Starred review from April 25, 2022
This superlative sequel to 2021’s Steel Fear from bestsellers Webb and Mann takes former Navy SEAL Finn to Iceland. Finn’s SEAL unit had been stationed in Yemen, where some of its members massacred unarmed civilians, and Finn’s memory gaps have left him uncertain as to his role in the atrocities. He’s seeking out three former colleagues, who are in Iceland on a covert op, but he’s also being pursued by a sadistic and highly skilled assassin, who once saved Finn’s life in the field and is now trying to fulfill a contract to kill him for an unknown employer. The parallel cat-and-mouse plots overlap with one involving the mysterious death of an unidentified woman, found frozen to death in a Reykjavík pond with a cryptic message written on her scarred abdomen with lipstick. Finn becomes involved in that mystery as well, collaborating with a maverick police detective, Krista Kristjánsdóttir, who’s strong enough to sustain her own series. The balance of action and characterization is perfect, and Jack Reacher fans will find much to like in Finn. This complex, suspenseful thriller proves that the authors’ collaborative fiction debut was no fluke. Agent: Alyssa Reuben, William Morris Endeavor.
Starred review from June 1, 2022
When we last saw Navy SEAL Finn (Steel Fear, 2021), he had jumped ship on the way to San Diego, convinced that he was being set up as the fall guy for an op gone wrong in Yemen and would likely be assassinated before he could stand trial. The problem remains that Finn, suffering from PTSD, can't remember what happened in Yemen and, worse, whether he was in fact involved in the war crimes that took place there. Hoping to determine which of his fellow SEALS may have orchestrated the Yemen fiasco, he tracks three of his associates to Iceland, where they have been deployed on a new assignment. Matters are complicated on two fronts: an assassin, every bit as skilled as Finn in the dark arts, is on his tail, and he becomes a suspect in the murder of an unidentified woman. As they did in Steel Fear, coauthors Webb and Mann expertly juggle multiple plot strands, as Finn works together with a Reykjav�k detective, Krista Kristj�nsd�ttir--a compelling character in her own right--who can't quite decide if her inadvertent helper is an ally or a murderer. Like Randy Wayne White in his Doc Ford series, the authors combine genuine talent for old-school adventure (including realistic, detailed depictions of violence) with a full-bodied portrait of an introspective, good-hearted yet deeply troubled hero.
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