Relentless

At the start of bestseller Greaney’s solid 10th Gray Man novel (after 2020’s One Minute Out), CIA operative Zach Hightower is trailing his target, a traitorous former NSA computer scientist, in a Caracas marketplace when he’s grabbed by thugs from Venezuela’s intelligence service. On learning of the failed mission, the CIA deputy director for operations rousts Zach’s partner, CIA contract killer Court Gentry (aka the Gray Man), from his hospital bed, where he’s recovering from a chest wound, and sends him to finish the job. Gentry takes on a long list of bad guys, including a group of American mercenaries working for the spy organization of the United Arab Emirates, a rogue international intelligence firm, and a Russian superagent who may be the only assassin in the world who could go one-on-one with Gentry and come out on top. Readers won’t be wrong to suspect that Gentry, despite being at half strength, will prevail. Vivid action scenes more than make up for a complicated plot that can be hard to follow at times. Though short of Greaney’s best, this is still a must for espionage thriller fans. [em]Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Feb.) [/em]