I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All opinions are my own. 

A former US Ranger becomes a vigilante and skirts the line between morally just and ruthless killer in author Matt Hughes’s “One More Kill.”

The Synopsis

He was a trained killer. A US Army Ranger major. An orphan who rose from nothing to become one of the deadliest men in the military. But when a low-grade leukemia ended his career, the Army pushed him out and left him with nothing but a pension and a feeling of uselessness.

Then a rogue doctor gave him a new purpose. A new hobby. Killing those who had done great harm and gotten away with it.

Now a police detective is closing in. A vicious old enemy has resurfaced. And the Ranger is being drawn into a web of contract killing and gun running that will force him to solve his problems with bombs, bullets, and his own bare hands.

One More Kill is a gripping assassination thriller that fans of Lawrence Block and Lee Child will devour. Perfect for readers who love vigilante justice, military action, and protagonists who walk the line between hero and killer.

Extrapolated from a short story that won the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence.

THE REVIEW

This was a fascinating and compelling action thriller. This vigilante-justice suspense thriller keeps readers on the edge of their seats throughout most of the novel, and it does a fantastic job balancing the tension as the protagonist’s body count grows with the detective’s murder-mystery investigation. The author’s writing style draws readers in, creating an immersive experience that lets them feel the moral struggles the protagonist’s journey takes them on.

The novel’s heart lies in its character development and the powerful themes it explores. The heartbreak of the protagonist’s backstory, a good soldier who gave his all only to be discarded when a terrible illness made him a liability, provides a solid foundation for exploring his psyche and motivations. This novel really highlights the moral quandary of vigilante justice, something I’ve always found interesting to think about and see come to life through characters like Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher in Marvel Comics. While it is impossible to ignore that the people this vigilante goes after are not the best people in the world, the question of whether or not it is a moral choice to take these individuals out, and the impact it can have on a person’s mind, body, and soul, especially if it risks them becoming the thing they hate the most, is expertly explored throughout this narrative.

THE VERDICT

Haunting, action-packed, and engaging, Matt Hughes’s “One More Kill” is a must-read vigilante justice thriller. The twists and turns, the open-ended questions about the morality of the protagonist’s actions, and the compelling storytelling fully immerse readers and make it easier to read more from this author. If you haven’t yet, please be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

I write space-opera science fiction and fantasy mostly set in my extrapolation of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth. I make no bones about being heavily influenced by Vance, whose work I first encountered as a thirteen-year-old in the early 1960s. I also write crime fiction as Matt Hughes.

Booklist has called me Vance’s “heir apparent” and George R.R. Martin says I “do Jack Vance better than anyone except Jack himself.” I am very proud to have been authorized by the Vance estate to write BARBARIANS OF THE BEYOND, a companion novel to Vance’s iconic DEMON PRINCES series.

I’m Canadian, a university drop-out from a working-poor background. I’ve been a professional writer all my adult life and was staff speechwriter to two federal cabinet ministers in the 1970s. Then for three decades, I was the top-rated freelance speechwriter in British Columbia.

Since segueing into fiction-writing, I’ve sold twenty-four novels to publishers large and small in the UK, US, and Canada (not counting reprints, book club deals, and foreign translations), as well as 100 works of short fiction to professional markets. Lately, I’ve been self-publishing new works.

I’ve won the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award and the Endeavour Award, and have been shortlisted for the Aurora, Locus, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, Endeavour (twice), A.E. Van Vogt, Neffy, and High Plains, and Derringer Awards. In 2021, I was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association’s Hall of Fame.

George R.R. Martin has called me “criminally underrated.” Robert J. Sawyer has called me a “towering talent.” David Gerrold says I’m a “treasure.”