What do you think?
Rate this book
Gray Man #7
Agent in Place
The Gray Man is back in another nonstop international thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels
Court Gentry is back in action. This time he's working on behalf of a well-connected group of Syrian expats to secure the Syrian president's mistress so they can use her to bring down the president's regime. But the expats' plan goes awry when it's discovered the mistress has a baby--the Syrian president's only male heir--hidden away in a Damascus safe house.
Court goes after the baby, a decision that comes at the price of the mistress's life. The expat organization deems the boy now useless to their cause and refuses to protect him against the Syrian first lady and the notorious Swiss assassin in her employ. With no support on the way, Court realizes he'll have to take down the Syrian president himself if he and the boy are going to make it out alive...
525 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 20, 2018
2999 people are currently reading
4996 people want to read
About the author
Mark Greaney
60 books6,222 followersMark Greaney has a degree in International Relations and Political Science. In researching The Gray Man series he traveled to ten countries and trained extensively in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close range combative tactics.
Learn more at MARKGREANEYBOOKS.COM
Email Mark at MarkGreaneyBooks@gmail.com
Learn more at MARKGREANEYBOOKS.COM
Email Mark at MarkGreaneyBooks@gmail.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 758 reviews
February 18, 2022
Lately, when I'm at the library, I keep seeing this Greaney's book either checking in or going out. I'm curious and placed a hold on it not knowing it's #7 or what kind of story it is! So this is my first book in this series and I'm loving the Gray Man!
I wish I get to know Court Gentry better that was one of the reasons I didn't give it 5 stars. The action was good and the plot was right up my alley. It was a bit too long? I felt the middle section could've been more concise and more story added to the last five chapters. The ending was awesome but it felt rushed. I'll be following this series. Fun read!
I wish I get to know Court Gentry better that was one of the reasons I didn't give it 5 stars. The action was good and the plot was right up my alley. It was a bit too long? I felt the middle section could've been more concise and more story added to the last five chapters. The ending was awesome but it felt rushed. I'll be following this series. Fun read!
June 22, 2018
Thank you to Net Galley, The publishers and to Mark Greaney for an honest review, which is easy as I love these books.
Mark Greaney is on my list of favourite authors and most of these are action thriller authors, as well as gripping police thriller authors.
In all honesty I have not read all "Gray Man Books", but read a few and love this character. I believe the more you read in a series, the more you enjoy the character as you understand his/her personality.
Court Gentry is back in action. The Islamic State group is about to execute Courtland Gentry—the Gray Man—and leave his body floating with others in a bloody lake!!
One week earlier.... Gentry is ex-CIA, now an assassin for hire. He meets in Paris with Dr. Tarek Halaby, head of the Free Syria Exile Union, or what’s left of it.
So he is working on behalf of a connected group of Syrian expats to secure the Syrian president's mistress so they can use her to bring down the president's regime. But the expats' plan goes wrong when it's discovered the mistress has a baby--the Syrian president's only male heir--hidden away in a Damascus safe house.
Court goes after the baby, a decision that comes at the price of the mistress's life. The expat organisation deems the boy now useless to their cause and refuses to protect him against the Syrian first lady and the notorious Swiss assassin in her employ, a rather nasty character,with no support on the way, Court realise's he'll have to take down the Syrian president himself if he and the boy and the nanny are going to make it out alive...
Somehow, Greaney cranks out yet another great thriller. That’s a lot of action for the Gray Man and plenty of thrilling suspense, tension, great selection of characters.
Yes lots of pages, but lots and lots of story, action and locations, and of course lots of loose ends...
A clear four star, nearly a five ! Highly recommended.
Mark Greaney is on my list of favourite authors and most of these are action thriller authors, as well as gripping police thriller authors.
In all honesty I have not read all "Gray Man Books", but read a few and love this character. I believe the more you read in a series, the more you enjoy the character as you understand his/her personality.
Court Gentry is back in action. The Islamic State group is about to execute Courtland Gentry—the Gray Man—and leave his body floating with others in a bloody lake!!
One week earlier.... Gentry is ex-CIA, now an assassin for hire. He meets in Paris with Dr. Tarek Halaby, head of the Free Syria Exile Union, or what’s left of it.
So he is working on behalf of a connected group of Syrian expats to secure the Syrian president's mistress so they can use her to bring down the president's regime. But the expats' plan goes wrong when it's discovered the mistress has a baby--the Syrian president's only male heir--hidden away in a Damascus safe house.
Court goes after the baby, a decision that comes at the price of the mistress's life. The expat organisation deems the boy now useless to their cause and refuses to protect him against the Syrian first lady and the notorious Swiss assassin in her employ, a rather nasty character,with no support on the way, Court realise's he'll have to take down the Syrian president himself if he and the boy and the nanny are going to make it out alive...
Somehow, Greaney cranks out yet another great thriller. That’s a lot of action for the Gray Man and plenty of thrilling suspense, tension, great selection of characters.
Yes lots of pages, but lots and lots of story, action and locations, and of course lots of loose ends...
A clear four star, nearly a five ! Highly recommended.
December 16, 2019
full action. it took me around 150 pages to get warm with the book. looking backward i quite admire Greaney for his ability not to rush forward but to build the background, the characters, the plot with carefull manicured details. As this is my first gray man novel (and not the last) i did not know much about Court Gentry. this is not important as he is revealing himself slowly not only as tough but with a deep moral sense of what is right and what is evil. And in Syria there is a lot of evil (i have been there). So it is a very good stand alone thriller. and it is getting better as you advance with the 500 and more pages. the last 100 or so grip you tight as it is pure action. no waste of a word. i give 5* for the sense of geography, for the reserch so well done on this devasteted country. but in reality Syria is still under the cruel boot of bashar el-asad and i pity the nation and its people. it is a real courage to write on events which are folding in this period still because you dont know if you read right the situation. whatever will happen with Syria Greaney manage to turn your heart for a moment to great story which have a child, mother love, tough guys, based over there.
February 10, 2018
Wow so much action and intense situations! 4.5 Stars - discounted due to excessive length
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think what I love the most about spy thrillers is the continuous action. There is never a dull moment. Never a time where you say to yourself, “Is it over yet?”
This book kicks off with an amazing story and an intricate plot that leaves you breathless. The author keeps ramping up the suspense and the twists to the story every time you turn the page.
From Europe to Syria and points in-between, many players come into this thrilling read. I thought I would have a hard time keeping track of everyone, but the amazing talents of this author weaves a story so captivating and detailed that you think you are right there with the characters each step of the way. In fact, the story is so believable that you have to wonder if this story is fiction or yanked from the pages of current events.
There is a reason the Gray Man is a highly sought after contract professional killer. He is a brilliant, top notch operative that is simply a fabulously developed character. Never a dull moment, you will always be guessing about what he will do next.
In fact, never mind that last statement. There is not enough time to think about what he will be doing. You just have to read as fast as possible. This book is huge so make sure to plan your reading!
Mark Greaney has made an impact with this series and Agent in Place. Imaginative and so very knowledgeable in the game of espionage, you will be come addicted to his writing, just like me!
* copy received for review consideration
full review - http://amidlifewife.com/agent-in-plac...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think what I love the most about spy thrillers is the continuous action. There is never a dull moment. Never a time where you say to yourself, “Is it over yet?”
This book kicks off with an amazing story and an intricate plot that leaves you breathless. The author keeps ramping up the suspense and the twists to the story every time you turn the page.
From Europe to Syria and points in-between, many players come into this thrilling read. I thought I would have a hard time keeping track of everyone, but the amazing talents of this author weaves a story so captivating and detailed that you think you are right there with the characters each step of the way. In fact, the story is so believable that you have to wonder if this story is fiction or yanked from the pages of current events.
There is a reason the Gray Man is a highly sought after contract professional killer. He is a brilliant, top notch operative that is simply a fabulously developed character. Never a dull moment, you will always be guessing about what he will do next.
In fact, never mind that last statement. There is not enough time to think about what he will be doing. You just have to read as fast as possible. This book is huge so make sure to plan your reading!
Mark Greaney has made an impact with this series and Agent in Place. Imaginative and so very knowledgeable in the game of espionage, you will be come addicted to his writing, just like me!
* copy received for review consideration
full review - http://amidlifewife.com/agent-in-plac...
