I didn’t like Jen. Never had. There was just something about her, something not quite right. Like watching a nature documentary narrated by someone other than David Attenborough.

To begin with, a reader may well be excused for thinking he’s picked up a Jack Reacher novel by mistake. We meet Ben Koenig, the hero of M. W. Craven’s Fearless, as he is traveling the country by bus, with no possessions other than what he carries in a backpack. When danger arises, he is dangerous and resourceful, and can handle himself well, because he’s a former Marine with “very special” training, and technically still a US Marshal.

But Ben is not Jack Reacher. He’s just as dangerous, perhaps, but he has a very different reason for his hobo lifestyle. (For one thing, he has a brain anomaly that prevents him from feeling fear. That is not always a helpful trait.) However, he finally gets trapped, and that’s when he encounters his former boss, who needs his help. The boss’s daughter has been kidnapped, long enough ago that he’s lost all hope of getting her back alive. He needs Ben to employ his skills to find the kidnappers – and to put them down without mercy.

Ben doesn’t hesitate, but the job includes one unwelcome feature. He’ll have to work with Jen Draper, a former fellow marshal, now a private security contractor. They don’t like each other at all, but call a truce to get the job done.

The trail will lead them to a small town in Texas where a young entrepreneur is building a solar energy company. Much blood will be spilled, and there will be big surprises before the final showdown.

I was much impressed with M. W. Craven’s writing (the title makes an amusing contrast with the author’s name). This guy (he’s actually an Englishman, but he writes American well) is a pro. His plotting is addictive and creative, constantly escalating in the style of a movie thriller. His characters are quirky and fun, and the dialogue is snappy. The occasional political comments seem balanced, and should not greatly offend anybody on either side.

My only quibble is a cultural one, and very likely a point forced on the author by his editors (at least implicitly). The relationship between Ben and Jen is a good one dramatically – we can tell that they hate each other so much that we know they’re going to fall in love down the road, which is always fun. But the author overstresses her capabilities as a fighter. We’re told not only that she’s brave and fierce and fit, which is plausible. He has to go on to state that she was the “toughest” in their unit – that all the men were physically afraid of her. I might (possibly) believe that if we were told that she has an extra chromosome and hair on her chest, and if the unit were not elite, but in fact she’s described as slender and attractive. I’ve often complained about the little women who keep showing up in stories and movies beating up much bigger, stronger men, and I’m not going to quit. It’s implausible and does nothing to advance the story.

Still, that’s an isolated issue. Overall, Fearless was a top notch read, and I’ll be reviewing the sequel tomorrow.