Matthew Quirk sets up a very desirable spy thriller with some of the most fascinating story telling I’ve read in quite a while. After having been hooked by Quirks previous works, The Night Agent with Peter Sutherland, and Hour of the Assassin starring Nick Averose, I was ecstatic to get my hands on this one, and it does not disappoint.
We find Sam Hudson doing what he does as a spy when his world is turned upside down in Geneva. Prior to serving in the CIA, Hudson was an Army Ranger, so he is no stranger to death. While being trained to deliver death and probably deal with loss is common amongst the type of people he works with, the breakdown of expectations in Geneva have left a long-lasting feeling of dread and failure. Failures of epic proportions and those that lose agents are typically career enders, that’s why Hudson is kicking at home for a while. But then a phone call changes everything.
White hot heat, blood and human limbs, and the call that changed the life of one man. It changes him, it forces action that was maturing inside of him. Sam Hudson is a changed man after he sees innocent people killed because of the mysterious man that others have tried to catch. Innocent Americans are now suffering because he couldn’t do his job properly.
In what seems like a ghost hunt that those before him have risked career and life for, Hudson succeeds at becoming an outcast. If not for the friendship of Emily Pierce, and the lone night the two partook in months ago, he would be a man on an island. The dedication to preserving life and ensuring safety of Americans is not for the faint of heart and Sam Hudson is the epitome of the word ‘hero’. Who is in charge of the destruction that could potentially cause World War 3? Who wants America to pay? There is so much misdirection, you don’t know who is good and who is bad.
Death follows Hudson and Pierce throughout, but this isn’t your classic action flick. There are plenty of spy type adventures going on. Not your classic Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd ‘Spies Like Us’ spy stuff, but more of the early Bourne style, dark web of lies kind of stuff. The little things that Quirk does to draw you in are remarkable, little tidbits that are useful but don’t tell the full story. He continually gives you moments where you think the whole case is going to be blown up, but he drags you a little further. This one doesn’t have an overarching amount of action and I am okay with that. Quirk does everything right in creating an authentic spy story that risks the lives of millions.
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