Hard Return by J. Carson Black is the second book in the “Cyril Landry” thriller series. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer, September 2014

Cyril Landry has been a dead man since he escaped a firefight off the coast of Florida three years ago. In all that time, the former Navy SEAL has been living off the grid to protect his wife and teenage daughter, who have mourned him and moved on.

Five days a week, Landry watches from a distance as his daughter Kristal leaves school—his only chance to see her. One day a shooter in black unloads his M-16 on the students, killing eight kids—including Kristal’s boyfriend, Luke. Landry takes out the gunman with a single sniper shot before melting back into the city. But this wasn’t a typical massacre, and the clues add up to only one conclusion: someone knows Landry’s alive, and wants him dead—again. Teaming up with Detective Jolie Burke—a homicide cop who plays by her own rules—Landry must find a way to protect his family, and avenge Luke’s death.

In the second Cyril Landry thriller, black ops turn the world red.

From the beginning to the finale, we are on a high-speed race in a suspenseful and riveting drama that doesn’t stop until the last man is standing. The author does a great job of pulling me into this non-stop action-filled mission with a solid plot and a feverish pace that kept me turning the pages as I had to know what the outcome is and boy was I surprised by that well-played out twist that I didn’t see at all. How Cyril came to be was well developed that left me with conflicted emotion because I wanted him to have what he wanted most. I’m hoping in the next book, he gets that wish. This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to more exploits with Cyril and his collaborators.