Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In the intricate tapestry of modern thrillers, Kevin Powers' "A Line in the Sand" emerges as a compelling narrative that weaves together the threads of war's aftermath and the relentless pursuit of truth. Powers, an author already acclaimed for his poignant exploration of war's human toll, delves into the murky waters of military contractors and the shadows they cast on the lives they touch.

The novel introduces us to Arman Bajalan, an Iraqi refugee whose past as an interpreter for the American military in Mosul collides with his present on a Virginia beach. The discovery of a body, devoid of identity, sets off a chain of events that entangles Bajalan in a web spun by the very threads of his own history. Powers masterfully constructs a world where the lines between victim and perpetrator blur, and the quest for justice is as personal as it is political.

Detective Catherine Wheel, a character crafted with a refreshing departure from the clichéd flaws of her fictional counterparts, leads the investigation with a steadiness that anchors the narrative. Her interactions with Bajalan, fraught with the tension of unspoken understanding, drive the story forward with a momentum that is both relentless and thoughtful.

The parallel storyline of journalist Sally Ewell, whose grief mirrors Bajalan's, adds depth to the exploration of loss and the cost of war. Her pursuit of a story about Decision Tree, a private military contractor, intersects with Bajalan's past in a way that is both surprising and inevitable.

Powers' prose is taut, his pacing impeccable. He navigates the complexities of his subject with a deft hand, offering no easy answers but plenty of food for thought. The moral ambivalence that permeates the resolution of the novel is not a weakness but a strength, prompting readers to question the very nature of justice and the price of peace.

An action packed, fast paced thriller in the vein of David baldacci or Lee child! Nothing new added to the genre but it lured me in and I am interested in reading more in what I assume will be a series.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Not anything unique in this genre, but the stand out for me is giving a backstory to some of the characters, rather than this, just being an action packed book. And for those who have lived in the Tidewater area of Virginia, you will find yourself back in Norfolk in familiar places. Having lived in Chesapeake Virginia I also recognize the Great Dismal Swamp as one of the settings. I can’t help but wonder if the bad guys in this book are a very thinly veiled nod to Blackwater, the military contractors based in Moyock, North Carolina. I felt the ending hit the right tone. I look forward to digging up some other books by this author. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

a spellbinding thriller that completely captivated me

thank you netgalley and to the publisher for the review copy

Arman Bajalan was an interpreter for the American forces in Iraq. His wife and child were killed after he witnessed a massacre at the university in Tehran. His former lieutenant gets his out of Iraq, but is than killed in a car crash. Arman finds the body of an Australian SAS agent on the beach in Norfolk VA and then overhears the killers. Who is searching for him and why now? Catherine Wheel has been a homicide detective for a long time and she knows something is hinky about this murder. No one knows who the dead guy is; his only identification is a tattoo. While investigating, Wheel and her new partner uncover a link to a reporter who drinks too much while mourning her dead brother. Sally Ewell is following a story that could make or break her. Who is tanking the congressional investigation into Decision Tree, a military contractor with a lot of bodies to bury? More bodies continue to fall, including several police. It appears Arman is at the center of the storm. Written by the author of Yellow Birds, this is a highly topical read.

Here we have a thriller that deals with the fallout from the Iraq war, which is not normally something I would be interested in, but boy was I surprised at how good this is. It's a cannot-put-it-down thriller that kept me riveted. Kevin Powers really knows how to build captivating characters and an action-driven mystery. Highly recommended.

Published by Little, Brown and Company on May 16, 2023

A Line in the Sand is a thriller/mystery with war as a backstory, but it is also a story of loss and healing. The plot builds steam until it explodes in a series of action scenes, each more tense than the last. Yet the minor characters, more than the plot, make the story stand out.

Arman Bajalan was an interpreter in Iraq. His family was killed. He earned a visa to relocate to the US, but only after he witnessed a war crime committed by contractors, a nice name for mercenaries. He told a lieutenant who promised him protection. Now Bajalan works as a custodian in a motel, living a life of “ritual with no purpose he could recall.”

Bajalan discovers a man’s body on the beach where he regularly swims before starting his shift at the motel. A tattoo identifies the man’s affiliation with the Australian military. The people who killed the man likely believed he was looking for Bajalan. They wanted to find Bajalan first.

Detective Catherine Wheel and her partner Lamar Adams catch the case of the dead Australian. Since Bajalan is a witness, Wheel spends time learning his story. She soon suspects that he might be in danger. A series of killings over the course of the novel confirms those suspicions.

The contractors belonged to a company called Decision Tree. Trevor Graves, its CEO, is a corrupt power broker who is about to sign a contract with the government that is worth billions to his company. Congress is slow walking an investigation that might jeopardize that contract.

Sally Ewell, a reporter for a Virginia newspaper, is covering the congressional hearing. An anonymous source gives her a thumb drive with a note that invites her to a meeting at a train station. Sally brings her former lover, Carter West III (Trey to his buddies), who is also involved in the Decision Tree hearing as a congressional aide. Wheel, Lamar, and Bajalan are following a lead at the station. They all hook up and, in the course of events, realize the information on the thumb drive might relate to the danger that Bajalan faces. Trey contends that the thumb drive implicates national security.

