Tag: #markgreaney

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Burner by Mark Greaney

Book Description

Court Gentry is caught between the Russian mafia and the CIA in this latest electrifying thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Gray Man series.

When you kick over a rock, you never know what’s going to crawl out. 
 
Alex Velesky is about to discover that the hard way. He’s stolen records from the Swiss bank that employs him, thinking that he’ll uncover a criminal conspiracy. But he soon finds that he’s tapped into the mother lode of corruption. Before he knows it, he’s being hunted by everyone from the Russian mafia to the CIA. 
 
Court Gentry and his erstwhile lover, Zoya Zakharova, find themselves on opposites poles when it comes to Velesky. They both want him but for different reasons. 
 
That’s a problem for tomorrow. Today they need to keep him and themselves alive. Right now, it’s not looking good.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Burner by Mark Greaney torches the thriller competition.  Not since Vince Flynn and Nelson DeMille has there been a string of outstanding stories, twelve to be exact. He writes his characters with wit, sarcasm, and allows readers to get into the characters’ heads. This novel focuses on honor, duty, love, forgiveness, and addiction.

The first half of the story sets up the second half and focuses more on Court’s former partner and love interest Zoya Zakharova, code-named “Anthem. The plot goes from geo-political to a cat and mouse chase. Both Court Gentry, the Gray Man, and Zoya, are former rogue CIA operatives who worked in the shadows when plausible deniability was necessary.

Gentry and Zoya are hired independently of each other to retrieve a certain phone. They are after Alex Velesky, who has stolen information, on his burner phone, from the Swiss bank he works for with the goal to uncover a conspiracy where Western traitors are working hand in hand with the Russians. Zoya gets to him first and promises to take him to New York where Alex will expose the traitors.  But she is not at her best, feeling adrift, missing her lover Court, and has as her only companion’s vodka and cocaine. Whether Court or Zoya, Greaney has allowed readers to get to know these characters better realizing they have emotional and psychological trauma.

The Court and Zoya plots run parallel until their missions intersect and the two lovers are reunited, facing almost impossible odds. She and Court are on a collision course as they try to combat Russians, powerful politicians, and those administrators in the CIA.

Per usual in each of his books Greaney has the most awesome action scenes.  As the story opens readers find Court hired to blow up Russian Oligarchs’ yachts but getting interference as he fights off Russian divers. As good as this scene is it does not compare to the captivating train scene later in the book.

The cast of characters will have readers loving some and hating others. The plot is relentless with an abundance of action. It is also very timely since the events involve the Russian-Ukrainian War.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Mark Greaney:  Even before the Russian invasion I wanted to write how Russian foreign intelligence buys influences of people in the West. I already started the book when the invasion of Ukraine began. One of my characters is Alex Veleskey, an American of Ukrainian descent, now working in a Swiss bank. He seeks revenge after the Russians killed his family in the war, the springboard for the plot. I tried to figure out where this war will be, knowing how a small portion of Ukrainians are supporting Russia, which I have in the book as well. An important part of the story is how relationships of convenience are created for the greater good even though many of the characters have been each other’s nemesis for years.

EC:  The structure of the book changes about mid-way?

MG:  I structured the story where the first part is geo-political, making sure readers understand what is happening, and the last part is a cat and mouse chase. Regarding Zoya and Court, the story has them about 50-50.  My earlier book, Mission Critical, was more about Zoya.  But, I do agree, the first half of the book feels like it has a lot more Zoya.

EC:  Zoya changed in this book?

MG:  Yes.  She was really in a dark place. I have done this to Court in earlier books.  Zoya is depressed and down. She is drinking with a cocaine habit. Because of where she is in her life, she appears fragile with a lot of vulnerabilities, isolated, and withdrawn. The more of these books I write, the more I want to delve into the characters.

EC:  You describe the symptoms of someone taking cocaine?

MG:  Yes, people have flushed cheeks, eyes bloodshot, twitchy, sweating, fast heart rate, more erratic, and eventually drained with anxiety. I have never done coke, so I did research by talking with two people who did and looked it up as well.

EC:  How would you describe the Gray Man, Court Gentry’s resume?

