I added this book to my TBR list when I met the author, Steve Urszenyi, at the Thrillerfest conference in New York last June. Steve is a great guy, a former Canadian paramedic and all-around fascinating person. It’s always fun to read a book from somebody with whom you’ve spent time. You can compare the writing voice with their actual voice, adding a layer of enjoyment to the reading.
Perfect Shot is a terrorist/espionage thriller centered around Alexandra Martel, a special agent with the FBI. She’s on loan to Interpol, where she tracks down terrorists and other bad guys, who are trafficking stolen nuclear material, among other things. (I didn’t realize cops could be loaned to other cop organizations.) Incidentally, Alex is a world-class sniper, who uses her skills to take down terrorists from a distance.
When Alex learns that her old friend Krysten has been murdered, she travels to London to investigate. The trail leads her on a complex plot which involves rogue Russian politicians and military officers, and a stolen nuclear weapon.
Alex is a strong character, a woman thriving in a male-dominated world, without coming across as a cliché. She has a troubled past, and we enjoy watching her process her demons while saving the world. The story is enriched with the arrival of Caleb, a shadowy CIA employee who seems to show up everywhere Alex goes.
The story was full of twists and turns and kept me guessing. There are components of a mystery, with Alex hunting for clues about the death of her friend. The thriller component is always the backbone, however. Lots of fights, with guns, knives, and fists. The pacing is wonderful, and I didn’t want to set the book down, all the way to the last page.
Another big strength of this book is the Russians. Steve writes Russian chicanery as if he spent time hanging out in secret rooms at the Kremlin. Not sure how he’s able to do this, maybe he had a secret stint as a spy. Either way, it sure makes for a fun read.
Overall, I loved this book. We’re starting out with 5 stars. Steve is great at writing action, and his dialogue is snappy, avoiding the awkwardness often seen in conversations written by newer writers. You could read this aloud and it would sound like how real people talk.
However, no book is perfect, and I have to subtract a fraction for a few small episodes of exposition that are either too on the nose, overly sentimental, or info-dump-ey. There are also a couple of places where the decisions or emotional reactions of the characters aren’t totally believable. For example, Alex is basically given free rein to run around Paris with a gun, searching for the missing nuclear bomb. I’m not a cop, and I have zero knowledge about their practices, but I have trouble believing the French authorities and Interpol would just allow an American agent to run wild.
These issues are few and far between, and the writing evens out as the story progresses. Still, it brings the book down to 4.9 stars.
So, take-home message: awesome book, by a talented debut author. 4.9 stars, rounding up to 5. I can’t wait to read the next book, Out in the Cold, which comes out November 12, 2024.