I watched the trailer for the movie ‘The Gray Man‘ on youtube the other day and I wondered if this was based off a book. A quick google search gave me the answer and I soon found myself reading the novel of the same name. The book is the first in a series of novels by author Mark Greaney. Dubbed the Gray Man series, there are around 11 books published with the latest installment being in February of this year.

‘The Gray Man’ is essentially a spy thriller. Think Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne and the like. The book follows Courtland Gentry who goes by the Gray Man and is considered one of the world’s best assassins. But in this line of work, the past isn’t easily forgotten, and the repurcussions on one such mission finds Gentry hunted around the world for a reason he is yet to understand. Pretty typical formula, and like any typical spy thriller there is plenty of action. Some of it over the top but not enough to make me roll my eyes. Yet this wasn’t enough for me to put the book down. The book was entertaining and a fairly decent read. I can easily see someone picking this up at say the airport and reading it over a long flight.

I’m a sucker for the trope of the hero swooping in guns akimbo to save the day so I will probably checkout the rest of the series at some point. This book though is defnitely a one time read. Recommended for fans of Jack Ryan, Jack Reacher, Shane Schofield, Jason Bourne etc, and also for those like me that just wanted to read the book before the movie. Until next time!

Rating: 3/5

Links:

1. youtube: The Gray Man
2. goodreads: The Gray Man – Mark Greaney