The Hit List (Windsor Selection S.) - Hardcover

Ryan, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754015351 ISBN 13: 9780754015352

Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C, 2001

Synopsis

When Robert Maxwell is assassinated at sea by an unknown agency, it can only be a matter of time before the dark secret at the heart of the British Establishment is exposed to the light of day.

SAS soldier Neil Slater has left the Army but soon it seems he is to be drawn back into the covert world. Bowing to the inevitable he allows himself to be recruited by the Cadre, a group that applies 'the rules of war' to those who threaten the internal and external security of the State. Slater soon finds himself in a rising body count situation and asking the question: who is the real enemy?

Hit List is another action-packed, explosive story from an establisehd master of the military thriller.

About this title

Review:

Though The Hit List addresses the old chestnut of the military professional who cannot escape his true calling, it's got a solid backbone derived in no small part from ex-SAS author Ryan's explicit knowledge of death-laden situations. Armed with the vivid technical detail that raw experience provides, danger leaps off the page, evaded only by finely tuned intuition and training, rather than by some well-worn cliché. This is marvellously evident in Neil Slater, the ex-SAS serviceman whose chances at a peaceful life are shattered when he is approached by elite assassination squad "The Cadre", who have use for his anti-social skills in dispatching "enemies of the State". Slater is under no illusion of what he is, comfortable in the "Darklands", despite the psychological difficulties it causes him. More than a emotionally-barren, pain-thriving superman--Slater bleeds, he suffers, but all the time he is the battle-honed professional. As such, he is a perfect vessel for Ryan's hardened brand of realism, thrust into situations where each act of violence is measured to provoke an exact response:

Slater shot Pasquale through the top of the arch of his right foot. The pain, he knew, would be extreme...and the shock would be sufficient to break any resistance immediately.

Such realism is accentuated by Ryan's use of real-life figures, with the late Robert Maxwell's plot-pivotal appearance being chillingly appealing as well as being an excellent hook, given his conspiracy strewn legacy. Another hugely enjoyable offering from Ryan, whose fluid translation of his adventurous past to gritty bullet-paced fiction offers a feast for the reader who craves a glimpse into an underworld of intrigue and extreme violence. --Danny Graydon

Review:

"Heart-in-mouth action" (Mirror)

"A covert-double-crossing-twist-in-the-tale plot...intelligent and entertaining" (Maxim)

"A helter-skelter adrenaline rush...a gripping read" (Irish Independent)

"Plenty of insider knowledge on SAS covert procedures" (Yorkshire Evening Post)

About this edition

• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0754015351
• ISBN 13: 9780754015352
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 424