Exit Strategy

March 27, 2017
Edgar-winner Mason’s sequel to 2016’s The Second Life of Nick Mason falls short of his usual high standard. In Second Life, Mason, a nonviolent thief incarcerated for felony murder after a fellow conspirator took a life in the course of a robbery, made a deal with the devil. In exchange for arranging for Mason’s early release from prison via false, exonerating testimony, criminal kingpin and fellow inmate Darius Cole exacted a promise that Mason would “do whatever was asked of him.” Cole now orders Mason, who’s already murdered one man at Cole’s insistence, to take out Ken McLaren, who was once Cole’s chief accountant. A key witness against Cole, McLaren is under heavy federal protection in Chicago. Despite the obstacles, Mason succeeds in breaching the government’s Witness Security Program. The plot follows familiar lines, Mason’s transformation into an unstoppable killing machine is unconvincing, and he and the other characters lack depth. Author tour. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory.

Ray Porter packs a punch as he intensely narrates the struggles of Nick Mason, a macho sharpshooter with a conscience. As laid out in the previous book, THE SECOND LIFE OF NICK MASON, he's bound to a high-ranking underworld thug but wishes he could return to normal family life. Porter portrays Mason's cunning and cold-blooded focus as he reluctantly kills the federal witnesses who put his crime-lord boss in prison. The Hispanic go-between, Quintero, and crazy Irish sniper, Sean Burke, are well rendered by Porter. But Porter's portrayal of Mason's female sidekick fails to depict a woman steely enough for this business. Porter's strength is fast-paced masculine action, which is abundant in this novel. N.M.C. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine