CONTRACTOR II

A government operative intercepts nuclear arms heisters in Mays’ international spy thriller.

In this electrifying sequel to Contractor (2021), the author continues the daring adventures of American CIA contractor Andrew Gold, divorced father of two and outspoken leader of the counterterrorist outfit ATG. Set after the Soviet Union’s dissolution, the story concerns nuclear weapon inventory remaining unchecked in Russian manufacturing warehouses, where threats of theft loom daily. Nefarious collective Operation Alpha Count has rallied their members to smuggle this ordnance out of Russia to sell to radical guerilla groups with destructive intentions. Their machinations, however covert, catch the attention of Gold’s ATG team. They are dispatched to intercept and shut down Alpha after the group illicitly obtains crates of plutonium warhead spheres from a bankrupt facility in Russia’s closed city of Ozersk. Gold immediately resumes his womanizing ways with Natasha, a flight attendant with whom he has a dalliance. He again joins forces with colleagues, including the Russian black market expert Dima and the beautiful, CIA–trained Sofia, with whom Gold has a complicated “emotional and romantic” reunion. The discovery of a dismembered teammate puts the group on high alert and catapults the espionage narrative into overdrive (“The horror of dying in a place like Odessa and disappearing without a clue began to sink in. For the time being, though, the twelve-inch width of the shelter’s heavy-duty frame was taking all the rounds that would have blown his head off”). Once it’s clear who’s on which side, there’s a satisfying conclusion to this twisty thriller that's filled with secret agendas and merciless bloodshed. The open ending signals more exploits to come. Despite a brisk summary of Gold’s previous spy adventures in Warsaw and Russia, readers new to the series may want to start with Mays’ first Contractor installment to get all the dirty details on its audacious hero.  

Further captivating adventures of a resilient spy continuously dodging enemy fire.