The Infiltrator

The Infiltrator by T. R. Hendricks has an action-packed start that immediately engages readers. This is the second book in the military action thriller series featuring Derek Harrington and takes place one year after the events in the first book.

Derek is working as a contractor for the FBI to bring down a group called Autumn’s Tithe for good. They are intent on destroying the government.

Intelligence points to another camp in a remote area of Kentucky in Daniel Boone National Forest and Derek must locate it before they attack. At the same time, ex-FBI Special Agent Hannah Kittle, known as Sarah, devises a plan to get revenge on Derek and her ex-colleagues. However, Autumn’s Tithe’s benefactor’s faith in Sarah is waning and has set other plans in action as well.

Derek is a retire Marine Warrant Officer and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape instructor who is a wilderness survival expert with significant field acumen as well as technical and tactical expertise. He’s tenacious and perseveres in the face of adversity. He also loves his ex-wife Kim and their son Michael. Derek suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and nature is his sanctuary. Despite his flaws, he and his extraction team are likeable. They’re characters you can easily root for and hope they succeed in all of their endeavors. The addition of Special Agent in Charge Samuel Liu added additional conflict and politics to the story line. Sarah feels somewhat one-dimensional with her sole focus on revenge. Many of the other characters interacting with Sarah and Derek came to life as well.

The author does a fantastic job with atmosphere and world-building. I felt like I was with Derek and his team throughout the novel. There are significant descriptions of weapons and tactics, too. While most of the story is from Derek’s point of view, there are occasional insights from other characters, including Sarah. Hendricks balances the shocking and upsetting aspects of the novel against the investigation into Autumn’s Tithe, Derek and his team’s training, as well as his interactions with his family. The action sequences are superb. While I wasn’t quite 100 per cent satisfied with the ending, it left the door open for another book, which is something to look forward to. Themes include death, anger, security, revenge, family, friendship, fear, trust, lies, politics, and much more.

Overall, this exciting and suspenseful novel is a powerful page-turner with great world-building details and tension that feels alive. The author’s military background made this novel feel authentic. I hope there is a third book in the series.

Tor Publishing Group – Forge Books and T. R. Hendricks provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently expected to be April 23, 2024.