August 2, 2022
Agent in Place is an action-packed thrill ride that includes terrorists, covert operations and all-out war. If you are looking for chick-lit, you best keep walking. This ain't it. This is an adrenaline-filled blast from beginning to end with almost no let up. The mere 500 plus pages of action go by real fast. Court (aka The Gray Man) is a bit of Jason Bourne tangling with counter-agents across Europe, trained to perfection. But, I think there's more of Mack Bolan, the Executioner, here, particularly in how Court takes on any odds solo and is nearly invincible in any firefight. This may be the seventh book in the series, but I started here and wasn't lacking any background.
It is always ambitious to place your story in the midst of constantly changing current events and that gamble pays off handsomely here, taking the reader on a journey into the very belly of the Syrian Civil War with all of the different factions and players including mercenaries, the Free Syrian Army, Isis, the Russians, and others too numerous to mention without glancing at the scorecard. Maybe Court takes on an impossible mission - but the writing makes it believable and the battle scenes in Syria are real good.
Always a treat when a book is much better than expected. Thanks to Penguin Publishing for providing a copy for review.
It is always ambitious to place your story in the midst of constantly changing current events and that gamble pays off handsomely here, taking the reader on a journey into the very belly of the Syrian Civil War with all of the different factions and players including mercenaries, the Free Syrian Army, Isis, the Russians, and others too numerous to mention without glancing at the scorecard. Maybe Court takes on an impossible mission - but the writing makes it believable and the battle scenes in Syria are real good.
Always a treat when a book is much better than expected. Thanks to Penguin Publishing for providing a copy for review.
January 6, 2018
See this review and more at www.TheRealBookSpy.com
Though Court ‘The Gray Man’ Gentry is back with the CIA in an official capacity, the highly-skilled assassin finds himself working for a group of Syrian expats in Mark Greaney’s (Gunmetal Gray, 2016) latest action-packed novel, Agent In Place.
The job is simple, or so he was told.
Hired by a couple who represent a group of well-connected Syrians hellbent on toppling the regime of Ahmed al-Azzam, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Court Gentry is given the information of a private apartment in Paris where Bianca Medina, the president’s twenty-six-year-old secret mistress, is currently staying.
The plan is to have Court kidnap Bianca, a clear power-move by the Syrian expats (who call themselves the Free Syrian Army) designed to destabilize Ahmed al-Azzam’s government. After scouting his target, Court makes his move in the dark of the night, only to encounter a large number of ISIS militants who also converge on Bianca’s apartment, guns a-blazin’.
Narrowly escaping with the package in hand, Court delivers the mistress to Tarek and Rima Halaby. The couple, both of whom are doctors, are Gentry’s contacts for the job. Convinced they chose not to tell him about the potential threat of running into ISIS jihadists, Court instructs the Halabys to wire the rest of his fee within a day or suffer the deadly consequences. Then he disappears, again, back into the night.
Things take a complicated turn when Bianca refuses to help the Free Syrian Army, revealing that she recently gave birth to a son who, against her wishes, is still inside Syria — which has been reduced to a chaotic war zone. For the mistress to comply, she demands the Halabys find a way to have her son rescued and brought to her. It’s an impossible task, no doubt, and the Halabys know just the person for the job.
After convincing Court to work with them one last time, mostly to help Bianca because he sympathizes with her and the situation she’s in, Gentry heads to Syria for the most dangerous assignment in his storied career.
Pretty much from the moment Court’s boots touch down in the region, nothing goes according to plan. Shady back dealings and questionable alliances are slowly brought to light, providing plenty of suspense as the story plays out. As new threats arise, Court’s mission parameters change. To finish the job and get back home alive, the Gray Man will need to find a way to be every bit of the legend he’s become over the course of six previous books, and then some.
With so many of the genre’s other top characters already fifteen books or more into their respective runs, Court Gentry (along with Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan, Ben Coes’ Dewey Andreas, and Gregg Hurwitz’s Evan Smoak) represents the future of the thriller genre. Author Mark Greaney once again develops his character brilliantly as he continues to slowly break away from the pack as the apparent heir to the throne currently held by Brad Thor and Daniel Silva.
Mark Greaney continues his dominant run with Agent In Place, the best Gray Man thriller yet and one of the top must-read thrillers of 2018.
Book Details
Author: Mark Greaney
Series: Gray Man #7
Pages: 528 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0451488903
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: February 20, 2018
Book Spy Rating: 8.5/10
Order Now!
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.
Though Court ‘The Gray Man’ Gentry is back with the CIA in an official capacity, the highly-skilled assassin finds himself working for a group of Syrian expats in Mark Greaney’s (Gunmetal Gray, 2016) latest action-packed novel, Agent In Place.
The job is simple, or so he was told.
Hired by a couple who represent a group of well-connected Syrians hellbent on toppling the regime of Ahmed al-Azzam, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Court Gentry is given the information of a private apartment in Paris where Bianca Medina, the president’s twenty-six-year-old secret mistress, is currently staying.
The plan is to have Court kidnap Bianca, a clear power-move by the Syrian expats (who call themselves the Free Syrian Army) designed to destabilize Ahmed al-Azzam’s government. After scouting his target, Court makes his move in the dark of the night, only to encounter a large number of ISIS militants who also converge on Bianca’s apartment, guns a-blazin’.
Narrowly escaping with the package in hand, Court delivers the mistress to Tarek and Rima Halaby. The couple, both of whom are doctors, are Gentry’s contacts for the job. Convinced they chose not to tell him about the potential threat of running into ISIS jihadists, Court instructs the Halabys to wire the rest of his fee within a day or suffer the deadly consequences. Then he disappears, again, back into the night.
Things take a complicated turn when Bianca refuses to help the Free Syrian Army, revealing that she recently gave birth to a son who, against her wishes, is still inside Syria — which has been reduced to a chaotic war zone. For the mistress to comply, she demands the Halabys find a way to have her son rescued and brought to her. It’s an impossible task, no doubt, and the Halabys know just the person for the job.
After convincing Court to work with them one last time, mostly to help Bianca because he sympathizes with her and the situation she’s in, Gentry heads to Syria for the most dangerous assignment in his storied career.
Pretty much from the moment Court’s boots touch down in the region, nothing goes according to plan. Shady back dealings and questionable alliances are slowly brought to light, providing plenty of suspense as the story plays out. As new threats arise, Court’s mission parameters change. To finish the job and get back home alive, the Gray Man will need to find a way to be every bit of the legend he’s become over the course of six previous books, and then some.
With so many of the genre’s other top characters already fifteen books or more into their respective runs, Court Gentry (along with Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan, Ben Coes’ Dewey Andreas, and Gregg Hurwitz’s Evan Smoak) represents the future of the thriller genre. Author Mark Greaney once again develops his character brilliantly as he continues to slowly break away from the pack as the apparent heir to the throne currently held by Brad Thor and Daniel Silva.
Mark Greaney continues his dominant run with Agent In Place, the best Gray Man thriller yet and one of the top must-read thrillers of 2018.
Book Details
Author: Mark Greaney
Series: Gray Man #7
Pages: 528 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0451488903
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: February 20, 2018
Book Spy Rating: 8.5/10
Order Now!
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.
January 5, 2022
I like this series. Although this doesn't reach 10 stars for me, it's a solid 7 of 10 stars.
![Profile Image for Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1712357414i%2F6658001._UY200_CR4%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
December 2, 2020
Audiobook - 16:27 hours - narrated by Jay Snyder
3.5 Stars ^ to 4.0 Stars
Being close to half-way through my third read/listen of Robert Littell's "The Company", a very long book about the CIA, I decided I needed some more up-to-date, in-your-face action which Court Gentry, "The Gray Man", never fails to provide!
"Agent in Place" was not the best of all the previous "Gray Man" novels I have listened to (now #1-#7), but with fast and furious action caused by unlikely situations in far away lands, it was enjoyable listening from quite a long audiobook, very well narrated by Jay Snyder. I look forward to acquiring "#8, Mission Critical", released this year, and keeping it on stand-by, awaiting my next need for some over-the-top action by "The Gray Man".
3.5 Stars ^ to 4.0 Stars
Being close to half-way through my third read/listen of Robert Littell's "The Company", a very long book about the CIA, I decided I needed some more up-to-date, in-your-face action which Court Gentry, "The Gray Man", never fails to provide!
