In the Blood is the best book in the series since The Terminal List. With a plotline focused on revenge and retribution, James Reece is on the hunt and hell bent on fulfilling the promises he’s made. With hints of a techno thriller thrown in, Jack Carr sets up a final twist so shocking that I’m already plotting on how I can get my hands on an early copy of the next one.
After a successful assassination in Burkina Faso, a Mossad agent and the rest of the passengers on the commercial flight are shot down by a small band of mercenaries. In the comfort of his Montana home, James Reece watches the victims’ names as faces cross his television screen. When he recognizes a face from his days in the sandbox, memories of a particular Mossad agent attached to the CIA fill his head. Her connection between the two countries and direct ties to Reece will send the former Navy Seal on a global manhunt for those responsible.
What makes this book so good, in my personal opinion, is the combination of simplicity and mystery. It is simple in that James Reece is not the type of man who leaves a promise unfulfilled. When his word is given, it’s a matter of “if, not when” the task will be completed. He has vowed to avenge his friend Freddy’s death at the hands of a Syrian sniper and long time fans of the series have a good idea of the violence and action that will come of that.
The mystery is actually on two levels; what is in this current story and what may come next. While Reece is unaware that he is a pawn in a decades-long geopolitical chess match, that doesn’t change the immediate danger he finds himself in. As that story unfolds, more of his father’s past is revealed and I cannot wait to see where that storyline goes. What I also hope Carr explores in the 6th installment of the series is the role my new favorite “character” Alice will play. I initially thought the book was going one direction with Alice, but that thread was never fully developed. I’m VERY MUCH crossing my fingers that Carr includes a healthy dose of the techno side of this story in the next book. I would be very interested in his take on the future of cyber warfare.
And I cannot say enough about how floored I was at the shocking finale, which I’m sure would make fellow Atria author Chris Hauty proud. The immediate and future of the series are at a pivotal point and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
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