Steel Fear

Starred review from May 3, 2021
Bestsellers Webb and Mann (Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide) effortlessly transition into fiction with this nail-biter set aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is about to leave the Persian Gulf and return to the States. Since a deadly helicopter accident, morale has been low aboard the aircraft carrier. Then a crew member apparently commits suicide by jumping off the ship, followed by a second similar death six days later. Both left typed notes, raising the possibility that a murderer is responsible. Attention focuses on Finn, a Navy SEAL who arrived shortly before the first fatality. Suspecting foul play, Finn investigates, but he’s unsettled by his loss of memory around the times of the fatalities, as well as by his last operation, in which his team failed to stop a terror cell from massacring civilians in Yemen. The authors effectively integrate former Navy SEAL Webb's military experiences into the plot, making every detail ring true. That more thrillers are to come from these authors will be welcome news to readers who appreciate carefully plotted and intelligent suspense. Agent: Alyssa Reuben, Paradigm Talent Agency.

June 1, 2021

DEBUT NOVEL Tom Clancy meets Agatha Christie in this electrifying tale of a serial killer aboard an aircraft carrier. Navy SEAL Finn hitches a ride home from the Persian Gulf on the USS Abraham Lincoln, where he keeps to himself and wanders the giant vessel. Soon, shipmates start dying; these appear at first to be suicides, but the truth is more sinister. Finn, being the newcomer on board, becomes the primary suspect. Proving his innocence might lead to redemption, so he's motivated to uncover the truth. VERDICT The combo of a military thriller and a serial killer narrative is genius, and the story sings with compelling authenticity. Readers of either genre will find much to savor in this page-turning novel. Webb and Mann dive into the world of the aircraft carrier--an enormous city on the sea that's a character in itself. Hopefully, this is only the start of a series featuring the enigmatic Navy SEAL Finn.--Jeff Ayers, Seattle

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2021
Something bad happened to Navy SEAL Finn (one name only) in Yemen, and now something just as bad is happening to him and others on the USS Abraham Lincoln. There's a serial killer aboard the aircraft carrier as it makes its way from the Persian Gulf to San Diego, and outsider Finn, hitching a ride home on the ship, is the number-one suspect. It doesn't help that Finn, suffering from blackouts after what happened in Yemen--the details of which he can't remember--half suspects himself of the murders. Naturally, he has no choice but to find the killer, even if it means looking into the fog of his PTSD-clouded mind. Former SEAL Webb and coauthor Mann (they've paired on several best-selling nonfiction books) hit all the right notes in their fiction debut, which blends the high-tech trappings of a military thriller with the crushing claustrophobia of a locked-room mystery (if that locked room was home to more than 5,000 people, along with 90 aircraft and a handful of nuclear reactors). Like Lee Child in his Jack Reacher novels, the authors can do more than power a pulse-racing narrative. The taciturn Finn, like Reacher, combines introspection with bursts of head banging, and the numerous supporting characters, including helicopter pilot Monica Halsey, possess their own meaty backstories. For readers who can't resist a bureaucracy-battling action hero, there's a new kid on the block (or boat).

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