Do a Little Wrong by Dan Dahler

Do a Little Wrong is a standalone novel in the thriller genre and has elements of detective work, spies, kidnapping and corporate espionage.

The story begins with a young boy who is being held in Brazil due to financial influence and red tape. Cue Kyle and an organisation known as the Foundation. This secret organisation exists, but as a ghost. There is no paper trail, no official registration and certainly no payment. The organisation exists solely to help those who are desperate and have no other means of recourse. As more cases come to the Foundation, so does the threat to their anonymity grow bigger. The newest missing persons case may just prove to be the cherry on the top, as the more Kyle and his colleagues get sucked in, the more they uncover just how deeply this cover-up goes. With the so-called good guys now hot on his trail, and the bad guys from a previous case still out to get him, will this be the end for Kyle and the Foundation? After all, if the highest powers in the land want you gone – where can you run to?

“With all due respect. That’s not the right knife.” This opening line grabbed my attention and I immediately wanted to know more. Finding out that it’s a knife Kyle is being threatened with, and he is telling them they are using the wrong one, sets the tone for a fast-paced thriller. I loved the idea of his secret organisation (a la Batman style, complete with cave) and the lengths they were willing to go to help someone. The members of the Foundation were all great characters and worked well together within the context of the story. Even though it sounded stereotypical with the tough guy, tech geek, legal adviser and financial backer they all played their parts exactly the way the story needed them to. Kyle was an absolute rogue and impossible to dislike. I loved the descriptions of the locations they landed in, the crazy stunts they pulled to get out of situations, and the way they manipulated scenarios to get what they needed. The violence was not over the top and it was easy to read past the few editing mistakes that crept through.

This was a book that kept me hooked, with a fast pace, the right ratio of comedy to action and a good underlying story. Highly recommended, and we need more Kyles in this world.