Into the Fire

On the thriller site I visit, the guys were praising the new movie of Mark Greaney's first in his series of The Gray Man. 

As the title implies, the average person would walk right by him and probably not give him a second look. The average stranger in a crowd. He's perfected the look of being unnoticeable while having gained the actual notoriety of being the top and almost mythically skilled assassin for hire. You want the best? You seek out The Gray Man. So when a brutal two-faced African dictator who's soon leaving his position as head of his country puts an indecently high bounty on the literal head of The Gray Man because of an incident concerning the dictator's brother, literal teams of killers from nearly every country are hired by a firm who wants one last deal with the dictator before he steps down. To secure that deal one representative seeks out The Gray Man's boss and to insure he gets what he wants from him, he presents a very real threat. 

Through the course of this story, Courtland Gentry (aka The Gray Man) is forced to figure out he's the target of some major killing teams. This realization slams him hard and requires every trick he's ever mastered in his covert practices plus being forced to seek aid where he's never had to go. No one could expect to escape multiple assassination attempts of this magnitude.

As you know, I've read loads of thrillers by some of the best in the genre. I will tell you this about Mark's book: I don't think I've ever read a novel that has more ongoing serious conflict where it's one life or death confrontation after another. You frequently hear reviewers say, "This story never lets up!" The only book I've ever read where that expression comes true is this one. It never lets up. In a way it's exhausting to read. Almost too much. 

Finally as the pages dwindle in another dire situation, there's a slight twist at the end.

If you're a diehard thriller fan who craves a lot of detailed action with all kinds of everything that entails, The Gray Man by Mark Greaney is the book for you and the beginning of potentially many more action-packed books in the series. 

Father, you know hearts and minds and everything else in all of us. Please bless your writers and authors. May they all know from whom their talent comes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.