Marcus Rydell, formerly of the Atlanta P. D. is branded and scorned as a coward, or worse. Four years ago he, his partner, and two uniformed officers served a warrant on an ex-Marine, a professional hunter and guide named Iden Cantu. Cantu slaughtered all the officers except Rydell, who inexplicably–and unbelievably, to his fellow officers–suffered a blackout. Just as unaccountably, Cantu left Marcus Rydell the sole survivor when he was easy prey. Rydell’s career as a police officer did not survive. Four years later, adrift with purposelessness, he is about to eat his gun when a young girl in trouble and a pretty young doctor on a mission pull him back from the brink. Together, Rydell and Dr. Kat Holley plunge into a hunt for a brutal killer who quickly turns the tables and makes them the prey, with high stakes and high suspense the order of the day.
Dead On presents characters who respond authentically to the grim situations they face. These characters are first people, so they don’t always act in the best interests of themselves or their purpose. The reader is taken into their minds as they face a truly remorseless and capable foe, and sees them struggling to focus and control the high levels of fear and apprehension. We see them rise above, but we also see them deal with the consequences of failure as well. The one thing that might be picked out as a flaw, if one is looking for a flaw, is that the dialog, particularly between Rydell and Kat, is sometimes a bit off-the-wall for their situation. But again, real people deal with stress in all sorts of ways and engaging in a bit of banter in moments of high anxiety is not unusual. Mr. Walker has produced a story of real people in the worst situation and the way he brings them through it is very satisfying. ( )