With the topic of illegal border crossings in the news it is nice to have a story that addresses it, without becoming preachy. The Raid by Steven Konkoly is an action thriller that is kicked off by the deaths of border patrol agents.
The novel starts with the two agents discovering a group of young looking kids out in the desert. As the agents investigate, they get attacked. When the investigation reveals a coverup, Ryan Decker a former special forces soldier turned private security consultant, is called in. During his investigation Decker ends up putting himself and his team in the crosshairs of the people in charge of the coverup.
During the novel Decker shifts between being on the defensive and offensively taking the fight to the suspects. At points in the story Decker’s team narrowly miss being ambushed, while at others they are setting a trap. At the same time Decker’s boss, Senator Steele is also a target for the conspiracy to take out.
Overall, the book has good pacing. There are chapters filled with action followed by chapters that explore what is going on in a big picture view. including chapters written in the point of view of the enemy. Reading the plan for the ambush then reading how the hero escapes for me is always exciting.
My one issue with the novel was a female assassin. Some statements made about her backstory and motivation for becoming a professional killer did not match up. Maybe there was more to her story. However she enters and exits the book quickly. Maybe if she was in the novel for longer, her story would have been fleshed out more.
Otherwise this was a great read. I was hooked from the first chapter. If you are looking for a good book with a pulled from the headlines feel pick up The Raid by Steven Konkoly today.
A free review copy of this book was provided via NetGalley for this unbiased review.