Copyright 2017 by Marcus Miller. Self-published.
This is the first of a series of 6 “forgotten man” books by Miller. The forgotten man is cast in the image of Jack Reacher – an iconoclast loner who roams the world, carrying few possessions, owning nearly nothing. But trouble finds him and he has an almost supernatural ability to deal with trouble in an ultra-violent way, without repercussions.
The forgotten man is Steve Rawlings, a man with a history of clandestine operations, mostly in Central and South America. Because of his past he is able to get some assistance when needed from his old colleagues in the CIA. That assistance comes in handy in this case.
The story begins with a late-night secret drilling operation in western Wyoming, followed shortly by some strong-arming of the rancher who owns that land. With the assistance of a local banker who calls in the rancher’s loan, some threats from a neighbor that keep the rancher from hiring the help he needs to get his cattle to market and a beating that prevents him from doing it himself, the rancher is facing the loss of everything he owns.
But Steve Rawlings is there to help. With the assistance of his CIA buddies, the bad guys start disappearing. The banker and the other rancher die violent deaths and their bodies are never found, thanks to the CIA’s cleanup team. Then Steve goes after the drilling company. Which turns out to be more than just a drilling company.
The violence is graphic but is balanced by the oh-so-sweet dialog between Steve and the rancher and his wife. Oddly, the book never misses an opportunity to let us know when Steve pees (but never when he poops – maybe he has a blockage?). And the transition from “thanks, ma’am” to an ice pick in the ear is stark.
I find the writing style odd, but the story is interesting. And I learned quite a bit about cattle ranching and horsemanship.
Odd but interesting.
5 out of 10.