Dead Man's Hand by Brad Taylor

Published by William Morrow on January 23, 2024

There’s a sameness to recent Pike Logan novels. It’s not uncommon for a thriller series to lose its freshness as the years pass. Pike Logan is almost a caricature of himself in Dead Man’s Hand. Fortunately, while the action scenes are nothing special, they are plentiful, so the novel will provide a quick fix for vicarious adrenalin junkies who enjoy tough guy novels.

Pike leads a team of tough guys (and his wife) on missions for a Taskforce that was set up to implement quick-strike reactions when there isn’t time to get (or the likelihood of obtaining) the congressional approval required by law. The Taskforce operates on the theory that political oversight just gets in the way of killing people who need to die quickly.

Over the course of the series, a formula has emerged. Pike is ordered to do something. He doesn’t like the order but he follows it until he doesn’t. Then Pike is ordered not to do something. Pike does it anyway because his gut tells him it’s the right thing to do, particularly if he decides that it is important to complete the mission that he didn’t want. Bad guys are killed, the world is saved, and everyone is happy until it all happens again in the next novel.

The bad guys in Dead Man’s Hand are Russians. A group of Ukrainians, unaffiliated with the Ukraine government, joins with a dissident team of Russian GRU operatives in a plot to assassinate Putin. More power to them, I say, except there’s a hitch. Putin, egomaniacal mad dictator that he is, has handed out launch codes to four trusted people with instructions to annihilate the world if he dies. This assures the mutual destruction of those who oppose Putin and everyone else in the world.

Putin is aware that rogue members of the GRU want to kill him but doesn’t know the details. Russians loyal to Putin (or so he believes) are sent to mop up the rogue Russians, which also pits them against the Ukrainians who are in league with the disloyal GRU spies.

The initial plan to kill Putin is a bit vague. At its inception, it might involve a remote-operated machine gun or drones. The weapons will likely be acquired from Israel. The connection to Israel allows Pike to bring Shoshana into the story. Shoshana is a crazy ex-Mossad agent who has worked with Pike and Jennifer in the past. Everyone is afraid of Shoshana, in part because she is likely to kill people if she doesn’t like the color of their aura.

The story is just what a series fan will expect, in part because the fan will have read it over and over. Pike’s team chases Russians and Ukrainians, not quite knowing who the bad guys are. Pike’s team defends itself against Russians and Ukrainians who shoot at them until they figure out who the good guys are. More shootouts ensue until they save the world. Along the way, Pike argues with everyone and does what he wants, although he occasionally admits that he might be wrong and revises “what he wants” accordingly.

Like many tough guys, Pike is always angry. Like many tough guys, Pike’s first instinct is to punch the person who happens to be triggering his anger. Like many tough guys, Pike doesn’t like to be told what to do, which makes one wonder why Pike joined the military before abandoning military life for Taskforce life. Pike wants to do “what’s right,” provided he is the determiner of right and wrong. In that regard, the only interesting aspect of Dead Man’s Hand is the conflict between Pike’s desire to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin and his desire not to allow the Ukrainians and rogue Russians to start a nuclear war.

Pike is aggravated throughout the novel because he’s reasonably been told that his masters want to know what’s happening and he should refrain from killing anyone until the repercussions of his actions can be understood. He can’t deal with the mission because he’s not allowed to be an action hero. Okay, that’s not anything that Brad Taylor says, but that’s what I read into Pike’s oft-stated grumbles about bureaucrats who haven’t ever killed anyone.

Pike has become a tedious character who is defined by his anger and arrogance more than any other characteristic. Back when Pike was developing a relationship with Jennifer, her ability to calm him (her feminine willingness to see other perspectives balancing his rage-fueled masculine need to dominate) was cheesy but at least worked as a means of character development. Now it’s just another cliché in a series that no longer has the power to surprise.

Still, Taylor always writes fast-moving action scenes. The story is predictable and the novel loses its energy before it reaches an underwhelming climax, but I’m recommending it to readers who enjoy tough guy action for its own sake. If you’ve read some Pike Logan novels (I’m a fan of the early ones) and are looking for something different than those you’ve already read, this one isn’t for you.

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Operator Down by Brad Taylor

Published by Dutton on January 9, 2018

I think this series took a wrong turn when Brad Taylor introduced Shoshana, the “supernatural predator” who kills by instinct but has a childlike view of the world. She isn’t a credible character but, even worse, she’s become little more than a caricature. She’s supposed to be the female version of Pike Logan (he was Soshana before the love of a good woman civilized him) but even without Jennifer’s civilizing influence, Pike would be capable of subtlety, nuance, and a reasonable degree of self-control, while Soshana is a one-note character who seems desperately in need of anti-psychotic medication to contain her mindless rage. Her self-perception as a “monster that shouldn’t walk the earth” has been overplayed. Unfortunately, the series has continually gravitated toward Aaron (a former Mossad agent) and his partner Shoshana, when it was sailing along just fine with the Taskforce characters at center stage. Alas.