MG:  Professional saboteur, a private assassin, and an international fugitive. 

EC:  Is it true how Russia was buying influential people in the West?

MG:  Yes.  They have been involved with spying for the Russians or doing counter-terrorism measures on the Russians behalf. I wrote about this true to life issue. Just about two weeks ago, the chief of counterintelligence in the FBI New York Office, Charles McGonigal, was arrested for taking money from a Russian Oligarch, one of Putin’s cronies, Oleg Deripaska.  McGonigal was charged with money laundering and violating US Treasury sanctions.

EC:  The relationship between Court and Zoya?

MG:  I wanted to mess with people’s expectations. They will either have their heart strings pulled, make them scared, or make them happy. Zoya really misses Court. Both did not know how to connect with one another.  There is a physical distance between them but also an emotional distance between them including trust issues since Court ran out on her. They are two headstrong characters that are very similar. They both are lonely, missed each other, and saw the other person as the only one who understands them.

EC:  How would you describe the new character, Angela Lacy?

MG: Her personality is different from Brewer and Zoya, yet she is strong and confident. In a sense she is Brewer’s foil. Because she is looking to improve her position in the CIA, Court is wary of her while Zoya does not trust her at all.  Lacy is more good than bad. Right now, she can be trustful, direct, honorable, and honest. She will be one of Court’s CIA contacts in future books.

EC: You always have the best action scenes.

MG:  The beginning of the book where Court is trying to blow up a Russian Oligarch’s yacht was based on my experience with diving. I did some diving in Saint Lucia. Later in the story, the train scene when I originally wrote it was 80 pages long, about 15% of the book.  As I was finishing that scene, I was not happy with it.  So I went to Europe, traveling on the train from Milan to Geneva, taking pictures and videos, getting the angles figured. I am trying to sell what happens to the characters to the readers.

EC:  Can you talk about your feelings regarding the “Gray Man” TV movie on Netflix?

MG:  They will be making another one, but they have not started filming yet. It will be based on one of my books.  I really liked it but since I read the screenplay before the movie came out, I knew it was not going to be as gritty and edgy as the book. They did make changes with the book plot. I went in with the right attitude since I had no control.  I felt it was 60% of the book and 40% different with new stuff. There were places in the movie that I really liked the changes and wished I had written it yet there were places where I thought my little twist was more effective.

EC:  What about the actors who portrayed some of the characters?

MG: Ryan Gosling nailed down the character as I wrote him. There are villains in the Gray Man book that were not in the movie so hopefully someone who did not read the book will pick it up to learn more. Ana De Armas, the female lead, was cool, but she rescued Court too much. In the books I do have people pulling the Gray Man out of the fire, but she was a little bit of a ‘too good to be true’ character.  I like the women, to be more like Zoya, a little rougher, harder edge, more morally ambiguous, and less of coming in to save the day. 

EC:  Next book?

MG:  I have not started writing it.  It will take place in Cuba and Singapore.  The plot will have Zach, Hanley, Zoya, and obviously Court. The villain is a private individual. There will be a connection to the CIA but not involved with a mission.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Armored by Mark Greaney

Book Description

Joshua Duffy is a Close Protection Agent – a professional bodyguard, and he’s one of the world’s elite operatives. That is he was until his last mission in Lebanon. Against all odds, Josh got his primary out alive, but the cost was high. Josh lost his lower left leg.

There’s not much call for an elite bodyguard with such an injury. So, Josh has to support his family working as a mall cop in Jersey. For a man like Josh this is purgatory on earth, but even in Paramus miracles occur.

A lucky run in with an old comrade promises to get Josh back in the field for one last job. The UN is sending a peace mission into the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico, an area so dangerous it’s known as Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil’s Spine). Only a fool would think they could broker peace between the homicidal drug cartels in the region and only a madman would sign on to keep those fools alive.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Armored by Mark Greaney shows why he is currently one of the best thriller writers. Although written first as an Audible Original, the book is much more enjoyable.  Once again Greaney does not disappoint.  There is plenty of action, but also some important issues covered including those still able to serve after losing a limb as well as how contractor companies treat their employees.

