THE ROOKIE AND THE RAVEN

CIA trainee Christina Jordan is recruited to partner with a European Intelligence Agent code-named Raven to foil an imminent Russia-financed terrorist attack.

Raven is Nicholas Crowe, 20 years her senior. His resume includes stints in MI5 and the Royal Marines. “I have a reputation for being a rule-breaker,” he states. “Anything that gets the job done works for me.” Nicholas, more vulnerable than your average secret agent, has “quite a list of misery,” ranging from murdered parents to loved ones who were collateral damage in failed attempts on his life and deceased partners. But he walks the walk and talks the talk, as when he addresses a roomful of his very menacing captors: “Now will someone please tell me what we’re all doing here, so I can do my thing and kill you all?” To add to the fun: Nicholas has been labeled a double agent. So why would the CIA send Christina, who is young and inexperienced, to catch a Russian spy? In the meantime, time is running out on a planned terrorist attack financed by Vladimir Drachav and set into motion by the Contessa, who has made arrangements for the delivery of $60 million in military hardware as well as the hiring of 30 ex-military mercenaries. Nik is perhaps the only one who can spook the Contessa; she has marked him for assassination. There is a lot to unpack in Wilde’s series debut (a sequel has been announced), but he delivers the goods for fans of this genre. Foremost, he has etched credible, effective villains, from the Shaman, a merciless henchman, to the Contessa herself and the smooth-talking Drachav. It is off-putting that the chapters alternate between third-person and first-person for Nik exclusively. Christina, who is indeed young and experienced, is also smart and capable of sussing out the plot’s surprising twists. Exposition can be ham-handed (“Nik…has no one. He’s clinical, resilient, and kills without remorse. The man has many lovers, but never falls in love”), but this may be a necessary worldbuilding evil in an origin story.

An entertaining introduction to a dynamic duo.