Never Let Me Down Again

John Milton #19

by Mark Dawson

Sometimes your past catches up with you. But John Milton has decided to catch up with his past.

Eighteen years ago, on a mission in Iraq, Captain John Milton made a reckless decision with serious consequences. But it was Major Connor Gordon who really paid the price.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Espionage, Action, Suspense

363 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2021

About the author

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Mark Dawson was born in Lowestoft and grew up in Manchester and Chicago. He has worked as a lawyer and currently works in the London film industry. His first books, "The Art of Falling Apart" and "Subpoena Colada" have been published in multiple languages.

He is currently writing two series. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, "The Black Mile", deals with the (real life but little known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. "The Imposter" traces the journey of a criminal family (think The Sopranos in austerity London and you'd be on the right track).

The John Milton series features a disgruntled special agent who aims to help people to make amends for the terrible things that he has done. Mark, as a child of the 80s, will freely admit that he watched a lot of The Equalizer in his youth.

Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.

You can find him at www.markjdawson.com or www.facebook.com/markdawsonauthor.

Reviews

[Kathi Defranc · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense thriller with our old friend Milton...He is still trying to do good for down-trodden folks to make up for his past sins...He meets an old, dying woman who has a son gone missing, and he decides to see what he can find out...The path leads him to the Western Isles of Scotland...We learn of the mistake he made while in the Army years ago, that didn't really affect him but his commanding officer, Flash, had his own career ended by rescuing Milton...What would he be like today...Perhaps Milton can try to find him while he is here...But you know nothing is Ever easy!!
He quickly enters a cut-throat world of bribery and corruption...He will be tested like never before...The missing son was a human-rights activist...And the things Milton finds lead him to people who are savage and heart-less...Following their own warped morals to get what they want done...
Another amazing adventure with a man we have known for quire awhile, but learn more about with every story...I received an ARC from the author and I offer You my honest thoughts and feelings in this review.

[Jennifer (Jaye) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Recompense*

This instalment sees John Milton (Aka John Smith now Eric Blair) a change that was necessary due to the Elite Government ‘Group Fifteen’ he walked away from on his tail, you do not walk away from the Group and he was their number one assassin.

John is in Japan in an AA meeting one of his flaws that he is trying to get on top of. An elderly Scottish woman shares that her son is missing and she wants to know what happened to him before she dies and she only has months to live.

John cannot help himself & offers to help. To take this on means going to the outer Hebrides. John also wants to apologise for his reckless decision going against orders whilst in the army that led ‘Group Fifteen’ to recruit him and but it meant that his squadron leader was booted out of the army. So he wants to see him and kill two birds with one stone.

Given that ‘The Group’ are based in The U.K. Milton is running headlong into their path, in looking for the old lady’s son it leads him to uncover serious corruption at the highest level and Milton never shies away from trouble…..

There are a few loose ends that I hope will be answered in the next book, but it did not stop my enjoyment of the story

[Jim A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very strong Milton thriller from Dawson. This is the 19th Milton adventure and to my way of thinking one of the best. I was very fortunate to once again be able to enjoy an ARC several months before publication.

After agreeing to try to find a dying woman’s son who has disappeared in Scotland, Milton returns to Great Britain. And, for those who follow the series, Group 15 and Control are still very much on the hunt for him.

Also involved is Milton’s Step Nine and trying to express amends to his old SAS officer who’s career was tanked by an action Milton undertook, against orders, while in Iraq.

Throw in some Chinese bad guys and Dawson has written a great thriller. As a side note, the action takes place in the Hebrides. I made several side trips to Wikipedia to get the lay of the islands straight in my mind’s eye. Learning something new is always a good thing when reading this type of novel.

Those readers who read the Milton series really shouldn’t miss this one. The only negative I can mention on this is the cliff hanger ending. I hate those.