"Agent in Place" was not the best of all the previous "Gray Man" novels I have listened to (now #1-#7), but with fast and furious action caused by unlikely situations in far away lands, it was enjoyable listening from quite a long audiobook, very well narrated by Jay Snyder. I look forward to acquiring "#8, Mission Critical", released this year, and keeping it on stand-by, awaiting my next need for some over-the-top action by "The Gray Man".
June 1, 2020
Whoa and wow I love the character the Court Gentry character, again. He always gets the job done for the USA, (amidst many self doubts it will happen), the storys' are action packed, yet he has a intellectual and his own moral code driving his actions.
This book storyline was set in Syria with a dictator leadership. Which means no care for the commoners. And he is the dictator taking out as much money from the country as he could
I look up Syria and he a brief study of its government. Lo it is pretty simply the same as what Mark Greaney wrote for the fictional Syria.
Unputdownable.
This book storyline was set in Syria with a dictator leadership. Which means no care for the commoners. And he is the dictator taking out as much money from the country as he could
I look up Syria and he a brief study of its government. Lo it is pretty simply the same as what Mark Greaney wrote for the fictional Syria.
Unputdownable.
February 28, 2018
This is the seventh book in the Gray Man Series. Court Gentry is now a freelance mercenary. Gentry has been hired to kidnap the mistress of the Syrian president and then rescue her infant son. But quickly everything falls apart.
The book is well written and plotted. The pace is very fast with constant action. This a series that has each book capable of being a stand-alone book. It is obvious Greaney does a lot of research to make his books accurate politically, weaponry, spy craft and also the geography. The characters are interesting and realistic. I am always amazed at Greaney’s ability to write such intricate plots. He is a master storyteller.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. This book is longer than the majority of books in this series at 512 pages or almost sixteen and a half hours. Jay Snyder does a fantastic job narrating this series. Snyder is a classically trained actor, voice-over artist and audiobook narrator. I love to listen to his voice. He is a smooth narrator.
The book is well written and plotted. The pace is very fast with constant action. This a series that has each book capable of being a stand-alone book. It is obvious Greaney does a lot of research to make his books accurate politically, weaponry, spy craft and also the geography. The characters are interesting and realistic. I am always amazed at Greaney’s ability to write such intricate plots. He is a master storyteller.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. This book is longer than the majority of books in this series at 512 pages or almost sixteen and a half hours. Jay Snyder does a fantastic job narrating this series. Snyder is a classically trained actor, voice-over artist and audiobook narrator. I love to listen to his voice. He is a smooth narrator.
March 16, 2022
‘The Gray Man’ is back in action with Greaney’s 7th offering in the best-selling series featuring Court Gentry, the erstwhile CIA operative. The highly skilled assassin is contracted by a group of Syrian expats in Paris to kidnap the beautiful runway model Bianca Medina from her Syrian handlers while modeling in the city. Since she is the secret mistress of Ahmed al-Azzam, the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, the expats hope to use her to destabilize the Syrian government. However, the mission goes sideways when Bianca reveals that she has a 4-month-old baby boy back in Damascus that will need to be reunited with her before she cooperates with the Syrian expats.
‘You know who’ decides that he will go into Syria alone to rescue the child and his au pair. This is Court’s most dangerous mission yet. The region has Syrians, Russians, FSA combatants and mercenaries aplenty. Our hero comes through it (of course), but Greaney supplies plenty of action along the way by escalating the risks that Court faces.
‘You know who’ decides that he will go into Syria alone to rescue the child and his au pair. This is Court’s most dangerous mission yet. The region has Syrians, Russians, FSA combatants and mercenaries aplenty. Our hero comes through it (of course), but Greaney supplies plenty of action along the way by escalating the risks that Court faces.
March 27, 2018
The latest installment in the Gray Man series is yet another epic tale of espionage and adventure. Enough characters to give you plenty of variety, but not so many that you'll need a flowchart. It's hard to pinpoint a favorite part as the action ebbs and flows and many sequences are long forgotten. Like the rest of the series the book in incredibly long as far as the story itself goes; best thought of as several books in one.
September 16, 2021
It took awhile for ALL the names to get put in the right group of...well...basically killers. A moral code is there but still, a lot of good people die along the way to save a couple. I was thinking the ending was going to be a cliffhanger until the last few pages. On to the next calling for Court as he never gets a vacation. Sigh. Some sex would do him wonders :)
March 22, 2018
The Gray Man goes to Syria for his seventh installment and this is a sordid tale regarding the king of Syria, his mistress and their "love child". Starting off with a kidnapping in Paris and ending with a kidnapping in Syria, Court Gentry takes on terrorist on two continents and contingents on multiple sides to see through to his objectives. Making friends the way he does, the Gray Man slices his way through war-torn Syria with a captivating climax at the end.
This book is grand. Full of detail and suspense, the novel is relevant in the current day and gives the reader a scenario that could happen, though not likely. Looking forward to the next one.
This book is grand. Full of detail and suspense, the novel is relevant in the current day and gives the reader a scenario that could happen, though not likely. Looking forward to the next one.
May 16, 2022
5/5 Stars
Another action-packed thriller from Mark Greaney. I absolutely love The Gray Man. In this novel, he is working on his own, not on contract from the CIA. It involves revolves around the opposition forces to the war in Syria. Court is brought in to "rescue" someone and (naturally) it turns all wrong. Not only does it go sideways, but he is ultimately convinced to help "rescue" an infant from Damascus. There are some funny scenes with Court trying to come to grips with a baby. Fortunately, we quickly get back to the action. I enjoy the continued strengthening of Court's character and moral code. It's one of the things that makes him different from some of the other action heroes. I was slightly disappointed that the other recurring characters weren't in this book (Matt, Suzanne, Zach and even Zoya). I'm looking forward to the next book where these characters return.
Another action-packed thriller from Mark Greaney. I absolutely love The Gray Man. In this novel, he is working on his own, not on contract from the CIA. It involves revolves around the opposition forces to the war in Syria. Court is brought in to "rescue" someone and (naturally) it turns all wrong. Not only does it go sideways, but he is ultimately convinced to help "rescue" an infant from Damascus. There are some funny scenes with Court trying to come to grips with a baby. Fortunately, we quickly get back to the action. I enjoy the continued strengthening of Court's character and moral code. It's one of the things that makes him different from some of the other action heroes. I was slightly disappointed that the other recurring characters weren't in this book (Matt, Suzanne, Zach and even Zoya). I'm looking forward to the next book where these characters return.
December 3, 2020
This is the 7th book in the Gray Man series. I have enjoyed each and every one of them so far. This series has been a solid 4 stars (and more) for me. When I sit down with the Gray Man, I know what I'm in for and the anticipation builds. Even though this one seemed slow to take off, the latter half had me glued to my seat. I love when that happens. So 4 stars for this one.
May 24, 2018
Wow! Aside from Phillip Kerr, this is another mew-to-me author I will have to check out over the summer. The Gray Man is a US assassin, this time in Syria to rescue the baby of the Syrian President’s mistress. And maybe take out the idiot President of Syria as well. There are just enough characters as to where I wasn’t confused. At over 500 pages, the story is a little long, but the writing is sharp and clear, which is what I need after these long days at work.
May 15, 2018
The Gray Man is back with the CIA, and up to his old tricks of spreading mayhem. This time he's in the Middle East, where things are completely falling apart. He gets in way over his head, but his training and sheer force of will enable him to keep performing his mission.
Best book in the series yet!
Best book in the series yet!
March 12, 2023
A rare re-read for me. I had originally read this novel back in 2017 when it came out. I had received an Advanced Reader's Copy and gave it a go even though I hadn't read any of the previous six books in the series. I really enjoyed it back then but felt like I was probably missing some nuances of the character as well as general background on how the legend of the Gray Man came to be. So I chose to go back to the beginning of the series and read them all, at least as far as I continued to enjoy the experience. Happily, I've really liked all of them. So, while my initial review is still valid, I found this re-read to be absolutely worth it. Needless to say, I'll be continuing the series.
Original Review:
Several weeks ago I participated in a cover survey with Penguin books and apparently that entered me in a drawing for an ARC of the book. The next thing I knew I had received a copy of the book in the mail and a letter notifying me I had been selected as a winner of the drawing as well as a request for a review. At first I thought this was book number two in a series so I tried to borrow book one from the library (I have a fairly strict policy of reading series books in order so that I can experience the larger cross-volume story arcs) only to discover this was actually book number seven! Well, I wasn’t going to read the first 6 in the next week in order to get to this one so I just plunged in and hoped for the best.