Best known for his “Gray Man series,” there were times in the story that readers wished for Court Gentry to come out and help the main character, Joshua “Duff” Duffy.  But the badass in the novel was not Gentry, but Duffy’s wife Nichole, a former helicopter pilot. 

Duffy, a former military Infantry soldier who became a private military contractor, shows his tenacity after losing part of his leg.  Down on his luck and struggling to financially support his family, Duffy has an old comrade set up an interview with the contracting company, Armored Saints, that has a checkered reputation.  He is hired as part of a private protection squad to guard a team of UN representatives.  They are going to meet with warring drug lords deep into cartel country in Mexico, hoping to negotiate a peace between them. It soon becomes obvious that Duffy and his teammates must deal with hidden agendas, double crosses, and warfare. 

Not only are the guys front and center but so are the women.  Dr. Gabrielle Flores, a regional analyst for the area of Sierra Madres, in Mexico, informs Duffy’s team how dangerous the area is. She is also very valuable in helping them escape, knowing the area, the cartels, and the locals. The other woman in the story is Duffy’s wife Nichole who goes on a fact-finding mission to save her husband and refuses to take “no” as an answer. 

This military thriller will leave readers on the edge of their seats.  The plot will remind readers of “The Dirty Dozen.” The novel has everything Greaney is known for including intense action, great dialogue, and team of heroes that are very likeable, while enemies that are very unlikeable. This is a book that should not be put down, but unfortunately, people will have to wait for book 2 to come out.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper:  Can you tell us something about the “The Gray Man” movie on Netflix?

Mark Greaney: It stars Ryan Gosling as The Gray Man, Court Gentry, and will be released on July 22. I read the script when they started filming.  I have also seen it and really liked it.  They did change some things.  With so many people involved in making the movie, there is always creative influences. Characters who were not in the first book but did come along later in the book series are introduced in the movie. It is true to the spirit of the longer story of the first book. The dialogue was clever for the story.

EC: How did you get the idea for Armored, your latest book and will it be a series?

MG:  Yes, it will be a series. The idea came about when I was training in a school with firearms. This school trained a lot of civilian contractors.  There, I took a lot of classes that were designed for executive protection. It had a lot of running and gunning with team tactics.  I thought in 2009 about writing a story about these contractors. First it was an audio play, and now the novel has come out.

EC:  You put a different take on contracting firms?

MG:  Some are not loyal or supportive to their employees.  The one I created in this book, Armored Saint, is corrupt and dirty. Overall, the contractors themselves are awesome. Some of these companies have a reputation, which I wanted to dance around a bit. In the 2000s it was the heyday for these companies and now things have dried up.

EC:  How did you come up with the scene where Duffy saved the wife?

MG: Duffy had a mission that went wrong but did his job. I decided to do it in Beirut because there was an assassination of a presidential candidate fifteen years ago.  With that in the back of my mind I orchestrated the different roads and tactics.  I did not go over there but mapped it out.

EC:  How would you describe Duffy?

MG:  Very much a blue-collar worker.  Not at all like The Gray Man, not a secret spy, a Superhero, or Special Forces. But he was not a mercenary because he seeks justice. In the beginning of the story, he is not a leader, but a helper. When he lost his limb, he was depressed at the inability to financially support his family. But as a strong family man he was responsible and caring.  He has the desire and guts to get back out there even with the loss of a limb. Very courageous.

EC:  How would you describe Nichole, Duffy’s wife?

MG:  She was a Captain in the Army, flying helicopters. I wanted to write her as an alpha female. She is very assertive, someone who takes charge.  She is the opposite of Duffy who is very easy going. I think she wants to go back to the world where she was a leader, her natural habitat.  Overall, she is straight forward, no nonsense, and detailed.

EC:  The Cartels are like the Mafia?

MG:  I wrote a Gray Man book, Ballistic, where Court faced off with the Cartels. I found out through the research how much torture and violence there is. I could not put that in the books. It is a civil war in Mexico, the Mexican Marines versus the Cartels who are brutal to the townspeople. There are rivalries between the different Cartels and actual maps show what territory is held by which Cartel.

EC: What role did Dr. Gabrielle (Gabby) Flores play?

