Time to Kill

March 11, 2013
The political upheaval in Egypt after the fall of the Mubarak regime provides the backdrop for Coughlin and Davis’s serviceable sixth novel featuring Gunnery Sgt. Kyle Swanson (after 2012’s Running the Maze). Kyle, the Marine Corps’ top sniper, works for Task Force Trident, a super-secret agency that answers only to the U.S. president. After investigating a shooting death near Washington, D.C., Kyle follows the evidence to Egypt, where an Iranian spy, Col. Yahya Naqdi, is intent on fomenting discontent among the populace that he hopes will lead to an Iranian takeover of the government and the Suez Canal. The pairing of Kyle with MI6 agent Tianha Bialy, an expert on the Arab world, adds some personal tension. An attack on the resort area of Sharm el-Sheikh raises the suspense. Series fans will enjoy the combat scenes, but those looking for a more original military-action story should search elsewhere. Agent: Jim Hornfischer, Hornfischer Literary Management.

Starred review from March 1, 2013
Sniper and former military man Kyle Swanson returns for his boldest and best adventure yet. Swanson is enjoying a vacation when he gets a call for a rendezvous at Andrews Air Force Base. An auditor working with major contracts has information that he considers vital to national security. When Swanson lands, he learns the auditor is dead. Meanwhile, in Egypt, an entire Iranian soccer team is killed when the team bus explodes. Are terrorists trying to provoke a war between Egypt and the much more powerful Iran? A source who calls himself the Pharaoh has information that Swanson and his team need to avert a fiasco that could shift power in the Middle East forever. Then it becomes personal when someone tries to kidnap Swanson's mother. Coughlin and Davis' series only gets better with each installment. Series fans will devour this one, but new readers will enjoy it just as much, as knowledge of prior novels in the series is not required. A great military thriller for anyone with a little time to kill.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)