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A strong and promising debut introduces Special Agent Alex Martel- FBI special agent, former sniper, and Army combat medic– as as a routine raid and an unexpected email set her on the path of a deeply complex plot involving a stolen nuclear weapon, a murdered intelligence officer, and a conspiracy spanning continents. The technical details were good, and I was quite impressed reading them; there was a plot twist I did not see coming that added an entirely new angle to the game; and Alex herself was a strong and compelling character.
That said, it does feel like a debut novel. The prose sometimes felt unpolished, side characters weren’t as deeply developed as I would have preferred, and the end of the novel was somewhat underwhelming. Despite being an investigator and having an espionage-mystery element, solving the mystery mostly happened through a combination of off-screen computer assistance and a series of hunches and guesses that I think could have been more satisfying.
However, I did really enjoy the novel, especially the tactical portions and the great game of spies that was being played in the process. I definitely recommend it to fans of NCIS, Don Mann, and Clive Cussler. I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
(This post was originally published on my previous blog)