MG:  I spent some time in the Archeological Museum in Mexico City where Gabby works.  As I was writing the story, I realized that many of the contractors were American, French, British, and in a world they did not understand. Gabby became the character, the heart and soul of the story, that allowed me through her, to tell the story of the setting and the hardships the people face. She preached to the contractors the danger in the area and how desperate the people living there are.

EC: How would you describe Dr. Gabrielle (Gabby) Flores versus UN representative Michelle La Rue?

I contrasted Gabby with Michelle La Rue. Gabby is a realist, caring, honest, and direct. La Rue is a UN bureaucrat who overestimates her abilities and influence. She is an allegory for the UN going into places and doing things, trying to be peacekeepers.  Through La Rue I was able to put in my own personal bias.  La Rue has a naiveté and a jadedness at the same time, especially when she wanted the contractors to disarm in a very dangerous setting.

EC:  Next books?

MG:  I have written two books a year since 2009, the “Clancy series,” “Red Metal,” of course “The Gray Man,” and now this series “Armored,” where I will probably start to write the next book in August. Armored has been optioned by Sony with Michael Bay producing it.  The second Armored book will have a strong dynamic between Duffy and Nichole, co-leads.

The next Gray Man book is titled Murder, the twelfth in the series, out in February next year.  Zoya will be back with Zack probably in the latter part of the book.

Red Metal II written with Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings will be out before the next Armored book. 

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Sierra Six by Mark Greaney

Book Description

It’s been years since the Gray Man’s first mission, but the trouble’s just getting started in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Before he was the Gray Man, Court Gentry was Sierra Six, the junior member of a CIA action team.

In their first mission they took out a terrorist leader, but at a terrible price–the life of a woman Court cared for. Years have passed and now The Gray Man is on a simple mission when he sees a ghost: the long-dead terrorist, but he’s remarkably energetic for a dead man.

A decade may have gone by but the Gray Man hasn’t changed. He isn’t one to leave a job unfinished or a blood debt unpaid.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney is not one story but two stories in one book.  Readers are treated to a double helping of the Gray Man, told from a dual point of view, today and 12 years ago. Both stories per usual are compelling and dramatic where readers are treated to a rollercoaster ride of vivid action, a lot of intrigue, and fantastic dialogue.

Twelve years ago, after the Special Activities Division of the CIA loses a man on an assignment, Court Gentry (The Gray Man) is called in as a replacement and given the designation Gulf Sierra Six. Because he had no military background and always worked alone, the members of the team resented him at first.  But overtime he proved himself and gained the respect of the team and its leader, Zach Hightower.

Twelve years later Court is hired as a freelance intelligence operator to infiltrate the Turkish embassy property in Algiers and plant a listening device. There he comes face to face with Murad Khan, the head of KRF who is responsible for death and destruction years earlier. This terrorist had been reported killed at the time. Now Court is once again on the hunt to stop Khan as he plans another major attack involving dirty bombs in India.

The story and ending are typical Gray Man, a lot of action, suspense, and tension. As with all his books there are scenes that put the reader in the middle of the intense fight. This book shows why Greaney is one of the best thriller writers today.

***

Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper:  Netflix series?

Mark Greaney: What I hear is that it’s coming out in July.  They already have done a test screening in LA, last week.  They bring in those who sign up for it and have them fill out a questionnaire of what they liked and did not like.  I have only seen fifteen seconds of footage, but I did read the script.  I thought it was terrific.  It is based on the first book, The Gray Man, but bring in elements that were in later books. 

EC:  How did you get the idea for the story for this book?

MG: I had talked to my editor for years about writing an origin story where readers could see Court Gentry as he develops.  I decided to write something that relates in the past and present. Readers can see Court as a younger man and then twelve years later.  The stories have two different timelines, two different objectives for the hero, and two different ticking clocks.

EC:  How would you describe the young Court versus the older Court?

MG:  The young Court is 25 years old. He has been trained his entire life to operate firearms and move tactically, without any other skills.  He has no people skills and is not James Bond with the ladies. At this stage of his life, he does not have a lot of world experience, yet comes across cocky and sure of himself. He gets brought down a few pegs in this story. He does missions he is told to do by the CIA. He is a soldier and a spy.

