A thrilling amalgam of Clancy’s Jack Ryan and London’s White Fang set in the chaos of South Asia.
Wilson continues the adventures of former Delta Force soldier-turned-mercenary Jackson “Jax” Wade and his giant Kuchi dog partner in this sequel to Dogs Bark and People Die(2020).
Fresh off a successful mission in Afghanistan with former Delta Force brother in arms Jesse Morris (they neutralized marauders attempting to disrupt a natural gas pipeline running through Afghanistan to India), Jackson Wade is contacted by his former employer, Damocles Security Services, at his home in Thailand with an urgent request. As American troops begin their withdrawal from Afghanistan, and as the Taliban rushes in to take over the country, the U.S. president’s niece, a human rights activist, is trapped in Taliban territory with two of her would-be rescuers, both female CIA operatives. With a potential political disaster looming, Wade (along with canine partner Dog) and Morris are tasked with the virtually impossible mission to extract the “package” and the two CIA agents from enemy territory that’s swarming with Taliban and Taliban sympathizers. As the body count rises, the mercenaries travel through a wasteland of inhuman horror and brutality. And as they inch closer to their destination, Morris asks a profound question that is very much a theme of the work: “Is Dog becoming more like us, or are we becoming more like Dog?”
There are numerous narrative elements that make this novel—and this series—simply unputdownable. The character development is exceptional; while the vast majority of military thrillers feature emotionally stunted, two-dimensional stereotypes, Wilson digs deep into not only Wade’s psyche, but also those of supporting female characters, including former U.S. Army captain Gretchen Sachs, the executive assistant to the head of Damocles; Carol Rossa, deputy CIA station chief in Kabul; and Sharon Beck, an analyst on the counterinsurgency desk in the CIA section of the American embassy in Kabul. The multilayered characterizations are complemented by adrenaline-fueled pacing and nonstop action that will keep readers breathlessly turning pages. Short chapters and frequent shifts of POV also help to maintain the fast and furious narrative momentum. Military fiction afficionados will appreciate the attention to detail when it comes to weaponry and tactical equipment: “Oakley Tombstone shooting glasses with gray-brown lenses covered their eyes, and each wore tan tactical shooting gloves. HK 416C carbines were near at hand, with 10.4-inch barrels, vertical foregrips, retractable stocks, Aimpoint CompM4 reflex sights, and inserted twenty rounds of .300 AAC Blackout cartridges.” Wilson’s frequent references to pop culture add an additional layer of interest and subtle humor—name-checks of Jean-Claude Van Damme, the Game of Thrones series, Mad Max, and Stephen King’s Cujo will have readers smiling to themselves. But the principal element that makes this series such a wildly unique military-thriller saga is the psychic connection between Wade and Dog. Their ability to “mind-talk” is fascinating in and of itself, but the way Wilson subtly ties it to arcane Afghani folklore—“some Kuchi dogs are magical”—makes the connection even more intriguing. One minor caveat: The story’s romance elements around Wade and Morris and their respective love interests come across as forced, inauthentic, and, frankly, unnecessary.
A thrilling amalgam of Clancy’s Jack Ryan and London’s White Fang set in the chaos of South Asia.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9798876727947
Page Count: 376
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.
Two killers are on the loose. Can they be stopped?
In this ambitious mystery, the prolific and popular King tells the story of a serial murderer who pledges, in a note to Buckeye City police, to kill “13 innocents and 1 guilty,” in order, we eventually learn, to avenge the death of a man who was framed and convicted for possession of child pornography and then killed in prison. At the same time, the author weaves in the efforts of another would-be murderer, a member of a violently abortion-opposing church who has been stalking a popular feminist author and women’s rights activist on a publicity tour. To tell these twin tales of murders done and intended, King summons some familiar characters, including private investigator Holly Gibney, whom readers may recall from previous novels. Gibney is enlisted to help Buckeye City police detective Izzy Jaynes try to identify and stop the serial killer, who has been murdering random unlucky citizens with chilling efficiency. She’s also been hired as a bodyguard for author and activist Kate McKay and her young assistant. The author succeeds in grabbing the reader’s interest and holding it throughout this page-turning tale of terror, which reads like a big-screen thriller. The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King’s choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic. King shines brightest when he gets to the heart of our darkest fears and desires, but here the dangers seem a bit cerebral. In his warning letter to the police, the serial killer wonders if his cryptic rationale to murder will make sense to others, concluding, “It does to me, and that is enough.” Is it enough? In another writer’s work, it might not be, but in King’s skilled hands, it probably is.
Even when King is not at his best, he’s still good.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781668089330
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Soapy, suspenseful fun.
A remembered horror plunges a pregnant woman into a waking nightmare.
Tegan Werner, 23, barely recalls her one-night stand with married real estate developer Simon Lamar; she only learns Simon’s name after seeing him on the local news five months later. Simon wants nothing to do with the resulting child Tegan now carries and tells his lawyer to negotiate a nondisclosure agreement. A destitute Tegan is all too happy to trade her silence for cash—until a whiff of Simon’s cologne triggers a memory of him drugging and raping her. Distraught and eight months pregnant, Tegan flees her Lewiston, Maine, apartment and drives north in a blizzard, intending to seek comfort and counsel from her older brother, Dennis; instead, she gets lost and crashes, badly injuring her ankle. Tegan is terrified when hulking stranger Hank Thompson stops and extricates her from the wreck, and becomes even more so when he takes her to his cabin rather than the hospital, citing hazardous road conditions. Her anxiety eases somewhat upon meeting Hank’s wife, Polly—a former nurse who settles Tegan in a basement hospital room originally built for Polly’s now-deceased mother. Polly vows to call 911 as soon as the phones and power return, but when that doesn’t happen, Tegan becomes convinced that Hank is forcing Polly to hold her prisoner. Tegan doesn’t know the half of it. McFadden unspools her twisty tale via a first-person-present narration that alternates between Tegan and Polly, grounding character while elevating tension. Coincidence and frustratingly foolish assumptions fuel the plot, but readers able to suspend disbelief are in for a wild ride. A purposefully ambiguous, forward-flashing prologue hints at future homicide, establishing stakes from the jump.
Soapy, suspenseful fun.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781464227325
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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