Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Summary and Reviews of Sentinel by Matthew Dunn

Sentinel by Matthew Dunn

Sentinel

A Spycatcher Novel

by Matthew Dunn

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Aug 2012, 400 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

A New Spycatcher Novel Featuring Will Cochrane

Fourteen days ago, CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, received a cryptic message from an agent operating deep undercover in Russia. "He has betrayed us and wants to go to war."

Unable to make contact electronically, the DO turns to its most deadly field officer - special agent Will Cochrane.His mission is simple: infiltrate the secret submarine base in eastern Russia's Avacha Bay, locate the agent operating under the codename "Svelte," and decode his message - or die trying.

But after successfully penetrating the base, Will finds Svelte bleeding and near death, his last words a final clue. Now, Will must find out what they mean... and discover the identity of a mysterious figure known only as the "Sentinel."

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"As in Spycatcher, Dunn's action scenes are vividly drawn. Lovers of derring-do will love this series." - Booklist

"Dunn delivers insights into a world most of us will never experience - except between the covers of a book, or maybe someday in a movie as good as the best of the Bond and Bourne sagas." - Oakland Tribune

"[Dunn] has also wisely scaled back the almost superhuman capabilities Will displayed in Spycatcher, matching him with a deadly adversary who's his equal, though some readers may feel Will has become too emotionally vulnerable." - Publishers Weekly

This information about Sentinel was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Cassandra E. (Fort Myers, Florida)

Sentinel by Matthew Dunn
As a spy novel this was very good. It was easy to follow- although the Russian names and places were hard to follow at first. I haven't read the first in the series and I lost some of the background. But I really enjoyed it. It was a fast moving story that kept me wanting to read the next chapter. The story of a disgruntled spy that decided to start a war between the U.S. and Russia was different and kept you wondering who, what and why. I now want to read the first in the series. I hope the hardcover has included maps- I always feel that maps let you know where you are going in the story.

Darlene C. (Woodstock, IL)

A tired premise
Spy books about the cold war with Russia seem dated and out of sync to me. I enjoy spy books and this one was well written if that is your bag. It is fast-paced and gives a view of the unglamorous side of being an undercover agent. f you don't mind the old Russia vs. US theme this would be a great summer read

Peggy K. (Long Beach, CA)

Russian Tea
I loved this book. Will Cochrane is Jason Bourne and James Bond in one body and even then still tougher than both. This is a real spy thriller and the tension goes up and up and up until the end. The action is nonstop.

It reminded me most of Ludlum's work but this book is smaller than most of Ludlum's. I would suggest that this book will interest male adult readers mostly but there are women out there like myself who enjoy this genre and I have to say it is the best I've read in a long time.

It has the intelligence of the British spy thriller writers like Le Carre but the action of the American writers. It has it all including a plausible plot, travel, romance and strong characterization. There are so many twists and turns it will make you dizzy.

Perfect summer book but beware you may not be able to put it down once started. If you are like me you will head for the bookstore to find Mr. Dunn's first book and then you'll be waiting for book number three to come out.

Barbara O. (Maryland Heights, MO)

Snowy Thriller
The Sentinel is a heart racing page turner. Matthew Dunn engages the reader from the opening chapter and never lets go until the end. Will Cochrane is a character the reader will want to see more of, tough, resourceful and intriguing. One can't help but wonder at his backstory. Set in snowy Russia, this is a thrilling chiller of a story.

Mary O. (Boston, MA)

Page turner
Will Cochrane is a memorable Cold War character and you feel like you know him as you are ensconced in the book. A typical British spy thriller that makes you want to read it in one sitting. A perfect summer beach read!!

Mark B. (Jackson, MI)

Sentinel, a Thriller
Set in a modern-day "cold war" Sentinel takes place in Russia and eastern Europe as CIA/MI6 agents rush to find who is killing their double agents -- a man who wants to start the nuclear war to end all wars. I am not a big fan of nuclear war novels, but found myself drawn into the single life of Will and his mission. A compassionate, yet well-trained MI6 agent, Will seeks out his captured friend to help resolve the impending war. Filled with travels throughout Europe and Russia, Sentinel is a good read for a long winter night. My one complaint with the author was his bouncing back and forth between metric and US scales, most particularly MPH/KPH. Being set in Eastern Europe and Russia, I would stick with the metric conversion. All in all, I recommend it if you don't mind a lot of killing and some visual gore.

...18 more reader reviews

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Information

As an MI6 field officer, Matthew Dunn coordinated special operations, and acted in deep-cover roles throughout the world. He was trained in all aspects of intelligence collection, deep-cover deployments, small-arms, explosives, military unarmed combat, surveillance, and infiltration. During his time in MI6, Dunn conducted approximately seventy missions - all of them successful. He lives in England.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more thrillers...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Happiness belongs to the self sufficient

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.