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Dan Shepherd #6
Live Fire
Live Fire is the sixth book in the best-selling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series.Mickey and Mark Moore are hard men who live by their own code and leaders of a gang that has made millions at the point of a gun. Now they're enjoying a life in the sun in Thailand.Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is sent to infiltrate the tightly-knit team of bank robbers. But when he does, he discovers that he has more in common with them than he first thought. While he and his Serious Organised Crime Agency colleagues are plotting the downfall of the Moore brothers, a far more sinister threat is stalking the streets of London. A group of home-grown Islamic fundamentalist fanatics embarks on a campaign of terror the like of which Britain has never seen. Car bombs and beheadings are only the beginning . . . And Shepherd is the only man who can stop them."
484 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2009
157 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Leather
235 books1,517 followersStephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. For much of 2011 his self-published eBooks - including The Bestseller, The Basement, Once Bitten and Dreamer's Cat - dominated the UK eBook bestseller lists and sold more than half a million copies. The Basement topped the Kindle charts in the UK and the US, and in total he has sold more than two million eBooks. His bestselling book The Chinaman was filmed as The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan and grossing more than $100 million.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
February 12, 2024
‘We live in a world of shit and occasionally, just occasionally, we get a chance to do the right thing.’
My 8th Stephen Leather and 3rd of his Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series. After finishing the meaty tome ‘The Historian’ it is good to change the reading pace, style and genre.
Whilst the writing is a tad formulaic it still packs a punch. Even the contrived ending worked for me. Dan Shepherd lives by a set of ethical principles in a job and world where they don’t really exist.
Look forward to reading another.
My 8th Stephen Leather and 3rd of his Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series. After finishing the meaty tome ‘The Historian’ it is good to change the reading pace, style and genre.
Whilst the writing is a tad formulaic it still packs a punch. Even the contrived ending worked for me. Dan Shepherd lives by a set of ethical principles in a job and world where they don’t really exist.
Look forward to reading another.
November 22, 2023
Okay, here’s the thing. Live Fire is the 6th book in the Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series. I’ve read them all up to this point and every one has followed exactly the same pattern with the same problems to overcome along the way with the same fundamentalist Muslim type of character planning the same terrorist act. Dan Shepherd is still neglecting his son while promising to spend more time with him and then, ultimately, spending less.
In this particular episode Shepherd "surprises" us when he's revealed as a member of a bank robbery crew, then he joins a team of robbers, spends some time in Thailand to give us a slight taste of a variation in culture, has a surprise meeting with CIA man Yokely. Meanwhile an indoctrinated former British army man has turned to Islam and wants to make the UK pay for their disrespect of Allah. The budding terrorist plans to bring down a British Airways 747.
The “however” in all of this lies at the feet of anyone who hasn’t come across the Spider Shepherd series yet. First timers to the Dan Shepherd series will find this to be a briskly paced action thriller that combines a well-designed undercover operation with an unfolding terrorist plot. This means there’s always something happening, either the team of robbers who’ve been infiltrated will demonstrate some kind of anti-social behaviour in a bar, or the fundamentalist Islamic “warrior” will perform some heinous act to prove he hates the west with a passion. Ultimately, the two seemingly disparate plot lines will come crashing together in a tumultuous crescendo that allows Shepherd to demonstrate his all-around goodness. If I were a first timer, I'd probably give it a 4 star rating.
That’s all fine and dandy.
Except.
This is the sixth time this exact same scenario has played out. Some of the names have changed and the villains being infiltrated are slightly different. But essentially, there’s nothing new here.
Now, as of writing, there are 21 books in the series which clearly means there’s an appetite for predictability as long as it’s wrapped up in an action thriller bow. But unless someone can assure me that things change from this point in the series on, I’m unlikely going to be partaking in any more Spider Shepherd adventures.
In this particular episode Shepherd "surprises" us when he's revealed as a member of a bank robbery crew, then he joins a team of robbers, spends some time in Thailand to give us a slight taste of a variation in culture, has a surprise meeting with CIA man Yokely. Meanwhile an indoctrinated former British army man has turned to Islam and wants to make the UK pay for their disrespect of Allah. The budding terrorist plans to bring down a British Airways 747.
The “however” in all of this lies at the feet of anyone who hasn’t come across the Spider Shepherd series yet. First timers to the Dan Shepherd series will find this to be a briskly paced action thriller that combines a well-designed undercover operation with an unfolding terrorist plot. This means there’s always something happening, either the team of robbers who’ve been infiltrated will demonstrate some kind of anti-social behaviour in a bar, or the fundamentalist Islamic “warrior” will perform some heinous act to prove he hates the west with a passion. Ultimately, the two seemingly disparate plot lines will come crashing together in a tumultuous crescendo that allows Shepherd to demonstrate his all-around goodness. If I were a first timer, I'd probably give it a 4 star rating.
