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Soft Target: The 2nd Spider Shepherd Thriller (The Spider Shepherd Thrillers) Kindle Edition

4.2 out of 5 stars 5,599 ratings

Soft Target is the second book in the best-selling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series.

There's only one thing more dangerous than a corrupt cop . . . and that's a corrupt cop with a gun.

When a group of armed police in an elite unit turn maverick and start to rip off drug dealers at gunpoint, undercover cop Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is given his most dangerous mission so far.

Shepherd is ordered to infiltrate the tight-knit team, to gain their confidence and to ultimately betray them.

Facing men with guns is nothing new for the former SAS trooper, but it's the first time he's had to investigate his own. And the job couldn't have come at a worse time for him.

As Shepherd finds himself in the firing line, he has to decide exactly where his loyalties lie."

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There are 22 books in this series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Stephen Leather is old-fashioned thriller writer and his books have that indefinable quality that keeps you turning the page.―The Mail on Sunday

A master of the thriller genre.―
Irish Times

High-adrenaline plotting.―
Sunday Express

About the Author

Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers, an ebook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China MorningPost in Hong Kong. He is one of the country's most successful ebook authors and his titles have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages and he has also written for television.

You can learn more from Stephen's website, www.stephenleather.com, find him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenleather.

Stephen also has a website for his Spider Shepherd series, www.danspidershepherd.com, and for his Jack Nightingale series, www.jacknightingale.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002V091F2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 18, 2008
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 532 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1844568567
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 2 of 22 ‏ : ‎ Spider Shepherd Thriller
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 5,599 ratings

About the author

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Stephen Leather
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Stephen Leather is one of the UK’s most successful thriller writers, an eBook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan “Spider’ Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

He is one of the country’s most successful eBook authors and his eBooks have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. In 2011 alone he sold more than 500,000 eBooks and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world. Born in Manchester, he began writing full time in 1992.

His novel The Chinaman was filmed as The Foreigner starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan.

His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written for television shows such as London’s Burning, The Knock and the BBC’s Murder in Mind series and two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were filmed for TV. You can find out more from his website www.stephenleather.com

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
5,599 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book to be a page-turner with an exciting story. They appreciate the writing, with one customer describing the author as brilliant.

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14 customers mention "Readability"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, with one describing it as an absolute rollercoaster of a book and another noting its brilliant story.

"I was a great read, lots of suspense and gritty action. I love the personal interactions between character they really help to make the story." Read more

"Great read..." Read more

"Great series --- the author adds humor to the detective novel. Read the first in the series for background information about Spider Shepherd...." Read more

"...Shepherd stories this lives up to all the rest Brilliant writer, brilliant book, and above all brilliant story.[[ASIN:0340834099 Soft Target..." Read more

4 customers mention "Writer"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's writing style.

"...Leather's Spider Shepherd stories this lives up to all the rest Brilliant writer, brilliant book, and above all brilliant story.[..." Read more

"...However, the good exceeds the bad in my view, as it is very well written, with some unputdownable moments , as I have to admit I couldn't stop..." Read more

"Stephen Leather is quite the writer...." Read more

"Great Subplots - Good finish..." Read more

3 customers mention "Story quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story of the book, with one describing it as full of excitement and unputdownable moments.

"...the bad in my view, as it is very well written, with some unputdownable moments , as I have to admit I couldn't stop reading the book." Read more

"Spider Shepherd is a great character and this story was full of excitement and way up there with the best from Stephen Leather." Read more

"superior story" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2014
    Great series --- the author adds humor to the detective novel. Read the first in the series for background information about Spider Shepherd. The setting is London and the surrounding area - this adds to the enjoyment of the novel. Jack is a widower, a top-notch cop, and a father - frantically he has his hands full solving crime.

