Full Ratchet: A Silas Cade Thriller
Silas Cade (Clawback, 2012) is an off-the-books auditor who uses his military-interrogation (and weapons) training to scour his clients’ ranks for corruption. His latest contract takes him to the Rust Belt, where he’s been hired to identify the employee embezzling millions from Clay Micro. Cade starts at the top, but, in an unexpected turn, he finds that the company is infested with corruption, a different scam at every management layer. He’s feeling good about uncovering the embezzling schemes and embarks on his secondary mission: to make contact with the Silas look-alike alleging to be his long-lost brother. But a rampaging gang of Russian gangsters and a relentless female operative named Harmony are racing to see who can get to Silas first, challenging the would-be brothers to become either immediate allies, enemies, or collateral damage. Corporate ethics, ecological controversy, and public-relations smokescreens are a topically relevant mix rolled out at tire-squealing speed— think V. I. Warshawski with Semtex and rocket launchers. Silas Cade’s self-deprecating commentary and occasional foul-ups add to the fun, magically rendering the gun-wielding CPA relatable to armchair operatives. --Christine Tran