That’s all fine and dandy.
Except.
This is the sixth time this exact same scenario has played out. Some of the names have changed and the villains being infiltrated are slightly different. But essentially, there’s nothing new here.
Now, as of writing, there are 21 books in the series which clearly means there’s an appetite for predictability as long as it’s wrapped up in an action thriller bow. But unless someone can assure me that things change from this point in the series on, I’m unlikely going to be partaking in any more Spider Shepherd adventures.
August 27, 2023
I say this after every instalment but this may be my new favourite in the series.
I felt as though I was also going through the conflict that Dan was having at the end.
There were some chance encounters, however the encounters were viable.
I think we’re seeing Dan evolve and develop, constantly asking questions of himself and where he stands. This shows great depth to the character.
I think a different agency might be on the cards, especially with the ever looming Richard Yokely.
What happened to The London Eye? I have since read two books after this instalment and still nothing.
I felt as though I was also going through the conflict that Dan was having at the end.
There were some chance encounters, however the encounters were viable.
I think we’re seeing Dan evolve and develop, constantly asking questions of himself and where he stands. This shows great depth to the character.
I think a different agency might be on the cards, especially with the ever looming Richard Yokely.
What happened to The London Eye? I have since read two books after this instalment and still nothing.
January 14, 2018
A contemporary thriller composed of two stories running side by side with no over lap until the final showdown. Exciting stuff and tightly written; one story involves home-grown (UK) Islamic terrorists the other an undercover cop infiltrating a gang of bank robbers who have semi-retired to Thailand but are still carrying out robberies back in the UK.
I had to deduct a star because of one niggle. The undercover cop is pretending to be a tough criminal in order to infiltrate the gang but he goes through the book acting like a choirboy. Refusing to join in with any of the villains jack-the-lad antics and therefore ruining the reality of the situation. I don't think this was the authors choice ( he even addresses the unreality of it at one point) as if saying to the reader; "I know, I know, but what can I do ?" I think rather that the publishers insisted on the hero being politically correct even if it was going to be detrimental to the story and the readers enjoyment. Seems like there's no room in mainstream publishing for heroes behaving inappropriately even in an adult mans adventure read. Sigh.......the times we live in !
I had to deduct a star because of one niggle. The undercover cop is pretending to be a tough criminal in order to infiltrate the gang but he goes through the book acting like a choirboy. Refusing to join in with any of the villains jack-the-lad antics and therefore ruining the reality of the situation. I don't think this was the authors choice ( he even addresses the unreality of it at one point) as if saying to the reader; "I know, I know, but what can I do ?" I think rather that the publishers insisted on the hero being politically correct even if it was going to be detrimental to the story and the readers enjoyment. Seems like there's no room in mainstream publishing for heroes behaving inappropriately even in an adult mans adventure read. Sigh.......the times we live in !
January 18, 2024
Live Fire (Dan Shepherd, #6) By Stephen Leather
Spider is back and this time round we get a trip to Thailand to infiltrate a gang of bank robbers.
It is the standard Spider novel if you have read one before.
To be honest you wont find anything new here but you know what you are getting crisp action a good story solid writing.
Its more 3 & half stars I will continue to read these but Leather does need to up his game and add more depth to the Shepard character after 6 books other than the location and the villains it is a little bit samey but I am a sucker for that.
Worth your time and hard-earned cash but could do better.
Spider is back and this time round we get a trip to Thailand to infiltrate a gang of bank robbers.
It is the standard Spider novel if you have read one before.
To be honest you wont find anything new here but you know what you are getting crisp action a good story solid writing.
Its more 3 & half stars I will continue to read these but Leather does need to up his game and add more depth to the Shepard character after 6 books other than the location and the villains it is a little bit samey but I am a sucker for that.
Worth your time and hard-earned cash but could do better.
March 1, 2017
Book 6 in the Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series, and there seems to be no let up in the quality of writing. Again there are two parallel plotlines running. In the major one we follow Spider as he infiltrates a gang of armed robbers. They are mainly based in Thailand, and only fly into the UK to carry out their next jobs. So most of the events happen far away from home, meaning that the only close backup Spider has is from 'Razor' Sharp. The second plot involves a group of home grown terrorists, to find out how the twin story lines mesh together you will have to read the book for yourself.
