For the first three-quarters of this book, I was all set to say it was the best book Greaney has published in years. The artificial-intelligence-that-can-take-over-the-world thing could have easily slid into cliche, but it didn't. The plotting was tight, the characters were well drawn, and the writing was solid.

Then I read the last quarter of the book and, oh my, did everything change.

To begin with, the ending was ... well, endless. Scenes droned on and on, one after another, with no apparent purpose other than to offer up a mindless, repetitive action narrative. When I finally slogged through all that to the end of the end of the book, the darn thing jumped the tracks entirely. I assume the final plot point was intended as a setup for the next book, but to call it a cliffhanger does a grave disservice to that otherwise meaningful term. The 'twist,' if you can call it that, was lame and silly, even insulting to readers. I hated it.

So... 5 stars for the first three-quarters, 1 star for the last quarter. And that's generous.

The Gray Man is back big time with fantastic action sequences, relentless pacing, and splendid narrative that ties AI marvelously into the action with a cliffhanger that will leave you breathless.

Full review to be posted on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain