On April 14, 2020, former Navy SEAL turned CIA counterterrorism operative James Reece will return to bookstores in Savage Son, the next high-octane thriller from Jack Carr.
If you follow Jack Carr on social media (and you should), then you’re already well aware of the fact that his second book—the highly anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed debut, The Terminal List—was initially supposed to come out in April of this year.
Instead, after a lengthy and very public delay at the hands of the Department of Defense, Carr’s True Believer only just landed in bookstores back on July 30th.
For those who haven’t followed the story, it seems that the very background (Carr is a former Navy SEAL, like his protagonist) that has led to his books reading so authentic that you can almost smell the gunpowder also forced the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review team to spend a little extra time going over his manuscript. After they finally released the work of fiction for publication—with parts redacted, of course—before the summer, Carr was able to continue James Reece’s story and deliver his fans the book that the government (it seems) didn’t want them to read.
Already, True Believer, now nearing its one-month birthday, has collected almost 130 reviews on Amazon, and is averaging—averaging—an insane 4.9 out of 5 stars. That puts Carr’s sophomore book squarely in the discussion for the best thriller of 2019, next to mega-superstar authors such as Daniel Silva and Brad Thor.
Not bad for a guy who’s frequently found himself compared to the legendary Vince Flynn.
In the end, the silver lining to the delay of True Believer is that Carr is now way ahead of schedule when it comes to plans for his next book—so far so, in fact, that we already have a title, Savage Son, publication date, and official plot details (more on those below). Plus, his move back to April means that readers will only need to wait about nine months between books . . . which is great because once you finish True Believer, I guarantee you’ll be dying for the next one.
“I’ve wanted to write Savage Son since I first read The Most Dangerous Game back in 6th grade,” Carr told The Real Book Spy in an exclusive statement.
“From that first reading, I knew I would someday write a novel that paid tribute to Richard Connell’s classic tale of hunter and hunted, exploring the dark side of man. The idea was one of the six or seven I created as options for my first foray into the world of publishing. The Terminal List was the clear choice to kick off the series with its theme of revenge without constraint. Now, as a follow up to True Believer‘s theme of violent redemption, the timing is perfect. I can’t wait to get Savage Son in the hands of readers!”
In this third high-octane thriller in the “seriously good” (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Past Tense) Terminal List series, former Navy SEAL James Reece must infiltrate the Russian mafia and turn the hunters into the hunted.
Deep in the wilds of Siberia, a woman is on the run, pursued by a man harboring secrets—a man intent on killing her.
A traitorous CIA officer has found refuge with the Russian mafia with designs on ensuring a certain former Navy SEAL sniper is put in the ground.
Half a world away, James Reece is recovering from brain surgery in the Montana wilderness, slowly putting his life back together with the help of investigative journalist Katie Buranek and his longtime friend and SEAL teammate Raife Hastings. Unbeknownst to them, the Russian mafia has set their sights on Reece in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
In his most visceral and heart-pounding thriller yet, Jack Carr explores the darkest instincts of humanity through the eyes of a man who has seen both the best and the worst of it.
Jack Carr is an author and former Navy SEAL. He lives with his wife and three children in Park City, Utah. He is the author of The Terminal List and True Believer. Visit him at OfficialJackCarr.com and follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
News of Savage Son was first announced by Carr himself via his official newsletter last night. If you haven’t already, sign up for that here—it’s free and will keep you up to date on all things Jack Carr and James Reece. In the meantime, fans looking to pre-order Savage Son well ahead of its April 2020 release date, can now do so wherever books are sold.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.