The Gray Man is back more formidable than ever this time around with an ax to grind. We get our butt-kicking, Glock-toting, unstoppable assassin with a new flavor to mix things up.
Burner packs the classic Greaney gut-punch of putting Court Gentry through the wringer in the backdrop of an uber-current socio-political climate. With Russia’s atrocities against the Ukraine ramping, Gentry puts his skills to a higher cause by taking out material investments of Russian oligarchs trying to protect their assets from being seized. When he gets roped into another CIA off-the-books directive to find Alex Velesky, a Ukrainian Swiss banker, who seems to be in possession of information that everyone from the Russian mafia to the CIA wish to extract for their own agendas. What Gentry does not know is the vital nature of this information such that it exposes a vast criminal conspiracy set in the heart of Russia-Ukraine conflict. Sadly, Gentry also does not know that pursuing this mission will put him in the crosshairs of his estranged love, Zoya Zakharova, and not in the happy way he keeps daydreaming about.
Just when I seem to think The Gray Man series has reached its peak, Mark Greaney blasts along to prove otherwise. Burner is packed with unbelievably gorgeous and extravagant action sequences. I don’t mean unbelievable in a bad way. True to his form, Greaney keeps a tactically and technically realistic purview of the action but it’s all just so awesome. I must have read each shootout and hand-to-hand combat sequence at least twice because the details are so vivid and neat to picturize while you’re reading through the pages with dangerous amounts of adrenaline coursing through your bloodstream. Its no secret that The Gray Man is more John McClane than James Bond, and we get a wonderful depiction of it in unorthodox moments of Gray Man-badassery.
12 books in and yet, Mark Greaney still keeps the Gray Man series fresh and the readers on their toes with a constantly evolving protagonist. As globetrotting as Burner is, it’s still a very empathetic story that keeps an imperative focus on Gentry as he wrestles with his purpose after all he has been through. The ending opens up a new chapter for Court and Zoya, one that britches away from the previous close calls to create a more meaningful next step for the two lovebirds. I cannot wait for the next Gray Man adventure!
Grand and cinematic, Burner is Greaney’s best work yet. The only downside is the terrifying long wait after you finish Burner in a few days and then yearn for what may come next from the master of action and espionage.
Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.
Purchase Burner
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
