Fade

New York Times bestselling author of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp novels Kyle Mills rewrites the rules for thrillers with Fade -- a novel ripped from today's headlinesWelcome to the new war on terror. A secret wing of Homeland Security is recruiting agents to work undercover in the Middle East, and the director wants his second-in-command, Matt Egan, to bring aboard an old friend, Salam Al Fayed—better known as Fade. He's perfect: An ex-Navy Seal and the son of immigrants, he speaks flawless Arabic. Trouble is, he's "retired"; he was wounded in the line of duty, and the government refused to pay for the risky surgery that could have helped him. Now he's walking around with a bullet lodged near his spine, and he's not too fond of anyone in the government -- least of all, his ex-best friend Matt Egan, whom he blames for his present condition. Against Egan's wishes, the director tries to "persuade" Fade to join the team. But Fade is prepared to fight back at any cost. The chase is on -- will Matt be able to find his friend-turned-fugitive before Fade can take the ultimate revenge? Fade is a remarkable, take-no-prisoners program from an unparalleled writer at the height of his talents.

first They Abandoned Him.a Former Navy Seal Who Speaks Perfect Arabic, Salam Al-fayed (a.k.a. Fade) Had Been One Of The Deadliest Weapons In America's Arsenal—until A Mission Gone Wrong Put A Bullet In His Back, Requiring Risky Surgery The Government Refused To Pay For.

then They Trapped Him.embittered By A Wound That Could One Day Immobilize Him, Fade Isn't Exactly Cooperative When Homeland Security Insists On Putting Him Back On The Payroll. But They're Not Taking No For An Answer—and What Is Meant To Be A Foolproof Deception Turns Into An Explosive Bloodbath.

now They're Running From Him.it Falls To An Estranged Friend Of Fade's Named Matt Egan To Clean Up The Mess Made By His Superiors. But It Isn't Going To Be Easy—because Fade Is Gunning For The Men Who Set Him Up. And Matt Is At The Top Of The List...

will Keep You Reading Well Into The Night.

—vince Flynn, Author Of memorial Day

the Perfect Thriller…a Delicious Summer Treat.

—denver Post

publishers Weekly

since 9/11, Even The Best Thriller Writers Have Been Constricted By Stock Heroes (mostly Ex-military White Americans) And Villains (mostly Arab Terrorists) Who Make It Hard To Tell One Book From Another. Leave It To Mills (smoke Screen) To Solve That Problem In An Exciting, Original Way. His Salam Al Fayed (aka Fade), An American Agent Of Arab Ancestry And A Former Navy Seal, Is As Tough And Loyal As They Come. But When His Latest Mission Ends In Failure And His Government Employers Treat Him Badly, Fade Becomes Increasingly Bitter. So When His Former Friend And Colleague, Matt Egan, Is Ordered By The Head Of A Secret Agency Of The Department Of Homeland Security To Persuade Fade To Put Aside His Anger And Join An Undercover Team In The Middle East, Fade Has A One-word Answer-in English As Well As Arabic. Egan, Who's Almost As Interesting A Character As Fade, Is Full Of Guilt For What Happened To His Old Friend, But He Also Knows That His Boss Is Right: Fade Is Perfect For The New Assignment. In Fact, All The Government People Are Fully Credible Within The Boundaries Of Their Responsibilities. Mills's Prose Is Crisp And His Action Skills Are Top-notch. In Fade, He Has Created A True Thriller Hero For The Present And The Immediate Future. Agent, Simon Lipskar At Writers House. Author Tour. (june 7) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

The government turned its back on Salem Al Fayad after the first Gulf War, but now that Homeland Security needs "Fade's" particular skills, they attempt to recruit him again. He's not only not interested, but he's nursing a very big grudge, and the ham-fisted tactics they use to reel him back in don't help defuse his anger. There's a bullet lodged in Fade's spine that could have been removed years ago, but the feds wouldn't pay for it then and it's too late now, so Fade's got nothing to lose but his life, and that's not worth very much to him now. His old friend and teammate Matt Egan tried to help him then, but now he's charged with bringing Fade in, dead or alive. Both Fade and Egan are appealing characters--if there's a villain here, it's Egan's new boss, and Matt is torn between his loyalty to Fade, his duty to a superior officer he despises, and his fears for his own family's safety. Mills expertly ratchets up the tension page by page and chapter by chapter in a better than average thriller marked by fine charicaterizations, superior pacing, and a strong narrative in which the bonds of friendship are brilliantly delineated and the two men at the center of the action linger in the reader's mind after the expectable but still compelling denouement. Mills gets better and better, and Fade is timely enough to break him out of the midlist and win him a new legion of fans