I was fully expecting to be underwhelmed by this novel. I’ve read numerous thrillers such as this appeared to be over the last 20 years or so and frankly, they’ve grown rather stale for me. I had never read any books by Mark Greaney but did know he had been a coauthor of the later Jack Ryan novels. Despite my preconceived notions, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the opening chapters and was soon engrossed in the story. True, the hero, Court Gentry (the Gray Man) was much like many other heroes of the genre; i.e. best in the world at what he does. The plot unfolded nicely and for the most part was unpredictable (with a few notable exceptions), the cast of characters was interesting, and the author’s style was engaging. The plot did seem to bog down quite a bit in the middle and I struggled with understanding Court’s motivations but it picked up again over the final chapters for a swift conclusion.
While I enjoyed this book overall, I suspect I would have liked it even better had I read the rest of the series and been invested in the main characters. I may go back and try book number one just to see how it all gets started and to better understand who Court Gentry is and what he’s all about but doubt I will invest the time and energy to follow yet another series like this amidst all of the other series I am trying to maintain.
This book is scheduled to be available for sale on 2/28/2018. By the way, the book has an awesome cover :)
Original Review:
Several weeks ago I participated in a cover survey with Penguin books and apparently that entered me in a drawing for an ARC of the book. The next thing I knew I had received a copy of the book in the mail and a letter notifying me I had been selected as a winner of the drawing as well as a request for a review. At first I thought this was book number two in a series so I tried to borrow book one from the library (I have a fairly strict policy of reading series books in order so that I can experience the larger cross-volume story arcs) only to discover this was actually book number seven! Well, I wasn’t going to read the first 6 in the next week in order to get to this one so I just plunged in and hoped for the best.
I was fully expecting to be underwhelmed by this novel. I’ve read numerous thrillers such as this appeared to be over the last 20 years or so and frankly, they’ve grown rather stale for me. I had never read any books by Mark Greaney but did know he had been a coauthor of the later Jack Ryan novels. Despite my preconceived notions, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the opening chapters and was soon engrossed in the story. True, the hero, Court Gentry (the Gray Man) was much like many other heroes of the genre; i.e. best in the world at what he does. The plot unfolded nicely and for the most part was unpredictable (with a few notable exceptions), the cast of characters was interesting, and the author’s style was engaging. The plot did seem to bog down quite a bit in the middle and I struggled with understanding Court’s motivations but it picked up again over the final chapters for a swift conclusion.
While I enjoyed this book overall, I suspect I would have liked it even better had I read the rest of the series and been invested in the main characters. I may go back and try book number one just to see how it all gets started and to better understand who Court Gentry is and what he’s all about but doubt I will invest the time and energy to follow yet another series like this amidst all of the other series I am trying to maintain.
This book is scheduled to be available for sale on 2/28/2018. By the way, the book has an awesome cover :)
December 27, 2018
3.5 out of 5 - Fast-paced thriller with plenty of action and suspense.
This edge of your seat thriller has ex-CIA master assassin Court Gentry, a.k.a. The Gray Man, embroiled in a extremely dangerous mission that starts in France and leads to an illegal entry into Syria to exfiltrate a baby boy, the son of Syria's president. Along the way he finds himself caught between warring factions and mercenaries as he attempts to enter the country, grab the baby, and make his escape.
Although a work a fiction, the author weaves in elements taken from today's headlines including the Syrian Civil War, the regime's treatment of its citizens, and the relationship with Russia. It is a fast moving story, perhaps a little long in parts, but satisfying.
This edge of your seat thriller has ex-CIA master assassin Court Gentry, a.k.a. The Gray Man, embroiled in a extremely dangerous mission that starts in France and leads to an illegal entry into Syria to exfiltrate a baby boy, the son of Syria's president. Along the way he finds himself caught between warring factions and mercenaries as he attempts to enter the country, grab the baby, and make his escape.
Although a work a fiction, the author weaves in elements taken from today's headlines including the Syrian Civil War, the regime's treatment of its citizens, and the relationship with Russia. It is a fast moving story, perhaps a little long in parts, but satisfying.
January 3, 2018
Thank you Goodreads Giveaways for the opportunity to read this book pre-release.
The Gray Man returns! This time, he voluntarily enters war torn Syria for his most dangerous mission yet. As always, Greaney brings us a fast-paced, action packed and suspenseful novel. Another must read!
The Gray Man returns! This time, he voluntarily enters war torn Syria for his most dangerous mission yet. As always, Greaney brings us a fast-paced, action packed and suspenseful novel. Another must read!
March 4, 2018
Great book. Very wel written with lots of twists and turns. But a very entertaining plot that does not get bored. Too bad it's finished and we have to wait too long for new Mark Greany Gray Man number 8
May 10, 2018
Excellent book. Great story and so relevant for today's world politics. Of course the subterfuge and covertness adds intrigue. I was sad to read the end....not for any other reason than the book was enjoyable. You do not need to read the first 6 to enjoy this one...
December 9, 2021
THE SYRIAN SHOT:
“Why should we not boycott the Soviet Union and its supporters inside the country? If we do so, we can force them to review their stand. Either they give us what we want and what is necessary, or they will lose our friendship.” – Hafez Al – Assad.
“Death a thousand times to the hired Muslim Brothers, Death a thousand times to the Muslim Brothers, the criminal Brothers, the corrupt Brothers.” – Hafez Al – Assad.
“They are not my forces, they are military forces that belong to the government.… I don't own them. I am president, I don't own the country, so they are not my forces.” – Bashir Al – Assad.
“I'm not a puppet. I wasn't made by the west to go to the west or any other country. I'm Syrian. I'm made in Syria. I have to live in Syria and die in Syria.”- Bashir Al – Assad.
A famous Pakistani Journalist once mused on the House of Al – Assad that ruled Syria that the heads of the family could be considered “The Levanters”. Given to him by Bhutto, the Pakistani Prime Minister, this analogy was a reference to one of Eric Ambler’s final novels about an English expat who lived in Damascus for so long that his identity had lost its moorings. The Levanter, in Bhutto’s telling, had no beliefs or ideals he treasured. No loyalties to anyone or anything, he could be your friend at the start of the day and stab you in the back as night fell. Survival was his reason for being and profiting from continued survival was the only thing the levanter cared about above all else.
Hafez Al – Assad was the original Levanter. Originally an Arab Nationalist, over time whatever ideals he once held were eroded by simple pragmatism and ensuring the continued prosperity and survival of the Al – Assad clan. Happily killing fellow Muslims (albeit Sunnis who hated his Alawite guts) in the Hama Massacre of the 1980s, his son, Bashir has inherited his father’s mantle as the ultimate opportunistic survivor. Making friends with the Russians, the Iranians and even several Sunni militias that have thrown their lot in with the regime, while not truly submitting to their will, he has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into keeping the House of Al – Assad standing as the rest of Syria goes down in flames.
It is the bloody work of the current Levanter which is the focus of the seventh Courtland Gentry novel “Agent in Place.” In fact, the Levanter is the target of the titular Agent in Place, The Gray Man. Created by Mark Greaney the hottest new star in American spy fiction, the books centre around Courtland Gentry a former CIA assassin who was part of a special program that trained deniable one-man armies to crush the enemies of the American State with impunity. Framed for crimes he did not commit, Gentry eventually got his ticket home and settled outstanding accounts with the guilty party. In this book, we find him taking part time employment, a job of the kind he used to do when he was a fugitive from American justice. As usual with Gentry, the job becomes so complicated up to the point where he’s running for his life through an active warzone at risk from the worst humanity has to offer. Now to the review. What difference does it make when you kill one bad man and save one good boy?
The novel begins with an excellent textbook use of in media res. Gentry is in the biggest jam of his life, watching Daesh Islamofacists take a bit off the top with a blade at the edge of a nice lake that is being filled with corpses. Gentry is hog tied alongside a Syrian ally of his watching heads literally roll. The Gray Man is then dragged for his own photo op and we’re left wondering how he will survive as we begin the story proper a few months previously. In one of the biggest graveyards in Paris, Gentry attends a meeting with an elderly Syrian Doctor. The man is an exile, a revolutionary, albeit one who has much to be modest about. Running an NGO that provides humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees the doctor’s organization has decided to strike a great blow for the Syrian people against the regime that seems to have triumphed utterly against its citizens whose will it is on the verge of breaking. Knowing that they themselves do not have the experience to strike such a blow, a deal is cut with officials of the French government who proceed to hire a professional private consultant in such matters.
