Mission Critical (Gray Man) Hardcover – February 19, 2019

Previous Gray Man & Greaney's extension of John Clancy's books, have been excellent. This is 1st one to suffer from plot diffusion, choppy story, contrived coincidences, & explaining much that did not belong. Characters suffered as well: dialog weak in places, didn't mesh with previous renditions of personalities, too much fake jousting. Too much Bang & not enough story. Clancy never wrote a book at the expense of his characters & realistic portrayal. This is not good enough. For you. Go back to your roots & apply the structure & discipline as an exceptional writer of Thrillers in the shadow of John Clancy.

I am happily exhausted from reading “Mission Critical”. I am in awe of the ability of the author to have a cohesive, easily understood, but very complex storyline that is also full of almost constant action. Vengeance and insanity cause a man to plot a grotesque death for around 5000 top security people in the UK, USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AND NEW ZEALAND. Years in the planning, can anyone stop this when no one knows about it until the last moments?Courtland “Court” Gentry, also known as Violator, is a CIA contract agent. He is part of a small group handled by Suzanne Brewer, a skilled agent who hates her job. She is just one of the many interesting characters surrounding Violator. Besides the violence and action, there is a love affair, humor, and emotional turbulence. This book stands alone well, even though it is part of a series. This is a very exciting and entertaining read!

Mission Critical is one of the finest novels I have ever read. Brilliantly infused plot-lines without turning overwhelming, stunning action sequences ranging from hand-to-hand combat to shootouts and car chases involving shootouts, a roster of returning characters and wonderful humor to balance the gritty situations in the novel. Court Gentry is back as The Gray Man, wrecking havoc in spectacular sequences of action and car chases on bad guys that cross his path. It is always a pleasure to see Court hasn't lost a step. Mission Critical brings back Zoya Zakharova from gunmetal gray and Zack Hightower from the previous novels as Court's team leader during his time in CIA. The chemistry between Court and Zoya is beautifully written and is a delight to read as a long time Gray Man fan. Zack Hightower provides a comic relief in the midst of dire situations but the author makes sure the comic relief does not feel awkward or ill-written. The action sequences are written with a finesse that combines realism with pure awesomeness as Court Gentry does what he does best, take out the bad guys like a boss. The plot twists and turns are well thought out to maximize their effects as readers expect one thing to happen and the narrative takes a swift turn that keeps the readers excited. The stakes in this novel while of global reach also hold personal stakes for Court and Zoya, making the story all the more interesting. Mr. Greaney manages to create a masterpiece with all the necessary elements of an exciting action thriller and then some more. A must read masterpiece!

The latest Gray Man novel, "Mission Critical", is certainly not a great place for new readers to start and it can be disappointing to some longtime readers. It is longer and a bit more unfocused than most. Zoya Zakharove (Anthem) is back as is Zack Hightower among many former characters. Unfortunately for the Gray Man and his readers, Court takes third place in this novel behind both Zoya and Zack as effective action heroes and agents.The plot is somewhat convoluted in that someone from Court and Zoya's past reemerges in a diabolical revenge fantasy to wipe out the heads of the free world's intelligence agents. Complicating things is the fact that there appears to be a mole or moles in the US and UK intelligence offices. And Suzanne Brewer returns as Court's CIA handler who has other goals on her mind than just being a facilitator."Mission Critical" has too many subplots and story lines that often go nowhere yet encumber the story. the book is too long and simply unfocused at time with contrived coincidences moving the plot all too often. The book is not horrible in any sense, just does not meet past accomplishments nor expectations. When I fail to pick up a book of one of my favorite characters every spare minute, I know that it has no hook in me. For me, I was never in a hurry to finish "Mission Critical".

Was excited to get this latest edition of the Gray Man series. The book has some very good parts but some parts leave plenty of room for improvement. Additionally, I did not like the ending at all. I would read it if you’ve read the whole series but if I started with this one I would not have read the earlier ones. Disappointing.

Mission Critical is Mark Greaney's 8th Gray Man installment. What begins as an innocent flight back to DC to ferret out a mole at the CIA, Court ends up in a mix of British thugs, Russian mobsters, an AWOL CIA asset, and a plot to take down Western intelligence with a bioweapon. Besides his Russian girlfriend at play, Hightower is back in the game. While the plot is complicated, Court manages to cut through all the red tape and accomplish his mission.Court's tradecraft is minimal this time out, with last minute improvisation leading the way. He does manage to destroy every car he drives. While the overall plot was a bit convoluted and drawn out, the basic premise is respectable. The North Korean bioweaponer was a bit of a stretch as there are too many aspects to build into a single character. In addition, plague does not have a spore form. Also, the growing angst in Brewer was a bit unexpected, at least to the extent she was prepared to take it. It's also unclear if Zoya is being marginalized or simply creating more future fodder.

Seemed a very.long book, but by page count no longer than the averageThe book starts well, but flounders for a good 50% of it before the last 10% picks back up makes for an excellent readThe relationships between the characters gets even more complicated. Gentry is still unstoppable and Hightower is still the lovable rogue. The CIA bosses seem to stumble from one screw up to the next, relying on their agents to constantly bail them out

Another first rate Gray Man book. Set in the UK and Mr Greaney has done his homework to paint a convincing picture. Really excellent. Nice to see Zoya back.

Another super novel from the great Mark Greaney. Fans of the assassin/covert ops genre will love this. Mark's books are always very well written and the plots are fully explored. There is never anything left unexplained at the end. Brilliant.

A good story with plenty of action. Pleased to see the return of Zoya. Do bring her back in book number 10 but do NOT write it in the first person again. It just does not work.

Mark Greaney once again proving himself a master writer of the action thriller genre.The story comes running straight out of the blocks and keeps going at a perfect pace with enough twists and turns to keep you hanging onto every single page!Never too OTT and classy throughout, this latest instalment of the Gray Man saga is not to be missed.