The team receives their final command to begin the assault. The other members stand and begin the attack, but Web suddenly, inexplicably freezes. The team is hit by a barrage of fire from hidden guns. All the members are killed but Web. He manages to summon the strength to wipe out the unmanned guns, but it’s too late to save any of his fellow team members. When FBI agents search the area, they find no indications of any drug headquarters. The tip they’d received from an undercover agent was erroneous; they’d been led into an ambush.

As the sole survivor, Web is met with suspicion among his fellow FBI agents. He is distraught by the loss of his close friends as well as determined to uncover who arranged the ambush. Troubled both by his momentary paralysis as well as guilt over surviving when his friends had died, Web consults Claire Daniels, a psychiatrist who practices with a group that has treated many FBI agents and family members.

These actions will reveal even more puzzling questions:

Did events in Web’s dysfunctional family past contribute to his freezing during the assault?

What connection does the HRT assault on a school seized by a group of radical white supremacists where a boy died and Web grievously injured and disfigured have with the destruction of Charlie team?

The boy who spoke to Web prior to the assault is missing. How and why? What does his brother, a notorious drug lord, have to do with the ambush?

Has the missing undercover agent any complicity in the ambush?

Most thrillers are plot-driven, but from the first paragraph, Web London, the title character, dominates the plot. He’s the ultimate rough, tough hero in the classic tradition (think of an American James Bond without all the quirkily named floozies). Flawed, disfigured, committed, determined, trustworthy, conscientious, and loyal. He may be simply too good to be true, but it’s impossible not to root for him. The story line of the ambush and the search for the culprits is gripping, but it’s made stronger by the presence of such a dynamic hero.

The book has a complex plot with a lot of interwoven threads. There are a few unresolved issues left dangling at the book’s end so a sequel featuring the further adventures of Web London might be in the offing. If so, I for one will be watching for it. Web London’s a good enough hero for more than one book.

--Lesley Dunlap