NO FORTUNATE SON

An elite counterterrorist operator races to save his commander’s kidnapped niece.

With more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces, Taylor (Days of Rage, 2014, etc.) writes realistic military thrillers. In the seventh installment of his series, protagonist Nephilim “Pike” Logan has been released from the highly classified counterterrorism unit referred to as the Taskforce and finds himself without a mission. When Pike’s commander, Kurt Hale, learns that his beloved niece, Kylie, has gone missing in England, he quickly fills this void in Pike’s life and tells him to find the girl at any cost. Working with his partner, Jennifer Cahill, Pike discovers that Kylie's disappearance is connected to a large-scale kidnap-and-ransom campaign by mysterious terrorists in which the military sons—and one daughter—of high-ranking American politicians have been surgically nabbed from across the globe. Although everyone in Washington is focused on bringing back the “fortunate” sons (and daughter) of America, Pike's single-minded focus is on Kylie (who reminds him of the daughter he couldn't save). The American government assumes the mass kidnapping is the work of Islamic terrorists, but Pike is convinced that the responsible party hails from the Emerald Isle. With his trademark intuition leading the way, he finds himself running down members of the Real IRA who are not only willing to dispose of the hostages, but are also planning to blow up one of Britain’s favorite tourist attractions. Like his namesake in the Bible (the Nephilim of Genesis), Pike is willing to become a giant monster, because only a monster can bring back the girl and bring these extremists to justice. Smoothly switching between third-person narration and Pike’s first-person point of view, Taylor skillfully unfolds the story until it feels like you're on a frenzied ride.

A surefire page-turner that is nearly impossible to put down.