Characters embark on separate journeys that eventually lead to a resolution. Wheel follows her instincts until her desire to confront Graves meets with serious pushback.

The plot is surprisingly tight, given the number of branches and subplots that Kevin Powers built into the story. Occasional shootouts and knifings add urgency to Wheel’s investigation. Good guys are sometimes difficult to separate from bad guys, but lives of good and bad are equally likely to end in violence. The key plot point, a conspiracy to cover up war crimes, is far from original, but Powers tells a story that never feels like a cliché.

Characterization is well above par for a thriller. Wheel doesn’t posture herself as the only police officer in the world who cares about victims, a tired approach to characterization that ruins too many police thrillers. Wheel’s concern for Bajalan and for people in general comes across as genuine. She digs herself a hole by digging into Graves (no pun intended) and, when she believes her career is down the toilet, she’s faced with the kind of moral issue that is common in thrillers: She can abandon the law she’s always upheld by imposing her own version of justice or she can let the guilty go unpunished. It is to Powers’ credit that he made such a stale idea seem convincing. I was particularly impressed by Wheel’s understanding that vigilantism comes with a price — not just to the vigilante, but to a society that allows individuals to pick and choose the laws they follow.

Supporting characters, including Sally’s father and the motel owner who employs Bajalan, play heroic roles. They are such fundamentally decent people that Powers forces the reader to worry about their fates. One of the most emotionally effective scenes involves two other characters who are collateral to the plot, a teenage hooker and a state trooper who helps her.

Death and the stupidity of war weigh heavily on the minds of characters who lost friends and family because Dick Cheney and his puppet president decided that Saddam had to go, a decision that not coincidentally enriched Cheney’s Halliburton. The politics of war and defense contracting are underplayed in the novel — Powers delivers a thriller, not a lecture — but that background strengthens the plot’s plausibility and enhances the sense of pain that pervades characters whose lives are forever diminished by wars that result from business decisions rather than moral choices.

Powell recognizes that pain is beyond our control. In the end, the novel suggests that we can respond to pain with hatred of those who cause it, a response that withers the soul, or we can choose not to hate. Again, that insight isn’t original, but the need to make that choice comes across as a genuine emotional reaction to painful circumstances. Even if the novel does nothing new, its effective repackaging of familiar elements earns A Line in the Sand a solid recommendation.

RECOMMENDED

I smell whiffs of Barry Eisler with this book written by Kevin Powers... and I'm all for it! This was a great mystery, espionage, a-holes doing the things that a-holes do and not getting away with it... Love it. I loved Cat and Lamar and was shaken by some of the things that happened throughout the book that surprised me. Some were pretty predictable, but for the most part, I was surprised, pleasantly, and it kept me going, quickly. Love this stuff. I hope that Cat gets back into action (there was an implication that she may be) and I hope that Powers writes another one for her... I'm there for it. I say, if you like Eisler, spy novels, and espionage novels, read this book post haste!

Better than average international thriller with a strong cast, involving plotline, and hopefully further life in more sequels.

Life can be short in third-world countries. Arman received fair compensation as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan and had a lovely wife and daughter. However, he lost both of them during the conflict and would never forgive himself for not staying there to protect them.

Sally was stationed in Afghanistan at the time and they became good comrades and associates. With Arman’s family gone and nobody left in his home country, he emigrated to the United States and is working as an informant with law enforcement. Sally realizes that her success in catching criminals is directly related to the intel that Arman provides.

Kevin Powers presents the life of drug dealers and immigrants who are forced to become involved with them by necessity. Losing an entire family during a war and then being required to become engaged in illegal activities to survive is harsh. The refugee is subjected to the same pressures that the war placed upon him. An eye-opening and engaging read. 4.5 stars - CE Williams

I really had no idea if I would like this book or not, and not really knowing anything about it I gave it a shot and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the way the story played out after Arman who was a former interpreter in Iraq who had lost his family due to the war and some other circumstances. He discovers a body in the morning after his daily swim and this body and discovery sets off a chain of events that has you the reader enthralled until the very end. Characters come and go through various means like his friend who gave him the job at the motel he works at reminded me of my father’s generation from WWII and the Korean War. You follow along my thinking, this is a very good book that will keep you glued to the pages until the very end. The characters help with the story as well.

Arman Bajalan finds a body on the beach who seems related to his past in Iraq. Detective Catherine Wheel is assigned the case and it becomes clear that Arman's life is still in danger and they are now in a race to stay ahead of the killers. The murders seem related to a private military contractor who operated in Iraq during the war when Arman was helping interpret for the US army. There is a focus on the accountability of military contractors and that they should not be able to act indiscriminately. There are many questionable and frustrating choices made by the characters throughout the book, which leads to lost evidence and a lot of deaths. Overall, a fast-paced thriller that keeps the reader engaged to find out if Arman will make it.

