She’s fought against the darkness her whole life—but now she will discover what happens when that very darkness fights back in this thrilling follow-up to Christopher Swann’s Never Go Home and Never Turn Back, perfect for fans of Michael Farris Smith and Brian Panowich.
For as long as she could remember, Susannah Faulkner knew that even though she lived a dangerous and violent life, she would try her best to do some good in the world. She’s hunted down evil men before, but the one man that puts fear into her heart, the one man who could destroy everything she loves, is the one man she cannot track down. And worst of all...she doesn’t know what will happen when she finds him. Or if he finds her first.
Finn, an ex-soldier who served alongside Susannah’s father in Iraq, left Suzie with a simple choice a year ago: she could watch her family die one by one, or she could pursue him in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The stubborn and skillful Suzie knows just how dangerous he is and how far he will go to complete his vengeance. And so the hunt begins.
Her journey takes her across the United States, from the mountains of Arizona to the river bluffs of Missouri to the streets of Atlanta. Along the way, she contends with both new and old friends and foes: the vulnerable Brooke, determined to escape her own nightmare; her brother Ethan and his new girlfriend, a reminder of a different and more peaceful life; her uncle Gavin and his connections to the criminal underworld; the street-smart Ajax, a shadowy ally of convenience; and an FBI agent who could be friend, foe, or potential lover.
Suzie’s instincts have gotten her this far—but will they be enough against her evil equal?
Comic Book Justice. In this epic conclusion (?) to Suzie Falkner's story, Swann manages to keep the tension tight even when filling in backstory - and showing that the characters have lived through the year ish since the publication of Never Go Home in near real-time with the rest of us. Except that for Suzie, that year has been spent being tormented by the fallout from Never Go Home. (In other words, read that book first in this particular case.) We spend most of the book with the Big Bad more a menacing presence in the shadows (ala the opening sequence) or the general background (most of the book) while showing off Suzie's own skills ever more prominently, including several other tie-ins to Never Go Home. (Seriously, read that book first.) And then, in the last third of the book or so, Swann gets into Suzie's toughest tests yet - and into some of the most creepy and traumatizing events of these books. Getting into the specifics would be spoilery, but one does need to be generally referenced in case the reader is particularly sensitive to this issue: there *is* a school shooting in this book, and yes, people die in it. Given the realities of the world today, that caution needed to be mentioned. Along those lines, Swann has a line or two where his personal politics tinge the page - but they tend to be throwaway lines that are not pervasive and are quickly moved past, and therefore don't warrant a star deduction so much as a mention of their presence. Overall truly a breathtaking book that you won't want to put down for even a second. Very much recommended.
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2 December, 2022:
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