Relentless is the perfect word for this action-laden espionage thriller that reads like a cold war story of the present-day geopolitical climate with grand stakes. Gray Man is better than ever despite being in the most vulnerable position. With a fresh take on Middle-Eastern politics and classic espionage vibe of tales of Berlin, Court Gentry is in for a rough journey against multiple assassins, drones, and a ruthless mastermind who happens to be the head of the intelligence of UAE and its crown prince.
After the violent ending of One Minute Out, Court Gentry is convalescing with treatment for bone infection and sharp deep knife wounds, when he is called upon by Matthew Hanley, his handler at CIA off-books Poison Apple project, to uncover the mystery behind an intelligence community operative thought to be dead but very much alive in South America. This constitutes a pattern of supposedly dead intelligence agents who are working for a new and private intelligence organization whose origins and loyalties are unknown and sinister. With Zack Hightower having been captured on an exfiltration mission, and Zoya Zakharova deep undercover working this mystery from a different angle, Court Gentry, The Gray Man, operating at half his efficiency, is reinstated back into the field to get to the heart of this intelligence nightmare.
Without giving away too much, this Gray Man adventure has more elements of classic espionage with more spy tradecraft and powerful entities planning political domination through shrewd and plot-twisty measures than the previous Gray Man books. Relentless has become my favorite Gray Man thriller yet, an accomplishment that is no easy feat. The narrative is developed not in a straightforward stretch but through winding twists in the story that will require you to flex your brain like in a good old fashioned espionage story with different perspectives of events that help paint the bigger picture.
You cannot have a Gray Man story without badass action. Relentless continues the tradition of pulse-pounding and creative action sequences that are second to none. From visceral and detailed shootouts to extremely well-choreographed close quarter combat, Mark Greaney creates a symphony of badass action shootouts and fisticuffs that hold you in the moment. While a sucker for Glock 19, Court also uses a .22 suppressed Walther and a HK VP9 this time around and stacks up body count no less than as he does with his trusty Glock 9mm. I loved how different situations in combat called for different weapons and caliber, augmenting the realistic tone of the combat. The grand action-packed finale is unlike anything you will have read before, and just when you catch a breath of fresh air, you will find out there is more to worry about. Even with a fever and bone infection, Gentry is a lethal and relentless killing machine who has to contend with skilled assassins who are in much better physical health than Gentry.
Court Gentry is vulnerable this time around like we have never seen him before. Court is indeed in love with Zoya Zakharova, something he is neither good at experiencing nor expressing. We see Court and Zoya try to make up for lost time and even though there is some mistrust between them, they form a formidable duo with sparkling chemistry that made me want to see them together more often. At the same time, we also see Court in less-than-optimal condition. There are occurrences where the situation clearly demonstrates just how much out of depth Court is when operating in high stress situations and his body cannot cope. Court still kicks ass and shoots bad guys in the head, just with a lot more body ache and high fever and bleeding wounds. However, he understands the need to have backup this time around, and this is where Zack Hightower comes in. With friendly banter and an easygoing bond between the two, Court and Zack make a superb duo as both wisecrackers and ass kickers.
Relentless is undoubtedly going to be in the top 5 books of 2021 and I cannot wait to see where Mark Greaney takes Court Gentry next. The last few pages of the book will shake things up for Court Gentry just when he was settling back in. There are no safety nets in Relentless and the scope is bigger than any Gray Man story yet. Court Gentry is a relentless badass!
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