A former Marine investigates the death of his adoptive father in Steck’s strong debut. . . . The suave yet vulnerable lead and propulsive narrative will keep readers hooked. This is an auspicious start for Steck.
There’s a lot we’ve seen before in Ryan Steck’s tumultuous thriller Fields of Fire, but all of it is done exceptionally well. Steck’s debut actually gives us two bangs for the buck, hitting on a pair of classic thriller tropes in the same volume. First, we follow special ops Marine Matthew Redd dealing with the aftermath of a massacre he may or may not have perpetrated. That’s due not to the fog of war, or combat, but the fact that Redd is suffering from amnesia and can’t remember what happened. We’re also treated to the angst-riddled Redd’s return home to Montana to deal with a deadly threat to his hometown in a fashion that would make Lee Child’s Jack Reacher proud. A veteran reviewer with one of the genre’s most popular blogs, the Read Book Spy, Steck is understandably well-versed in the genre. But his command of battle scenes and the warrior mindset is exceptional. Fields of Fire reads like Nelson DeMille seamlessly blended with the likes of Brad Thor, Brad Taylor, or Jack Carr, and is not to be missed.
