Great second book of the series where James Reece fully redeems himself in the eyes of the US Government by helping them thwart an evil mastermind bent on world domination. In this book, Carr delves deeper into who Reece is by taking us onto his escape voyage by yacht and his time on a game ranch in Mozambique where he sets up an anti-poaching unit. He also introduces us to a rich new cast of characters on his missions, and all of them adds value to the series, I especially like Raife Hastings and look forward to reading more of him in the next books hopefully.

When Reece figured he had reached the point where his prowess on the pitch had earned him some time with the team captain, he decided to pry. At one of the famed rugby team parties at Raife’s off-campus house, Reece made his approach. True Believer explores the psyche of a man who has killed for his country and broken society’s most sacred bond in a quest for vengeance. Can this man, who transformed into the very insurgent he’d been fighting, find peace and purpose, and learn to live again? The two were on the road at 0430 the next morning. It became obvious to Reece that his rugby team captain was a serious hunter who pursued mule deer and elk with the same dedication that he applied in the classroom and on the pitch. Reece had never met anyone with Raife’s instincts for the natural world; it was as if he were part of it.

What to know

Oh, man, we don’t hear much about that over here. My dad spent some time in Africa before I was born. He doesn’t talk about it, but he had a book on the Selous Scouts on the shelf in his study that I read in high school. Those guys were hard-core. Encouraged by what seemed to be the start of a new friendship and by the lubrication of the whiskey, the normally stoic Raife began talking about his upbringing in Africa, their farm in what was then Rhodesia, their move to South Africa after the war, and their eventual immigration into the United States. It’s difficult not to fall for a guy who serves the nation who’s lost his family and betrayed by his country with a brain tumor that was a result of unauthorized tests. They’d met on the rugby pitch at the University of Montana in the fall of 1995, Reece playing outside center and Raife as the number eight, by far the most skilled competitor on the team. Rugby was an obscure sport to most Americans in the early 1990s, so the community and the culture it fostered was a tight one. The running joke was that they were a drinking team with a rugby problem. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

How do we judge a human being who’s sacrificed so much for the United States who in turn betrayed him? With nothing more to lose, Reece set out for revenge. After compiling a lengthy list of everyone and anyone who had a hand in the death of his family and his team, the highly trained, highly lethal commando went to work—crossing off every name on his list in the process. Those are exactly the questions I’m exploring through what I like to call a story of violent redemption in True Believer,” Carr says. “James Reece needs to learn to live again. He needs a mission. He needs purpose. Finding that purpose will determine whether he lives or dies. As far as being a hero or fanatic, that will be up to the reader to decide.” His closest friend had recently come through when Reece needed him most, aiding Reece’s escape from New York and inserting him on his over-the-beach mission onto Fishers Island to kill the last conspirators on his list. Raife Hastings hadn’t hesitated when Reece requested assistance, risking everything for his former teammate without asking for anything in return. My favorite difference in book one from the show, the ending. Book is WAY better. Curious how the second two will compare.

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Reece turned his head to see what his daughter was pointing at off the stern. A massive wave crested above the sailboat as if in slow motion. Beer? Reece asked over the music, holding out a red Solo cup recently topped off from the keg outside. Following the explosive events of The Terminal List (2018), James Reece is the most wanted domestic terrorist on the United States’ watch list. Once a Navy SEAL commander, Reece previously uncovered a conspiracy that reached the highest levels of the American government, one that he set about exposing—which cost him everything he loved and cared about: his wife, their daughter, his teammates, and his career.