The Hidden Vector is a fantastic fast-paced action-packed paranoia-inducing debut by Mathew Snyder. If you’ve been reading through a wordy book and you need a change of pace with a highly entertaining actioner, then this is the book for you. The action picks up literally just a few pages in, and continues to romp up as you go along for the ride. Shootouts, car chases, and hand-to-hand combat are all present in copious amounts for a guaranteed adrenaline-pumping experience that compliments a trust-no-one narrative which dives into one of our greatest fears of all time now; biological threats.
Without spoiling the crafty twists and turns of the narrative, readers are introduced to Ethan Pierce, a CIA targeting officer, who is tasked with investigating a downed passenger jet after it was hijacked by a Chechen group of armed combatants. Little does Ethan know; the bombing was a smokescreen for the kidnapping of an Iranian scientist who has the capability to manufacture the Marburg virus in an even more devastating fashion. Ethan has to investigate the disappearance of the scientist whilst dealing with the possibility that there is a mole within the CIA who is working with the mysterious group that is using the scientists for a nefarious bidding. The story is far from straightforward as it shifts with shocking twists and turns just when you think you’ve gotten the plot down. Unpredictability is a powerful tool that Snyder utilizes wonderfully in this debut.
The action is well-written and easy to read through with the right amount of description to help visualize the shootouts extremely well. Even though Ethan holds his ground admirably, he is not as trained as an operator as Mitch Rapp, Pike Logan, and Court Gentry. The vulnerability gives way to a keen sense of danger lurking around at every corner with the stark possibility that things may not work out as well as we hope, especially when he is battling an assassin who manages to overpower him considerably. It definitely paves a roadmap of character development for future books by Snyder.
Ethan Pierce is not a two-dimensional character, rather he has layers to his personality and trauma that may resonate with readers. I loved his emotional vulnerability that reminded me of the dire stakes of the story and the constant threats to Ethan in his investigation. It’s a trait I admire in characters and I enjoyed the book immensely because the protagonist didn’t seem infallible, but rather very human even as he survived countless shootouts.
I am very excited to read more of Ethan Pierce in the future and I am confident readers will enjoy The Hidden Vector immensely. I only wish I had read it sooner!
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