A young girl is inexplicably found frozen in the ice covering a duck pond in Reykjavik, Iceland, a word scrawled on her belly, in lipstick. As Krista and her fellow detectives answer the distress call from the young person who found her, all that is readily visible is her face, earning her the nickname ‘The Little Mermaid’. To remove her body, they need to cut ice and all, and transport her, still encased to the morgue – where the corpse promptly disappears…
Former Navy Seal Finn is a part of the small crowd that’s gathered to watch the proceedings. Having just arrived last night under the alias Marlin Pike and finding a place to settle in, he’s been wandering the streets of the town to get his bearings, before he embarks on his mission – to find his former SEAL team members and learn what really happened before everything went sideways on their last mission – a mission Finn has taken the fall for – but cannot remember.
For Krista and her team, a look at CCTV around the area shows them glimpses of their Little Mermaid, running along the street, and Krista also notices a young American entering the country from the airport – his name, Marlin Pike, piques her interest…what are the chances he could be connected? Closer look at the surveillance camera shows Marlin engaged in some interesting activity, letting Krista know just where to find him.
Surprised and impressed after finding a note on the door to the place he’s staying, Finn makes contact w/ Krista, and does his best to mitigate her interest in him. Passing himself off as a writer, he answers questions truthfully about the drowning victim – that he knows nothing about her. But his interest is piqued in the event, and he finds himself visiting the site where she died – and he unexpectedly meets Oksana, the dead girls’ sister.
Meanwhile, another former Seal – Boone – has come to Iceland – his orders – to eliminate Finn, and anyone else who may get in his way…
I discovered Chief Finn and his previous adventure, thanks to Netgalley, so I was thrilled when the publisher reached out and offered me the next novel in the series as an ARC, as well. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!).
I read it in one sitting today and true to my expectation, it was every bit as good as the first!! While this can be read as a standalone, the prior novel does give much insight into Finn’s motivations for this installment. Finn himself is strongly reminiscent of another favorite character of mine, Jack Reacher, yet carries his own unique presence and talents into these novels. Full of action, suspense, and history, that is quite relevant to global happenings today, this book – and this series – make for some great reading!!
Available from your favorite bookseller on June 7th!
I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!
Tropical Delusions...... 