My Shoshana rant notwithstanding, the story delivers the action and tension that is typical of a Brad Taylor novel. Mossad has hired Aaron to track the employee of a diamond broker in Soweto to learn whether he is doing anything that might embarrass Israel. Aaron stumbles onto something bigger (although he has no idea what) and gets captured. The thugs who capture him fear that he has communicated with Shoshana, so they travel to Israel to take her out. By happy coincidence, Pike Logan has been tasked with following a shady arms merchant who also happens to be a diamond merchant. Pike follows the dealer to Israel, accompanied by Jennifer and Blood, encounters Shoshana, then makes his way to South Africa while trying to understand how his mission has intersected with Aaron’s disappearance. Somewhere along the way, Knuckles adds his presence to the team, after being assigned to make goo-goo eyes at the new Secretary of State so that she'll support whatever actions the Taskforce wants to take.

The frequent stare-down confrontations between Pike and the impetuous Shoshana become tedious, but other aspects of the story are worthwhile, nothwithstanding the silliness of Knuckles' seductive glances at a cabinet official. Despite its length, Operator Down isn’t as meaty as some other entries in the series, but I always appreciate Taylor’s efforts to avoid standard terrorist villains in standard terrorist locations. Most of this story takes place in South Africa, and a detour (which soon becomes the main plot) involves a coup in Lesotho and Pike’s decision to take sides. Taylor’s formula has Pike doing things he’s not supposed to do (as opposed to taking illegal actions that the Taskforce sanctions), and the formula works well here. There’s a bit of character development involving Pike and Jennifer (she wants him to commit, he’s a guy) but the story is mostly about action, and the action is solid.

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Ring of Fire by Brad Taylor

Published by Dutton on January 10, 2017

The last two Pike Logan novels went too far over the top. Brad Taylor scaled back Ring of Fire, and as a result wrote a better novel.

A WikiLeaks-type leaker disclosed information from a Panamanian law firm that sets up shell companies. An American who created a shell to do business with Saudi Arabia, inadvertently contributing to 9/11, worries that his complicity will be revealed. Kurt Hale is also worried, since the Taskforce relies heavily on shells to conceal ownership of the companies that provide its support services (as well as the company that is, on paper, owned by Pike and Jennifer).

Pike and Jennifer begin an investigation of leaked information by visiting the Bahamas, but their mission then requires them to drink blackberry mojitos in Madrid. Tough life, hey? Of course, the mission quickly morphs into something more dangerous as they go glob-trotting to hunt down the bad guys.

The plot involves a Moroccan named Tariq who has a plan to launch multiple attacks on America, each using a different method of spreading terror in an effort to undermine the American economy. Tariq expects to succeed because, unlike ISIS and other known terrorist groups, he isn’t on anyone’s radar.

I am always impressed by Brad Taylor’s ability to see the world from the perspective of terrorists (or whatever villain happens to be the novel’s focus). While other writers portray evil characters as unthinking cartoons, Taylor knows that they are motivated by a particular understanding of the world. His fiction reflects their perspectives, making his villains all the more realistic.

And I’m always impressed by Taylor’s ability to recognize the distinction between Islamic terrorists and peaceful Muslims. An interesting debate between a Pike and a Moroccan secret service official effectively presents both sides of the argument while opening Pike’s mind a bit. (Unfortunately, the novel is already a bit dated in that Pike supports his argument by contending that all the killing in the Philippines is done by Muslims, a passage Taylor probably wrote before President Duterte and his roving death squads came into power).

I also appreciated Pike’s relationship with Jennifer, who buries him whenever he steps out of line. Taylor makes clear that Pike’s “tough guy” attitude limits his effectiveness in situations where negotiation is more likely to be successful than intimidation. Of course, Taylor is very effective when it comes to killing terrorists.

Ring of Fire features the return of Carly, who seems likely to become a series regular. Knuckles is the other regular character who shares the spotlight in this one, with Retro and the others playing minor roles. Taylor continues to develop one or two of the characters a bit more in each novel. They’re good at what they do, but like everyone else, they have flaws, making them real people instead of superheroes.

Taylor delivers his usual fine mix of action and morbid humor. The story follows his formula but it’s a good formula, and even if the “good guys foil terrorists” story seems familiar, I appreciated Taylor backing away from the outlandish plots of his last two novels.

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Ghosts of War by Brad Taylor

Published by Dutton on June 28, 2016

In the wake of the events described in the last Taskforce novel (during which a Taskforce member pursued a personal vendetta), an investigation threatens to reveal and shut down the Taskforce, an organization that has always operated illegally. A government official’s death has made the Oversight Council skittish (none of the members want to go to prison) so Taskforce missions have been placed on hold. What, then, is there for Brad Taylor to write about?

