JACK CODY

       Jack Cody is an agent with the CIA.
       He is described as "a big man, well-proportioned and ruggedly build, with thick black hair that was just beginning to turn gray at the temples". He was also said to possess "cold lifeless eyes" as though Cody had been "touched by Death itself and yet the man still somehow continued to keep breathing".
       Some of those who know him think he has a death wish, going so far as to nickname him Suicide Cody and this is borne out in the fact that part of his recent "contract" with the government for his renewed services was that he only be given missions which were deemed suicidal. Which presents a fascinating dichotomy. Death is not something he explicitly sought for if he did he would just let one of the many people shooting at him during a mission have another try rather than be put down as Cody so aptly does. Implicitly, however, he continually takes these impossible missions because should he fail, he would be with his beloved Susan and their kids. Putting proof to all this is the fact as stated in the first recorded adventure after having just narrowly avoided dying while accomplishing his mission, "for Cody, there remained only one unfulfilled objected. He was still alive."
       Cody is very, very good at what he does which is take the fight to the enemy and putting them down. "Cody had been famous in the ranks even before the tragedy that had changed him. Tours of military duty in the Middle East and every other hotspot you could name. Former Navy SEAL. Jack Cody had become a legend in his own time, rising through the ranks with such distinction as to become point man in the field in the President's war against terrorism. Then. . .it happened."
       The "it" was the murder of his wife and children at the hands of terrorists and the subsequent breakdown of the man as he reeled from the tragedy. He did not stay down, however. He got up again and went to war. Cody's War.
       "Privately but using classified government resources, he hunted down and executed every one of the terrorists responsible for their deaths. Every step was so professional and methodical, it didn't come out until after it was over because then he fell apart. Placed on administrative leave. And restored to active service only after extensive counseling, time off and after passing a battery of tests to prove that he was fully recovered, healed and ready to return to work."
       "Enlisted after high school and became an Army Ranger. Served all over the Middle East. Tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was The President's Man for my three predecessors who sat behind this desk. He's as well-known in this office as he's unknown to the general public." Those words were spoken by the current President when describing why he was insisting on Cody being used in a mission.
       It might be that the President understood that while Cody would welcome death, he would take a many of the enemy with him as he could.

       There are a good number of authors whose name on the cover immediately lets you know what you are going to get. Stephen Mertz is one such writer and what you get is lots and lots of solid action, fascinating characters, thrilling plotlines, and, did I mention action?
       I have been a big fan of Mr. Mertz's books for several decades now and the man never let me down in all those years. He maintains that level with this latest series and I couldn't be more thrilled. I bought the first in the series and was only halfway through it when I went online and preordered the next two just to make sure I did not forget about them.
       I do not know how long he will let Cody survive before giving him the chance to rejoin his family but I hope it will be more than the three I know about. If, however, there are not, I know when the end finally comes, it will be with style. And a lot of action.