[Simon Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional adventure starring John Milton, while in Okinawa working the steps of his sobriety he meets a fellow addict an older lady dying of cancer, who is concerned for her missing son a human rights activist who seems to have gone missing half a world away off the Western Isles of Scotland. Milton sees the chance to not only make amends to an old friend and try and give the lady some peace in her last days.
Soon he is in the Outer Hebrides running foul of a conspiracy involving renewable energy illegal migrant slavery, bribery and corruption. The story is a good one, well told, the characters believable and the action, both hand to hand and gun play seems both real and well thought out. With a bit of a surprise ending I look forward to the next instalment.

[Mick Grimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story line as good has all the others a must listen to

[Mrs V · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely cracking, humdinger of a read.

I've been a fan of this series right from the start and just when I thought that it was impossible to improve on it, Mark Dawson rolls out a totally gripping follow on.

It is intricately crafted and keeps you on edge right up to the unexpected ending. I hope that no one puts any spoilers in their reviews, I certainly won't.

At first I was upset that volume 20 was scheduled for release June 2022 but then found out that Dawson hopes to bring it forward to Autumn\Winter 2021. Woohoo! Keep your promise or or else....... grrrrr....... No 1 will be on another mission.

Highly recommended.

[Ev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Let Me Down Again

John Milton is one of the most interesting characters I have the pleasure of following. You never know what is going to happen or which direction the story will take you. I’m looking forward to the continued journey.

[John (JC) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always good to read another John Milton novel.

[Frank Dupree · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Saga Continues

There is one thing that stands out to me in the John Milton Series... His dependence on “The Steps” and the help he always gets from them. If you’re a Milton fan than this is required reading.

[Twobchelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

More action with John Milton… trouble finds him no matter where he goes!

[Thomas Mcnulty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many locations to keep track of. I felt seasick reading about the numerous boat trips in rough seas. No likeable characters. Unfamiliar English slang used. Assumed pending confrontation with Chinese boss doesn’t happen. Disappointing search results. Milton seems to have funds so why the need to work as a cook. Cliffhanger ending with next book in series not available until 2022.

[alexander silagin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it's going downhill

All the charm of John Milton but not so interesting.Lots of details that nobody cares about. Well it was unavoidable I guess. Back to searching for new talent

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars 🌟

I am not sure how every time I step away from this series (I guess a better way to say this is that I'm not really stepping away but I am talking about the time that occurs while waiting during the time between book releases....) Well, regardless....I seem to always forget just how much I enjoy this series. You would think I would remember this fact - since we are now on the 19th book in this particular series (not including all of the spin offs) - but it is what it is.

I also want to mention quickly that this is one of the series that I truly enjoy listening to - much more than actually reading. Of course, I am sure it has to do with the fact that this entire series takes place in Europe - specifically Britain. That does not mean that it doesn't travel the globe with all of the adventures, just that our male MC - John Milton - happens to be British and a whole lot of the verbiage comes from his POV. This book also has a huge portion told from a Scottish POV and as an American, I can not say how much I enjoy these accents. So, let me give major props to the narrator (again) David Thorpe. Is he the normal narrator? I honestly have no earthly idea. I just know that he did a fantastic job at this book.

Okay, with that out of the way, this book takes off almost immediately after the ending of the last book. (Okay, you would think that's a "Duh" moment), but I mean that there are only a couple of days, while John is still in Japan that he finds his new "good deed". For those of us who are long time fans, we understand that John feels compelled to try to balance his ledger for all of the "bad" that he feels he has done in his life before he got sober and decided to walk away from that life. So, off we go.

Without going into spoilers, this book does have its share of drama and intrigue. Is it the best book yet? No. I actually think there were too many "convenient" issues that seemed to happen and just fall into place, but at this point in the series, I honestly don't care. I'm already hooked and I have found that I just like to tag along as whatever job John has decided to take in order to help someone blows up in his face. I mean that in the best way possible. John is an inherently good man. He TRIES to do the right thing now, but unfortunately his past is not something that is easy to walk away from and there a a LOT of people who could care less that he has turned over a new leaf - they just want him dead. So....hence…..there is drama and action.

