Explosive
Summary
Shadow Affairs in an easy read with plenty of action including brutal beatdowns and shoot-outs; it would make for a great film capturing the feel of 90’s style action pictures.
Plot: Mark Anderson was the kind of operative the Agency swore didn’t exist – a ghost with muscle, instinct, and a kill record buried so deep it was never meant to surface. But when the people he served betray him, Anderson vanishes into the frozen mountains of Kyrgyzstan with nothing but a bloodied knife, his training, and the brutal will to survive. Out there, wolves don’t run with him – they fear him.
Review: I love how Legend of Action, Matthias Hues has turned his talents into writing recently and after creating a few books about his fascinating career he has now moved to fiction. Shadow Affairs is the first book featuring Asset 47 AKA Mark Anderson, a former CIA Operative who is betrayed by his own people and is forced into a brutal mission of revenge.
This is an action-packed tale and would make for a great movie with Anderson a hulking badass who I think could be played by maybe Alan Ritchson if it was ever adapted. He’s a great character who will do anything to help his friends especially Anna who is taken by traffickers.
Hues is a natural writer giving a poetry to some of the language while never skimping on the fights and chases. It’s an easy read and I got through it in a couple of weeks which is rare for me as I’m generally a bit slow. The characters are memorable and I found myself drawn into the intense world Hues has created.
In terms of flaws the cover is clearly created by AI; all you need to do is look at the CIA logo with the weird writing; there are also a few major typos especially in Chapter headings like Hell Hath no Furry. It’s nothing major though and it’s still a well paced and engaging story.
Overall, Shadow Affairs is an action packed tale with a badass new hero in Mark Anderson; a sequel is apparently in the works and I look forward to seeing what happens next.