Book Review: Midnight Black by Mark Greaney

The Gray Man takes on everyone and everything that stands in his way of rescuing his lover, Zoya Zakharova, in what is arguably Greaney’s best novel to date. 

Cort Gentry, the Gray Man, hears from his superiors that Zoya died in Russia, but he doesn’t believe the intel. He knows her strength and resolve and understands that she is valuable, more alive than dead. So, he holds on to the belief that he can sneak into Russia and rescue her, even when the evidence says otherwise. Utilizing assets from various agencies, including those who have been out of the game a long time, moves Cort closer to his goal. Zoya is alive, and she’s housed in a prison where there is no escape and forced to work menial tasks for much of her day, making her schedule eating, sleeping, and manual labor. She’s lost all hope for a rescue, so she plots a breakout or a quick death. The man running the prison knows who she is and knows that the Gray Man will come to rescue her. That makes Cort’s job even more complicated: How do you rescue someone from an escape-proof prison, and the enemies who will do anything to stop you already know you are coming?

The series has fourteen books, and Greaney continues going strong with another knockout thriller. The relentless pace, the great characters, and the hero overcoming all odds for personal reasons make Midnight Black a must for fans and newcomers alike. The ending leaves some intriguing possibilities that will be fun to see revealed in the next one. It cannot come fast enough.