In the present Court is older, wiser, a little laid back, but not as sure of himself.  He seeks justice.  Now he will go against the wishes of his bosses.  He will break away if necessary, playing to his own tune. He has expanded his skill levels with a lot more years and tradecraft behind him. He is much better at what he does.

EC:  Zach was in the past story, but not the present story?

MG:  I do not want to ever be tied to having to bring all the secondary characters into every story.  There are some books that will not have Zoya, and some not to have Zach.  In the present Court is very much on a solo mission although he does call Hanley and Brewer for some help. I do not want to get into a trap into designing my story surrounded by a cast of characters.  Instead, I want to pick and choose.

EC:  How would you describe Julie Martinez, part of Court’s team as a CIA analyst?

MG:  Chatty, nerdlike, direct, attentive, persistent, has integrity.  She feels like an outsider. She is focused and has attention to detail.  Like Court, she does what she feels is right.

EC: Julie, his first love versus Zoya, his recent love?

MG:  I think these two characters are so different. Julie is a young CIA officer analyst who is incredibly intelligent.  She is also on the Autism spectrum.  She and Court become friends and then more than friends throughout the course of the novel.  His naivety and her directness were interesting aspects to put together.  Zoya on the other hand is in the same profession as Court, an operative. She is older and a rougher personality.  Because he has changed in the past twelve years Julie and present-day Court would not have worked out so well. Both women and Court feel like outsiders. Zoya has integrity but gets there only at the end.  She and Court both live lives where they must be distrustful, paranoid.  She is a different version of Court, but both are attracted to one another.

EC:  Why the War on Terror returning?

MG: I wanted to showcase how different things are today than twelve years ago.  Many Gray Man books did not deal with Middle East terrorism.  This was a conscious decision because almost all other thriller writers wrote about the ticking timebomb.  Now I feel we are removed from it. I wanted to take a recent pass and see how my hero deals with it.

EC:  How would you describe the bad guy, Murad Khan?

MG: He is a Kashmirian who went against his own country. He is a member of their intelligence agency but has also created his own organization to fight. Now he is fighting India, his true passion. When I write a villain I must get into their head.  He is against humanity and very cruel, a terrible person.

EC:  The setting also dealt with CIA bases in Khost and Chapman?

MG:  I did some research on where we were twelve years ago regarding the War on Terror. The geography was important.  Camp Chapman was a place where very terrible things happened.  The other bases including Bagram, Jalalabad, and Salerno are all close to the Pakistani border. I wanted to show how Pakistan is not a real ally of the US. 

EC:  The Indian Mafia?

MG:  The biggest one is D company, which I changed to B company.  The real head lives in Pakistan, not India.  He has a real chip on his shoulders, bombing government buildings and airlines.  They did most of their stuff twenty years ago. I thought that my mafia would form an alliance with a Muslim group. I saw the movie “Hotel Mumbai” and read some books about the terrorist attack there. It played into my story, where a terrorist attack happens at a shopping mall in India.

EC:  How would you describe Priya Bandari?

MG:  She is someone Court teams up with, out of necessity. She is very wet behind the ears as an intelligence specialist and reconnaissance technician on Court’s freelance job.  She is directly out of college.  She is motivated for personal reasons to stay in the fight. I hope readers begin to understand her and see her point of view.  I hope to use her character in other books. She is brave, somewhat defiant, and daring.  None of this comes naturally to her but Priya does rise to the occasion.

EC:  Next book?

MG:  I am currently plotting out the story. It will come out this time next year.  Court, Zoya, Zach, and Brewer will be back along with Hanley to some degree. In July I have another book coming out based on an audio play that was released in December. It is titled Armored. It is about military contractors in Mexico fighting the drug cartel. Josh Duffy is a wounded veteran whose job is to protect a UN delegation that is trying to negotiate a peace deal with a drug lord. There will be a second book, but I do not know what happens after that.  Duffy’s wife, Nicole, is a former army officer and a helicopter pilot.  I could see Duffy and Nicole taking a lead in another book.

THANK YOU!!

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.