Cold Fear

Starred review from April 25, 2022
This superlative sequel to 2021’s Steel Fear from bestsellers Webb and Mann takes former Navy SEAL Finn to Iceland. Finn’s SEAL unit had been stationed in Yemen, where some of its members massacred unarmed civilians, and Finn’s memory gaps have left him uncertain as to his role in the atrocities. He’s seeking out three former colleagues, who are in Iceland on a covert op, but he’s also being pursued by a sadistic and highly skilled assassin, who once saved Finn’s life in the field and is now trying to fulfill a contract to kill him for an unknown employer. The parallel cat-and-mouse plots overlap with one involving the mysterious death of an unidentified woman, found frozen to death in a Reykjavík pond with a cryptic message written on her scarred abdomen with lipstick. Finn becomes involved in that mystery as well, collaborating with a maverick police detective, Krista Kristjánsdóttir, who’s strong enough to sustain her own series. The balance of action and characterization is perfect, and Jack Reacher fans will find much to like in Finn. This complex, suspenseful thriller proves that the authors’ collaborative fiction debut was no fluke. Agent: Alyssa Reuben, William Morris Endeavor.