Jim Brennan's Reviews > Cradle

Cradle – Chris Bauer
Bauer goes all in on his latest novel, a Max Fend thriller that marries contemporary themes of illegal immigration, AI and space travel with a police chase to find two felons before they take down a Peruvian drug cartel kingpin. And Bauer pulls it off. This smart page-turner is sure to leave the reader breathless, wondering, and perhaps frightened about possibilities by the end. Short, readable chapters keep the story moving at a breakneck pace, following multiple law enforcements agencies chasing an immigrant felon on the hunt to seek revenge for the ruthless murder of her mother. Concurrently, Max Fend and Fend Aerospace work alongside NASA to solve a riddle on a module his company engineered to be integrated into the Artemis mission. Bauer juggles these subplots masterfully while integrating AI and international intrigue that come to a head in the race to space with the Chinese. Bauer shows great skill balancing the subplots and marrying them with the use of precise dialogue, impeccable research, and deft precision weaving them into a great story.