Book Review: The Marksman by Robin G. Mercier, Danny Kravitz, Chris Charles

I was glad to keep coming back to this Cartel horror of a story.
The Marksman
By Robin G. Mercier, Danny Kravitz, Chris Charles

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BZB6FR3F
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 29, 2023
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level 4 Press, Inc.
Genres: Crime, Thriller
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0.

Jim Hanson, an ex-Marine sniper, was getting by in life as a rancher on the Arizona-Mexico border until his wife’s recent battle with cancer wiped him out financially and hollowed him out emotionally. Then he encounters a young Mexican boy, Miguel, and his mother as they are fleeing from a vicious drug cartel. Jim calls the Border Patrol but is soon confronted by cartel soldiers who demand he turn over the mother and son. Jim refuses and is drawn into a shootout, narrowly escaping with Miguel and his mother, who has been fatally shot. She begs Jim to take her son to the safety of his relatives in Chicago just before dying.
Now being pursued by the cartel’s relentless lead assassin, as well as Border Patrol Agents intent on sending Miguel back to Mexico (which is certain death), Jim finds himself as the boy’s protector in a desperate race from Arizona to Chicago. Jim and Miguel fight for their lives during this deadly road trip, becoming the most unlikely pair of fugitives and helping each other heal from deep loss along the way.

Review:
Jim Hanson is an ex-Marine sniper who has fallen emotionally after losing his wife to cancer. Months later, he is struggling to keep his ranch on the Arizona-Mexico border fighting his own destructive behaviors as well as the harsh land that isn’t easy for raising cattle.

One morning Jim is near the border when a woman and child run from through the fence, followed by men in a black SUV. The brutish cartel men demand that he turn over the mother and child and when Jim refuses gunfire is exchanged. Jim kills one of the men while they kill the mother. Before she dies, the mother insists that Jim take her son, 11-year-old Miguel, to relatives in Chicago. She claims if the boy returns to Mexico he will be killed for the actions of others. Initially Jim turns the boy over to Border Patrol but something makes him go to the station the next morning where he is alarmed to see the black SUV and men coming to pick up the boy. Jim manages to sneak Miguel out and he goes on the run.

Jim is traveling with a quiet, scared boy and wondering why he is doing this. The cartel men are on his trail and the border patrol, where his stepdaughter works, are out to get him to return the boy to Mexico. It takes Jim a day or two to realize how the cartel SUV is using corrupt contacts to find him and he increases the anger of the leader by leaving a trail of death each time they get too close.

Finally, as Jim and Miguel develop a strange friendship, Jim decides that he will deliver Miguel to Chicago. But the cartel leader has contacts in Chicago and is prepared to call in favors, unknown to his boss. Can Jim get Miguel safely to his aunt in Chicago? And what will Jim do once the mission is completed?

I was horrified by the extent of the cartel violence and corruption with contacts throughout the States. Sadly, it is very believable. Jim is a flawed hero, and I can imagine Liam Neeson playing the brooding man. I was impressed with the writing that flowed well and kept me coming back to read more. I am glad I was offered this book to read. I expect I will watch the movie sometime in the future. I recommend this book to fans of crime thriller action.

Source: August 2023 Received two ebooks from Alyssia Gonzalez at Publicist, Level 4 Press. This qualifies for 2023Author and 2023eBook goals.