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The Gray Man by Mark Greaney

The film adaptation of Mark Greaney’s first thriller, The Gray Man (Berkley), premiered on Netflix earlier this year and quickly became the platform’s most-watched movie of 2022 — and it’s currently the fourth most-watched original film in Netflix history. The movie was an instant audience favorite, and a sequel and spinoff set in the Gray Man universe have already been greenlit.

Greaney has given the filmmakers plenty of story material to pull from, and series protagonist Court Gentry returns this February in the twelfth Gray Man novel: Burner (Berkley Hardcover; on sale February 21, 2023).

EARNING A GREAT AUTHOR’S FAVOR

Greaney is one of the most prolific and widely respected thriller writers working today. He comes by storytelling naturally. His father, Ed Greaney, worked his way up from cameraman to managing editor at WMC-TV, Memphis, Tennessee’s NBC affiliate. In fact, the newsroom at the station is named after him. Each day’s news was the Greaney family dinner table conversation. Mark and Ed also shared a love of reading — they were both fans of Tom Clancy’s novels and would exchange his books as holiday gifts.

After the publication of Ballistic, the third Gray Man novel, another writer came calling. The legendary Tom Clancy was looking to bring on co-writers, and Mark was a natural fit to work with one of the most successful authors in modern history. Mark was the last writer to work directly with Clancy before his death and co-wrote Clancy’s final four novels. He carried the torch after Clancy’s death in 2013, writing another four books in the popular Jack Ryan series. Mark learned from Clancy to write stories with a broader scope, globe-spanning novels that were deeper than he’d previously written.

IMPRESSIVE APPLICABLE KNOWLEDGE

Post-Clancy, Mark began taking a closer look at the why behind the action in his novels — something that fit perfectly with Mark’s studies in international relations. Part of including that greater geopolitical backdrop involves keeping an eye on current world politics as well as getting distinct, vivid, “boots on the ground” information. Mark has traveled to more than 30 countries to extensively research each novel’s multiple locations. He’s also gathered firsthand experience in firearms training, scuba diving, stunt driving, SWAT training, Navy fighter plane flying, field medical training and more.

All this background, research, and Mark’s profound curiosity and knack for storytelling inform his latest page-turning Gray Man novel, Burner. In it, Court Gentry is tasked with retrieving stolen records from a disgruntled Swiss bank employee. But the CIA isn’t the only one looking for the records, setting a collision course of different groups hunting down the valuable information. This pits Court against his one-time lover (and fan-favorite character) Zoya Zakharova, who is on her own mission.

Burner is further proof that Mark has solidified his place in the pantheon of great thriller writers such as Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Vince Flynn, Lee Child and, of course, Tom Clancy.


Hear BookTrib’s interview with Mark Greaney here.

 

#1 NYT bestselling author Mark Greaney’s debut international thriller, The Gray Man, was published in 2009 and became a national bestseller and a highly sought-after Hollywood property.

Ten subsequent Gray Man novels have been released to date, including his latest, Relentless.

Mark is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author or co-author of seven Tom Clancy novels, including his most recent Tom Clancy Truth Faith and Allegiance. He collaborated with Tom Clancy on three Jack Ryan novels before Tom’s death in 2013.

Red Metal, a military thriller written by Mark Greaney and Lt Col Hunter R. Rawlings, USMC, became a New York Times bestseller in 2009.

Mark’s books are published in several languages and are also available as audiobooks.

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney
Publish Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Fiction, Thrillers
Author: Mark Greaney
Page Count: 464 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Original edition
ISBN: 978-0515147018
BookTrib

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