Hide In Plain Sight

Winterlong: A Carter Blake Thriller – Mason Cross – (Pegasus Books)

Carter Blake had a pact with his former employer, borrowing a piece straight out to the Cold War and forming a bit of mutual assured destruction. Blake had the goods on them, in the form of electronic black book and to keep them secreted away, all they had to do was leave him alone.

Unfortunately for Blake the man he struck a deal with is no more and there is a new sheriff in town and the hunt/race is on. Winterlong the latest installment in Mason Cross’ Carter Blake series is one hellacious ride that tests every single one of Blake’s very particular set of skills.

The amazing thing is that while Blake has spent the last five years since departing the employ of Winterlong, basically off the grid, behind a new alias, but really in plain sight. He uses his skills as a tracker and a hunter to full effect as he races across country, dragging along his latest skip trace and trying hard not to get the guy he captured or himself killed in the process.

Working his wits to the end and making things up on the fly, Blake manages to find his way back to the “black book” a jump drive just chock full of secrets and dismantle more than a handful of his former co-corkers along the way. While I hate to make comparisons, Blake is a fine mix of Jack Reacher, the Equalizer, and Taken’s Bryan Mills. Cross continues to rachet things up to a new level with each outing.

Hang On for the Twists and Turns

The Samaritan: A Novel – Mason Cross (Pegasus Books)

There is a serial killer plying his trade on the streets of the City of Lost Angels and as the body count rises the killers signature, a jagged knife wound to the neck, connects the dots to other murder across the United States, there’s no telling how high the body count might go.

That is where Mason Cross’ protagonist, Carter Blake, the mysterious stranger with a particular set of skills; the ability track and hunt down men and predict there next moves comes into play. The Samaritan, Cross’ follow up to The Killing Season packs all the punch of a stiff shot to the gut and enough dizzying twists and turns that it’s sure to keep you guessing right to the final chapters.

Others have compared Blake to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and it’s easy to see why when you ponder the fact that both share an ability to track down the truth all the while baring a striking resemblance to the people they are hunting. Blake clearly fills the bill of The Samaritan enough to bring him squarely into the cross hairs of the law enforcement types investigating the case.

If your anything like me and you pride yourself on the ability to figure out the mystery of the story, then you may end up kicking yourself in the end for missing the hints Cross sprinkles in a seemingly stingy manner along the way.