Ghost Sniper

May 16, 2016
Some of the recurring characters in McEwen and Koloniar’s thrilling fourth Sniper Elite novel (after 2015’s The Sniper and the Wolf) appear to have lost their moral compass and are difficult to root for, but the rousing plot and bloodstained action are strictly on-target. Former Green Beret Chance Vaught, now a special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, is in charge of protecting a motorcade through Mexico City that includes Alice Downly, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. When the motorcade gets caught in an ambush and a sniper kills Downly, Vaught’s in trouble. But his CIA handler gives him a chance to redeem himself by allowing him to pursue the sniper, who presumably was acting on the behalf of the drug cartels. Meanwhile, Navy SEAL Gil Shannon has disappeared and is presumed dead, so Vaught and Dan Crosswhite, a former Delta Force operator, must lead the fight against the cartels. The authors keep the suspense high right through to the surprise ending. Agent: Ian Kleinert, Objective Entertainment.

June 1, 2016
The fourth novel in the Sniper Elite series continues the pattern of action and adventure mixed with strong heroes. This time there are two separate stories as Gil Shannon receives an assignment at the same time retired Navy SEAL Daniel Crosswhite has a case land in his lap. Shannon's orders are to kill a businessman, but when he falls for the target's fiancee, all bets are off. An exGreen Beret named Chance Vaught witnesses the people he's assigned to protect murdered at the hands of a sniper, and he turns to Crosswhite for help. Trust is key since it's impossible to know if the usual allies are truly reliable in an atmosphere of intense paranoia. Some of the dialogue and sex scenes are a bit clunky, but the military action is stellar. Readers of the previous novels will be eager to turn the pages of this one, as will action-adventure fans who appreciate authentically told military fiction. Coauthor McEwen is also the coauthor of Chris Kyle's autobiography, American Sniper (2011), which was made into the Oscar-winning film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)