Into the Fire

Deal is A Ham Novel, Number 6 in the series by Dustin Stevens. 

As with all of Dustin Stevens' "Ham" novels, the aftermath of her assignments leaves a brutal mess. Not that those she's assigned to haven't earned what's coming to them, but it's always a lethal dose of reality for them before their final breaths are taken.

"Mikey" is Ham's "boss" although neither of them really regard him as her boss because she normally works independently. Having served together, they know and respect each other. Ham's opinion of Mikey is he was the best operator she ever worked with. Now he runs a serious, sophisticated, security operation out of a fake mechanics garage. Basically, they take care of the desperate needs of people who can't take care of their serious problem(s) themselves. 

In this case, a friend (Talia) from a long time ago on the battlefield calls Mikey, desperate for him to rescue a 9 yr. old boy (Trey) she knows is in imminent danger while being aware her life is about to be terminated. She was a wartime journalist who both Ham and Mikey knew, but Mikey had gotten close enough to Talia to tell her if she ever needed him to call. When Mikey calls Ham from out of town for this emergency rescue, Ham's on it. From that moment on, this case belongs to both Mikey and Ham. 

There is utter chaos when Ham arrives at the boy's house. She's forced to convince a traumatized boy to trust her to get him out of his house before the horror he's already witnessed happens to him.

Once the difficult process of securing Trey is accomplished, the hunt for multiple killers is on, not to mention how to figure out exactly who's conducting all of this murder and mayhem and why this 9 yr. old boy is a target. Mikey and Ham have to discern how to get more information which proves to be convoluted and slow-going until Ham inadvertently discovers an important clue. 

Having read all of the books in both the Ham Series and the Hawk Tate Series by Dustin Stevens, Deal is some of Dustin's best (if not the best) writing by the author. Characterizations and images/descriptions are very well done and what had seemed habitual in the books I've read, the errors in this one were minimal. My only concern was the ending. It felt incomplete in spite of a touching moment shared between Ham and Trey. If you read this story, you might understand why I felt that way. 

If you enjoy a heroine who's as tough and sharp as the tomahawk she carries as her weapon of choice, and you can stand the avenging brutality that courses through her at times with just brief glances at the tender heart she's buried deep within her psyche, the Ham Series are the books for you.  

Father, thank you for all of your writers and authors. May each one know from whom their talent has been given. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.