True Believer

November 15, 2018

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 27, 2019
Thriller Award finalist Carr’s solid sequel to 2018’s The Terminal List finds Lt. Cmdr. James Reece, a former Navy SEAL, on a sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic, headed for an off-the-grid game reserve in Mozambique after going rogue in the previous book. It’s a tough trip, not only because of the dangerous weather but because of the brain tumor that’s going to kill Reece, probably sooner rather than later. After an exciting interlude fighting poachers on the game reserve, Reece is lured back into the field by an old SEAL pal, Freddy Strain, who now works for the CIA. A series of recent terror attacks seem to involve another friend of Reece’s, Mohammed Farooq, who the CIA believe is working with the number one terrorist in the world, Amin Nawaz. In exchange for Reece helping to stop the attacks, Strain promises the government will pardon his past actions. Carr trods familiar genre territory, but he writes well, supplies plenty of gun lore and spycraft, and ties up all the loose ends in a satisfying ending. Fans of military action thrillers will eagerly await Reece’s next outing. Author tour. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM.

June 1, 2019
Branded a terrorist for killing corrupt government officials responsible for the murder of his wife and daughter, most wanted ex-Navy SEAL James Reece comes out of hiding to go after an Islamic extremist following a massacre in London. The U.S. officials were part of a conspiracy to conceal the lethal effects of an experimental new drug. In addition to killing Reece's family, they arranged for the troop he commanded in Afghanistan to be sent into a deadly ambush. Reece survived, but his days are numbered thanks to a brain tumor caused by the drug. Weary of living in hiding with so little time left, he agrees to a deal in which he will be pardoned for his crimes if he goes after the people responsible for the London tragedy. The action heats up as the scene shifts from Turkey to Ukraine to Iraq and Reece discovers the main culprit is an ambitious Russian oligarch with ties to organized crime. But the best part of the book is the setup, during which Reece, alone aboard a 48-foot yacht in the middle of the Atlantic, reflects on it all. For someone with violence in his DNA, he comes off a bit too agreeable. "Just because you broke a few laws doesn't mean you lost the high moral ground," a cohort says, referring to the "one man mission of retribution that left a swath of bodies from coast to coast." But Reece is interesting enough to narrow that credibility gap. And though former SEAL Carr's redaction of names and places in the narrative is a bit much, the novel packs a punch. Carr's second effort is a well-crafted thriller with timely reflections on the increasingly complicated world of international terrorism.

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