Into the Fire

Sleepers by Mark Dawson is a prequel look at John Milton as Number One in Book 13 of the series. 

Russian agents have infiltrated places they should not be, and after a retired defector meets with a retired MI6 operative in a small town in England to share vital information on a secret Russian military project in hopes of securing critical favor for the one who has the whole design and wants to defect, chaos erupts sending a newer young female director, John Milton, and Michael Pope to Russia. But the Russians aren't the only ones with "sleepers".  

John's beginning to show the effects of his job. His drinking has become a problem for him, but he, like so many, thinks he'll be able to handle it – or perhaps he believes he should be able to handle it. (The story takes place right before The Cleaner, Book 1 in the series). However, the deaths have piled up and the nightmares are suffocating his rest.

Trust is at a premium, and John knows Pope is the only one he can trust definitively, but their fate at meeting this potential defector depends on people John's had to threaten and one he can't be absolutely positive will do as he's scheduled to do. 

If you select any of the major thriller writers who have created multiple novel series with those larger than life characters such as the late Vince Flynn's (and now Kyle Mills) Mitch Rapp, Brad Thor's Scot Harvath, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, and Mark Dawson's John Milton, devoted readers take note when that character is given a minor role in one of the stories. He still contributes to the major story, but the reader sees him less frequently because of the direction and focus the author chooses to take. What can happen with this approach – even if it's a temporary reaction to the one particular book – the reader tends not to enjoy the story as much as those where the hero is more prominent.

These authors' protagonists are so eye-popping, dramatic, and fine-tuned with their own set of hidden struggles, we readers can never get enough of them. Since their stories take them all over the world, it's not unusual to have multiple sub-plots necessary to keep up the intensity and intrigue which require some deviations and peripheral character developments. When that comes at the cost of less involvement or depiction of the hero, sometimes the story can be less likable. Sleepers could be one of those stories for some.

Profanity present.

Father, please continue to show Mark your blessings and abundance. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.