I said no spoilers, but I will say that the last two chapters made my heart hurt. I was truly scared and my eyes may or may not have had some wetness involved. As long time fans, we all knew that there was always a chance that his luck was going to run out. I kept thinking "NO!"....but, things are going to happen .

One thing that we do know is that there is DEFINITELY a book 20 set up with the ending of this book. OMG, I am crossing my fingers as I wait to see what happens to our John. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried, but....I have faith in our guy.

So...onward I go.....

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to like about this book? That's the question & the answer is simple - NOTHING.
For me personally, I think this is one of the best Milton books, Mark has written so far & that's some achievement because the Milton series is just fantastic.
Now if you're not a fan of tense gritty thrillers, then stop reading now as this book is not for you but having said that, if you're feeling brave enough to read something different from your normal type of books, then give this a go, you won't be disappointed.
In fact I can more or less guarantee that you'll end purchasing the whole Milton Series of books, which will lead to you having endless hours of fun reading about the world of John Milton, that's how good this book is.
Now I'm not going to give you any real clues about the storyline, other than to say that this adventure takes Milton half way across the world from Japan to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, where Milton's past finally catches up with him, whilst he's trying to atone for the dreadful deeds he carried out in his former life, by trying to help a dying mother find out what has happened to her missing son so she can at least die in peace, no matter what Milton unearths.
As I've already mentioned this book is a tense gritty thriller that has got it all, from murder, mystery, suspense, corruption, bribery & even a little romance, to a very tense finally with a very very unexpected twist, that like all good stories leaves you with a cliff hanger, that I bet not even any of us die hard Milton fans could have predicted.
I know I can't wait to read the next chapter in the life of John Milton so go on give it a go yourself & like me you won't be disappointed.

[John A. Sillasen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the First Time in Memory, Mark Dawson has left John Milton in a Cliffhanger!

And it's a whopper! Milton, under the legend, Eric Bright, has left Japan in search of a son who's gone missing from her dying mother. His search takes him to the Hebrides, islands off of Scotland, famous for bird watching ecosystems, dolphins and whale watching - not espionage and counter espionage. Milton seeks out his old regiment commander before he was brought into Group 15, the British governments legal assassins. In his recruitment, he had broken the command to take out a terrorist and his team and regimental commander took the brunt of the punishment. John is hoping to find his old commander and make amends. In doing so he finds him, 'Flash' as he's known involved in providing transport by boat out to these do not trespass and ruin the ecosystem islands. When others beside the one man he's trying to find also go missing, Milton confronts Flash and in having him aid in his investigation has a file opened on Flash by Group 15. Now John has gotten Flash in trouble again - deadly trouble. When Milton's boss at his cover job gets kidnapped, He and Flash well.... You will just have to read book 19 in Dawson's John Milton Series and wait for the story to come full circle in Book 20, scheduled to be released in early 2022, or Later in 2021! No spoilers!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best Milton book yet

Mark has given us glimpses in the past of Milton's military career but this time we learn of the turning point of that career, the action that turned out to be the catalyst for his recruitment to Group 15.
John Milton flies across the world from Japan to the wilds of the Outer Hebrides with two missions, one personal, the other trying to further balance out his ledger by helping a dying woman. He is hoping for a chance to apologise to the man who was his commanding officer on that fateful day whilst looking for a beloved son who has disappeared. Of course, events turn out to be so much more complicated and dangerous than Milton expected and his old commander is in it up to his neck. The Group also rear their ugly head again.
As always, the action is tense and thrilling, and I felt as though I was on those rainy and windswept isles with Milton. Totally gripping, unmissable and unputdownable. The end is a WTF moment and Book 20 can't come soon enough.

