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‘The Hard Line’ by Mark Greaney; Berkley; 496 pages; $31
With his outstanding “The Hard Line,” Mark Greaney’s trademark style — his intense plotting emphasizing fast-and-furious action that taps into the changing political environment — continues to reshape the espionage genre. It is the 15th installment in his popular “Gray Man” series.
While his novels are plot-heavy, the author doesn’t skimp on fully fleshed-out characters who match the action. Greaney puts his characters into nail-biting jeopardy, only to pull them out — sometimes — but in realistic ways.
The Gray Man is Courtland “Court” Gentry, a freelance assassin and, now, an ex-CIA agent. Court and his far-flung group of operatives are working out of a nondescript office park in Norfolk, Virginia, that they call the Ghost Town, run by a former CIA deputy director. They are an “off-the-books direct action team,” and boy, are they active. While their methods and results are not discreet, Court and his team take jobs the agency cannot publicly do.
That’s both difficult and oddly simple for Court, whose shadowy existence is so undercover that many doubt the Gray Man exists. Woe to them. Greaney has shaped Court as a kind of superman, able to get out of seemingly impossible danger. Yet, Greaney makes each escape believable in its own way. This dichotomy moves this series, and is a major aspect of “The Hard Line.”
While Court is an admitted nomad, he believes in family, the one you’re related to by blood and the one you’re connected to by the blood you spill together. This sense of family infuses various undertakings in “The Hard Line,” which begins with a father trying to avenge his estranged son’s death, leading to a son wanting justice for his father.
In between, Court follows the threats aimed at security experts and intelligence operatives across the globe. For some, the most danger erupts in their own neighborhoods. Of course, complicated government conspiracies, betrayals and high-tech weaponry abound.
Longtime readers of Greaney know not to shy away from his lengthy novels, which generally run around 500 pages. The crisp writing moves the story at nearly head-spinning pace. The list of characters with brief descriptions at the beginning isn’t just helpful, it’s necessary.
The explosive “The Hard Line” delivers a breathless energy from the first sentence to the last, continuing Greaney’s string of hard-charging, involving thrillers.
Meet the author
Mark Greaney will discuss “The Hard Line” in conversation with Oline H. Cogdill at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in support of the Rubel Family Mystery Collection at the Pompano Beach Branch Library, 50 W. Atlantic Blvd. The discussion will be in person at the library and broadcast later on the library’s YouTube channel (YouTube.com/browardcountylibrary). Books will be available for sale, with 10% of proceeds from book sales benefiting the Pompano Beach Friends of the Library. The event is free, but registration is required. Visit broward.libnet.info or call 954-357-7643.
