Into the Fire

Headhunters by Mark Dawson is Book 7 of the John Milton Series. (I've mentioned how much I like the covers of the John Milton novels, but this one? It looks like a woman carrying a jacket or a large purse. Definitely doesn't work this time. If you go to Mark's homepage, the picture there is stunning and perfectly matches the one you want to have of John Milton. It's also used on the cover of The Cleaner.)

John Milton looks up an old military buddy now living in Australia who operates and works at sheep shearing stations. It's not a "nice" job in that there's plenty of filth involved in getting the little buggers clipped properly, but once John learns the methodology, the competition is on. Between his friend and the man's gorgeous younger sister (Matilda, aka Matty), John gets close to their totals but comes in second to one or the other. He can take some pride in that he's beaten their two co-workers once he gets his procedure down. It's actually very hard work in suffocating heat, and although the crew prefers to spend some of their after-hours at the bar, John hasn't struggled with resisting alcohol on this trip. 

Having left New Orleans and the painful threat of the former Mossad psychopath killing machine Avi Bachman, John isn't expecting trouble when he and Matty are kidnapped on their way to dinner one evening. As the danger increases, he realizes a lot of things are going to have to happen before he can put this clash of the "headhunters" to rest once and for all. 

Meanwhile John's old "friend" and genius hacker (Ziggy) has a huge mess to clean up in Tokyo and it just so happens that John once again needs his assistance. 

The last third of this story is a nail-biter and John is clearly in another real life and death battle. Again. Ziggy is a consistently awkward character but a technological wizard, and Matty is entertaining in her feisty, gutsy, irrational, and sullen behaviors throughout the story. 

From sheep-shearing in Australia to a ride in a container in Tokyo, trying to get on the offensive side of this cat-and-mouse struggle proves worthwhile in the end. 

The complex nature of the disciplined and mostly celibate John Milton and his conflicts with his past force him to realize that certain things about himself cannot be changed or ignored. As he tries to escape those things he so deeply regrets, the necessity to rely on what he must use from those acquired skills to not only survive but to succeed in helping others that cross his path often confounds his hopes of ever leaving it all behind. 

The John Milton Series is as addictive as any series I've read. Just can't quit them.

Profanity present.

Father, again, only you know hearts and souls. Only you. Please continue to bless Mark's writing and stories. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Impossible to take . . . The Ninth Step

The Ninth Step by Mark Dawson is Book 8 in the John Milton Series. 

If you're at all familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous, you know it's often called a 12 Step Program. John has been attending as regularly as he can in cities almost worldwide for several years. By now, if you're a reader of this series, you know John's existence is consumed with guilt over his life in MI6's Group Fifteen where he reigned as Number One for a considerable amount of time. Suffice it to say he had triple digit kills during his tenure before he exited the Group (aka The Firm) and was pursued by Control's agents to make sure John was neutralized. They failed. 

The Ninth Step instructs alcoholics to make amends/peace with those they've hurt or done harm to if they can and if it won't bring more pain to those where harm was somehow inflicted. It's the one rule or step that hangs up and snags John's thoughts time and time again. Those he "harmed" are dead. 

In this story, John remains in London and at one of the meetings (or "the rooms") he meets a younger taxi cab driver (Eddie) who confides in John about his background and his family history. There is incredible pain and a determination to make things right which by doing so will prove to be quite dangerous. After talking with Eddie, John volunteers to accompany him to a meeting Eddie's arranged with a journalist to expose some dreadful events and people he knows are dangerous and influential. 

Eddie never shows up to meet the journalist.

Enter Hicks, a young husband and father of two whose wife is battling cancer. Hicks was a former military man and a good one. He's been approached by a former General and his group of ex-military who provide "protection" for various types of clientele. When a "target" is slated for disposal, Hicks finds himself conflicted, and when he recognizes John "Smith" is John Milton and has a connection to the target, everything turns upside down for Hicks. 

There are bona fide gangsters, a narcissist General, a crooked cop, a good-hearted young husband who Milton recalls as a true soldier, a sad and earnest taxi cab driver, and a hyper-focused and poor decision making journalist. And then of course there's John: a former assassin who regrets that he was the best at his job before he quit. However, he seems to fail to realize that his former skills are always demanded of him when he seeks to right a wrong – and he's not afraid to use them. His ice-blue stare is renowned for its total lack of empathy and sincere threat to exact harm. 

The Ninth Step is an intense and multi-faceted tale of complex planning where so many things can go absolutely wrong and nearly do. 

Profanity present.

Father, thank you for writers/authors. Please continue to bless Mark. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.