I enjoy the well crafted characters in these books, and each book seems to have a certain amount of continuity with the preceding ones. For those who like the Jack Reacher and Mitch Rapp series of books this series is also well worth a read, and being British based is sometimes easier to picture.
I enjoy the well crafted characters in these books, and each book seems to have a certain amount of continuity with the preceding ones. For those who like the Jack Reacher and Mitch Rapp series of books this series is also well worth a read, and being British based is sometimes easier to picture.
June 9, 2023
The ending reminded me of The Fast and the Furious. Those who have read the book will understand. There is a found family trope and i kinda want them to be saved and be vigilantes forever. Unfortunately I know that won't be the case but i had fun following them around.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
April 22, 2025
A 3.5/5.
Not bad. Didnt have much expectations going in, but turned out to be a fast paced read.
Dialogue driven instead of a narrative style of writing, which was interesting and allowed to understand the characters.
Premise overall is decent, action, characters and setpieces too. Gives an understanding of the guys hanging around in Thailand and their mindsets. Kind of a Point break in Thailand. Could be a movie.
As to the cons, didnt like the extremist Islamic terrorist villains, which I guess means did its job. But had a real distaste for them. Also the end wasn't as action packed as would have hoped. Left to desire for more and could have been better.
Not bad. Didnt have much expectations going in, but turned out to be a fast paced read.
Dialogue driven instead of a narrative style of writing, which was interesting and allowed to understand the characters.
Premise overall is decent, action, characters and setpieces too. Gives an understanding of the guys hanging around in Thailand and their mindsets. Kind of a Point break in Thailand. Could be a movie.
As to the cons, didnt like the extremist Islamic terrorist villains, which I guess means did its job. But had a real distaste for them. Also the end wasn't as action packed as would have hoped. Left to desire for more and could have been better.
April 8, 2010
Currently my favourite author. I love the Dan 'Spider' Shepherd books...always packed full of action and adrenaline. Old friends and foes regualrly appear in the series...I enjoy it when the author sucks you into the life of the criminals which at times leaves me actually wanting them to succeed. I see Mr Leather has started a new series...I hope he doesn't leave it too long before delivering another Dan Shepherd adventure!
December 16, 2013
I really enjoyed this one. Being set in Thailand makes a pleasant difference, and the life of a criminal is not so bad after all...maybe! If I'm not mistaken, Stephen lives in Thailand and although his reference points in the UK are always accurate, you can tell that there are some hands-on facts flowing in the descriptions of the local sights in Thailand.
In this 'episode' you can get the drift that Spider is second-guessing the morals of his job, and his targets as undercover agent in SOCA. I feel that a change of career is on the horizon, especially in the climax at the end where spider makes a hasty decision to eliminate a threat and turn a blind eye to a criminal involving 'victimless' crimes.
Even though the read was enjoyable throughout, the ending was really high-pace and a good finish to a fine book. The only 'criticisms' I have are that a few steps seemed to be skipped: Spider never seemed to mention to Sharp about the hotel change; Sharp knew about the BBQ at the Moore's before Dan mentioned it and what happened to the London Eye?
All in all, the various plots, which I have often critisiced, worked effortlessly in this book and the plot seemed focussed, flowed well, and made a pleasant change from the usual Iraqis/Muslims against the west storyline. Good work!
In this 'episode' you can get the drift that Spider is second-guessing the morals of his job, and his targets as undercover agent in SOCA. I feel that a change of career is on the horizon, especially in the climax at the end where spider makes a hasty decision to eliminate a threat and turn a blind eye to a criminal involving 'victimless' crimes.
Even though the read was enjoyable throughout, the ending was really high-pace and a good finish to a fine book. The only 'criticisms' I have are that a few steps seemed to be skipped: Spider never seemed to mention to Sharp about the hotel change; Sharp knew about the BBQ at the Moore's before Dan mentioned it and what happened to the London Eye?
All in all, the various plots, which I have often critisiced, worked effortlessly in this book and the plot seemed focussed, flowed well, and made a pleasant change from the usual Iraqis/Muslims against the west storyline. Good work!
December 20, 2012
Sent to infiltrate a gang of armed robbers in Thailand that target the UK, Spider discovers that there is a far worse group of men living in London that plan to do more than just steal money.
The job appears to ask more of Spider than normal, the Moore's are only robbing banks,, but the people that surround them in Thailand are far worse, making Shepherd doubt whether what he's doing is really worth while, in the end it may just compromise the entire case.
