James Swallow’s latest thriller takes the action 40,000 feet in the sky, bursting with intensity and anticipation of each subsequent page from the explosive opening. Dark Horizon is a brutal and uncompromising narrative of the lengths one will go to protect their loved ones, whether they’re trained pilots or not.
Kate Hood left the RAF under shrouded circumstances, now flying private for rich folks. When she’s pulled in for an urgent flight, she feels something off-kilter immediately, with government-issue vehicles and weapons guarding a hooded body. Her mission is to simply fly the covert cargo to a non-extradition nation. Unbeknownst to her, she has stepped foot in a web of danger and conspiracy centered around the cargo’s potential link to a violent terrorist conspiracy, not only putting her at risk but also those she cares deeply for. It quickly becomes a race for survival for both Hood in the air and her loved ones on the ground.
Dark Horizon packs the adventurous and exotic vibes of Swallow’s Nomad series. His focus on the plight of believable and life-like characters makes the turmoil all the more impactful as the characters, faced with imminent threat, pull off desperate maneuvers to starve off the danger. Kate Hood is a strong and admirable protagonist who shines with her take-charge-no-bs attitude, whether she’s playing coy or dodging missiles from Reaper drones in a jet hardly designed to sustain such crazy high-speed G-turns.
The action sequences are a thing of beauty, especially the aforementioned dogfight between a Reaper and a Hawker jet, an unlikely pairing but visualized and executed stupendously by Swallow in visceral style that every reader will take the time to say Holy Moly. The crises on ground is just as exciting and thrilling, with Hood’s firefighting boyfriend stopping at nothing to save his son from the dangers set upon them by Hood’s impromptu mission.
Dark Horizon connects a multitude of characters and parallel storyline in such densely packed writing that you don’t even need to worry about losing track. The fast-paced spidey-sense-tingling story with twists upon twists will have you biting your nails to the quick in anticipation of how it will all unfold. It’s a must-read standalone thriller that you will want to read with minimal interruption just because the unfolding of the action feels so addictive.
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