Celebrate! The Gray Man is back in another action-packed, smashing adventure that moves with the rapid pace and tension of an out-of-control high-speed train. Mark Greaney’s Burner is another reminder of the sheer awesomeness and lethality the Gray Man exudes and perpetrates.
Alex Velesky, a Ukrainian employed at a Swiss bank, is on the run. He’s being hunted by the Russians and the CIA for what’s in his possession – financial transaction information that highlights dirty money flowing from Russia to the west. This data has the potential to do tremendous harm to Russian leadership…as well as American recipients of these funds. Overmatched and on the precipice of capture, he needs all the help he can get to remain among the living. Enter Zoya Zakharova and Court Gentry, each involved in the action but from different sides, unaware of the other’s involvement. But when they come together with different agendas, they’ll have to figure out how to work together to keep this asset alive long enough to unveil a massive conspiracy and bring down some powerful individuals.
There are a few things that really stand out and make Burner the latest home run in the Gray Man series. First, the story is timely with a Ukraine vs. Russia plotline. There’s a tremendous contrast between a nightmare scenario with the world being willing to overlook Russia’s horrendous transgressions in the name of financial greed versus a dream scenario where the Russians financial apparatus is brought to light and holds them accountable for the evil they have wrought. Second, all the settings are fantastic but none more brilliant than on a speeding train through Europe with killers all over the place. The confined space with nowhere to go ratchets up the intensity and action to near unbearable levels and will leave you shook. Third, the mental states and relationship between Court and Zoya shows that even the most hardcore covert operatives have feelings and a desire for something more out of life. And maybe, just maybe, they can find some peace and happiness on their own terms. At least until more bad guys need killing.
A blockbuster of a thriller, Burner will leave you breathless, alternating between fist pumping and pounding your fist on the table in anger, and ultimately rooting for love. Because nothing says love like financial transactions and shootouts with a high body count.
Follow Steve 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