The job appears to ask more of Spider than normal, the Moore's are only robbing banks,, but the people that surround them in Thailand are far worse, making Shepherd doubt whether what he's doing is really worth while, in the end it may just compromise the entire case.
April 5, 2012
Just like most things in life, the more you do it the better you become at it. This is the case with Stephen Leather and his writings in the Dan "Spider" Shepherd series. Simply could not put this book down. I even took the bus to work so I could keep reading it :-) I am looking forward to books 7, 8 and hopefully more!
October 21, 2011
Good Book. Simple Plot involving high flying bank robbers and middle eastern terrorists. Quite current really but a bit to close to home for comfort, this book could give the wrong people the wrong ideas. But Dan Shepherd is a great character who we can all relate to.
July 4, 2025
The sixth book and its just gets better, spider is tasked with infuriating a gang of bank robbers
while doing this he comes across old friends and learns about a terror plot
the book culminates in an all action end
another wonderful read from Stephen Leather
while doing this he comes across old friends and learns about a terror plot
the book culminates in an all action end
another wonderful read from Stephen Leather
January 13, 2010
Spider is getting better and better, would be ain intersting contest between Spider,Reacher and Mitch Rapp!
June 25, 2016
More lawbreaking, and an appreciation of criminals? What is going on? And sharp was rather irritating on this
November 21, 2018
The 6th book in the Dan “Spider” Sheppard series. The plot for this one is weaker than the previous one, though the style and pace is quite similar. Dan goes undercover to infiltrate a group of armed robbers who live in Thailand and travel to UK to rob banks and then live on the loot. As usual there is a second plot in the book (like all Stephen Leather books) where an ex-army British soldier (Bradshaw) has quit the army after 2 tours of Afghanistan witnessing all the atrocities the West does on Muslims. He converted to Islam with the intent of spreading jihad in UK as revenge for all wrong things done to Muslims.
Dan gets close to the armed robbery unit, Moore brothers, in Pattaya and becomes a member of their crew and is part of the next robbery where Dan and his SOCA unit will take down the gang. But Dan hears about how Bradshaw, the jihadist, has purchased a stinger missile with the intent of bringing down a British Airways jumbo flight killing 400 passengers. He stops the massacre and terrorist attempt, with the help of Mickey Moore, the armed robbers who live by an honest code followed by “good” criminals. Hence he let’s Mickey run away after the heist, as a thank you message to stop the terrorists.
A good book, I gave it a 3.5/5. The book felt a little dragged exploring the non-extradition policies between Thailand and Europe, the porous borders within Europe for criminal fraternity to transport from one country to the other and the corrupt but structured (money rules) ways of like in a 3rd world country like Thailand. I have now grown used to faster books in the Spider series. Also, the climax, though quite fast paced, was predictable, which could have been better.
Well, moving on to the next Spider novel, hoping to be a better one.
Dan gets close to the armed robbery unit, Moore brothers, in Pattaya and becomes a member of their crew and is part of the next robbery where Dan and his SOCA unit will take down the gang. But Dan hears about how Bradshaw, the jihadist, has purchased a stinger missile with the intent of bringing down a British Airways jumbo flight killing 400 passengers. He stops the massacre and terrorist attempt, with the help of Mickey Moore, the armed robbers who live by an honest code followed by “good” criminals. Hence he let’s Mickey run away after the heist, as a thank you message to stop the terrorists.
A good book, I gave it a 3.5/5. The book felt a little dragged exploring the non-extradition policies between Thailand and Europe, the porous borders within Europe for criminal fraternity to transport from one country to the other and the corrupt but structured (money rules) ways of like in a 3rd world country like Thailand. I have now grown used to faster books in the Spider series. Also, the climax, though quite fast paced, was predictable, which could have been better.
Well, moving on to the next Spider novel, hoping to be a better one.
July 24, 2019
Great Story two events going on in one book so it kept you on your toes, great read, and a good ending, very pleased with the story and thoroughly enjoyed the book, would recommend to anyone who is reading the Dan Shepherd series, he is a good guy and a genuine guy who has conscience about what he is doing and why, he is a good character and his skills are obviously good, but we do not see a lot of his skills coming to the fore as he is always undercover as a bad guy but unable to use his SAS skills for fear of blowing his cover, would like to see him have a good fight and sort out some of the bad guys himself, and I can see him changing jobs soon and he could be tempted to move on to a different type of job, we will have to wait and see, once you start reading the book you cannot put it down. Thankfully there are several more books to read, start at 1 and work your way through there is a hint of his life and his son in each book so you need to read them in order.
