REVIEW: Ballistic by Mark Greaney

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Ballistic by Mark Greaney
Publishing Information: Paperback 480pgs
Publisher: Berkley; 4 October 2011
ISBN: 978-0425244081
Series The Gray Man #3
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Amazon

Synopsis: "Ex-CIA assassin Court Gentry thought he could find refuge living in the Amazon rain forest. But his bloody past finds him when a vengeful Russian crime lord forces him to go on the run once again. Court makes his way to one of the only men in the world he can trust-and arrives too late. His friend is dead and buried.

Years before, Eddie Gamboa had saved Court's life. Now, Eddie has been murdered by the notorious Mexican drug cartel he fought to take down. And Court soon finds himself drawn into a war he never wanted. But in this war, there are no sides- only survivors..."

This is the third book in The Gray Man series (The Gray Man review here) and (On Target review here) and while I thought the last book, On Target, was a little bit of a miss. Ballistic really gets things back on track and we see why Court Gentry is a man to be feared.

Gentry is a man on the run from his previous handler, a Russian out for revenge and the CIA, who considers him a traitor to his country and wants him taken off the board. Because of the two groups hunting him down, he is hiding out in exotic locales that most would barely consider a spot on the map. However, even in these remote locations, he is constantly on the run from hunters out to get him. When he learns of a former colleague is gunned down by a major Mexican drug lord he can't sit idly by and goes to pay his respect to his friend's family and becomes embroiled in a fight he didn't choose as he decides to protect his friend's family until the bitter end.

Ballistic is a return to the original novel as Gentry is faced by overwhelming odds and yet he finds ways in which to turn the tide of battle and you relearn why he earned the nickname, The Gray Man. The book also does a great job of trying to take Gentry out of his comfort zone as he must protect his friend's gorgeous sister, for which they seem to have a mutual attraction. We get to see a softer side of Gentry that we haven't really seen before but that doesn't mean that the book is short on action as Greaney is on top of his game in that category.


While I had a few issues with the last book in the series, Ballistic renews my faith. I am not all that sure where the next book takes our hero but I hope that the CIA and his former Russian handler, Sidorenko, finally get their comeuppance. I have the fourth book in the series already and plan to read it in short order. The fifth book recently came out but I plan on waiting until it comes out in paperback form so that it matches my trade paperback collection.

Overall 9/10
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