Dead Man Switch

January 9, 2017
Special ops legend John Hayes, now retired, gets back on the job once it becomes apparent that someone is systematically killing members of his former squad—the darkest of all military units, Cold Harvest—in Quirk’s dazzling sequel to 2016’s Cold Barrel Zero. Hayes investigates one death after another, all carefully disguised as accidents (an apparent cliff fall in California, a home-invasion robbery gone wrong in Virginia). As he crosses the country, Hayes comes to the unsettling realization that his former protégé, assassin Claire Rhodes, is a prime suspect, though what her motive might be is baffling. Also at the top of the suspect list is Niko Hynd, a high-level Pakistani terrorist, whose operations were seriously degraded by Cold Harvest raids in recent years. Hayes, an incredibly capable, unapologetic rogue, fights the good fight and reveals the secrets of how he’s doing it as he goes. Right up to the tense finale in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza, Quirk never strikes a dull or off-key note. Agent: Shawn Coyne, Endeavor Agency.

January 15, 2017
An underground network of U.S. operatives contracted by the government to kill terrorists has been exposed, leaving the Special Ops and their families vulnerable to foreign assassins.A "human sequel" to the CIA's killer drones, the lethal shooters of the Cold Harvest operation have wiped out terrorist threats, freed kidnapped Americans, and stopped the transfer of nuclear technology. Maintaining the program's ultrasecrecy is so complicated that battle-scarred hero John Hayes must convince even his closest allies that he's sold out and gone to work for the other side. For two years, he was in self-imposed exile overseas, where he was pursued as an enemy of the United States. Now his job becomes even more perilous when Hynd, a German baddie for hire in possession of the home addresses of Cold Harvest's agents, begins having them eliminated. He's out for vengeance for Israeli intelligence's U.S.-backed killing of his father, a nuclear engineer who worked for the Egyptians. Hayes finds himself pitted against not only Hynd, but also Carol Duncan (real name: Claire Rhodes), an assassin Hayes mentored himself. Traumatized by the killing of her husband in a car fire, she's emotionally fragile, on the run--and may not be working on the same side as Hayes. Quirk's deft plotting (beware the explosion awaiting in Manhattan!) and superior action scenes are what make the book tick. But the author also has a nice way of getting the most out of his characters and his varied locales without falling back on cliches. An excellent follow-up to Cold Barrel Zero (2015), this is a standout thriller.

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January 1, 2017
To make a silencer really muffle the sound of a gunshot, fill it with liquid or gel. Looking for an untraceable way to off somebody? Hold a mobile defibrillator to the victim's chest until the heart stops. Fans of special-ops thrillers will devour this latest entry in Quirk's fiery action series featuring bad-guy-but-not-really John Hayes. Members of an elite commando group Hayes assembled years ago are dying in suspicious ways, and his attempts to prevent more deathsand comprehend what's going onmake for some fine, tense scenes. Quirk is a master at organizing detailssmoke, a chill wind, a splash of waterto create suspense. And he knows that spies love to spy on each other. This is a fine thriller, but it's hard to resist the temptation to read it not for the story but for the insider dope, the way we read Tom Clancy to learn how to forge a passport or create a new identity for ourselves. Here we find out about using eBay listings to send secret messages. Tracking somebody? Watch the shoes. Unlike jackets or hats, they can't be changed quickly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

October 15, 2016

Members of America's most select kill/capture team are being systematically knocked off. But they're so deeply undercover that no one makes the connection until special operations genius John Hayes returns to the field and is stunned by the disappearance of brilliant assassin Claire Sutherland. With a 35,000-copy first printing; Quirk's best-selling debut, The 500, is in development for the big screen.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2017

In Quirk's (Cold Barrel Zero) second John Hayes adventure, members of an elite and secret military unit known as Cold Harvest seem to be having fatal accidents or being randomly murdered. Hayes doesn't feel like these deaths are random. Someone is targeting these anonymous soldiers who operate outside of normal channels to kill secretly those people that the powers that be want dead. Hayes is determined to track down the remaining members of Cold Harvest and save them from whoever is targeting them for death, even if the culprit winds up being one of their own. VERDICT Thriller fans who enjoy a fast-paced, action-packed story with plenty of twists will be rooting for Hayes every step of the way. [See Prepub Alert, 9/26/16.]--Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.