During his assignment in Paris, Carver crosses paths with several Russians who operate outside the law. He manages to extricate himself from the Paris sewers without too much damage to his own body but severely wounds a Russian named Kursk. Kursk nurses a grudge as he considers himself invulnerable. More than his physical injuries Kursk’s ego has been damaged by Carver and he means to exact revenge.

Part of Carver’s success in Paris has been through the aid of Alix Petrova, also a Russian with ties to Kursk. How close these ties are, Carver will only learn much later. He justifies his alliance with her by reasoning that they both stand a better chance of staying alive together than apart… and he can keep an eye on her.

As their time spent together increases Carver begins to draw closer to Alix. He believes, without any concrete evidence, that she has similar feelings for him. She has personal knowledge of the underbelly of Russian society which could be of considerable use to both of them in their current situation. Hopefully, Carver muses, this confidence in an attractive new acquaintance will not come back to haunt him.

The Accident Man is the quintessential action thriller. Hand to hand combat in the tunnels under Paris figures prominently in the story. At times Carver appears to possess almost supernatural ability, even taking into account his extensive training. Cain does not go into extreme detail about the types of weapons used, how the explosives detonate, or how much damage can be expected. It is obvious that Carver is good at what he does.

Unlike most action thrillers the main protagonist demonstrates that he is capable of emotion. In fact the author puts the reader in Carver’s head as he tries to reason his way out of his difficulties. Characters in this story have greater depth than others in the subgenre.

Action is, however, the name of the game. Author Cain does a competent job of building tension prior to confrontation of the forces of good and evil. He manages to leave the reader in an ambivalent position, not knowing who is evil and who is good. Some of the men upon whom Carver must rely are men he knew in the military which increases their credibility. Whether this trust is justifiable remains suspect.

The Accident Man is a literate action thriller. It has all the right components for a blockbuster, with real personalities behind the apparent killing machines.

--Andy Plonka