This is a brilliant story of intrigue in mystery remissant of the Somerset Man in Australia Ormon is a Curtis refugee who moved here after helping America with the war in the Middle East he has nightmares of his own but has been living a simple life in Virginia where he is a maintenance man at a hotel and goes to swim every morning at the beach. The one day the bus is late he stumbles on a dead body but little does Alma know this has more to do with him then he initially realizes. I would love to give a grand review of this book but don’t want to give anything away what I will say is they have missionaries who instead of fighting a war create wars and thinks they are the big man on campus wherever there’s an around the world they’re American based and although a reporter who I felt so sorry for because she has horrors of her own and a drinking problem is investigating the company that sends these missionaries around the world but what does all this have to do with the Australian government spies but especially Arman? This book explains it all and what a great story it is. I wish they could have more books with Arman because he is such a great character and a soon as I started reading the book I felt like he was a man without a mission I do believe he could be the Curtis Jack reacher I was so upset about Lamar and I will not say more cause I don’t want to ruin it for others but I do want to say they have some great great characters in this book the plot is intelligently done I loved Sally cat Mr. peters but especially Arman he was an awesome character and I love the developing relationship between him and the two detectives and Sally but I am just rambling the most important thing to know is if you log good thrilling dialogue with a well plotted… Plot the new Love A Line In The Sand by Kevin Powers I always thought someone to write a story around the Somerset man and Kevin powered hey is it has made it so much better a truly compelling read and a definite five star book! I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The aftermath of war, military personnel, private contractors, politics, billion dollar DOD contracts and one man’s struggles all collide in this story. Arman relocated from Iraq, has lost everything and everyone, that past finds him and wants him dead. He knows their secrets and they will stop at nothing to assure those deeds stay forever buried. He’s been blending in as a menial employee in the Norfolk, Virginia area.
A body found on the beach is just the beginning in this quest to keep Arman safe. Detectives Cat and partner, Lamar, are called to the scene. Meanwhile Sally, a reporter with a small paper, received an anonymous thumb drive with evidence of a crime. Clues, identities and motives must be pieced together to protect Arman. This unlikely cast of characters will risk their own lives to protect Arman. There is nerve racking tension, action packed scenes, death and destruction. Regardless of which side of conflict there aren’t any winners in war. Each side suffers loss, death, physical and mental wounds that do not heal. The characters in this story leapt off the pages and will stay with me. I haven’t read this author before, but would recommend this meaningful story.
The digital advance reader copy of “A Line in the Sand” by Kevin Powers, published by Little, Brown and Company, was provided to me by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Outstanding! Couldn't put this one down. A twisty, fast-paced thriller that kept me up all night! I have never read any of Mr. Powers work before this, but I'm really grateful to Little, Brown and Company as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to access the ARC.
Thanks for turning me on to Kevin Powers!

If you like a story that keeps you guessing on “who dun it”. This is the book for you!! All of the characters are described so you can picture them in your mind. I like the fast paced theme but watch out because ther is a lot happening. Thank you to author, publisher for advanced read on NetGalley .

“A Line in the Sand” by Kevin Powers is supposed to be a novel about the evils of private contractors working for the US Government in Iraq who want to cover up their misdeeds so the contract will be renewed. While this is an excellent premise, it got lost in a mishmash of too many characters, too many changes of locations, and an overwrought writing style.

The plot is mostly set in the area around Norfolk, Virginia and starts with Arman, a former interpreter in Iraq realizing that he knows something that puts his life in danger. Detective Catherine Wheel takes on the challenge of trying to find the killer. Sally Ewell, a reporter of a small Virginia newspaper, is investigating the private contractor. So far, so good. Except that’s when the bad guys killing spree begins. Once a bad guy fails to get Arman, he is killed by more bad guys. On and on this goes until there is only one bad guy left.

This is the most badly written book I’ve read in a long time. Powers got a lot of money and fame from “The Yellow Birds” his first novel which was published way back in 2012. I didn’t read it because I don’t like war books. The publisher sent me an email asking me to read and review this book so I gave it a try. Powers has an MFA and should be a better writer. And, where is the Little, Brown and Company editor? What a colossal waste of time. Yuck!

Amar Bajalan was an interpreter for the Americans during the war in Iraq. He witnessed a massacre and the perpetrators killed his wife and son while trying to kill him. He was able to get to the U.S. and start his life and life in peace, until a man is found dead by the beach where he swims and all hell breaks loose.

This book features Detective Catherine Wheeler, her new partner and Sally, a small time reporter. Their investigation together brings them into more and more danger.

The story was so good that I could not put this book down and I read it in one day. Everything else just had to wait. The action never stops and the bad guys are really bad. There are heroes too and sometimes it is those you least expect.

This was the first book I have read by Kevin Powers, but it won't be the last.

I highly recommend this book and I thank Little, Brown and NetGalley for this early read.

I needed an escape book at this moment, a book that swept me up in its plot and in another realm that was far from my own experience to erase some background noise, and this did a lovely job. I had some questions about Powers's choices--like why one would hide out in one's family home when knowing serious firepower was coming after you?--but for the most part, this moved in ways that were compelling and engaging. I'm curious about Powers more straight fiction book now!