Dark State

Jason Trapp, Book 1

By: Jack Slater

Narrated by: Mark Garkusha

If you come after the CIA’s most feared assassin, there’s one cardinal rule: Don’t miss.

America is under attack. Thousands lie dead after simultaneous strikes across the country. The day will come to be known as Bloody Monday.

Jason Trapp, codename ‘Hangman’, was a covert operative whose feats became the stuff of legend. He was the tip of the spear—the man his country unleashed when all hope was lost.

Six months ago, someone sold him out. The Agency listed him as killed in action. He lost everything—and everyone—he held dear. But Trapp’s not that easy to kill. As his country reels from the deadliest terrorist attacks it has ever witnessed, Trapp’s personal vendetta leads him right back to where he started: duty to his country. The violence, the terror, the assassination of his partner… It’s all connected.

And now the Hangman is coming for the guilty.

"Fans of Ryan, Reacher and Bourne will love betrayed CIA operative Jason Trapp, who stars in a pulse-pounding revenge thriller in 2019's breakout hit."

Note: Dark State was previously published as Deep State.

©2021 Jack Slater (P)2023 Jack Slater

Not what I expected

I was pumped, based on the summary and reviews. My favorite series is Orphan X, Grey Man, The Terminal List, Tier One, Sons Of Valor. This seemed to be right up my alley. A former black ops guys code named "Hangman", feats were the stuff of legend. Like yes please. But it fell short for me. I was expecting to hear HOW he got the codename, stories describing why he was so fearsome. But unless I missed it, it never mentioned it, they just started calling him Hangman during transmissions. There were ZERO hand to hand combat fights, I found myself wanting to turn it off but I gave it a chance. The story was good, interesting, that's the only thing that kept me engaged. This book had so much potential, but the worst thing it had going against it, is that there are so many other books and similar characters that are so much better. I didn't have a problem with the narrarator. For those in the reviews who loved it so much, have they known read any of the books I mentioned? Because based on their reviews of this one, I would think their mind would be blown by something like Orphan X. I plan on giving it a little time and and listening again, I give every book that chance. Maybe it'll go into it with a more open mind and will enjoy it more the 2nd time around.

great book

I love this type of story and this was a good one read well and left you wondering

solid listen.

similar to others in its genre. started a little slow, took a little to hook me. but.. it did hook me. so, on to the next one.

Just OKAY

The lead character never really developed for me. The story felt forced and the dialogue read cliche. I’m curious if the writing gets better farther down the line but not sure I’ll listen further to find out.

Not a lot of character building.

Not a lot of character building. Overall generic hero saving the day. After listening I don’t have any desire to see what happens next to the characters.