V.E.N.O.M.

A New York cop and recovering alcoholic works a murder case that stirs up a defunct organization of mercenaries and assassins in this debut novel.

More than a year after losing his wife and daughter, Brooklyn Detective Jake Penny is fighting to stay sober. So his boss, Lt. Trent Simons, sends him to upstate New York on a “low-threat task.” It’s the scene of a double homicide along with missing, presumably abducted children, but Jake’s job is to support the local police department. Yet once there, he discovers a hidden stash of money and passports. Now Jake has the attention of National Security Agency agent Ethan Parker, who informs the detective that Wei Pei, one of the deceased, is actually Liang Do Shen. He was the former leader of Veiled and Exclusive Nation of Organized Mercenaries and had been safely hiding in America with, allegedly, collateral. The news of the collateral and its likely location, Parker claims, is sure to bring out highly skilled and deadly ex-members of V.E.N.O.M. Parker and Jake work together to stop the group while the detective gets assistance from Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Zasha Avery, who’s itching for an exclusive. But as the inquiry deepens, Jake may have trouble trusting anyone. Mitchell’s series opener is filled with action scenes and, accordingly, moves at a steady clip. Still, there’s ample mystery brewing, from how Jake’s wife and daughter died to what exactly Liang’s collateral was. Though sequences of explosions and fisticuffs are exhilarating, the author doesn’t stylize them. They’re often quite brutal, and one scene in particular features a startling turn that puts the violence in perspective—for readers as well as the characters. Mitchell astutely plays with character expectations; at least one mercenary doesn’t seem villainous, and reputed good guys aren’t so wholesome. As the sole female representative, Zasha is formidable, intelligent, and only gets better as the narrative progresses. Despite a few predictable plot twists, the story offers numerous surprises and a sublime setup for Book 2.

A swift, rousing, and first-rate detective series launch.