Cold Barrel Zero

Starred review from January 18, 2016
Thriller Award–winner Quirk (The 500) goes flat-out explosive in this superior military adventure novel. Ex-Marine John Hayes has assembled a team of special ops agents who have been put on a U.S. government kill list by mistake. In an effort to obtain evidence that will exonerate them, they pull off a spectacular armored car hijacking, seizing a mysterious 1,300-pound crate shipped from the Emirates to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Thomas Byrne, a former combat medic who served with Hayes, is vacationing in Southern California when he’s arrested on trumped-up charges and brought to meet Colonel Riggs, who’s in charge of the military task force to capture Hayes. Byrne has no idea whether to trust Riggs or his old buddy Hayes, with whom he later connects. The explanation for all the mayhem rests in a war crime that Hayes supposedly committed, but as usual with this author, facts are slippery and doubts abound. There’s plenty of cool cutting-edge technology, but in the end it comes down to action, and the riveting battle scenes are among the best in the business. Readers will look forward to seeing more of the skilled and deadly John Hayes. Agent: Shawn Coyne, Endeavor Agency.

January 15, 2016
Former combat medic Tom Byrne finds himself in the ultimate squeeze when he's caught between the FBI, which falsely arrests him for stealing government secrets, and a Special Ops veteran he once fought with who's accused of committing terrorist acts. Threatened and cajoled by both sides, who should Byrne trust? Hayes, the man behind the shocking theft of intelligence files containing the cover identities of every U.S. operative in the field? He swears to his old friend Byrne that he's only acting to clear his name. Or Riggs, leader of a government task force that says Hayes was responsible for a massacre of women and children in Afghanistan and now is putting the U.S. at grave risk of a terrorist attack? More than 10 years after returning home from the war, Byrne is still recovering from the guilt of "los[ing] myself in the killing when I should have been saving lives." Now he has to survive a deadly contest of wills involving drone attacks, fierce car chases and boat getaways, secret codes, a female martyr who may or may not be fake, and frozen bank accounts (his). Quirk, author of a pair of so-so urban thrillers involving callow protagonists (The Directive, 2014, etc.), takes a major step forward with this far more sophisticated effort. The story is expertly stripped down, the action relentless, and the characters multilayered. Having Byrne narrate his sections while everything else is told in the third person is a bit awkward, but Quirk makes it work. A lethal game of cat and mouse fuels Quirk's third and best novel, a military spy thriller in which one all-out conspiracy is met by another.

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Starred review from December 15, 2015
With the safety of the country at stake, a band of highly skilled American operatives is up against the forces of the U.S. government, and Tom Byrne is caught in the middle. Byrnea doctor and former marine corpsman who had saved the life of Hayes, the leader of the operatives, on the battlefieldis apprehended while on vacation in Southern California with his girlfriend, and recruited to help get Hayes, who was said to be responsible for a massive massacre of civilians in a foreign land. But Hayes tells Byrne a different story, in which Hayes is blamed to cover up for a senior officer who watched as terrorists executed villagers. Convinced of the innocence of Hayes, who has become a legend in black ops, Byrne joins his group of men and women in a deadly high-stakes, high-tech chase on land and sea. Quirk, whose two previous novels centered on corruption in the corporate world, spins an adrenaline-fueled, military-based action adventure just as skillfully. Characters, most known only by their last names, are well drawn and motivated, and their exploits are hair raising. Another hard-to-put-down adventure from Quirk, this is even more chilling for its air of plausibility. A fine thriller(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

February 15, 2016

There is nothing worse than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, especially if you're innocent. Quirk's (The 500) latest thriller finds Tom Byrne, a combat medic-turned-doctor, vacationing in California with his girlfriend. After an early morning jog, Byrne is arrested by FBI agents and taken to be questioned. The most alarming charge is terrorism. Close to Byrne's location, John Hayes, who had served in Byrne's combat unit, has stolen a weapon of mass destruction. Unable to prove a connection, the FBI releases Byrne, who discovers that his assets have been frozen. After being told by a Colonel Riggs about Hayes's past violence against innocent civilians, Byrne is then kidnapped by the culprit, who denies any wrongdoing. His recent robbery is his attempt to stop a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. But what is in that stolen container? Whom should Byrne believe? Can he help stop a terrorist attack? Or will he unknowingly assist one? VERDICT Quirk's fast-paced plot keeps the pages turning as readers journey with Byrne on a dangerous adventure. Highly recommended for fans of rapid action with down-to-the-wire conclusions. [See Prepub Alert, 10/4/15.]--Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015

After FBI agents accuse former combat medic John Byrne of felonies that include using weapons of mass destruction, he is contacted by the actual target of the FBI's wrath, a special ops squad leader named Thomas Hayes wanting to clear his name. Quirk's best-selling debut, The 500, won the Strand Award and was nominated for an Edgar. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2016

There is nothing worse than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, especially if you're innocent. Quirk's (The 500) latest thriller finds Tom Byrne, a combat medic-turned-doctor, vacationing in California with his girlfriend. After an early morning jog, Byrne is arrested by FBI agents and taken to be questioned. The most alarming charge is terrorism. Close to Byrne's location, John Hayes, who had served in Byrne's combat unit, has stolen a weapon of mass destruction. Unable to prove a connection, the FBI releases Byrne, who discovers that his assets have been frozen. After being told by a Colonel Riggs about Hayes's past violence against innocent civilians, Byrne is then kidnapped by the culprit, who denies any wrongdoing. His recent robbery is his attempt to stop a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. But what is in that stolen container? Whom should Byrne believe? Can he help stop a terrorist attack? Or will he unknowingly assist one? VERDICT Quirk's fast-paced plot keeps the pages turning as readers journey with Byrne on a dangerous adventure. Highly recommended for fans of rapid action with down-to-the-wire conclusions. [See Prepub Alert, 10/4/15.]--Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.