    NOTE: Stephen Leather also wrote another mystery/supernatural series with Jack Nightengale as his protagonist. This, too is a great series.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2014
    I was a great read, lots of suspense and gritty action. I love the personal interactions between character they really help to make the story.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2012
    Having Read most of Stephen Leather's Spider Shepherd stories this lives up to all the rest Brilliant writer, brilliant book, and above all brilliant story.Soft Target (A Dan Shepherd Mystery)
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2013
    After reading 1st Spider book, I couldn't wait to read number 2. While the book is a page turner, which you can't put down, it has some flaws: as other reviewers put in in more details, there are too many interlocking plots, and what would be the "main" plot (about villain kerr) is surprisingly killed off (as the villain) in a very abrupt manner and you are left very disappointed. This "main" plot is almost fully "replaced" by this other plot about suicidal bombers which comes a bit out of the blue. There are also too many loose ends not properly tied off. However, the good exceeds the bad in my view, as it is very well written, with some unputdownable moments , as I have to admit I couldn't stop reading the book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2016
    Enjoyed this one lots. It would definitely make a good film. Getting used to the Spider profile by now. Really didn't want that bent copper to get caught because of his child's situation so the end they chose for him was very clever. Win win all round.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2015
    Got it as a gift for my dad, who reads a book a week. I like Stephen Leather's other books, the Jack Nightingale series, so I figured this would be good too. (My dad likes Cussler, Flynn, spy-type books.) I figured with 11 books in the series (when I bought it anyway) I could get him set for awhile. I bought the first three books to get him started. Right on cue, 3 weeks later he bought 4 more.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2017
    I enjoy these spider series of Stephen leather, however I found soft target a bit slow in parts.but still a good read and Leather is building up shepherds character more and more.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2012
    No doubt that I'm a fan of Stephen Leather but how could anyone not be - he provides great storylines, plots and the action is fast and furious to the end. Impossible to put down or forgt once you start reading.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • 2 different items ! L.B.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Soft Target by Stephen Leather
    Reviewed in Germany on February 23, 2015
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I've just finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed it's fast pace, it's well written, a good yarn & plot, well done Stephen.The book arrived fast, in excellent condition, I've used Medimops before, and again, I'm very pleased with this seller !! Well done !! L.B.
  • GDV0367
    4.0 out of 5 stars The 2nd book of the Sheperd saga won’t let you down
    Reviewed in Italy on May 3, 2018
    Fast pace, multiple stories crossing each other, keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. Worth reading and probably more “realistic” the the first book
    Report
  • Hemsby Hammer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another "must read in one sitting" book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2016
    As an author, Stephen Leather is an absolute must-read. He should be on everyone's reading lists, whether it is a Spider Shepherd book like this one, or one of his standalone novels.

    Leather cranks up the tension and drags the reader along at a pace.

    In this novel, Shepherd is investigating a corrupt police unit and there is a constant threat of discovery, which the reader knows will lead to his demise.

    Leather delivers a well researched book with believable action and an intelligent story line that does not leave the reader feeling cheated by artistic license.

    Warning - do not start this in an evening, unless you do not have to be up early, as you will want to finish it in one sitting!!
  • Archibald S Milloy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Action-packed and absorbing
    Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2017
    I am impressed with the author's direct, no frills writing style. The story flowed logically from beginning to end. White the plot lines cover several different aspects....bent cops, terrorists, violent criminals plus teenage thugs with no conscience...it also deals with the main character's struggle to be a good father to his son. I'm hoping to read more of Spider Shepherd's adventures. .
  • Radoslav Dokov
    5.0 out of 5 stars Super livre, super héros!
    Reviewed in France on October 25, 2017
    Ce 'est pas le premier livre de Stephen Leather que j'ai lu. L'histoire est bien construite avec des rebondissements inattendus et des ééments très humains. Ce que j'aime également c'est les rapports entre le héros principal et son fils - ils sont touchants! Et tellement vrais dans un monde où souvent les parents n'ont pas beaucoup de temps à consacrer à leurs enfants!

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