Well, there’s a fabled Nazi ghost train buried in a tunnel in Poland, although that plot thread is just a setup. He also writes about Putin and his plan to take over Belarus with the help of a motorcycle gang known as the Night Wolves. And then he imagines a Russian named Simon who, having been put in charge of orchestrating a coup in Belarus, decides that orchestrating Putin’s removal from office would enhance his life expectancy. To cap it off, the plan involves starting World War III. In other words, just another day for Pike Logan and his Taskforce pals.

Aaron and Shoshana, who have turned into series regulars, play a central role in Ghosts of War. They need Pike and Jennifer to help them recover a Torah that was stolen from the ghost train -- and to grab it before it is stolen again. Of course, the mission doesn’t go as planned, giving Pike and the gang a chance to get mixed up in the competing shenanigans of Putin and Simon.

About a third of the way into the novel, an unlikely world-changing event occurs. I got the impression that Taylor succumbed to the thriller writer’s temptation to make the events in each new novel a little more outrageous than the last one, as if readers won’t continue with the series otherwise. When a series like this one depends on credibility, I think that’s a bad choice. Fortunately, the stories are still fun.

Ghosts of War also seems a bit off. It lacks the consistent narrative voice that characterizes the other Taskforce novels. It also has the feeling of being rushed, which hasn’t been true of Taylor’s past efforts despite the speed with which he churns out new novels. More polishing of the prose would have turned this into a better novel.

As usual, Taylor has a more subtle understanding of world affairs than most authors who write thrillers of this nature. He lampoons military commanders who think that the United States should respond to every provocation with war. He makes clear that even a show of military strength is likely to begin a needless war. Of course, the real world doesn’t have Pike Logan jetting around to solve problems, but Taylor nevertheless makes a persuasive case against saber rattling as a primary instrument of foreign policy.

The crisis resolves more easily than I expect from Taskforce novels. The level of tension that Taylor creates in most of his other books is absent in this one. While I enjoy this series and had fun reading the book, I regard Ghosts of War as a weaker installment than most of the earlier novels in the series.

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The Insider Threat by Brad Taylor

Published by Dutton on June 30, 2015

Brad Taylor builds his Taskforce novels using a reliable formula. Pike's team is sent on a mission. The Oversight Council squabbles about the mission. Pike is ordered not to do something and he ignores the order so that he can complete the mission or he changes the mission to save lives or to save a team member. Pike's team members (particularly Knuckles) are wary of Pike's relationship with Jennifer and Jennifer is wary of their testosterone-laden view of the world. The Insider Threat follows that formula. It is about average for a Taskforce novel, which makes it better than most other thrillers about Americans who save the world from terrorists using their wits, high tech gadgetry, and state-of-the-art weapons.

Although the key bad guys in The Insider Threat are recruits of Islamic State, they are also Americans. Three of them escaped from a Florida reform school and consider their Islamic State recruitment to be joining another gang, albeit one that will give greater meaning to their violence. That's a clever spin that allows Taylor to avoid the obvious plots that burden similar thrillers, but I can't say he ever sold me on this one. Disenfranchised Americans do join radical causes, both foreign and domestic, but the motivation for these particular young men to give their allegiance (and lives) to Islamic State seems a bit thin.

Still, the plot is fun and the Lost Boys' target -- which becomes known to the reader with only a hundred pages remaining -- is not what I expected. Brad Taylor continues to avoid stereotyping when he creates his bad guys. They are always unique individuals with complex and convincing motivations, unlike the terrorist caricatures found in most novels of this nature.

The Insider Threat brings back Mossad's deadly Shoshana, setting up an interesting conflict with Jennifer, who is always the series' moral touchstone. Shoshana believes that slaughtering bad guys makes the world a better place while Jennifer argues that slaughtering bad guys makes you a bad guy. Jennifer never makes the mistake of dismissing innocent human beings as "collateral damage" simply because they aren't Americans. Yet Shoshana shows a bit of her own moral enlightenment as she explains the circumstances under which she refused to kill under Mossad's command. It is that sort of subtle thought that keeps me coming back to Brad Taylor while turning away from writers who see the conflict between good and evil in simplistic terms.

The Insider Threat lacks the imagination displayed in the best novels in this series. The ending reaches a predictable result via a mildly surprising path, but one of the final scenes is a bit hokey (unusual in a Taylor novel). The justification for Pike's team doing all the rescuing instead of swarming the target with police (or moving the target) is slim. Taylor has been cranking these books out at a phenomenal rate and this one seems a bit rushed. Having said that, I enjoyed the novel despite its flaws and I suspect most fans of the series will also have fun reading it.

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