Cold Shot (Kyra Stryker & Jonathan Burke, #2) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

Jan 16, 2015 Samuel rated it it was amazing

DEAD ON TARGET

Last year, we had Venezuela go up in smoke. Hugo Chavez had finally given up the ghost and an election was conducted. The state used violence and marshaled its significant assets to assist in getting Chavez's chosen successor into office. Venezuela is geopolitically important. A friend of states like Iran, and with significant oil reserves at its disposal, the people who run it like to thumb their noses at what they consider the number one threat to their existence, America. In Ma DEAD ON TARGET

Last year, we had Venezuela go up in smoke. Hugo Chavez had finally given up the ghost and an election was conducted. The state used violence and marshaled its significant assets to assist in getting Chavez's chosen successor into office. Venezuela is geopolitically important. A friend of states like Iran, and with significant oil reserves at its disposal, the people who run it like to thumb their noses at what they consider the number one threat to their existence, America. In Mark Henshaw's second book, "Cold Shot" he uses Venezuela as a backdrop and crafts a simple but clever conspiracy around their relationship with Iran. Now to the review. How would a country get around sanctions to develop WMD's in peace? And what would happen if the project got rumbled?

The novel begins off the coast of Africa. A team of IRGC soldiers recapture a ship with a special cargo from Somali Pirates. The team leader meets with a noted Iranian scientist. The latter gets pissed off when he finds one of the containers was blown open and takes out his frustrations with a knife on one of the surviving pirates. This mistake is revealed when a US navy vessel finds the body and catches the attention of the CIA. What starts out as a routine investigation leads the Red Cell partnership of Stryker and Burke to Venezuela, where they track the ship down. Stryker does some surveillance work and finds some dock workers suffering from radiation poisoning. From there, events escalate as the Agency attempt to expose a project hatched by Iran and Venezuela while having to contend with a new political busybody who has just taken up residence in the White House.

In terms of plot, Henshaw improved mighty from his first book. Complications and plot twists come thick and fast with the Red Cell team having to contend with surprising problems that bedevil the success of their assignment and their chances of getting away alive. From an infiltration into a hidden, jungle based weapons factory, a riot outside the Caracas US Embassy and a final, harrowing exfiltration across the Venezuelan coastline, the author takes what worked in his first book and dials it up to eleven. Mr Henshaw also continues his progress at becoming the next Tom Clancy with another well-researched narrative. From the particulars of sniping, accurate tradecraft and a plausible portrayal of the kit CIA officer Stryker uses in getting around security systems, the technical details have a constant, "insider" ring.

Characters? Once again, so many standouts so I'll focus on 4.
Stryker and Burke continue to shine once more. Stryker continues to prove herself as one of the stronger female characters in the post 9/11 spy thriller genre. This time around, she's had to bring along a Heckler and Koch 416 and acquits herself admirably with it when things go to hell in one part of the book. Still the calm professional from the last book, her relationship with her partner has also developed. She helps him through a rough patch partway through the book. Next, we get major character development for John Burke. From a flashback to one of his past assignments and the reveal that he's a decent sniper, the author fleshed him out a lot more than in the previous book.
Then there's Director Cooke. A competent spymaster that you wouldn't mind as your boss, she is faced with some major problems in the form of a commander in chief who on a whim wants to cook her goose. Fighting him off and constantly frustrating his plans is fun to watch, especially as he gets more angry and obsessed as the book goes on.
Finally, the president himself. Henshaw crafts a perfect example of the worst possible politician an intelligence officer could have as a task master. Petty, vindicative and arrogant, at times he was making me cringe as his little game with Director Cooke turned into an idiotic obsessive vendetta. It was fun near the climax to see his chief of staff knock him down a notch but he still survived the events of the book, ready to cause hell for our main characters.

Overall, Mark Henshaw shows great promise as a spy/geopolitical thriller writer. Accurate technical details, excellent characterization (and a rare female protagonist), realistic geopolitical worst case scenarios and smooth plotting, in my opinion, he really is the next Tom Clancy. Book three in this fine series can't come fast enough!

COMPLETELY RECOMMENDED. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2017 Lee rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-spy-covert-op-books, mark-henshaw

A good second effort from Henshaw finds Kyra heading back to Venezuela trying to stop the Iranians and their allies from bringing a nuclear weapon into this hemisphere. Good read

Like · see review

Aug 16, 2015 Kevyn rated it really liked it

I think Mark E. Henshaw is the next Clancy. I read his books back to back (for me is a first).
I like his descriptions and have come to passionately love/ hate the protagonists & antagonists (both major and minor).
He has a thorough grip on his subjects and never strays.
Cant wait for the next in the series.

Like · see review