That consultant is the Gray Man who after his meeting methodically prepares for a night on the town. Only this case, a night on the town with the Gray Man involves a kidnapping. Breaking into one of the nicest rental apartments in Paris after dinner at a fashion show, Gentry makes off with a beautiful woman, blazing away with a nine – banger flash grenade and his now trademark silenced Glock 19 as the woman’s security detail comes under attack from ISIS terrorists. Bringing her back to his clients they confirm that the lady is the mistress of the Syrian President. She refuses to fully cooperate with clients, revealing that she has her baby son in Syria and will only spill her guts on her lover’s dirty secrets if she gets her boy back. Gentry is lured back by a simple withholding of fee and after initially trying to cut and run, decides to accept this Olympian undertaking, walking into hell on earth where life has lost its value and no expense will be spared to end his if he’s rumbled. Meanwhile as Courtland prepares for his journey, a mysterious Swiss gun for hire kits up and begins a journey of his own to Paris. Working for the Syrian government, he has his own agenda and is willing to shoot whomever gets in his way to achieve it. From France, to Germany to the Badlands of the Levant, The Gray Man finds himself trying to channel that supernatural legend he had cultivated. But as he finds himself close to drowning in death, only one question remains. When war is just about won, what difference can one man possibly make?
In terms of plot, “Agent in Place,” is a very intense story and the one possessing the grandest scope in the whole series to date. Like the 6th book, Gunmetal Gray, which focused on whether the all-American idealism of Gentry has any place in a profession where he’s surrounded by utter bastards and black and white morality is simply laughable, book 8, behind the gunfire, bombs and foul-mouthed internal musings is a pretty deep story. It’s a tale about survivors and what they are willing to do and destroy to live day by day. Whether it be evil ones like the Syrian President, the Levanter who has resorted to whoring himself and his country out to foreign influences and blowing Syria apart building by building, or small ones like the Swiss consultant who ruins the lives of several people in the quest to save himself from the proverbial sinking ship, the book, with all its twists and turns also explores some very complex themes that puts it a cut above many of its fellow NYT fiction bestsellers in that regard. Greaney explores the limits of humanity’s desire for survival and how it can make ordinary humans do extraordinary and horrifying things in equal measure.
Action and setting? Due to personal bias, I preferred the setting of the previous book, but in the action stakes, Greaney blows the excellent Gunmetal Gray out of the water. From the open chapter’s gun battles through a real life Paris Apartment complex, to an ambush on a Damascus highway, an infiltration of one of the most heavily guarded love nests on earth worthy of the Japanese ninjas of old, and even a highly realistic yet blistering car chase through central Damascus, readers will have the time of their lives watching Gentry go up against the odds and only until the end, keep beating them without getting a single scratch. The backdrops on which all this takes place are fully realized as well. While it is increasingly difficult to make Middle Eastern settings interesting with the weariness of the War on Terror, it is clear the author did his homework on war – torn Syria. From all the little details like a trendy real-life bar where Gentry gets into a fun scrap, to the Syrian Presidential Palace, and its monstrous geometric designs, “Agent in Place”, does the old school novelist trick of taking us to places readers will never see or experience. In this case, that trick carries some emotional weight, as like the Mediterranean Levanter Wind, some of the locations in the story are being blown away, like dust or ashes in a breeze.
Research? Top notch as usual. Greaney’s original strength as a writer was the level of real-world detail he brought into the narrative and “Agent in Place,” is a masterclass in putting the fact in fiction, the right way. From the combat tactics and variables, such as Gentry’s avoidance of Gucci, modern hardware in favour of simple, practical weapons like the silenced Glock 19, a bench - made knife and a bog standard AK47, to pursuit driving tactics that one actually needs to apply in a real car chase rather than rely on James Bond movies, we even get a highlight in the form of long range sniping and how heavy calibre bullets actually behave when fired from across a whole town. Greaney also gives us a look at the contemporary underworld of Europe and how the banking sector of a major European Power once again has been able to make a tidy sum from the bloodshed of the Syrian Civil War, like how their forefathers once did in WW2. International crime, espionage and terror has gotten even more convoluted and crazy since the last century and the world of the Gray Man accurately reflects such changes.
Finally, the author gives us a crash course on the Syrian Civil War and shows us some things that haven’t been reported in the news…. namely how the Levanter has managed to blow through his country like a tornado. From the Sunni militias who decided to throw their lot in with their Alawite Boss rather than skin him alive for the delight of the rebel forces, to a special ordinance that created instant de – facto war lords who divided and conquered the country back for the house of Assad, Agent In Place shows the real life costs of the Levanter’s opportunism and betrayals and how they totally destroyed Syria, one of the oldest nations on earth.
Characters? Quite a few standouts this time around but for brevity’s sake, I shall focus on four. First, Courtland Gentry. Gentry in this story has an interesting character arc of sorts, one that is self-serving but noble in a strange way. After book 7 where he got rudely reacquainted with the dubious nature of the work he had once done as a government employee, in this story we start with him trying to find a job that will boot his spirits and reaffirm his idealism, a morally righteous mission that will be achieved for his own damn satisfaction, rather than that of his new handler in Langley whom he grew to hate after their first run together. He gets more than he bargained for, finding himself agreeing to an ultimate high-risk proposition which would kill any ordinary soldier or intelligence officer after a week.
But then again, Gentry is not an ordinary soldier, nor is he an intelligence officer. The Gray Man is on outstanding form in this story, at the peak of his powers in contrast to books 1 – 6 where he was barely making it out alive. For much of the story, he is able to outfox his pursuers and improvise far more smoothly when things start to go wrong as they always do with Gentry’s bad luck. It is only near the end where he’s tripped up, not by his own moral goodness getting in the way, but by simple bad luck that not even the best plan could see coming. But of course, Gentry is much too badass to be killed by simple bad luck. The climactic scene where the answer to the in-media res prologue is given will make you cheer at its cathartic payoff where the bodies hit the floor even when Courtland doesn’t have a gun.
Next, we have Sebastian Drexler. Drexler is probably my favourite character in the book, as he is a modern take on the 1980s Eurotrash bad guy. Of all the people in this story, he could be considered the true Levanter of “Agent In Place”, even more so than the actual Levanter that Gentry is hunting down. A Swiss Spy, born in the French side of the small, but influential nation, Drexler decided to relive the best traditions of his people. He became a mercenary, a boutique gun for hire amongst Europe’s more snobbish Corporate tycoons and later the not so snobbish dictators of the Third World. Forced into exile in Syria, Drexler starts the story with his career and life on the line. With Gentry ruining one of his plans, Drexler realizes that his current client is going to kill him if there is one more failure and so begins to make his exit plans, on the corpses of several innocent civilians and a baby boy if need be.
Well spoken, charming and dressed in Daniel Craig’s Tom Ford suits, Drexler’s corporate fixer act, is but a façade. Embodying the evils of opportunism far more than even his clients, while affable for the most part, our Swiss mercenary is a competent, supremely despicable villain. There are few lines left for him to cross and in the race to save himself from a ghastly fate, he’s willing to cross a few more even if innocent people die badly in the process. While overconfident, he is smart enough to apply the basic asset cultivation techniques to manipulate everyone around him and knows how to handle a gun in a fight. We end the story with this corporate shark racing away, and by the final chapter, you will want Courtland to hunt him again once more to put a hollow point through the man’s sharkskin suit jacket.
Finally, we have Yasmin. Yasmin is the Nanny of the boy Gentry is trying to recover. She may be a secondary character but is a critical component to Gentry’s plan. Despite being a civilian with no combat training, having worked for very violent men, she shows surprising ice-cold nerves and common sense when the strange American barges into her life and makes off with her and her charge in a Hyundai Sonata across Damascus. Avoiding all of the aggravating hysterical woman tropes, Yasmin is a great secondary character, and one who has a surprising and unexpected past, being witness to one of the Levanter’s great betrayals of a dear friend.
Constructive criticism? There was a major editing error. Drexler in the story is given a gun. Officially a Beretta 92 Inox, it in fact has the specs of the Taurus PT 92, specifically the latter’s 17 round magazine which the original 92 models did not possess.
