All these impressive characters add a lot to the plot of Burner, especially as Greaney takes the time to explore all their motivations and deeper secrets, and their inclusion results in some amazing sequences and confrontations.

Burner is a scorching hot read that should come with a fire warning because you will be… burning… through the pages. Greaney previously worked as a waiter and bartender for ten years, [3] then later in a surgical technology company, while working on two novels in his spare time. He also sets up an ending that demands sacrifice in the name of principle — the kind of principles for which Russians and their corrupt counterparts in the US and Europe have no use. Greaney has degrees in political science and international relations, which would later play a major part in his writing career. But if either of them is to survive, they’ll need to figure out how to kick any issues from being on opposite ends of the same mission down the road and do what they do best .It’s incredible when you look at the run of can’t-miss thrillers Mark Greaney has been on over the last six or seven years.

However, he soon finds a deadly Russian kill team on his tail, and is only saved by reluctant operative Zoya Zakharova, who eventually believes his story and attempts to get him to New York. While it might seem a little insensitive to use a current conflict in a thriller novel, I personally felt that this was a master touch by Greaney. If you’re not too damn drunk, a voice tells her, we need you to find a phone with stolen banking information before anyone else gets their hands on it. Despite this, there isn’t an awful lot of character development around Court in this one, except for updating his status with the CIA. Minding his own business in the Caribbean, Court is interrupted by a young and dashing CIA officer with a lead from Suzanne Brewer.What ensues is a job offer to one of the disowned assets that she’s spent years trying to hunt down while potential damning Russian money funneling schemes are about to be broadcasted to the world. Greaney casts a very wide net when it comes to the perspectives being followed and while primary characters, such as Court Gentry and Zoya Zakharova, do get a lot more focus, you also see a lot of events occurring through the eyes of other characters, including several antagonists. However, Court is unaware of the full significance of the data he is reclaiming, and that he will have to compete against the love of his life, Zoya. Jet setting from the Caribbean to Switzerland, Court and CIA officer Angela Lacy are primed for a head to head with the Russian GRU while trying to find the information that Alex Velesky stole.