I read Sirocco, the second book in the series about international bounty hunters Finnegan and Fiero, and liked it so much I decided to pick up this one. It goes back to the beginning of their partnership, showing how they met as antagonists, decided they were approaching the same problem from different directions, and chose to work together to resolve problems which weren’t being dealt with by conventional methods. Three years on from the beginning of their partnership, they are far more than comfortable with each other, they exhibit absolutely complete and unshakeable mutual trust in each other.
For some reason I keep picturing Finnegan as Jeremy Renner, and I think it’s because the pair definitely have a Hawkeye and Black Widow vibe; the soldier and the spy/assassin (although Finnegan’s a former cop rather than soldier). The trust they have in each other without the relationship being in any way romantic is the same, though. And Katalin Fiero Dahar is definitely a Black Widow, a chameleon able to fit in anywhere, perfectly happy to use her beauty and femininity as a weapon just as lethal as her guns.
As I noted in reviewing Sirocco, Finnegan and Fiero have fascinating friends; mercenary McTavish appears here with a few of his crew to help out, as does the corrupt money launderer Ways and Means and, my favourite side character, Sally Blue, the hacker and surveillance expert whose crew are happy to help out in return for being allowed to steal anything not nailed down at the end of the job. (I really want a whole series about Sally, please and thank you).
This is a really good action-adventure series with a pair of truly fascinating protagonists, that avoids falling into the trap of overly-sexing up what they do. It’s got so much potential; it’s the kind of thing that would make really excellent TV (please do cast Jeremy Renner as Finnegan… I’m begging you!) Five stars for a fantastic read.
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