Survival. That is the whole reason for being when it comes down to it. Survival does have its darker side however, making one capable of doing monstrous and horrifying things out of petty, sheer opportunism. Such is the lot of the Levanter in Damascus whose opportunism has kept him alive and has allowed him to triumph in the Syrian Civil War but has also caused the biggest refugee crisis since the WW2 displacement of millions of Europeans. But in Agent in Place however, sometimes opportunism is not enough. Sometimes, honouring one’s commitments even in the face of massive odds like Courtland Gentry does is how one can truly survive and live to die another day.
With its well written story, excellent intense violence, intriguing real-world details and a cast of formidable characters that you will love and loathe, “Agent in Place” is quite possibly Mark Greaney’s best written book to date, one which has won him his second, well deserved place on the NYT bestseller list. As we see the Agent in Place head off to jolly old England for his next mission, the future for the lone survivor, Courtland Gentry, doesn’t like gray and grim, but rather very bright.
“Why should we not boycott the Soviet Union and its supporters inside the country? If we do so, we can force them to review their stand. Either they give us what we want and what is necessary, or they will lose our friendship.” – Hafez Al – Assad.
“Death a thousand times to the hired Muslim Brothers, Death a thousand times to the Muslim Brothers, the criminal Brothers, the corrupt Brothers.” – Hafez Al – Assad.
“They are not my forces, they are military forces that belong to the government.… I don't own them. I am president, I don't own the country, so they are not my forces.” – Bashir Al – Assad.
“I'm not a puppet. I wasn't made by the west to go to the west or any other country. I'm Syrian. I'm made in Syria. I have to live in Syria and die in Syria.”- Bashir Al – Assad.
A famous Pakistani Journalist once mused on the House of Al – Assad that ruled Syria that the heads of the family could be considered “The Levanters”. Given to him by Bhutto, the Pakistani Prime Minister, this analogy was a reference to one of Eric Ambler’s final novels about an English expat who lived in Damascus for so long that his identity had lost its moorings. The Levanter, in Bhutto’s telling, had no beliefs or ideals he treasured. No loyalties to anyone or anything, he could be your friend at the start of the day and stab you in the back as night fell. Survival was his reason for being and profiting from continued survival was the only thing the levanter cared about above all else.
Hafez Al – Assad was the original Levanter. Originally an Arab Nationalist, over time whatever ideals he once held were eroded by simple pragmatism and ensuring the continued prosperity and survival of the Al – Assad clan. Happily killing fellow Muslims (albeit Sunnis who hated his Alawite guts) in the Hama Massacre of the 1980s, his son, Bashir has inherited his father’s mantle as the ultimate opportunistic survivor. Making friends with the Russians, the Iranians and even several Sunni militias that have thrown their lot in with the regime, while not truly submitting to their will, he has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into keeping the House of Al – Assad standing as the rest of Syria goes down in flames.
It is the bloody work of the current Levanter which is the focus of the seventh Courtland Gentry novel “Agent in Place.” In fact, the Levanter is the target of the titular Agent in Place, The Gray Man. Created by Mark Greaney the hottest new star in American spy fiction, the books centre around Courtland Gentry a former CIA assassin who was part of a special program that trained deniable one-man armies to crush the enemies of the American State with impunity. Framed for crimes he did not commit, Gentry eventually got his ticket home and settled outstanding accounts with the guilty party. In this book, we find him taking part time employment, a job of the kind he used to do when he was a fugitive from American justice. As usual with Gentry, the job becomes so complicated up to the point where he’s running for his life through an active warzone at risk from the worst humanity has to offer. Now to the review. What difference does it make when you kill one bad man and save one good boy?
The novel begins with an excellent textbook use of in media res. Gentry is in the biggest jam of his life, watching Daesh Islamofacists take a bit off the top with a blade at the edge of a nice lake that is being filled with corpses. Gentry is hog tied alongside a Syrian ally of his watching heads literally roll. The Gray Man is then dragged for his own photo op and we’re left wondering how he will survive as we begin the story proper a few months previously. In one of the biggest graveyards in Paris, Gentry attends a meeting with an elderly Syrian Doctor. The man is an exile, a revolutionary, albeit one who has much to be modest about. Running an NGO that provides humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees the doctor’s organization has decided to strike a great blow for the Syrian people against the regime that seems to have triumphed utterly against its citizens whose will it is on the verge of breaking. Knowing that they themselves do not have the experience to strike such a blow, a deal is cut with officials of the French government who proceed to hire a professional private consultant in such matters.
That consultant is the Gray Man who after his meeting methodically prepares for a night on the town. Only this case, a night on the town with the Gray Man involves a kidnapping. Breaking into one of the nicest rental apartments in Paris after dinner at a fashion show, Gentry makes off with a beautiful woman, blazing away with a nine – banger flash grenade and his now trademark silenced Glock 19 as the woman’s security detail comes under attack from ISIS terrorists. Bringing her back to his clients they confirm that the lady is the mistress of the Syrian President. She refuses to fully cooperate with clients, revealing that she has her baby son in Syria and will only spill her guts on her lover’s dirty secrets if she gets her boy back. Gentry is lured back by a simple withholding of fee and after initially trying to cut and run, decides to accept this Olympian undertaking, walking into hell on earth where life has lost its value and no expense will be spared to end his if he’s rumbled. Meanwhile as Courtland prepares for his journey, a mysterious Swiss gun for hire kits up and begins a journey of his own to Paris. Working for the Syrian government, he has his own agenda and is willing to shoot whomever gets in his way to achieve it. From France, to Germany to the Badlands of the Levant, The Gray Man finds himself trying to channel that supernatural legend he had cultivated. But as he finds himself close to drowning in death, only one question remains. When war is just about won, what difference can one man possibly make?
In terms of plot, “Agent in Place,” is a very intense story and the one possessing the grandest scope in the whole series to date. Like the 6th book, Gunmetal Gray, which focused on whether the all-American idealism of Gentry has any place in a profession where he’s surrounded by utter bastards and black and white morality is simply laughable, book 8, behind the gunfire, bombs and foul-mouthed internal musings is a pretty deep story. It’s a tale about survivors and what they are willing to do and destroy to live day by day. Whether it be evil ones like the Syrian President, the Levanter who has resorted to whoring himself and his country out to foreign influences and blowing Syria apart building by building, or small ones like the Swiss consultant who ruins the lives of several people in the quest to save himself from the proverbial sinking ship, the book, with all its twists and turns also explores some very complex themes that puts it a cut above many of its fellow NYT fiction bestsellers in that regard. Greaney explores the limits of humanity’s desire for survival and how it can make ordinary humans do extraordinary and horrifying things in equal measure.
Action and setting? Due to personal bias, I preferred the setting of the previous book, but in the action stakes, Greaney blows the excellent Gunmetal Gray out of the water. From the open chapter’s gun battles through a real life Paris Apartment complex, to an ambush on a Damascus highway, an infiltration of one of the most heavily guarded love nests on earth worthy of the Japanese ninjas of old, and even a highly realistic yet blistering car chase through central Damascus, readers will have the time of their lives watching Gentry go up against the odds and only until the end, keep beating them without getting a single scratch. The backdrops on which all this takes place are fully realized as well. While it is increasingly difficult to make Middle Eastern settings interesting with the weariness of the War on Terror, it is clear the author did his homework on war – torn Syria. From all the little details like a trendy real-life bar where Gentry gets into a fun scrap, to the Syrian Presidential Palace, and its monstrous geometric designs, “Agent in Place”, does the old school novelist trick of taking us to places readers will never see or experience. In this case, that trick carries some emotional weight, as like the Mediterranean Levanter Wind, some of the locations in the story are being blown away, like dust or ashes in a breeze.
Research? Top notch as usual. Greaney’s original strength as a writer was the level of real-world detail he brought into the narrative and “Agent in Place,” is a masterclass in putting the fact in fiction, the right way. From the combat tactics and variables, such as Gentry’s avoidance of Gucci, modern hardware in favour of simple, practical weapons like the silenced Glock 19, a bench - made knife and a bog standard AK47, to pursuit driving tactics that one actually needs to apply in a real car chase rather than rely on James Bond movies, we even get a highlight in the form of long range sniping and how heavy calibre bullets actually behave when fired from across a whole town. Greaney also gives us a look at the contemporary underworld of Europe and how the banking sector of a major European Power once again has been able to make a tidy sum from the bloodshed of the Syrian Civil War, like how their forefathers once did in WW2. International crime, espionage and terror has gotten even more convoluted and crazy since the last century and the world of the Gray Man accurately reflects such changes.
