spot and gang rape them, and leave the undergarments of the women hanging on a tree that the whole company would pass by—and the article included a photo of one such tree. I wondered if I had been there would I be able to stop it. The answer was probably not because those men are armed. Then I asked myself who would be able to stop it, and that’s when the character of Hawk was born. I dreamt about it every night for two years, building on the story of Hawk. I reached a point when I decided I must write it down before I forgot it. When I wrote the story from my mind it was like taking dictation—I didn’t have to stop writing to think what would come next. It was about 50,000 words on that first pass. I continued to reread the book and more sections came into my mind as completely finished scenes. When I finally decided to find a publisher, the story was slightly more than 93,000 words.
Hawk is a fun character to follow. What were some driving ideals behind his character’s development?
Hawk would need expert combat skills and a good support group of operators around him. He would be conflicted about who he was: a killer, or someone who could love. He would be a leader that others with similar skill sets would follow. He would not take for granted the feelings of those who were close to him. His relationship with women would be conflicted because of his experience in seeing the horror of rape on the psyche of women who were caught in the middle of a war.
This seemed like a fun book to write. What scene in the book did you have the most fun creating?
There are so many it is difficult to pick just a few, but I’ll try.
I love dogs and I know their body language very well. The scene of canine separation anxiety makes me laugh when I read it. The dogs are alone on base without Hawk’s supervision. They drag loose stuff from around the base and make a big debris pile outside of Hawk’s hooch. Then, they accidently set fire to the debris pile in the middle of a large military base. His conversation with them, and their resulting shame is a classic for all dog lovers.
The rescue of Sarah Stuart, a beautiful British MP, from the Miss-Tique night club is a big scene involving Hawk’s team. That’s all I’m going to say about it—except to say that Hawk walks in looking like a very big Don Johnson from Miami Vice.
Hawk delivering a baby in the middle of a battle and wanting to name it “AK” because of the rifle fire he hears around them.
The rescue of Heidi Lothbrok, a beautiful, young, inexperienced FBI agent. Hawk refers to her as a Viking Shield Maiden.
Any scene with Uncle Peter, the degenerate gambler and Night Stalker pilot.
Hawk meeting the beautiful Mossad operator, Rachel.
Hawk having Leah Parker, a young actress, literally fall into his arms.
The big scene with the wolf attack and how Hawk and his dogs resolved it.
The final battle scene.
Do you have future books planned featuring Hawk and his exploits?
With a large wink of my eye I will say that it is possible that there is more to the story of Hawk. I’ll reply in the best practice of a covert operator, who would say, “I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of a Part 2 of The Killer Half: The Legend of Blackhawk 6 Deuce.” Try not to notice that I’m winking again!
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