Deadly Crossing by R. E. McDermott

I am lucky enough to be an advanced reader for Bob.  This simply means I got the book before it was published and devoured it with rapidity.   Bob asked me to hold off on my review until the book was actually published which made sense.   So, in conclusion, this is a darn fine book and if you enjoy action and adventure, you should really buy it.  (Again, no compensation what so ever was received for this review and there isn’t a whole lot of resale value in a .mobi file. Oh, and we aren’t related by blood or marriage, don’t play golf or bridge together and never have met face to face.)

Tom Dugan is a marine consultant who finds himself immersed this time in the Russian mafia and the sex trade.

I was pleased to see Tom Dugan again, he is an older and more thoughtful protagonist who does not rush in with blazing guns to save the day.   He does have a Machiavellian streak that serves him well when he is dealing with international miscreants.  There are a few carry over characters from Deadly Straits but this book can certainly be read as a stand alone novel.  The characters are eminently likeable or vilely despicable.  Once again, McDermott has done a super job with his characterizations.
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Anna, his main squeeze and deadly in her own right, is once again on the front lines with Tom.  Major Andrei Borgdanov and Sgt. Ilya Denosovitch, formerly Russian Spetsnaz, come to Tom for aid in tracking down Ilya's missing niece.   Anna's MI5 and Tom's CIA contacts are crucial in finding the missing girl.  

The despicable human trafficking trade is the major theme of the book.  How Tom jumps in with both feet provides the action and plot line.  Once again, the plot could be lifted from the daily news.   It has roots in reality and that may be one of the things that makes it so captivating.   There is plenty of action and emotions are more realistic and perhaps less noble than the run of the mill stylized protagonist. 

I find myself being some what redundant in my review as, once again, I am thrilled with McDermott's work.
I highly recommend it.

Body of  work of <a type="amzn" > R. E. McDermott </a>

Web Site: http://www.remcdermott.com/

 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.