When Lt. Cmdr. James Reece of SEAL Team Seven, the hero of Carr's thrilling if uneven first novel, leads his men into an ambush in Khost Province, Afghanistan, 36 SEALs, 28 Rangers, and four aircrew members in his unit are killed. After Reece figures out that it was a trap perpetrated by high-level American government officials, he vows to kill everyone involved. He doubles his resolve after the murder of his wife and three-year-old daughter at their home in Coronado, Calif. Reece has a list of 12 who must die, and he checks the names off one by one. Carr, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, knows his weaponry, and each kill is an interesting set-up. On the other hand, the avenging SEAL is an overly familiar scenario, and the few plot twists add nothing new. Patches of overheated prose don't help: "He would die avenging his troop and his family. It would be a good death: a warrior's death." Still, Carr shows a lot of promise, and fans of military action fiction will look forward to his next book. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Lieutenant Commander James Reece is horrified when his SEAL team is ambushed on a mission in Afghanistan. Reece barely survives, but the rest of his team is wiped out. Convinced that the higher-ups who planned the mission and specified the target are at fault, Reece returns to the States; the nightmare continues when his wife and daughter are murdered. With nothing left to lose, Reece takes aim on those he holds responsible for both the failed mission and the murders of his loved ones. As revenge thrillers go, this is a pretty good one. The author is a former SEAL, and the book attains a level of verisimilitude that similar books based only on research rarely achieve. The writing is crisp and effective, too, as Carr develops Reece into a character who deserves our sympathy, even as he plots murder. Some may find that the story takes a bit too long to get moving the lead-up to Reece putting his plan in motion seems a little too drawn out but once things moving, it's awfully hard to tear oneself away. A solid debut thriller from a writer who bears watching.--Pitt, David Copyright 2018 Booklist