Without Regret

In Hunt and Pineiro’s rip-roaring third thriller featuring Col. Hunter Stark (after 2018’s Without Fear), technical problems cause the plane carrying Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s president, and his entourage to Washington, D.C., to land at Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, where they run into ex-president George W. Bush, who loans the North Koreans his plane. That plane is shot down seconds after takeoff, killing everyone aboard. The shooters, Sinaloa cartel member Mireya Moreno Carreon, who has a grudge against Bush, and her henchmen, weren’t aware of the switch. Not on the plane was formidable Naree Kyong-Lee, the North Korean in charge of Kim’s security, who vows revenge. Several subplots, one featuring Stark’s former partner, FBI agent Monica Cruz, entertain, but it’s Stark’s efforts to prevent WWIII that will keep readers turning the pages. The superior action scenes more than compensate for some uneven writing (“Her eyes glinted with visible disdain on a ghostly and narrow face”) and hokey dialogue. Hunt and Pineiro reinforce their place in the military thriller genre. (Self-published)