Kill List by Brian Shea
This FBI thriller is filled with revenge and justice is served. Since it’s a series, redemption comes in small steps and in different flavors. This is the first Nick Lawrence novel. Nick is an FBI agent who has recently transferred to Connecticut because of his mother’s failing mental condition. This thriller focuses on two cases for Nick. One a bank robbery – not a mystery as to who is the perpetrator. And the other a terrorist loose in the USA wreaking havoc. Again, no mystery as to who this person is.
This book has an interesting structure. The prologue and the first chapter are about a man named Declan Enright, a former Navy Seal and cop who was fired from his job. The prologue recounts the reason for the firing. In chapter two we meet the terrorist. And finally, in chapter three, we meet Nick Lawrence, FBI agent. This chapter is mostly backstory. That’s one complaint I have is the amount and length of info dumps throughout the book.
The other interesting feature of this book is the moral dilemma presented with Declan. You’ll have to read it to see what I’m referring to. But this dilemma hanging over Declan throughout adds suspense and the desire to keep reading to see how it will be handled. I was satisfied by how it turned out.
Overall, this is a good read. The writing is good, but not great. Lots of narrator asides and head hopping, if that bothers you (it doesn’t bother me). There are several high-tension scenes where I didn’t want to stop reading until resolved. Those who like stories about special forces unleashed in the non-military world will like this story. Nick’s background includes serving as an Army Ranger. Declan’s and Nick’s common enemy is smart, resourceful and well-trained. The climax is intense.
There is profanity scattered throughout. No on page sex, though one off-page reference. There is a lot of carnage, but necessary due to the nature of the bad guy. The author, through his characters, offers harsh commentary about our current-day media and politics. The situation in this story is all too possible. I liked Shea’s Boston cop series better, but to his credit, he has an FBI agent working on cases the FBI actually works, unlike so many other authors who have FBI protagonists.
I’ll rank this one seventeenth. Thirty-one books for the year and all of them were worth the time to read.
- Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin
- Love’s True Calling by Lori DeJong
- Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt
- Book of Days by James L. Rubart
- Whispers of a Southern Moon by Pricilla Bettis
- The Seven Day Resurrection by Chevron Ross
- Your Son is Alive by James Scott Bell
- Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker
- With Mercy’s Eyes by D.T. Powell
- Justice by Jeff Hill
- Already in the Kudzu by Hannah Hood Lucero
- Dreamwalker by Carrie Cotten
- The Last Wife by Matt McGregor
- Loving the Rodeo Queen by Rebecca Reed
- The Misadventures of Itchy Izzy by N.Y. Dunlap
- Save the Last Dance for Me by Ed Gorman
- Kill List by Brian Shea
- Ranch Showdown by Tina Wheeler
- The Unhired Hand by R.O. Lane
- The Shocking Truth by Steve Rush
- Daughter of Darkness by Ed Gorman
- Burning Angel by James Lee Burke
- One for Sorrow by Sarah A. Denzil
- Death in the Kremlin by E.J. Simon
- The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper by Diane Gilbert Madsen
- White Gold by Michael E. Jimerson
- Irresistible Impulse by Robert K. Tanenbaum
- Line of Fire by Taylor S. Newport
- The Longest Day by Terry Toler
- Left to Die by Lisa Jackson
- Surviving the Bringer of Death by Kira Black
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