Publisher: Sphere/Audible (Audiobook – 18 February 2025)

Series: Gray Man – Book 14

Length: 15 hours and 51 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The always outstanding Mark Greaney provides another addictive and heart-pounding addition to his iconic Gray Man series with the incredible 2025 spy thriller, Midnight Black.

Ever since I started getting fully into the thriller genre, one of the main authors I check out each year is Mark Greaney, a veteran master of thriller fiction who has produced some incredible reads.  Some of his more entertaining books include his Josh Duffy series (Armored and Sentinel), as well as the fun military thriller Red Metal (cowritten with Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV).  However, his best-known body of work is the long-running Gray Man series, which was adapted into a Netflix movie of the same name.

The Gray Man series is an outstanding collection of spy thriller novels that follows elite assassin and black ops operative Court Gentry, better known by the titular moniker of the Gray Man, as he faces off against an array of deadly enemies while occasionally working for the CIA.  I have become a pretty major fan of the Gray Man series thanks to the author’s complex stories, gritty action sequences and damaged characters, and I have had a blast with books like The Gray Man, Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Burner (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023) and The Chaos Agent (one of my favourite books of 2024).  Due to how epic all these previous Gray Man entries have been, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next entry in the series, Midnight Black.  Providing an intense follow-up to a fantastic cliffhanger from the last book, Midnight Black was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025, and it really did not disappoint.

In the icy wilds of Mordovia, lies the brutal woman’s penal colony IK-2 Yavas.  A harsh work camp for the many political enemies of the current Russian regime, IK-2 Yavas is hell on earth for any women who have defied the state.  However, despite the prison holding many prominent criminals and politicians, their most valuable prisoner is former spy Zoya Zakharova.

Once a prominent Russian foreign intelligence agent, Zoya was forced to flee her position and eventually found herself working covertly for the CIA as a deniable asset.  However, after being captured by the Chinese and traded to the Russians, Zoya’s future is bleak as she is slowly worked to death.  Worse, a ruthless FSB operative is using Zoya as bait for the person most important left in her life, her lover Court Gentry, the Gray Man.  But, unknown to Zoya, the Gray Man is far closer than she realises.

Having spent months prowling the Eastern European countries, Gentry seeks a way to steal across the Russian border and save the woman he loves, no matter the cost.  Embarking on a risky entry plan with only minimal help from his old CIA contacts, Gentry is determined to find Zoya and kill anybody who gets in his way.  But with the entire Russian state security apparatus turned against him, can Gentry once again do the impossible and save Zoya, or will this be the final mission for the legendary Gray Man?

Mark Greaney continues to impress with his epic Gray Man series, as the 14^th brilliant entry in the series, Midnight Black, was absolute fire.  Providing an intense and deeply addictive spy thriller narrative, Midnight Black hooked me from the very beginning and refused to let go until the final explosive confrontation.  Slick, emotionally charged and very clever, Midnight Black gets an easy five-star rating from me, and I had such an amazing time listening to it.

This proved to be an outstanding book to get through, as Midnight Black featured a compelling and cinematic narrative that had me hooked the entire way through.  Expertly following on from the emotional cliffhanger from the end of the previous book in the series, The Chaos Agent, Midnight Black starts several months later and sees a desperate Court Gentry doing anything he can to try to enter Russia, only to encounter setbacks he has to take care of in his usual destructive manner.  This works as an excellent introduction to Midnight Black’s plot, especially as it helps you appreciate the emotional stakes of the book, and you quickly become invested in the protagonist’s quest.  Greaney quickly expands the plot through several additional character perspectives, including recuring characters Zack Hightower and Zoya Zakharova, who have their own missions/problems, an intriguing new Russian rebel protagonist, and the perspective of some sinister Russian operatives, including the FSB agent pulling all the strings around Zoya’s imprisonment.  This serves as a great base for the rest of the story, and the author soon starts to feature some of the more complex and action-packed sequences in Midnight Black.

Starting with a well-layered extended shootout sequence in Europe, the second half of Midnight Black hits hard and keeps the reader deeply engaged.  Greaney continues to set out quite an impressive story, as Gentry enters Russia and proceeds to cause all manner of havoc, while his allies in Europe and the US throw together an audacious plan that really amps up the narrative.  Greaney keeps the plot constantly moving, taking the protagonists from one dangerous situation to the next, with compelling character moments and well-featured exposition that keeps everything going forward.  The author also throws in a ton of high-octane and memorable sequences, including a fun extended chase in Moscow involving a stolen train, which was so entertaining to behold.  Everything leads up to the big finale in the last third of the story, where the protagonist makes his play to free Zoya in very cinematic fashion.  There is a lot of intense anticipation involved in the leadup to this final part of Midnight Black, and it proves to be particularly captivating and exciting.  The conflict, high stakes and constant worry you have for the characters ensures you won’t be able to put this part of the book down, and I was so keen to see how everything came together.  Greaney wraps things up perfectly, and I liked the hopeful conclusion to Midnight Black, especially after some of the dark preceding books, and you come away satisfied, as well as excited to see where the series goes next.

I am always greatly impressed with how Greaney sets out his outstanding novels, and Midnight Black is a particularly strong example of this.  A fast-paced book with several interesting layers to it, Midnight Black drags you in with its powerful narrative and keeps you there with the well-set-out action, complex characters, and gritty realism.  Thanks to the blend of character arcs and alternating storylines, there is a lot going on in Midnight Black, and you are given a great mixture of ultra-exciting sequences of action and spy craft, intense personal moments of despair and hope, as well as a cool dive into real-world issues, such as the current war in Ukraine, that enhance the overall plot.  I particularly enjoyed the gritty realism loaded in the story, especially when it comes to looking at the current politics of Russia, and there was a particular dire tone to much of the plot that was well mirrored by several protagonist’s circumstances.

