Hunt the Leopard

June 10, 2019
Mann and Pezzullo’s solid eighth military thriller featuring SEAL Team Six leader Tom Crocker (after 2018’s Hunt the Viper) takes Chief Warrant Officer Crocker and his team to subtropical eastern Nigeria to train members of the Nigerian Armed Forces Special Forces. When reports of a Boko Haram unit in the area reach Crocker, he decides to check them out as part of the Nigerians’ training. The terrorists are led by Festus Ratty Kumar, known as the Leopard, who believes that attacking civilians, killing unbelievers, and kidnapping schoolgirls are all legitimate methods of waging jihad. Crocker’s mission goes awry, and the Leopard escapes and soon rallies to attack the SEALs at a natural gas processing plant. There, Crocker and his scattered team fight against great odds to extricate themselves and save the plant’s employees. The authors still have a habit of halting the action to allow characters to ponder their home lives and origins, though they have cut most of the lectures and history lessons that marred earlier entries. Hopefully, the series will continue to improve. Agent: Eric Lupfer, Fletcher & Co.