Finally, the author gives us a crash course on the Syrian Civil War and shows us some things that haven’t been reported in the news…. namely how the Levanter has managed to blow through his country like a tornado. From the Sunni militias who decided to throw their lot in with their Alawite Boss rather than skin him alive for the delight of the rebel forces, to a special ordinance that created instant de – facto war lords who divided and conquered the country back for the house of Assad, Agent In Place shows the real life costs of the Levanter’s opportunism and betrayals and how they totally destroyed Syria, one of the oldest nations on earth.
Characters? Quite a few standouts this time around but for brevity’s sake, I shall focus on four. First, Courtland Gentry. Gentry in this story has an interesting character arc of sorts, one that is self-serving but noble in a strange way. After book 7 where he got rudely reacquainted with the dubious nature of the work he had once done as a government employee, in this story we start with him trying to find a job that will boot his spirits and reaffirm his idealism, a morally righteous mission that will be achieved for his own damn satisfaction, rather than that of his new handler in Langley whom he grew to hate after their first run together. He gets more than he bargained for, finding himself agreeing to an ultimate high-risk proposition which would kill any ordinary soldier or intelligence officer after a week.
But then again, Gentry is not an ordinary soldier, nor is he an intelligence officer. The Gray Man is on outstanding form in this story, at the peak of his powers in contrast to books 1 – 6 where he was barely making it out alive. For much of the story, he is able to outfox his pursuers and improvise far more smoothly when things start to go wrong as they always do with Gentry’s bad luck. It is only near the end where he’s tripped up, not by his own moral goodness getting in the way, but by simple bad luck that not even the best plan could see coming. But of course, Gentry is much too badass to be killed by simple bad luck. The climactic scene where the answer to the in-media res prologue is given will make you cheer at its cathartic payoff where the bodies hit the floor even when Courtland doesn’t have a gun.
Next, we have Sebastian Drexler. Drexler is probably my favourite character in the book, as he is a modern take on the 1980s Eurotrash bad guy. Of all the people in this story, he could be considered the true Levanter of “Agent In Place”, even more so than the actual Levanter that Gentry is hunting down. A Swiss Spy, born in the French side of the small, but influential nation, Drexler decided to relive the best traditions of his people. He became a mercenary, a boutique gun for hire amongst Europe’s more snobbish Corporate tycoons and later the not so snobbish dictators of the Third World. Forced into exile in Syria, Drexler starts the story with his career and life on the line. With Gentry ruining one of his plans, Drexler realizes that his current client is going to kill him if there is one more failure and so begins to make his exit plans, on the corpses of several innocent civilians and a baby boy if need be.
Well spoken, charming and dressed in Daniel Craig’s Tom Ford suits, Drexler’s corporate fixer act, is but a façade. Embodying the evils of opportunism far more than even his clients, while affable for the most part, our Swiss mercenary is a competent, supremely despicable villain. There are few lines left for him to cross and in the race to save himself from a ghastly fate, he’s willing to cross a few more even if innocent people die badly in the process. While overconfident, he is smart enough to apply the basic asset cultivation techniques to manipulate everyone around him and knows how to handle a gun in a fight. We end the story with this corporate shark racing away, and by the final chapter, you will want Courtland to hunt him again once more to put a hollow point through the man’s sharkskin suit jacket.
Finally, we have Yasmin. Yasmin is the Nanny of the boy Gentry is trying to recover. She may be a secondary character but is a critical component to Gentry’s plan. Despite being a civilian with no combat training, having worked for very violent men, she shows surprising ice-cold nerves and common sense when the strange American barges into her life and makes off with her and her charge in a Hyundai Sonata across Damascus. Avoiding all of the aggravating hysterical woman tropes, Yasmin is a great secondary character, and one who has a surprising and unexpected past, being witness to one of the Levanter’s great betrayals of a dear friend.
Constructive criticism? There was a major editing error. Drexler in the story is given a gun. Officially a Beretta 92 Inox, it in fact has the specs of the Taurus PT 92, specifically the latter’s 17 round magazine which the original 92 models did not possess.
Survival. That is the whole reason for being when it comes down to it. Survival does have its darker side however, making one capable of doing monstrous and horrifying things out of petty, sheer opportunism. Such is the lot of the Levanter in Damascus whose opportunism has kept him alive and has allowed him to triumph in the Syrian Civil War but has also caused the biggest refugee crisis since the WW2 displacement of millions of Europeans. But in Agent in Place however, sometimes opportunism is not enough. Sometimes, honouring one’s commitments even in the face of massive odds like Courtland Gentry does is how one can truly survive and live to die another day.
With its well written story, excellent intense violence, intriguing real-world details and a cast of formidable characters that you will love and loathe, “Agent in Place” is quite possibly Mark Greaney’s best written book to date, one which has won him his second, well deserved place on the NYT bestseller list. As we see the Agent in Place head off to jolly old England for his next mission, the future for the lone survivor, Courtland Gentry, doesn’t like gray and grim, but rather very bright.
February 15, 2018
I’m one of those people that really really really loves government thrillers, military operatives, spy novels, and conspiracy stories. Admittedly I haven’t read a lot of classic ‘spy novels’ but secretly my dream job would be international spy master or CIA operative.
Travel the world with unlimited resources and loose rules with no one to report to….it all sounds horribly romantic to me, which I am sure in real life it is anything but. However a girl can dream.
In addition to my rose colored view of the world, I also have all the latest spy movies queued up ready to watch at any time. I love espionage and seeing how the darker side of government and politics works. It’s my guilty pleasure.
I don’t really know why I haven’t read more spy novels, it’s a genre that I think I would love but I just haven’t committed to really diving in and reading more than one or two here and there. Which is why when this book came along I was in a mood to read something that would be fast paced, get me hooked, and take me someplace other than Regency era England….check, check, and check.
Obviously I am coming into this series six books too late. When you are that far into a series, it’s evident that there are a number of different things you might be missing as a new reader. Sometimes that matters and other times it doesn’t. I would say with this book it was a mixed bag.
On the whole I didn’t feel so lost that I couldn’t enjoy the book as a stand alone….in fact I enjoyed it as a stand alone very much, but on the other hand there were clearly things that I had missed. I will let you decide if that’s going to bother you or not. I knew when I picked up this book that I would have to just go on faith and not read too much into things I was so clearly not privy to.
This book comes in at just over 500 pages, so it’s long. But there is A LOT going on in the action department so those 500 pages go quick. This book is a modern day thrill ride and it had all the bells and whistles. I found myself reading later and later just to see what was going to happen next. It is realistic and the plot believable which was one of the things I loved so much.
To reiterate, this book is unapologetically action. There really is nothing else to appeal to a wider audience so if you are looking for something more inclusive of other genres, this isn’t it. It was refreshing and an escape for me. I’ve been spending a lot of my reading time engulfed in historical romances or historical mysteries and this was so far from things I have been reading that it was a welcome distraction.
As for Court himself, I liked him. He is a genuine guy with ‘a heart of gold’….a fact which we are reminded a little too much about throughout the novel. He was easy to like and his intentions were honorable but again, I didn’t like being told that on a regular basis.
Since I haven’t read too many modern day spy novels or thrillers such as this, I can’t be sure how it compares to other authors within the genre. In my opinion this was a fabulous book that would be a welcome distraction on vacation, on a sick day or on a cold rainy afternoon.
It was a fast paced read…..perhaps not ‘quick’ based on the actual page length, but it felt like it went quick because there was a lot of action. I have read a few other reviews on this book by people who read a lot in this genre and it sounds like this author and series is setting the bar pretty high and I would agree. I felt like I was reading something special and original rather than a formulary, run of the mill spy novel. I would gladly read more books in this series or by this author!
See my full review here
Travel the world with unlimited resources and loose rules with no one to report to….it all sounds horribly romantic to me, which I am sure in real life it is anything but. However a girl can dream.
In addition to my rose colored view of the world, I also have all the latest spy movies queued up ready to watch at any time. I love espionage and seeing how the darker side of government and politics works. It’s my guilty pleasure.
