Headhunter

September 18, 2017
British author Oldham’s vigorous, violent third Steve Flynn thriller (after 2016’s Ambush) finds the former Marine and ex-cop turned vigilante in the back of an unattended police van in Blackpool. There Flynn delivers his own brand of rough justice to Brian Tasker, who tortured and intended to kill him, by breaking Tasker’s neck. Flynn, who’s got a gunshot wound in his thigh, steals the van and stops at a pharmacy, where he coerces a clerk into giving him a strong painkiller. Just as he’s leaving, a policewoman arrives and tases him. Newcomers thrust into the mayhem will wonder what’s going on, but series fans will know that Flynn’s actions relate to his conflict with an Armenian crime family, whose members are trying to kill him and who beheaded his girlfriend in his last outing. After escaping from police custody, Flynn becomes involved in various beatings, gunfights, knifings, car crashes, and bombings, not to mention committing arson and breaking and entering. Readers may wonder how Flynn avoids doing serious jail time. Anyone interested enough can race through this book to find out.

February 15, 2016
Former Royal Marine Steve Flynn, the hero of this rousing series launch from Oldham (Unforgiving and 22 other Henry Christie novels), is enjoying life in the Canary Islands, where he skippers Faye, the sport-fishing boat he co-owns with his friend Adam Castle, the brother of his girlfriend, Karen Glass, with whom he’s on the verge of breaking up. Trouble arrives in the form of gangster Aleksander Bashkim and his two heavily muscled grown sons. Flynn is dismayed to learn that Castle is selling his share of Faye to these thugs. A violent encounter with the Bashkim brothers leads Flynn to seek female consolation. Unfortunately, the woman he picks up turns out to be a deranged serial killer, who handcuffs him to his bed and threatens to eviscerate him. After Flynn escapes her clutches, he gets blamed for the murders of two people close to him, and he goes on the run. Karen’s kidnapping raises the stakes. Those who don’t mind heavy-handed plot twists and shallow characterizations will welcome Flynn’s further adventures.

Starred review from March 1, 2016
Readers with a liking for tough-guy heroes and taut action thrillers will love Oldham's latest. Disgraced British cop Steve Flynn has moved to the Canary Islands and launched a sport-fishing business after being accused of taking drug money. Rather than fight the charge, he has fled to sunnier climes, and while his life isn't perfect, it's good. But when his partner announces that he's sold his share of the business to an Albanian crime lord, Steve is shocked. Resisting the idea, he finds himself under attack from the Albanian, Aleksander Bashkim, who conspires with the police to get Flynn accused of murder. A plot packed with high-octane action and gut-churning violence; a flawed hero who's tough and brave but all too human; and a genuine shocker of an endingall these elements combine to make Onslaught the perfect book for anyone who thinks there's nothing to read between Michael Connelly novels.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2017
Ex-cop Steven Flynn is out for revenge, and this time, it's intensely personal. The Bashkims, a brutal Albanian crime family, murdered Flynn's lover, Maria Santiago, and then sent a video of her beheading to Flynn. Immediately, Flynn launches his vendetta against the Bashkims by killing one of the family's associates, but in the process he headbutts Rik Dean, a senior police officer (and former colleague), is caught, and jailed. Things look dark for Flynn, but Dean sees an opportunity and hires Flynn to undertake a dark op against the Bashkims. Flynn's top-secret mission is to kill Victor Bashkim, head of the family, after which it will be far easier to destroy the rest of the organization. This thriller isn't for squeamish readers, since it features buckets of blood, along with graphic descriptions of sex, torture, and murder. But for thriller lovers who feel the violence adds realism and who want a knuckle-biting read, this will hit the mark.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)