Mission Critical
By Mark Greaney
Release Date: February 19, 2019
Ebook Available from WV Reads
4 Stars! - An awesome entry in the Gray man series. Court stumbles into a plot to attack the five of the biggest intelligence agencies in world and connects with a bunch of his old friends, plus a few wild cards along the way to stopping the terrorists. Other than a few too easy coincendences here and there, this was an excellent action thriller.
It seems mid-series, Greaney really hit his peak and it's quite a ride. Court's much moee human by this point than he was in some of the early books, one of the reasons I lost touch with the series for awhile. Also, in this entry, the writing style is really sharp and precise. Sometimes I'd feel bogged down in useless weapon and background details, etc. but less so with this fast moving plot. I loved to see Zoya return with a lot of the focus on her past. Also, Zack who is Court's former mentor that's also a frenemy is always a good time. Even the villians are memorable as characters in this one.
It's so refreshing sometimes to read a thriller with politics and espionage that isn't focused on ISIS or whatever middle east faction is at large. All these terrorist have the same back story most of the time, and I get bored. Give me drug lords, Cold War spies, or IRA baddies, anything to mix it up. Here the enemies are all holding their cards close to the vest. Also, I found the biologic weapon plot line chilling in the aftermath of coronavirus, of course. It brought an edge of sorts to the story. Court's of course got to level the playing field by getting hurt. If he's not sick or injured, it would be just too easy for him to go full Gray Man and win the day without a challenge. And certainly, his confidence level and abilities cause some people to roll their eyes. But I just have to circle back again also to how great it is we have recurring characters popping up in this one. We get Brewer and her shady CIA games, plus Handley who is Court's favorite boss. Zoya's backstory becomes clearer. Poor Zack just wants a new code name. It's all a lot of fun, and probably easy enough to follow for someone new to Greaney's work.
(NS)
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