Blood in the Water

July 29, 2019
Set in Boston, the pseudonymous Flynn’s propulsive debut, a series launch, introduces FBI special agent Kit Steel, who’s nicknamed the Hunter for her intense sleuthing skills. Kit is laser-focused on Vincente Carpio, a psychopath who wants the police to know he’s murdering Americans as revenge against U.S. soldiers who stormed his native village in El Salvador when he was a child. Vincente also has the backing of MS-13, an uber-dangerous international criminal gang; his older brother is one of its high-ranking captains. Kit’s investigation also spins on revenge—MS-13 killed her husband and six-year-old son. To expand its reach, MS-13 turns its attention to Boston harbormaster and union chief Cormack O’Connell, who, legally and illegally, controls the city’s waterfront. To reach Cormack, MS-13 targets his 19-year-old daughter. The action-packed plot quickly escalates as international intrigue and personal betrayals intersect. Kit is a solid heroine, but the complicated Cormack emerges as the most intriguing character. Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary.

August 1, 2019
During a frigid Boston winter, the two-fisted man who controls the docks finds himself in the middle of a vendetta between an international crime boss and an unstoppable Homeland Security agent. Having captured international crime boss Vincente Carpio for the second time, FBI Special Agent Kit Steele works hard to convince the prisoner's new "SuperMax" keepers that there's a high risk of escape. It's early January, and frigid winter complicates everyone's plans. As Carpio plots another escape, his older brother, Javier, who shares control of their gang, MS-13, plans a big waterfront operation. Standing in the way is Cormack O'Connell, who controls the docks. He needs to be on his best game but is thrown for a loop by the news that his wild teenage daughter, Diamond, is pregnant. Javier wastes little time in making a move on Cormack; one of his thugs sets fire to Mariner's Tavern, O'Connell's informal headquarters, killing loyal bartender Cookie Landrigan. Because it's also reported that O'Connell has been killed, Kit goes to Mass General to get a look at the body. She finds O'Connell very much alive and hot for revenge. Short-tempered Boston detective Paley investigates the Mariner's fire and murder while O'Connell distances himself from two of his lieutenants who may be working with Javier. An elaborate cat-and-mouse game plays out among these characters, with fatal results. Flynn's debut, adroitly juggling the conventions of crime fiction, unfolds with great pace but little narrative finesse.

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