Full Ratchet

Written by Mike Cooper

Narrated by Henry Leyva

Mike Cooper received raves from Library Journal and Booklist for Clawback, his first book featuring tough-guy auditor Silas Cade. In Full Ratchet, Silas takes his firepower-packed brand of financial reform to Pittsburgh, where he finds widespread corruption at a manufacturing plant. His discoveries soon draw the ire of trigger-happy Russian mobsters and a blonde assassin named Harmony--and put Silas on a collision course with a bullet-riddled showdown.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781470366322

Mike Cooper

Mike grew up in Brisbane, Australia, imagining he was everything from a rogue pirate to an intergalactic traveller. His desire to write began as a student at primary school when one of his short stories won second prize in a local writing challenge. University and teacher training – another childhood imagining – beckoned following high school.His career spanned nearly 40 years during which he shared his love of learning with students of all ages, from pre-schoolers to adult learners.Now retired, he continues the sharing through this website and his scary, exciting fantasy novels aimed at the 10-12 age group.Mike’s other interests include playing piano, watching basketball games (his playing days are over) and story-telling with his grandkids.

Reviews for Full Ratchet

[fhudnell-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Full Ratchet is a financial thriller with a novel premise and an interesting protagonist - an accountant with a special forces background. I was initially skeptical about a gun-toting CPA, but I was won over by the action and humor. Silas Cade uses elaborate methods to stay off the grid during his investigation, but gradually finds that his strategies are not as sophisticated or foolproof as he thinks. That should not have come as a surprise to him since even his long lost brother had no trouble finding him. Silas, his colleagues, his newly-discovered brother and his female nemesis are all interesting and well written characters. The financial scheme at the heart of this book was a little confusing to follow, but ultimately believable. This book is similar in tone to those written by Lee Child and Robert Crais. It was written by a former financial executive who has written other books under a different name. He has also written another Silas Cade thriller which I have not read, but after having enjoyed this book as much as I did, I will probably read the first book and any others that Mike Cooper writes in this series.I received a free advanced uncorrected proof of this book through Goodreads.

[jennifer35k · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The last person that most people do not want to see during the month of April is their trusted account. A person that could be described as someone who is rather dull, rigid, and does things by the book. This story is about your not so average accountant that takes on the corporations that hide money from the government. His name is Silas Cade and he is a man with a double life. To most he is an average accountant that audits large companies, while in reality he is an independent contractor with a bullet. Silas is a man that leads an intense life and one that is on its way of being shortened. He finds himself on the doorstep of an executive that has 'cooked' the books by millions of dollars. While exposing this leader's lies he finds the Russian mob on his trail and is in for the fight of his life. Will Silas expose this executives tendency toward murder and manipulation? Can he bring justice to the many people that have been swindled out of their money?This book was a very intense read that kept me occupied for many hours. I enjoyed the constant action that took place throughout the book and I liked how the author kept me interested. I found myself wondering what would happen next to Silas and thought that it could not get any worse for him. Boy was I wrong, but I liked how the story played itself out. There was surprise after surprise and I did not think that I would enjoy it as much as I did. I am normally not one to really get into stories like this so it was a fun change for me. I would recommend this book in a heart beat and believe it would make a great gift. If you have a loved one that is into high action thriller type novels than this book is for you! I have to thank both the author and goodreads for sending this book to me in a giveaway! It was much appreciated and I look forward to reading the author's future works! :)

[tottman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Full Ratchet: A Silas Cade Thiller is the second Silas Cade book by Mike Cooper. The “hook” of this series is that Silas is an accountant who uses his military background to even the score for financial malfeasance. It seems like an interesting premise, and the book is well-written, but ultimately it does little else to distinguish itself in the crowded thriller field.The major failing of Full Ratchet is a muddled plot where even at the end I’m not entirely sure what they were fighting for or why they were fighting. Silas is engaging enough as an action hero, but he doesn’t really seem overly competent, as is shown later in the book when he partners up with Harmony, a woman hired to find him for murky reasons, who proves to be seemingly much better prepared, skilled, and financed than Silas. A significant plot point is Silas meeting the brother he didn’t know he had in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. The meeting is part of Silas’s reason for taking a job that leads him to Pittsburgh, but both brothers seem to quickly become very reliant on each other and far too trusting. Silas’s brother Dave is just too inconsistent of a character for me to like or trust him. He makes a big deal about his “baby” a souped up race car that he only drives to race, but ends up driving around in (somewhat out of necessity) for most of the book with no reference to his earlier misgivings. His treatment of his friends, even viewed through Silas’s somewhat forgiving eyes, is too unlikeable for him to be a sympathetic character.Cooper does several things well in this book. The description of Pittsburgh as a contrast from major metropolis to rusting steel belt city, as well as his description of the more rural suburbs and surrounding countryside have an authentic and genuine feel to them. The action scenes, gunfights and car chases are all exciting and well-paced (with the exception of one eye-roll inducing scene above a closed auto body shop). The villains, however, don’t really have a face to them. They are generic Russian thugs, one of whom is exceptionally tall and strong, but their motives or their employers motives are never sufficiently conveyed. At least not in a way that identifies a clear path for Cade to counter.The writing here is solid, but the plot is too muddled and the characterization, particularly of the secondary characters could have been stronger. Full Ratchet is an interesting read, but it doesn’t really motivate me to pick up more books in the series.I was provided an advance copy of this book.

[ewhatley_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Silas Cade has been compared to Jack Reacher. He's not as clever as Reacher but certainly has the potential to get there. Recommend for those who like lots of action and an interesting story line. My first read of this author and I look forward to reading more from him.