Review: Like I Know Jack by MC Lee

After a weekend where I feel like I didn’t really feel like doing much of anything, I finished reading the third novel in MC Lee’s “The Center” series, Like I Know Jack.

This time, Jack has been specifically requested by Special Agent Anna Baxter, who readers met in the second book, for the mission. Jack is to go undercover as Jack Cole and get close to Conner White, a high school student who has ties to a drug ring headed by Gregor Slovik. But before he is signed off for the mission by his “family” at The Center, he is asked to give account of his feelings for and relationship with Leo McCormack as part of a yearly psych evaluation.

It will come as no surprise to those who have read the first two books in Lee’s series that Jack sometimes gets a little too close to the targets in his missions. As a result, Jack – with the secret agent’s knowledge – changes up things a bit before the conclusion of the mission.

If I sound reluctant to get into details of Jack’s mission or his relationship with handler Sean, Special Agent Baxter, and potential boyfriend Leo, it’s not that I don’t want to share these things. It’s because the books – even with the (what I think is) boring stuff like mission prep – are a great way to spend an afternoon or two reading.

One thing I will add: I was beginning to wonder if Jack was ever going to find out anything about his parents. Are they really dead? Are they alive and he’ll run into them on one of his missions? I don’t know, but I think it’s great that the author is finally beginning to part with some details . . . like’s Jack’s real name – or is it?

A fourth book is forthcoming in the series. Now is the time for readers to get caught up or to start reading the series, which continues to get better and better.

Rating: 4 Stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harmony Ink Press (through NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

Review: If You Knew Jack by MC Lee

If You Knew Jack, the second book in MC Lee’s “The Center” series, finds Jack and frenemy Leo McCormack going undercover at Forbes Academy in order to protect brothers from an unknown threat.

While I felt the first book in this series was mostly setup for the rest of the series, this book picks up the action a bit earlier in the book. Jack, now going as Jack Cross, isn’t so eager to have Leo as his partner on the case but soon realizes his feelings for Leo aren’t going to go away just because he tries to bury them. The more they work together trying to keep the boys safe, however, the more Jack realizes he isn’t being told everything he needs to know in order to be effective.

As with the first book there is a twist (isn’t there always?) that sends the story into a different direction. The action scenes move forward quickly, but I find the day-to-day stuff a little boring in comparison. A portion of the book is spent in walking the reader through the process of Jack getting into character, being warned to follow the chain of command, report everything no matter how trivial, etc. I’d like to think that in future novels in the series that Lee will find a more succinct way of getting this across so the reader can get to the action more quickly. Still, that’s a minor quibble.

I look forward to reading the further adventures of Jack and Leo . . . well, as long as they continue to survive their missions.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review: You Don't Know Jack by MC Lee

Jack Carlisle isn’t who he says he is. Jack is an agent of an organization known as The Center who has been assigned to infiltrate a small Maine high school in order to befriend track star Leo McCormack. Getting close to Leo was the easy part.

You Don’t Know Jack is the first in a series of novels by MC Lee. The premise of the book is simple: Two or more agents – working together – extricate a target. It is hinted that some of the targets are killed and that some disappear never to be seen again.

Jack has been at The Center since his parents died in a car crash when he was three. He has a support team including his guardian, whose name has not been given; his handler, Sean; his trainer, Evan; the man playing the part of his uncle, Matt; and the thorn in his side, Instructor Colson. They’re there to provide the information he needs before and during each mission.

I almost set this book aside, unfinished. It’s not a bad book, not even a boring book. It was just . . . ordinary, I guess. I kept reading, thinking I was missing something. And then, a couple chapters from the end, everything changed and I was glad I kept reading.

To be fair, You Don’t Know Jack is more of an introductory setup for the rest of the series. I’ve already started reading the second book, If You Knew Jack, and it picks up right after the events of You Don’t Know Jack. We still don’t know much about The Center or if what Jack’s been told over the years is true.

Readers who enjoy Robert Muchamore’s CHERUB series will find a lot to like here as well.

Rating: 4 Stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harmony Ink Press (through NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.