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Nick Drummond’s dream trip to Maui ends, and a crisis is waiting for him back in San Diego. The shooting of Luis Hernandez-Lopez is being investigated as a murder indictment because a witness saw Nick shoot while Luis was unarmed and defenseless. The Familia Baja Norte cartel is also intent on revenge for Nick’s removal of its acting general, and Luis’s associate Javier Esquel-Ranchez calls in the hit on Nick. Just barely surviving thanks to his new dog, Nick has to win over a grand jury and then pursue Javier and bring him to justice, this time without breaking the law or acting in the heat of the moment. Danger and action follow these two men from California all the way down to Peru as Nick’s crusade against the cartels enters its next thrilling chapter.
The tone of this sequel shifts dramatically as Nick’s fateful decision threatens to take everything away from him. Still mindful of his career, or rather of his mission of pursuing justice, he now carries the additional weight of a life ended by his hands. That decision colors the arc of this story, giving Nick an added measure of his own actions and those of his team, even in heated moments of danger and self-defense. The action still rattles off from one exotic location to the next, with the possibility of a shootout always within arm’s reach. Giving each of the men on either side of the law an opportunity to function as a principal character gives their showdown tremendous gravity, and readers may even find themselves hoping against hope for a peaceful resolution. The balance of blockbuster action and measured character development here make for an excellent and suspenseful read to those that can handle the adrenaline.