(These events apparently took place at the end of the trilogy’s first volume.) Based on the evidence left behind, Mann and his superiors determine that many previous trainees had “graduated” from the center and been given new cover identities. The authorities must find and stop these trainees before they can accomplish their as-yet unknown mission.

Writing a trilogy requires considerable skill on the part of an author, and Steven Konkoly hasn’t mastered it. Those who haven’t read the initial book in the series may struggle to understand the storyline. The author avoids lengthy, boring information dumps but inserts cryptic bits of exposition in their place that are often hard to follow. (I did some outside research to satisfy myself regarding backstory.) Further, many secondary characters are ill-defined and hard to distinguish. As part of their master plan, the villains try to assassinate three higher-ups in the FBI and CIA whose deaths they believe will cripple the government’s efforts to foil the master plan. Unfortunately, I never figured out just who those people were or how they fit into the governmental command structure. Mann later discovers a traitor within his extended team who is supplying vital information to the villains. When the traitor is finally uncovered, their identity proves to be nothing more than another name readers have learned almost nothing about in the first two-thirds of the book.

Similarly, Mann and his team have some help in dealing with the villains. He has a team of Mexican cops who were smuggled into the United States to take on the cartel members. Since they’re here quite unofficially, they must maintain a very low profile. That low profile includes keeping all information about any of them except their leader secret from readers. Later, Mann calls on a team of mercenaries to help him as well. The only thing the author accomplished by recruiting an extra dozen or so faceless troops to support the good guys is to give himself more pieces to move around the chessboard when he described the action scenes.

Those action scenes are the saving grace of A Hired Kill. Steven Konkoly has years of training and experience as a military veteran and brings that expertise to the printed page. A Hired Kill has two large-scale set pieces and several smaller armed encounters. The action is complex, but the author’s descriptions are easy to follow. The first set piece involves a shootout in a suburban neighborhood, where the villains attempt to ambush a vehicle by deploying shooters in multiple houses. Later, Mann and his forces attack the enemy’s communications center somewhere in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Besides the usual fireworks, Mann’s team shows its intelligence savvy by identifying which of the dozens of similar office buildings in the area houses the bad guys.

I don’t want to spoil the ending of A Hired Kill, but I realize readers want some finality in books like this. The author doesn’t provide many answers. The big bad’s identity is finally revealed (but probably won’t have as much of an impact for readers who haven’t read the first volume in the series). Further, the exact nature of the villains’ master plan remains a mystery, although readers can probably guess it in general terms. In addition, although the book’s ending isn’t a traditional cliffhanger, it leaves too many loose ends for readers who are accustomed to a degree of closure following the climactic action sequence that precedes it.

The degree to which readers enjoy A Hired Kill depends to a large extent on what they’re seeking in a book like this. Those who just want fast-paced action will enjoy A Hired Kill a great deal. Most of the book’s last half comprises various well-described action sequences. However, those who prefer a more cerebral cat-and-mouse intelligence thriller may be disappointed by the at-times confusing storyline and multiple, poorly differentiated characters. I enjoyed the book enough to give it a three-star rating and a mild recommendation. However, I’m not in any hurry to finish this series.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.