Publisher's Weekly Review
British author Cross's subpar third thriller starring shadowy Carter Blake (after 2016's The Samaritan) adds nothing new to a familiar espionage fiction scenario-a covert operative on the run from his former employers. Blake worked for seven years for a secret group known as Winterlong, which originated in the Pentagon but now has its headquarters in midtown Manhattan. It was designed to be an "agile, kinetic response to emerging threats, focusing on bringing together the top tier of military and intelligence operators in a small, compartmentalized unit." Now the agents of Winterlong are after Blake because he possesses "something that could, perhaps, take down the whole organization." Blake learns he's in the crosshairs while in California tracing the thief of valuable software that would enable its legitimate owner to "make Facebook look like a paper journal." His cross-country race to stay alive features predictable collateral damage and narrow escapes. Series fans will hope for a return to form next time. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, LBA (U.K.). (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Sometimes you need a blackhat, a U.S. senator muses near the beginning of this agreeable thriller. He's talking about the government hiring psychopathic killers for off-the-books wet work or black ops. But when these nuts run out of enemies to kill, might they not turn on anyone they see as in their way? Or just anyone? Carter Blake was an agent of the supersecret Winterlong, disposing of people the world was absolutely better off without. But then he observed his colleagues cheerfully murdering bystanders. He got out, agreeing to keep quiet about what he'd seen and done if they'd leave him alone. They don't. He's enjoying his work now as a high-tech bounty hunter until he finds that Winterlong is coming for him. The novel turns quickly into chase scenes, confrontations, and gun battles, all well done, though a tad wordy and overlong. What stays in the memory are the insights into the way these folks think as they achieve power and a lack of accountability that other domestic law enforcement agents would kill for. --Crinklaw, Don Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In this third Carter Blake thriller (after The Samaritan), Cross depicts government operatives scurrying across the United States searching for a flash drive belonging to a secret group known as Winterlong. Meanwhile, Blake, who had once worked for the mysterious agency, is hired by a Silicon Valley executive to find a software engineer who had downloaded a copy of his company's soon-to-be-released social networking product also onto a flash drive. While he quickly finds his target and the missing file, Blake must evade his former covert colleagues, who are determined to tie up loose ends and retrieve their missing data, which holds a record of Winterlong's off-the-books missions. Verdict Tracking two missing computer devices doesn't constitute an engaging plot, and the cat and mouse chases fail to lead to an exciting climax. Only readers who enjoy the series will want this, and even they might be disappointed.-Jerry P. Miller. Cambridge, MA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
