Fields of Fire

by Ryan Steck

Overview

“You know Ryan Steck as the Real Book Spy. Now, get to know him as the author of Fields of Fire, his debut thriller featuring Marine Raider Matthew Redd in a battle that will leave you speechless and begging for more. Lock and load!” —Jack Carr, Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Hand

Waiting to be deployed on a critical mission, elite Marine Raider Matthew Redd stops to help a stranger and wakes up hours later to learn his team was wiped out in an ambush. Unable to remember anything, Redd can’t deny the possibility that he’s somehow responsible for the information leak that led to the massacre. He’s given a deal to avoid a charge of treason, but it means walking away from the Corps and the life he loved.

As he faces his loss, Matty gets a cryptic message from his adoptive father, J. B.: “Trouble’s come knocking. . . . Might need your help.” He points his truck home to rural Montana, only to discover that J. B. is dead and the explanation for his death is far from satisfying. Determined to dig up the truth, Redd uncovers a dark global conspiracy with his hometown at the center and no team at his back—except one he might find among past friends, old enemies, and new allies, if he can figure out who to trust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496462862
Publisher:	Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Series:	A Matthew Redd Thriller , #1
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	125,240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.50(d)

Editorial Reviews

05/09/2022

A former Marine investigates the death of his adoptive father in Steck’s strong debut. While on a joyride in California, Marine raider Matthew Redd stops to help a woman with a flat tire and they go back to her place. The next thing he remembers, a day has passed and he’s getting arrested for allegedly leaking information about a mission in Mexico that led to the death of his entire team. After accepting a dishonorable discharge, he receives a voice mail from his adoptive father, J.B., about needing help back in Montana, but when Redd arrives he discovers J.B. has died under suspicious circumstances. As Redd investigates, he comes under pressure to sell J.B.’s property to his neighbor Wyatt Gage, a tech-billionaire’s son, but Redd refuses and Gage’s tactics become increasingly violent. A visit from Redd’s biological father, an FBI agent, helps Redd see that J.B.’s death might be related to the mission that killed Redd’s team, suggesting a greater threat than he had imagined. Meanwhile, Redd reconnects with an old flame whose father, a minister, quietly steers Redd toward the path to God. The suave yet vulnerable lead and propulsive narrative will keep readers hooked. This is an auspicious start for Steck. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

There’s a lot we’ve seen before in Ryan Steck’s tumultuous thriller Fields of Fire, but all of it is done exceptionally well. Steck’s debut actually gives us two bangs for the buck, hitting on a pair of classic thriller tropes in the same volume. First, we follow special ops Marine Matthew Redd dealing with the aftermath of a massacre he may or may not have perpetrated. That’s due not to the fog of war, or combat, but the fact that Redd is suffering from amnesia and can’t remember what happened. We’re also treated to the angst-riddled Redd’s return home to Montana to deal with a deadly threat to his hometown in a fashion that would make Lee Child’s Jack Reacher proud. A veteran reviewer with one of the genre’s most popular blogs, the Read Book Spy, Steck is understandably well-versed in the genre. But his command of battle scenes and the warrior mindset is exceptional. Fields of Fire reads like Nelson DeMille seamlessly blended with the likes of Brad Thor, Brad Taylor, or Jack Carr, and is not to be missed.

Providence Journal