First published 2005
Malachy Kitchen faces the ultimate military disgrace when his infantry patrol gets ambushed by insurgents in Iraq. Accusations of cowardice under fire destroy his reputation and end his career as an intelligence officer. The army kicks him out, leaving him isolated in a crime-ridden London housing estate where drug addicts rule the streets. Kitchen retreats into himself until local thugs mug an elderly widow who lives nearby. This attack ignites something inside him. He decides to wage his own war against the narcotics network that has infected his neighborhood. Kitchen believes this personal crusade will restore his lost honor. But the drug trade connects to far more dangerous networks than he realizes. International factions use these same routes to smuggle lethal cargo across borders. Kitchen's quest for redemption forces him into the darkest corners of criminal enterprise, where his military training becomes both weapon and liability.
Genres: military-fiction, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, redemption
Setting: Iraq, London
Period: 21st-century
448 pages · Hardcover · Bantam Press
Content warnings: violence