A Throwback Thursday review in 2020.
Ghosts by Mark Dawson is Book 4 in the John Milton Series.
John "Smith" has made it to Texas but turns out as he's preparing to leave again for wherever, he winds up arrested at a bar fight and is rescued - or intercepted - by a beautiful woman (Anna) posing as an FBI agent. Turns out she's anything but that kind of agent, and she's equipped for everything John might need for what she has in mind for him. She knows way more about him than he does about her.
Since John needs to know where this offer she presents is going, he willingly - although begrudgingly - accompanies her on a very long flight to an eventually remote "dacha" to hear what her boss has to offer. The request is in exchange for a rescue and requires some serious stealth before it's all said and done. First to Hong Kong with Anna to see the "ghost" he never expected to see again: Beatrix Rose, Number One who recruited him into Group Fifteen. When his first job with her goes terribly haywire, he never learns what happened to her after it. He assumed she might be dead - especially after his brush with Number 12 in The Cleaner. As he quickly learns, she's as good as dead when he meets with her.
And once again John stares death in the face, and it's only a matter of seconds away in the mayhem that erupts after the rescue is complete.
Mark Dawson has created a fascinating character in John Milton. Never looking for a fight but sizing up everyone in his path with the skills that come naturally after all the operative training and executions he's conducted over the years, somehow those fights come looking for him. Most of the time he's victorious, but he's had his share of close calls and temporary defeats with the multiple scars to prove it.
Mark's writing is heavy on location, scenery, description. His dialogue, or lack thereof when John chooses not to respond, is crisp, interesting, and often provocative. There is occasional profanity.
I find the John Milton Series very entertaining with only the occasional "rant". Do recommend you start at the beginning, and you'll find a pile of books in the series to keep you involved. I've found I also really enjoy the simplicity and colors used for the covers. The depiction of John Milton on the covers is perfect.
Father, please continue to bless Mark, encourage him, and meet his needs as he writes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.