For fans of former CIA operative fiction — which seems to be its own little niche in today’s market — welcome a new character to the fold in FIRST TO KILL, the debut novel from Andrew Peterson. His name is Nathan McBride, a Marine-trained sniper who worked CIA covert ops.
What’s nice is that Peterson doesn’t weigh down the story with a massive amounts of backstory, which could easily kill this type of book. The reader is given bits of information when needed, including some of the horrors McBride endured, but those are told late in the story, adding to the mystique of his persona.
McBride doesn’t work alone; his best friend and partner is Harvey Fontana, a man of equal skill and talent, and his closest confidant. These two men are enjoying a life of retirement until McBride is given an assignment which his skills are best suited for, offered by Frank Ortega, one of his father’s closet friends. A deep undercover agent for the FBI has gone missing while working a case against two brothers steeped in the militia lifestyle. They have a ton of Semtex explosive and are not afraid to use it.
One of the brothers has serious vengeance issues, and the missing agent is Ortega’s grandson. McBride is given carte blanche to handle the case any way he wants, including using tactics that are right up there with some of the writings of Donald Hamilton. This book sets its pace early on and Peterson does a fine job of never letting up.
As a character, McBride is nothing new to the genre, meaning he is a man on a mission who has a few father issues. But when it comes right down to it, he is also a man who will finish the job he starts. What sets FIRST TO KILL apart from others in the genre is that Peterson overextends his characters’ abilities; McBride can be hurt and bleeds just like others.
There are so many great action sequences that read like a fantastic film. This is definitely the start of something good that Peterson hopefully will be able to deliver on further. If he can continue the high-wire act of creating another believable story like this one, then watch out for a new hero in town. —Bruce Grossman
Related posts:
- Kill Now, Pay Later
- The Fever Kill
- My Lovely Executioner / Agreement to Kill
- Learning to Kill: Stories
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Spillane … ‘Nuff Said!
