I purchased this book for my own personal collection.
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: September 24, 2024 (Originally Published 2023)
Summary:
Special Agent Alexandra Martel has put her days on the battlefield behind her. Charming and disarming, relentless and lethal, she earned a reputation as one of the most renowned and decorated Army snipers in the service before stepping away. But when Alex, now an FBI special agent on loan to Interpol, learns that an old friend, an MI5 officer, has been killed under mysterious circumstances, she’s pulled back into the dangerous world she left behind: a world where some people fear her, some want to recruit her, and everyone seems to want her dead.
Following a trail of clues left behind by the dead woman, Alex pieces together a terrifying conspiracy that only escalates when a nuclear warhead goes missing. Dodging death at every turn, she reluctantly joins forces with a CIA agent, but he has plans of his own for her—and will stop at nothing to achieve them.
Chasing the truth through the streets of London and bustling Turkish markets to the underbelly of Paris, Alex is unrelenting in her pursuit of justice. But as the clock ticks down and the world edges closer to doom, she must fall back on her Special Ops skills to stop the unthinkable. She thought her life as a sniper was behind her— but with stakes this high, she might be the only person with the perfect shot to render the world safe.
My thoughts:
Somehow I missed reading this one last year when it came out, but after meeting Steve at Bouchercon and chatting with him, I just knew I wanted to read his books and I’m so glad I did. This is the first in a series that I know I am going to enjoy and I cannot believe it’s a debut!
I don’t read a lot of espionage thrillers, but this one really kept me engaged from the start, probably because I loved the female protagonist, Special Agent Alexandra Martel so much. She is a fierce, strong character that is a force to be reckoned with, and I think she just might be a new favorite character. A former Army sniper, she is now on loan to Interpol. While she is given one mission, it turns out that is not really what she finds herself focused on for much of the book. It’s trying to find out what really happened to a friend, a colleague, who died under mysterious circumstances and left behind clues for Alex.
Traveling across multiple countries, this book is nonstop action and so cleverly plotted. I loved the pairing of Alex and Caleb, a CIA officer, and hope this is not the last we’ve seen of this pair working together. I also loved that the author was able to draw on his on real-life experiences as a paramedic and tactical medic as well as being an expert in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives trainings (CBRNE) incident response. You can see how this all influenced his writing and the actions of the characters.
I’m excited to pick up the next book, Out in the Cold, which is now available, to see what Alex is up to next!
Books in this series:
- Perfect Shot
- Out in the Cold
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