END GAME

4 stars out of 5

No doubt about it: Government-sanctioned assassins Will Robie and Jessica Reel have never fail to get the job done, even when it comes at great personal cost and a smattering of collateral damage. This time, though, their efforts border on overkill (pun intended).

Will and Jessica are returning to action after separate assignments that left them physically and mentally devastated. They've healed as much as humanly possible, but Jessica's mind is still reeling (another pun intended) -  leaving in limbo the "connection" they formed during a previous joint venture. They haven't seen each other for six months, but now they get called in to solve a surprising problem: Their elderly and much revered handler, known as Blue Man, went missing while on a fishing vacation in backwoods Colorado, where he grew up.

Their reunion is more or less amicable, but Will and Jessica are of the same mind when it comes to their mission - find Blue Man at any cost, including their own lives should it come to that. Needless to say, as they bump up against infestations of skinheads, neo-Nazis and other undesirables in this godforsaken territory, there's a good probability that's exactly how it will end. Throw in a few abandoned government bunkers and silos and it closes in on a sure bet.

But there's a bit of a problem, as I see it, is in the execution - and I mean that as a double entendre. Murders, quite a few execution-style, result in bodies piling up faster than pitchfork-flung hay in a mow (some of them deservedly so, others not). From a writing standpoint, the execution rather quickly dives into - and stays in - the realm of "you've got to be kidding." That Will and Jessica possess near super-human capabilities both individually and as a team is de rigueur in this series, but what they accomplish here stretches imagination beyond the limit, at least for me. But then again, in the end all's right with the world - except for a few issues that no doubt will carry over to the next book.

All things considered, if you're looking for serious kick-assction (I made that one up to avoid getting censored, so hopefully you get my drift), it would be tough to beat this book. And for sure, I'll be in line to get the next installment. 

End Game by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, November 2017); 416 pp.