Following a successful mission with his team from the Campus, Jack Ryan is tasked with a different type of assignment from his boss, Gerry Hendley.
The Campus, the covert black-ops team that Ryan is a part of, answers only to the President of the United States–Jack’s father, Jack Ryan Senior. But when it comes to money, they’re funded through a financial analysis firm called Hendley Associates, where Junior is technically employed as an analyst.
When former U.S. Senator Weston Rhodes hires Hendley Associates to look over his company’s books ahead of a major business deal, he asks specifically for Paul Brown, a forensic accountant, and the best analyst Hendley has–which is Ryan.
It turns out that Rhodes’ defense company is about to close a deal to acquire Dalfan Technologies. But before the purchase of the Singapore-based tech company–which specializes in a number of high-tech tracking and weapon systems–is finalized, Rhodes wants someone to crunch the numbers to make sure there are no surprises that will turn up down the road. For that reason, a third party accounting firm is necessary, and Hendley’s crew is the best there is.
While taking the occasional “white-side” job between secret missions is essential to preserving Ryan’s cover with Hendley Associates, Jack isn’t exactly excited about leaving his team behind to play analyst for a week in Singapore. But what starts out as a routine audit soon turns into something far more dangerous when Ryan uncovers a potential sinister motive behind the merger.
Paul, meanwhile, has been given a far more top-secret mission, one that even Ryan isn’t aware of, but struggles to find a workaround to Delfan’s strict, cutting-edge security measures. As he and Jack continue to poke around, both quickly realize that their white-side assignment has turned into something much, much darker.
One of the genre’s most underrated authors, Maden puts his own spin on Jack Junior, who is a slightly different but vastly improved character from the guy we saw in last year’s Duty and Honor. In the past, Junior has sort of felt like a secondary character trying to play the lead, similar to how in the books Jack struggles to live up to the expectations set by his father, President Jack Ryan. With Mike Maden behind him, though, Ryan has really come into his own and flashes plenty of star power to build on moving forward.
Maden’s strengths are a perfect match for this franchise, and he kicks things off with an explosive first chapter that is very Brad Thor-like in its pacing, word descriptions, and overall style.
While it was already clear from his work on his Troy Pearce series that Maden knows his way around an action scene, he also brings a lot to the table when it comes to understanding new technology, next-gen weapons, and most importantly, how to incorporate them into his multi-layered plots.
That’s especially true here, as the hidden plotlines deep within the complex, inner workings of the story are spot-on for a Jack Ryan novel. Longtime fans can rest assured, Point of Contact reads like a vintage Tom Clancy thriller.
After three novels from Grant Blackwood, Mike Maden takes over the Jack Ryan Junior franchise and mixes nail-biting suspense with hard-hitting action to deliver a blockbuster hit that Clancy fans will love.
Book Details
Author: Mike Maden
Series: Jack Ryan Universe #23
Pages: 496 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0735215863
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: June 13, 2017 (Order Now!)