I don’t really know why I haven’t read more spy novels, it’s a genre that I think I would love but I just haven’t committed to really diving in and reading more than one or two here and there. Which is why when this book came along I was in a mood to read something that would be fast paced, get me hooked, and take me someplace other than Regency era England….check, check, and check.
Obviously I am coming into this series six books too late. When you are that far into a series, it’s evident that there are a number of different things you might be missing as a new reader. Sometimes that matters and other times it doesn’t. I would say with this book it was a mixed bag.
On the whole I didn’t feel so lost that I couldn’t enjoy the book as a stand alone….in fact I enjoyed it as a stand alone very much, but on the other hand there were clearly things that I had missed. I will let you decide if that’s going to bother you or not. I knew when I picked up this book that I would have to just go on faith and not read too much into things I was so clearly not privy to.
This book comes in at just over 500 pages, so it’s long. But there is A LOT going on in the action department so those 500 pages go quick. This book is a modern day thrill ride and it had all the bells and whistles. I found myself reading later and later just to see what was going to happen next. It is realistic and the plot believable which was one of the things I loved so much.
To reiterate, this book is unapologetically action. There really is nothing else to appeal to a wider audience so if you are looking for something more inclusive of other genres, this isn’t it. It was refreshing and an escape for me. I’ve been spending a lot of my reading time engulfed in historical romances or historical mysteries and this was so far from things I have been reading that it was a welcome distraction.
As for Court himself, I liked him. He is a genuine guy with ‘a heart of gold’….a fact which we are reminded a little too much about throughout the novel. He was easy to like and his intentions were honorable but again, I didn’t like being told that on a regular basis.
Since I haven’t read too many modern day spy novels or thrillers such as this, I can’t be sure how it compares to other authors within the genre. In my opinion this was a fabulous book that would be a welcome distraction on vacation, on a sick day or on a cold rainy afternoon.
It was a fast paced read…..perhaps not ‘quick’ based on the actual page length, but it felt like it went quick because there was a lot of action. I have read a few other reviews on this book by people who read a lot in this genre and it sounds like this author and series is setting the bar pretty high and I would agree. I felt like I was reading something special and original rather than a formulary, run of the mill spy novel. I would gladly read more books in this series or by this author!
See my full review here
February 27, 2018
In his second outing as a now un-disavowed asset for the CIA, Court Gentry, "the Gray Man," becomes involved in a plot to aid Syrian expatriates trying to topple their dangerous dictator. He helps kidnap the dictator's mistress when she is in France and get her to the rebels, but discovers she will help no one unless she is reunited with her infant son. The baby has been kept secret by both the mistress and the dictator (who, by the way, is not named Bashar al-Assad), but without him she will not cooperate, no matter what the people holding her try to do.
So Court, against his better judgment but feeling a responsibility to help people against the murderous regime ruining Syria, agrees to try to get in and sneak the baby and his nanny out of the country in Mark Greaney's 2018 Gray Man novel, Agent in Place.
Greaney built the Gray Man series with a Court who was always on the run, having been targeted by elements within his old agency who believed he could threaten their positions with his knowledge. But he brought Court back into the fold in 2016's Back Blast, working for the CIA again but also allowed to take on some of his own outside projects. The kidnapping of Bianca Medina is one of those, but Court finds that the people he's dealing with are amateurs blundering around in a world that is far too dangerous for them. That's one of the reasons he decides to help them by rescuing the baby.
Unfortunately, Agent in Place is significantly weaker than earlier Gray Man novels. It's easily twice as long as it needs to be. Court's Syrian travelogue doesn't have nearly enough importance for the space it's given, and it's founded on a clunky premise that suggests not enough time taken to make it work. Scenes set in France and later Greece that describe what's happening with Bianca while Court is in Syria are also explored in much more detail than they need to be. Greaney opens the novel with a cliffhanger scene and switches to a "One week earlier" flashback for the meat of the story that makes you wonder if he also was unsure the main plotline would actually hook a reader.
The Gray Man is his habitual never-say-die, kicking-ass-and-taking-names self, usually a few steps ahead of his opponents and always much tougher. And it's interesting to see him so purely motivated by his knight-errancy, but the indifferent execution of Agent in Place saps that interest quickly over the course of a novel that needs both shortening and focusing.
Original available here.
So Court, against his better judgment but feeling a responsibility to help people against the murderous regime ruining Syria, agrees to try to get in and sneak the baby and his nanny out of the country in Mark Greaney's 2018 Gray Man novel, Agent in Place.
Greaney built the Gray Man series with a Court who was always on the run, having been targeted by elements within his old agency who believed he could threaten their positions with his knowledge. But he brought Court back into the fold in 2016's Back Blast, working for the CIA again but also allowed to take on some of his own outside projects. The kidnapping of Bianca Medina is one of those, but Court finds that the people he's dealing with are amateurs blundering around in a world that is far too dangerous for them. That's one of the reasons he decides to help them by rescuing the baby.
Unfortunately, Agent in Place is significantly weaker than earlier Gray Man novels. It's easily twice as long as it needs to be. Court's Syrian travelogue doesn't have nearly enough importance for the space it's given, and it's founded on a clunky premise that suggests not enough time taken to make it work. Scenes set in France and later Greece that describe what's happening with Bianca while Court is in Syria are also explored in much more detail than they need to be. Greaney opens the novel with a cliffhanger scene and switches to a "One week earlier" flashback for the meat of the story that makes you wonder if he also was unsure the main plotline would actually hook a reader.
The Gray Man is his habitual never-say-die, kicking-ass-and-taking-names self, usually a few steps ahead of his opponents and always much tougher. And it's interesting to see him so purely motivated by his knight-errancy, but the indifferent execution of Agent in Place saps that interest quickly over the course of a novel that needs both shortening and focusing.
Original available here.
March 11, 2018
The Best Of The Best!!
This is far by is the best book so far. I did not want it to end, I tried so hard not to pick it up, only at bed time. But I was weak and read it every chance I got. Run don't walk to get this novel!!!! Looking forward to the next installment.
This is far by is the best book so far. I did not want it to end, I tried so hard not to pick it up, only at bed time. But I was weak and read it every chance I got. Run don't walk to get this novel!!!! Looking forward to the next installment.
December 7, 2017
Once again, Mark Greaney blows the reader away with an awesome thriller in the Gray Man series. The Gray Man is simply one of the coolest operators in the genre, because Greaney allows him to be both humble and brilliant, and this - combined with a well-tuned moral compass - makes him a very interesting protagonist in my book.
This time, Greaney brings us mostly to Syria and France with a combination of fictional and real events on the world scene, and while Greaney obviously does thorough research (probably more in Paris than in Syria, though), he is never showing off his research in the manner that many other writers in the genre can't resist the temptation to do.
Summing up, I still love Greaney's Gray Man series, and I can't wait for the next book.
[An ARC of the book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
This time, Greaney brings us mostly to Syria and France with a combination of fictional and real events on the world scene, and while Greaney obviously does thorough research (probably more in Paris than in Syria, though), he is never showing off his research in the manner that many other writers in the genre can't resist the temptation to do.
Summing up, I still love Greaney's Gray Man series, and I can't wait for the next book.
[An ARC of the book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
May 23, 2018
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If it takes 10 days to read a thriller, that’s about 6-7 days too long! And, therein lies the problem. The storyline’s meat in the middle got dry and overdone. The beginning offered a superb appetizer and the climax and denouement were equally delectable desserts. However, the protracted plot dulled it for me; I lost my appetite for it over and over, so I can not give it the extra star. The author educated me a bit on the Syrian conflict, which was exceptionally enlightening! Still love the Gray man!
If it takes 10 days to read a thriller, that’s about 6-7 days too long! And, therein lies the problem. The storyline’s meat in the middle got dry and overdone. The beginning offered a superb appetizer and the climax and denouement were equally delectable desserts. However, the protracted plot dulled it for me; I lost my appetite for it over and over, so I can not give it the extra star. The author educated me a bit on the Syrian conflict, which was exceptionally enlightening! Still love the Gray man!
March 15, 2018
Long,to much dialog,other than that a good book. You could put it down and make last.
See above.
Long, to much dialog, other than that a good book. You could put it down and make it last.
See above.
Long, to much dialog, other than that a good book. You could put it down and make it last.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 758 reviews