Steel Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann

 Meet Finn. Just Finn. A SEAL with a rep. A good rep up until his last assignment in the Middle East. Something went south. Dead civilians  and he was the only survivor of his platoon. Higher ups need to talk to him back in San Diego. So he is helicoptered to an aircraft carrier headed back to Hawaii for routine maintenance. 

Seems a little odd that Finn's transport to San Diego would be a slow carrier instead of some flight. He arrives under a veil of suspicion and if quartered in a room the size of a broom closet. The trip home will be a slow crawl. To pass the time, Finn draws. Draws what he sees. Pretty good, too. Nice detail and easily appreciated. He has a long trip ahead of him.

Being a SEAL, he is afforded some leeway. What little association he has with the crew is primarily with some officers, but he manages to make a friend or two with some seamen who never see the sun. And he gets a feel for the character of the ship.

And that feel isn't good. The Captain has effectively, lost his crew. He rarely makes an appearance, doesn't little to improve morale. While a revolt isn't likely, the cruise downright sucks. 

Right up until a crewman is killed. An investigation starts. Finn keeps his ears open and one of the rumors is that he is a suspect. That all seemed well until that SEAL boarded the ship. He is considered to be damaged goods. Ergo. A suspect.

Then another crewman is killed. And the direction of inquiry shifts away from Finn. But just a little. 

Another crewman commits suicide by jumping off ship. Jumped off a landing where Finn would go to draw. Of course, that makes Finn more of a target. He's' a loner. An outsider. Came aboard under a cloud of suspicion. Has to be him. Yet Finn keep to himself and compiles facts differently. Maybe if he can figure out what's happening, it'll help clear his name after that disastrous mission. 

If he can stay alive long enough.

This is an intriguing concept: a serial killer on an aircraft carrier. A closed environment filled with people all trained, on at least a most basic level, as killers. The main question is less who is capable, but killer's motivation is paramount. What would drive someone to start picking off the crew that have been cloistered for months. Personally, I kind of like the Finn character. Sort of a sympathetic hero who we really aren't fully sure if he did or didn't screw up on that last mission. That's for you to decide. The story is authentic being written by a decorated SEAL (Webb) and an accomplished author (Mann). You won't go wrong with this one. Definitely a unique tale.

Available July 13, 2021

ECD