First to Kill-Andrew Peterson

First to Kill
Andrew Peterson
Leisure, Aug 2008, $7.99
ISBN: 0843961449

Although relatively young, the forty-four year old Nathan McBride has retired twice; first from the Marines and than from the CIA. As a top sniper, Nathan knew that his profession was an even younger person’s game though he kept himself in great shape.

Nathan and his partner Harvey Fontana are doing quite well as civilians. The Feds are stunned with the disappearance of undercover FBI agent Greg and a ton of highly explosive Semtex. Adding to their concern is that the person missing happens to be the grandson of former FBI director Frank Ortega and the son of Agent Greg Ortega who helped Fontana once rescue McBride from a nasty scenario. The Feds recall Nathan to active duty, assigning him to first recover the Semtex and if possible rescue their missing agent. He quickly traces the explosives to two American illegal arms dealers, brothers Leonard and Ernie Bridgestone. When he takes out one of their key men, the siblings strike back; by blowing up the FBI headquarters building in Lassen County, California. However, as McBride works to capture the homegrown terrorists, he finds his investigation spinning towards Ortega and his own estranged father.

From the opening scenes in which McBride breaks a bully’s bones, confronts a Rottweiler, and heeds the advice of Frank’s wife, he makes this over the top of Laseen Peak thriller fun to read. Fans will admire his poise under fire and his loathing of the job yet he has no hesitation to kill even as he keeps count as a reminder that each death is a loss. A romantic subplot with an agent is kept low keyed, but feels sort of required rather than desired. Still thriller readers will enjoy this fast-paced tale starring a wonderful hero whose escapades never seen to end.

Harriet Klausner