One of the writing techniques I always enjoy with the Gray Man novels is the author’s excellent use of alternating character perspectives, as the reader gets to see the narrative through a variety of different viewpoints.  While primary characters like Gentry, Hightower and Zakharova naturally get most of the focus, you also see events through the eyes of more minor protagonists, such as Gentry’s former CIA handler in the US, or a Russian rebel fighter launching attacks in Moscow, as well as from several of the book’s antagonists.  This provides a much more expansive narrative for readers, especially as you soon understand the compelling motivations of all the significant characters, as well as their often conflict plans and schemes.  I particularly enjoyed how well some of Midnight Black’s many action sequences become even more impressive when you get to see events through the eyes of all the participants in the event.  Seeing all the alternate sides of conflicts really helps to make the fight sequences stand out, and it is captivating to see the various moves and countermoves of all the characters involved.  I felt this worked particularly well in some of the book’s big firefights, such as one sequence out in the woods where Gentry and Hightower’s camp gets raided by a squad of hitters, and you really get drawn into the books brutal action thanks to this.

While Midnight Black can probably be read as a standalone novel, especially as Greaney does a good job recapping key events, I feel that this latest Gray Man novel is probably best enjoyed by those who have read the previous books in the series, especially the preceding entry, The Chaos Agent.  This is mainly because Greaney is following up on a major cliffhanger from the previous book, and a lot of the emotional weight of the plot is based around the protagonist trying to right this wrong and save the woman he loves.  Being invested in the relationship between Gentry and Zakharova, as well as appreciating the protagonist’s other character relationships, really helps to amp up the stakes of Midnight Black, and I know I was personally hooked on seeing how events played out.  While having this background does enhance the experience, I do think that new readers can easily come into the series here and still have an amazing time, especially once they get caught up in the intense plot.

I also need to once again compliment the compelling characters found within Midnight Black, as Greaney really went out of his way to create some intense character moments in this latest Gray Man novel.  A lot of this revolves around the protagonist, Court Gentry, who finds himself in emotional turmoil following the Russians imprisoning the woman he loves.  Unsure about her fate and desperate to enter Russia to rescue her, Gentry is a ghost of his former self, recklessly engaging in deadly actions without his former skill and tradecraft.  This uncharacteristic lack of planning from the main protagonist and the way he lets his emotions overwhelm him adds a compelling edge to the story, especially as it results in more carnage and close calls.

The rest of the cast are also well featured in Midnight Black, especially as Greaney brings back several old favourites in dire circumstances.  For example, Court’s love interest, Zoya Zakharova, ends up having a particularly powerful arc in Midnight Black, as she is imprisoned in a Russian work camp.  Slowly losing hope due to her surroundings, her imminent execution, and her worry for Court, Zoya’s scenes are often hard to read and really help to hammer home the dark stakes of the book.  Greaney also brings back fun recurring character Zack Hightower, who serves as a lighter point of view protagonist compared to Court and Zoya.  A veteran operator with a lot of history with the other protagonists, Zack was a great foil for Court’s moodier persona in Midnight Black, and I loved seeing them work together in this way.  Other characters of note include Court’s former CIA handler, Matthew Hanley, who works to provide outside help despite his own downward career trajectory, and Major Colonel Eriks Baronov, an FSB operative trying to use Zoya as bait for the Gray Man.  I really enjoyed how Hanley and Baronov provided interesting alternating tactical insights into the events of Midnight Black, which gave the novel a great global conflict feel at times.  All these characters and more helped to turn Midnight Black into something special, and I really enjoyed how complex and exciting the various character-driven storylines turned out to be.

As has become my habit with the Gray Man series in recent years, I ended up listening to Midnight Black on audiobook rather than reading a physical copy.  I find that the audiobook version of the Gray Man books, narrated by the always reliable Jay Snyder, are an excellent way to absorb Greaney’s fantastic stories, especially as the various action sequences and compelling showcases of spycraft are highlighted particularly well in this format.  For Midnight Black, I listened to this audiobook while on a holiday with a lot of flying/driving time, which not only kept me from getting bored on the bus/plane but which ensured that I absolutely powered through its near 16-hour run time.  It helped that many of the best sequences in the book, such as the epic firefight at the halfway point and the big chase through Moscow, were particularly impactful in this format, and Snyder did an excellent job voicing all the characters.  I particularly appreciated all the eastern European and Russian accents that Snyder attributed to the various characters, and he also did a good job capturing key parts of the protagonist’s personalities, especially Gentry’s weariness and desperation that were a key part of this book.  Due to this brilliant voice work, as well as my general love for the format, I would strongly recommend Midnight Black on audiobook, and I can guarantee it makes for great entertainment on long road trips.

Overall, Midnight Black was another outstanding and captivating new entry in the always impressive Gray Man series.  Author Mark Greaney did an amazing job continuing one of the very best spy thriller series out there, and I deeply enjoyed Midnight Black’s particularly intense and personal story.  Featuring some fantastic action, complex character arcs and some compelling insights into major contemporary events, Midnight Black was extremely addictive, and I cannot wait to see how Greaney continues the series in the future.

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