A review of Fearless
by
M. W.
Craven
Last year I discover James Byrne's Dez Limerick action thrillers and read all three in quick succession (see review of book one here). I love Dez Limerick and I've been looking for something similar while I wait for the next Dez book. And though the humor is drier and more subtle, M. W. Craven's Ben Koenig books may be hitting the spot.
Six years ago Ben Koenig was part of a US Marshal's Special Operations Group. But when an operation ended with a death, Ben sold his house and disappeared. For six years he has lived off the grid, moving from town to town, never in any one place too long. That existence changes when he is picked up by local police and the head of his former Special Operations Group appears to ask for his help. His boss's college-aged daughter has gone missing and he's asking Ben to find her or find the people who have killed her. Ben takes on the task, no questions asked and finds his investigation leading from Georgetown to the desert in Texas where he discovers a much bigger opponent than he first thought.
I mentioned the humor in the Dez books and that is Dez's special gift as a protagonist who can take on the baddest of the bad and make it through. Ben's is his inability to feel fear. An injury to his brain makes Ben incapable of experiencing fear and to Craven's credit, he demonstrates how this works to Ben's advantage and sometimes causes him blind spots that can weaken his position. Ben's a darker, more gritty counterpart to Dez, but both succeed for me because these are guys who can get things done. And that's appealing enough, I've already put in hold for book two of Ben Koenig, Nobody's Hero.