September 23, 2023
A book without any chapters and switches constantly between 2 different storylines so very confusing
2_storylines throughout the book which only seem to come together in the last few pages in a bit if a muddled way, With 2 storylines running for most of the book with different characters in each an it stretches the imagination as to how they are both connected. This the second Spider Shepherd book i have now read i am unlikely to buy another if the format stays the same. There are no chapter numbers just 1 long dialogue which doesnt help the reader to follow it at all
2_storylines throughout the book which only seem to come together in the last few pages in a bit if a muddled way, With 2 storylines running for most of the book with different characters in each an it stretches the imagination as to how they are both connected. This the second Spider Shepherd book i have now read i am unlikely to buy another if the format stays the same. There are no chapter numbers just 1 long dialogue which doesnt help the reader to follow it at all
January 7, 2025
A fantastic read from start to finish. Unlike the usual American thrillers which feature a macho gung-ho gun toting hero going about business, this one had a much simpler grounded narration.
Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd is sent undercover to takedown a group of bank robbers but he discovers something much more sinister while working with them. He gets into a *Donnie Brasco* kind of situation where he begins to side with robbers along with trying to stop the other sinister plot about to hit UK.
A good read for fans of Andy McNab and other SAS thriller fans.
Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd is sent undercover to takedown a group of bank robbers but he discovers something much more sinister while working with them. He gets into a *Donnie Brasco* kind of situation where he begins to side with robbers along with trying to stop the other sinister plot about to hit UK.
A good read for fans of Andy McNab and other SAS thriller fans.
December 21, 2017
I agree with many of the other reviewers who thought the two separate trains of events finally intersection near the end provided a thrilling finis to the book. I thoroughly enjoyed Steven Leather's scenic description of whatever locale the action takes place, almost up to being a travelogue! The cliff-hanger ending left me downloading Volume 7 of the Dan Shepherd chronology. I'm hooked!
January 22, 2018
I started this book and unfortunately couldn’t finish it, I’ve given up on it. I found it annoying that women were constantly just referred to by their bodies (specifically their ‘tits’), all of the protagonists are male and it felt very outdated. The main characters are just cheesy and I just couldn’t relate to the storyline at all.
April 21, 2019
it started of as a boring book and i had to brace myself through the first 200 pages but after investing almost 2 months i ought to give it my whole time this moment. the ending was amazing although i was expecting more but the last 100 pages were something of a kind. I gave it two stars only because of its boring starting 250 pages.
September 9, 2017
Another great read
What a great author/publisher I just can't get enough of these amazing books,, it leaves me no option in what I'm going to read next...
If the author of this book ( Stephen Leather ) reads this review please could you send me a free book or something haha
What a great author/publisher I just can't get enough of these amazing books,, it leaves me no option in what I'm going to read next...
If the author of this book ( Stephen Leather ) reads this review please could you send me a free book or something haha
March 26, 2021
Wow. For a while now i’ve been considering walking away from this series just because of the terrorist elements which I would not choose to read. However, yet again Leather has really delivered with an excellent book that I literally could not put down.
November 14, 2021
I really enjoyed this book, it was a great continuation to the series but would have also worked as a standalone story. The character development is great and there are a number of really good plot twists along the way. Highly recomended.
May 26, 2024
A great read of a book
I am on a massive Stephen Leather bing read as I love his books. I simply can't get enough of them and finding myself re-reading them all in one go.
It enriched with a great plot and story line.
Overall a great read of a book. Best wishes
I am on a massive Stephen Leather bing read as I love his books. I simply can't get enough of them and finding myself re-reading them all in one go.
It enriched with a great plot and story line.
Overall a great read of a book. Best wishes
March 10, 2025
Eddig három részt olvastam a sorozatból, de nagyjából mindegyik követi a formulát: beépített akció+terrorista. A beépített rész mindig más, ezért izgalmas arról olvasni, hogy Shepherd hogyan oldja meg. De mindig ugyanolyan terroristákról olvasni, már kezd az agyamra menni.
May 19, 2025
Rather almost predictable.
I also struggled to enjoy Spider’s character. He seemed quite bland, or perhaps I wanted the author to give us some deeper, more nuanced, insights.
My first Stephen Leather book and unfortunately probably the last.
I also struggled to enjoy Spider’s character. He seemed quite bland, or perhaps I wanted the author to give us some deeper, more nuanced, insights.
My first Stephen Leather book and unfortunately probably the last.
March 10, 2017
Very clever and a great read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews