Hard Duty
by: J.B. Turner
A Jon Reznick Thriller - Book 13)
When good goes bad...Jon is on the case
I’ve been hooked on the Reznick series since book 1. This one had more societal and political musings to me than prior books. In a way not too surprising given it is more or less set in the current climate. Jon Reznick is asked to take on a black ops mission that reportedly Delta force has failed at and the chance of success is low. The mission is to assassinate a former operative who has turned, providing (or at least promising to provide) secrets to Russia that would endanger the lives of many agents. Not a new storyline but some of the nuances are new.
After the last book, I wondered what would become of Trevelle. He took the death (the how it came about) of his girlfriend really hard and seemed to withdraw into himself. We are treated to a Mac and Jon adventure with tech assistance from Trevelle. I did miss the interaction between Jon and his daughter Lauren, but she left on an assignment in Book 12 and is still away. We did not see any movement of the presumed-dead-turned-CIA-agent-in-hiding wife nor does Caroline Sullivan, former military turned reporter that Jon seemed to hit it off with.
In this book, Jon has a new female calling the shots (wonder if Martha will come back as an enemy after being fired as a result of Jon’s actions), Fran Petersen. She has come to Jon in what seems like a last ditch Hail Mary move. She has to deal with doubt from peers and boss, criticism from security experts and does her best to hold them all at bay.
Mac and Jon know they are on a bit of a suicide mission but do the job anyway. The job also gives Trevelle a chance to get back his confidence and get back to himself in general.
There is a lot of reflecting on the America of old and fear of what it might become in the future. Discussion of the geo-political landscape and the Ukrainian-Russian War. As always, thought provoking moments mixed into the high octane action. Overall, a good read.
Happy Reading!
