Sniper Elite: One-Way Trip

McEwen, coauthor of SEAL Chief Chris Kyle's bestselling memoir, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, proves he also can write meaty thrillers with this intense debut. Inspired by actual Black Ops missions and stacked with a large cast of admirable and shady characters, the book opens with the terrifying kidnapping of Warrant Officer Sandra Brux by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. While captive, she is brutally beaten, raped, videotaped and held for a $25 million ransom. After a series of bungled rescue attempts, it's up to Master Chief Gil Shannon, who boldly defies orders from a confused and panicked U.S. president by leading SEAL Team Six and Delta Force fighters on an insanely dangerous mission to extract Brux from enemy hands. McEwen and Koloniar convincingly capture the friction between soldiers, intelligence officers, and politicians while making timely references to the National Security Agency and women in combat. Snappy dialogue and well-timed humor offset an abundance of acronyms and technical weapons references. The brutal torture scenes and gory combat descriptions require a strong stomach, but for an unfiltered portrayal of modern warfare backed by complex yet compelling storytelling, this one hits the target. (June)