Some Die Nameless

May 7, 2018
An overly familiar setup—an elite ex-military man attempting to leave his past behind him becomes entangled with a criminal element—mars this predictable thriller from Stroby (The Devil’s Share and three other Crissa Stone novels). After a stint as an Army paratrooper, Ray Devlin was part of a mercenary team that worked as security contractors in political hot spots all around the world. Now 54 years old, divorced, and living in a boat off the coast of South Florida, he is almost killed by a former team member he hasn’t seen in almost two decades. Attempting to stay alive long enough to find out who is behind the assassination attempt, Devlin follows clues to Philadelphia, where his path intertwines with that of an investigative reporter struggling to keep her job by breaking a story about multiple murders and grand-scale political corruption. Devlin’s two-dimensional character is interchangeable with countless similar thriller protagonists, and the story’s climax, while satisfying, is unsurprising. Fans will hope for a return to form next time. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

Starred review from May 1, 2018
Ray Devlin lives off the grid in Florida, having cut ties with nearly everyone he once knew in the seamy world of private security. So, when Aaron Bell shows up, Devlin is wary?and his wariness is justified when Bell attempts to kill him. Devlin survives, but Bell doesn't, and Devlin is off to find out who wants him dead. In Philadelphia, newspaper reporter Tracy Quinn's police scanner alerts her to a corpse, a decomp just discovered by police. Tracy is smart and driven, and the PD's detectives trust her. But her newspaper is failing. No one knows when the pink slips might be coming. Devlin arrives in Philly to talk with saloon-owner Roark, the only person from his old life whom he trusts. But soon after they talk, Roark and all his customers are murdered. Tracy's decomp has proven to be a South American man living under an assumed name, and soon Tracy and Devlin are both targets and have become uneasy allies. Stroby (The Devil's Share, 2015), who is frequently compared to Elmore Leonard, remains at the top of his game. His sketches of today's newspapers and their financial woes are vividly rendered, as is his take on the sordid business of companies attempting to exploit the idea of Democracy for Profit. Best of all, Stroby's prose is as lean, clean, and mean as ever.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

February 15, 2018

Ray Devlin is snoozing his life away in Florida when he's rudely reminded that as a mercenary he helped bring a pitiless South American dictator to power. He links up with struggling investigative reporter Tracy Quinn over a corpse in an empty row house, seeking redemption as she seeks a big story. From the author of the popular Crissa Stone novels.

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