Burner (Gray Man)

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It has It's been a long time since I have read a book in International espionage/ CIA thriller genre. Huge thank you to #TinaJoell at Penguin Random House for asking me to be on this tour for the new #grayman book and my ARC of #Burner . The MMC Court Gentry is for any reader who loves the morally gray anti hero . Forget Mission Impossible and Jason Bourne, this burned agent is the one you want to carry out a covert mission . He works alone and misses the love of his life Zoya ( code name Anthem) who is just as deadly as he is, he disappeared from her life when he knew he was on a kill list from the CIA .

The groups have different motives and objectives, and when they collide on a train near Geneva, the story is just getting started. It doesn’t help that one of the most elite Russian assassins is set on obtaining the data and will kill anyone who gets in his way. And he has a personal history with The Gray Man. Mark Greaney’s “Gray Man” series is synonymous with insane action, well written plots, and a cast of characters that make this series second to none. This is Greaney’s twelfth installment of the “Gray Man” series, and he continuously raises the stakes for his main cast of characters, and I can honestly say my stomach lining has taken a toll from it! But Greaney doesn’t skimp on character development either, and I appreciated that three major characters are women, all quite different from one another. Court is a solid, appealing hero, sensitive enough to admit his loneliness and brutal enough to kill those who need killing. I absolutely ADORE Court Gentry and it is still kind of funny to see two EXTREMELY LETHAL operators, behave so adorably uncharacteristically when it comes to the possible or now should I say the "developing" possible personal relationship between the two of them.Ben Coes, New York Times bestselling author of international espionage thrillers featuring Dewey Andreas I started listening to this at 4am and haven’t been able to put it down. I wanted to write this review before I finished because I didn’t want to be tempted to write anything additional and take anything away from another listener. On the run and attempting to stay out of the crosshairs of the American CIA, The Gray Man is busy sinking mega million dollar yachts owned by Russian Oligarchs. Minding his own business in the Caribbean, Court is interrupted by a young and dashing CIA officer with a lead from Suzanne Brewer. What ensues is a job offer to one of the disowned assets that she’s spent years trying to hunt down while potential damning Russian money funneling schemes are about to be broadcasted to the world. Burner is exactly that: A burner. Since this is Greaney's 12th Gray Man novel that means I have said "this is my favorite Gray Man novel" twelve times. Greaney always gives us interesting plots, incredible action, humor and intelligence are all hallmarks of his.. In Burner, Greaney takes the Russian invasion and shows us an outcome that would be disastrous, but entirely plausible.

Court Gentry is a man without a country. Now the country that has hunted him needs his help. Data from a bank in Switzerland covering Russian money and where it is going, has been taken, and it might just take down some of the United States most prominent people. Gentry is on the hunt for truth while after years of running has him looking over his shoulder every bit of the way. At the same time a Ukrainian man (Alex Valesky) has been tasked with a job from a Russian acquaintance. He’s given a cell phone full of incriminating information about Russian officials siphoning off money meant for their military. Alex works for a bank and can prove where the funds went. It’s a shame there isn’t more non-fiction around in the espionage genre. After all, real spy thrillers can be just as fast and furious as Mark Greaney’s Gray Man and the Burner. However, they don’t have to be as placid as John le Carré’s novels and shrouded in delicate diction and sophisticated syntax. Strap in and hang on tight . . . Mark Greaney delivers another heat-seeking thrill ride that’s not to be missed.”— The Real Book Spy Coming in innocent to the series, I first met Court in the Caribbean, where he was engaged in blowing up ships hidden in the islands by Russian oligarchs. In a timely bit of parallel history, Russia and Ukraine are central to “Burner,” as a Ukrainian-born banker who has inside information about Russian money being funneled to the West is determined to expose the scheme, no matter the personal peril.

Burner

I really enjoyed the plot of this book because it is rooted in current events. Not exactly what is happening but, it helped give a different perspective to the events we’re living in right now. Alex Veleskey has stolen records from his employer, a notorious Swiss bank, hoping to expose a massive corruption. He didn't count on so many people wanted to keep the records hidden. Court Gentry, the Gray Man, may be the only person able to keep him and the data out of the wrong hands." Wow, Greaney really can’t miss when it comes to the Gray Man books. Burner was another exceptional novel that had me hooked from the very beginning all the way to the final, devastating encounter. The blend of exceptionally written action scenes, spy thriller elements, complex characters and the utilisation of contemporary issues makes Burner really stand out, even alongside the other epic Gray Man books. This was another easy five-star rating from me as Greaney once again shows why he is currently leading the spy thriller genre.

Burner is the epitome of riveting with action ranging from car chases to a parachute drop-in to underwater fighting & so much more. So I started the book in a way that even I didn’t expect, at the beginning of the story they have gone their separate ways and each is the worse for it. It soon becomes clear that the only thing that may ease their pain is some field work, but with these two, pain has a tendency to increase not decrease. There are some consistency issues in this book. The Brewer character is altered from earlier books to fit the plot. Court Gentry has been de-aged a few years. There are also plot holes, but the pace of the book rips past, and are easily missed. This series is not only getting better with every new addition, but it somehow continues to show us Mark Greaney reigns as one of the recognized masters of action and adventure.”—Steve Berry, New York Times and #1 international bestselling authorWhere to begin? With this book that’s a good question. Court is off working private jobs once again. Of course the book begins with Court in a life and death situation and he would be the one to walk away. Meanwhile Zoya if in Milan, she’s depressed and drinking. Feeling ashamed of her home country. She’s messed up a few “easy “ jobs and wonders if she’ll ever get another. That’s when her handler calls with an offer. Court Gentry is caught between the Russian mafia and the CIA in this latest electrifying thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Gray Man series. A UN summit in New York will finalize an agreement between the West and Russia to restore Russia’s most favored nation status in exchange for Russia’s agreement to end its war with Ukraine. While Ukraine is not a party to the agreement and will likely fight on its own to regain its lost territory, the agreement does not require Russia to restore the land it seized. This is a bad deal for Ukraine, but the West wants Russian oil and gas. I can understand that premise, but when he plotted Burner, Mark Greaney probably didn’t know that western nations would get by just fine without Russian oil. Maybe the novel’s prediction will still come true, but those who hope for justice in Ukraine will be outraged if it does.

While Burner is fundamentally an action novel, Zoya’s alcoholism and substance abuse (and Gentry’s fears and frustration with Zoya’s addictions) add depth to the characters. Greaney sets up Lacy to play a courageous role despite Zoya’s skepticism that she has what it takes. He also sets up an ending that demands sacrifice in the name of principle — the kind of principles for which Russians and their corrupt counterparts in the US and Europe have no use. All of that makes Burner a saccharin-free “feel good” story, although a fair amount of indiscriminate death precedes the relatively happy outcome. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. Right and wrong are rarely clear-cut issues in the Gray Man’s world. No one understands that better than Court and Zoya. Clear-cut or not, choices must be made. They’ll have to decide where their loyalties lie. Because one thing’s for sure. If they’re going down, they’re going down together.

While Court is playing real-life battleship, over in Zurich, a man named Alex Velesky steals records from the Swiss Bank he works for and meets with Russian financial advisor Igor Krupkin. Hellbent on dealing a blow to Russia after losing his son in the war against Ukraine, Krupkin wants Velesky to deliver damaging info detailing major Russian conspiracies to two separate sources. The banker agrees, not knowing just how many people are desperate to get their hands on that info—or how far the Kremlin is willing to go to make sure that never happens.