Bentley does a fascinating job following up his debut Without Sanction showing how versatile main character Matt Drake is. He’s been beat up, on the run, and now he’s just trying to take a break. That all changes on a nice brisk February day in Austin, Texas while he is minding his own business. Driving around Austin in beautiful weather things go sideways real quick, almost landing Drake in a ton of trouble with local law enforcement after the shooting of a police officer. Drake’s wife Laila is aware of his job, so much so that it is an easy over dinner casual conversation. You get to see a real-life how a spouse cares for someone but knows there is something going on inside the head of her husband. The interaction shows us that Drake is missing something, maybe his career, maybe the thrill, but he’s immediately tasked following the come to Jesus meeting with his wife.
Drake is soon on the hunt, trying to find any lead to understand why he was targeted and by whom which leads him all over the world. High rollers, gun battles, bad guys galore, and one small problem, one of extreme importance happens to find it’s way right into Drake's wheelhouse, one he never thought he’d have to fight for. Bentley keeps the pace up, facts straight, and undeniably has you cheering for Matt Drake to wreck shop. I enjoyed Without Sanction; this one shows Bentley is capable of bringing top tier thriller material to life again. He drops one of the largest twists that I actually cringed at, it was a roller coaster ride the whole time while rooting for Matt Drake.
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