THE SURVIVOR

4 stars out of 5

There’s no shortage of action in this book nor curiosity on my part as to what would happen next, both of which normally would be more than enough to make me want to read it nonstop if daily life didn’t interfere. But when I had to put it down for, say, eating dinner or getting some semblance of a night’s sleep, that didn’t happen; it wasn’t till close to the end that I absolutely couldn’t wait to open my Kindle and read as fast as I can. I’m not sure why, but I suspect all the blood and guts kind of crossed the line of credibility in a few spots, plus most of the characters were people I’d  never even care to meet, much less interact with. Overall, though, I not only enjoyed the book, but I’m in hopes that a couple of the law enforcement officers who were the exception to my “so-so” character list end up with a series of their own.

As for this one, here’s the deal: Ben Cross had barely started his first day at what should have been a great job when he was unceremoniously marched out of the office and back onto the street – leaving him dazed and totally confused. But his day was about to get much, much worse. When he got on the subway, he got a text with a photo of another man on the train accompanied by a frightening warning that if Ben didn’t stop that man – a total stranger – from getting off the train, the man would die. Pretty much unbelievable, Ben thought, and besides, he had no idea who the man was or in which car he was traveling. Oh well, live and learn.

And boy did he learn - to pay attention to the next message, if there was one. That’s because guess what happened to the man when he exited the train? Yep, no kidding. Still in shock, Ben gets yet another message informing him that whoever is sending the messages has killed another person – and then still another when Ben is told to stop a second passenger from getting off and he fails. Slowly, Ben – and by now a couple of law enforcement agencies including Homeland Security – begin to realize Ben isn’t getting those texts randomly; for whatever reason, he’s been targeted.

And finding out why is the crux of the rest of the story; suffice it to say Ben himself is a person with a history he’d much prefer not to reveal (well, to readers maybe, but certainly not to the police). Still, most of that history was many years earlier; who on earth wants to dredge it up now and why? And more to the point, can he/she/they be identified and caught before many more innocent people (in fact, all the passengers remaining on the train) bite the smoke from a bomb?

Enter NYPD detective Kelly Hendricks, who’s been relegated to the transit authority beat in hopes she’ll just quit. Almost accidentally, she finds herself charged with getting on the train (mostly, I think, because all her police colleagues think she’s expendable), locating Ben and attempting to learn what’s happening from his perspective. And from that point on, my friends, everything gets a little fired up, but you’ll just have to read the rest of it for yourself. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for letting me get a little fired up as well by way of a pre-release copy. And hey – don’t forget I’m hoping to see a book starring this new police team in another year or so!

The Survivor by Andrew Reid (Minotaur Books, March 2026); 336 pp