[Ken Karcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawson delivers a knockout of a book, Milton's quest is to answer a dying mother's concerns for her only son turn to a twisted web of greed, spys and Milton's past. Dawson wades these characters into a warm surf before throwing them directly over the cliff where everything is turning sideways for Milton and company. We get to find out a little more of Milton's backstory in this book, he's still trying to redeem himself by helping a dying woman. His search for answers leads him back to a man from Milton's past and a woman who wants to be in his future. John is a good man who finds himself in the worst situations just because he is driven to help. This time it could be his undoing. I thought this was an intricate plot, and everything flows well you don't get lost in all the different aspects of what Milton finds himself in. Nice set up for the next milestone, Milton's 20th novel, but I don't care for cliffhangers simply for the commercial value.

[dennis barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Let Me Down Again. Mark Dawson

John Milton, a man on the run, but at his own speed. His prior employer a clandestine branch of covert service in Britain. It's existence is closely guarded. Only very few people in the upper echelons of power know .Milton has taken on a life atonement for past sins. He helps people in need. He meet a women in Japan dying of cancer who wants to know if her son is still alive. He was an investigator of sorts environmental issues and the misconduct of private businesses . Profit their only motive. People who work for them are expendable. As well as him. What follows is a tale of deceit, bribery with two governments, Britain and China plotting against each other To say this is an excellent read is and understatement!!! Enjoyed immensely!!! My highest recommendation!!

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helping people can be tricky, and greed has destroyed many men. Never Let Me Down Again is another great book about John Milton By Mark Dawson. This book continues where the last one left us, Milton is still in Japan where he meets a dying woman truing to find out what has happened with her son in Scotland. She is lucky that Milton has nothing else to do and an old friend in Scotland he hasn't seen in 18 years. He boards a plane and secures a job as a cook in a hotel. There is some strange things happening in the Hebrides islands. Will he solve the mystery of the missing man and will he stay safe from "Control"? I have always liked the plot behind this series and Johns stuggle with his past, and his present as well since Group 15 started hunting him for real. I really recommend this series.

[Jeff Benham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book so good, I read it twice. It starts out with a look at Milton’s army days and why he got tagged by Control. We also meet Flash, whose career was ended when he disobeyed orders to save John’s life when he disobeyed orders. Milton meets a woman who is dying of cancer. Her son is missing in Scotland and she desperately wants to know what happened to him. It just so happens that Flash runs a business where John needs to be. Together, maybe they can solve the mystery. That is, if Flash didn’t hate Milton because he lost his career. A consortium, financed by the Chinese, is using illegal immigrants for labor in areas that they had no permits. A couple people have been killed and John wants to find out if the woman’s son was one of them. He finds something a lot more serious.

[Anne G. Kasaba · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book two days ago but just couldn't stop my heart from pounding long enough to write a review. That racing heart was not just from the nonstop action that is a hallmark of the John Milton series. The ending was unbelievable. That's all I can say without giving away too much and depriving you of the heart workout I got. As always the characters (even the peripheral ones) are written with depth and personalities are richly drawn. The storyline was well written. I think this is the best been of the series.

John Milton once again volunteers to help a person in need. This time it a woman, a strange whose son is missings. Milton travels to Scotland and finds much more than he expected.

I received an arc of this book and voluntarily provided a review.

[Dean Ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes us to the Scottish hebredise islands when John goes on the search for a fellow AA aquantances son who has gone missing. John is also going to make amends with a past soldier that he wronged in the past.

I got the feeling that the author wanted to start things afresh in this book, Milton has a new legend 'eric' and none of the previous characters are brought in (which was nice).

As always the details of the location are very much a part of the writing style. You can almost feel the Scottish winds and smell the alcohol that is described in alot of the scenes.

