Sam Capra's son is missing. You probably know that if you read Adrenaline, but if you didn't, don't worry: Sam tells you that his son is missing about ten times during the brief opening scene of this short story. With help from a woman named Mila who carries a telescoping baton in her boot ("her preferred weapon"), Sam pursues his "mortal enemy," an international crime ring called Nine Suns that is responsible for snatching Sam's baby.

"Sam Capra's Last Chance" is meant to be a bridge between the first Sam Capra novel, Adrenaline, and the next one, The Last Minute. This seems to be a newly emerging trend, a way for writers and publishers to squeeze a couple of extra bucks from series fans. I'm all in favor of writers earning a living and I have no problem with marketing a single short story, provided that the story stands on its own merit. This one doesn't.

Will this story make sense if you haven't read Adrenaline? Not entirely. And even if you have read Adrenaline, the plot advancement in this story depends upon a huge and entirely unbelievable coincidence. Of course, it's also unbelievable that professionals shoot at Sam from close range and can never manage to hit him. Yeah, it's that kind of story.

Does anything of substance happen in this story? Not really. Will you miss anything important if you read Adrenaline and The Last Minute but skip this story? Not really. Is it a bad story? Not really, but it isn't really a good story either. It's just sort of there.

Following (and longer than) the story is an excerpt from The Last Minute. This review pertains to the story, not the excerpt.