Standing Alone is a great indication of Stephen Leather’s continued reign on the action-thriller genre even after so many books. This was my first book by the venerable author and it was a blast to read.
Standing Alone features an angry SAS killing machine, Matt Standing, who’s blackmailed by an intelligence operative to fly to US and assassinate a former SEAL turned hitman and once Standing’s friend. Reluctantly, Standing enters America and visits the last known location of his target, a small town near California, where he gets involved with potheads, Russian gangsters, and a sinister conspiracy linked directly to his target.
Stephen Leather emphasizes the necessity of economy of words when expressing details and emotions in a manner that realistically conveys the gravitas of each scene without going over the top. From realistic conversations to intense heart-pounding moments with necessary bouts of levity, Stephen Leather has a way with words that’s a beautiful balance between fast-paced and wonderfully expressive.
Coming to the action, Standing Alone features some of the most fun and explosive shootouts you’ll read. Matt Standing takes on violent mobsters and terrorists with swift double taps from his Glock 19. The finale feels like a supercharged John-Woo inspired action sequence with Standing dual wielding pistols and taking out bad guys in style. You could put cool techno music to the beat of the gunshots and it would play in sync.
The twists-filled ending presents numerous opportunities for exciting follow-up stories with a greater focus on espionage-laden narratives. I can’t wait to read more from Stephen Leather!
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