I can't wait to read the next one - unfortunately I now have caught up to the author and his book 20 bulletproof comes out in next few days (Oct 2021)

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Milton is back and in rare form. In “Never Let Me Down Again”, Mark Dawson has John Milton making atonements to a fellow soldier he served with in Iraq some 20 years ago. In addition, there are Chinese bad guys plus some English so call good guys after Milton. Overall, this 19th book in the series offers new places, Scotland, and Milton helping the down trodden folks of a small Scottish island. This is the first time in this series that Mark Dawson puts John Milton in a cliffhanger. We will have to wait till next year, June 2022, to see what happens to Milton. I look forward to the next book in this series.

[William Prange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book

Anytime I see one of Mark Dawson's books with John Milton as the lead character I know it has the potential to be a great read. Never Let Me Down Again captured me during the first couple of pages and would not let go of me. Dawson's books always have interesting places in his plots. New Hebrides was certainly a unique place for the background of a murder mystery. I liked all the characters and I thought the plot was reasonable and very intriguing. And I enjoyed the ending so much that I plan to read the 20th installment of the main character John Milton.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Series!

If you have read the previous books in the John
Milton series, NLMDA will not disappoint. Mark Dawson does an amazing job of continuing the story of John in different and exciting ways while always staying true to the character. I have read all of the previous books and have enjoyed watching the development of the character through each book.
If you have not read any of the previous books, I highly recommend that you start with the first book "The Cleaner". Although each book completely stands on its own, it is way more enjoyable to read them in order. I'm already looking forward to reading book #20!

[carl clause · Rating 5 out of 5]

CC1

Excellent as always. John finally has a chance to get out from the Groups thumb. But what a great story. John the humanitarian. Took homage to the old woman in Japan to look for her son. Unfortunately John stepped into cluster related to Hannah and the Chinese. Flash was his real reason to be there to try and make up for the past. But after first meeting John knew that wasn't going to work. So he went about his due diligence and solvents situation but was caught by the Group. So we shall see what the next chapter is!!! 10 stars plus!!!Great job Mark. Thanks Carl Clause

[Mark Speed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the author is a big Depeche Mode fan, and the title is taken from one of their tracks. I didn't know he was a fellow fan of George Orwell. The hero is using the name Eric Blair, which was Orwell's real name Approriate, given that the action mostly happens in the Hebrides, and Orwell hammered out 1984 on Jura, trying to shake his TB.

Some good twists and turns. A few errors in the story (flock of sheep, rather than herd; the fishermen took him to Tobermory, rather than Oban). I know he pays a lot for editors, so I do wonder. Anyway, the action happens and things get mostly sorted out how you'd expect.

[Graham Trelfa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputdownable, another sleepless night.

John Milton, one of the best characters in modern writing.
Totally riveting from the first page to the last.
Mark Dawson is one of the best descriptive writers around today, if the reader does not feel totally absorbed in the atmosphere created, then it is the readers fault and not the authors ( no insult to Mark's readers intended )
From the atmospheric dark isles, to the perfectly conjured characters, this book and this series is utter perfection.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Milton is back. A huge Milton fan from day one I was a bit underwhelmed with the last two books but that’s all totally redeemed in this one. John Milton is back in the house!
This is so good. From the prologue where we get a glimpse of Milton’s early pre group fifteen days, to the up to date angst ridden need to redeem for his past deeds, this is a belter of a read. But oh the ending, and more than that oh the last few chapters - don’t be doing that to us Mark Dawson! I loved every page of this and read it in one day. So looking forward to see what happens in Bulletproof

[John F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just keep getting better and better

The thing about m.dawsons milton series is that no matter the locale you feel like you are there. The series does not have the gun fetishising that these kind of stories often fall prey to. Another bonus. There are often little simple puns hidden in the manuscript that lead back to the subject at hand. As the stories continue, John Milton has become realistic about the effects of his age. He is no bond/superman/reacher ubermensch he is a believable character. As i finish each story,I am ALWAYSdelighted to see there is another one coming!