An Empty Coast by Tony Park

Publisher's Synopsis

A body. A cover-up. A buried secret.

Sonja Kurtz - former soldier, supposedly retired mercenary - is in Vietnam carrying out a personal revenge mission when her daughter sends a call for help. Emma, a student archaeologist on a dig at the edge of Namibia's Etosha National Park, has discovered a body dating back to the country's liberation war of the 1980s.

The remains of the airman, identified as former CIA agent Hudson Brand, are a key piece of a puzzle that will reveal the location of a modern-day buried treasure - a find people will kill for.

But Hudson Brand is very much alive, and he is on a quest to solve a decades-old mystery whose clues are entombed in an empty corner of the desert.

My Review of An Empty Coast by Tony Park

Efficient and cold-blooded, Sonja Kurtz is well suited to her job as a mercenary soldier. She returns in An Empty Coast after the introductory adventure chronicled in The Delta. Although officially retired from her mercenary life, it appears the death of her partner has prompted a return to the life of danger she’s accustomed to.

We pick up the story as she zeroes in on a target in Vietnam. The man she’s after is responsible for the import of rhino horn from Africa. He’s a greedy man who’s only just getting started on the lucrative market and represents a big danger to the welfare of one of the world’s most at risk animals. He was also responsible for the death of the man she loved. It’s a risky op that’s well planned but, predictably, goes wrong giving us a reminder of just what a great operator she is. She hasn’t lost any of her ruthlessness.

Meanwhile, Sonja’s daughter is on an archaeological dig with a team in the Namibian desert. It’s a great opportunity for the young woman who’s fresh out of school. Part of her excavation effort unearths the remains of a soldier from the war that took place in the 1980s. The name tag around the dead soldier’s neck identifies him as H. Brand. The team of archaeologists are intrigued and call in their find, notifying the authorities of who and what they think they’ve found. But the news alerts more than just local officials.

We then catch up with Hudson Brand (The Hunter), a former CIA agent turned safari guide who also operates as a private investigator. He takes on a client trying to find out the fate of his son, a pilot who disappeared during the war. It turns out that Hudson may have some first hand experience about the lead up to his plane crashing in the desert.

Clearly, the three main parties are destined to meet at some point. How they do so, the dire circumstances that unfold along the way and the outcome of that meeting make for an action-packed story. It’s a quality story that’s only spoiled a little by a couple of moments of  unrealistic coincidence and the usual distracting sex scenes that have become de rigueur in a T. Park thriller (more on this later).

The little that we found out about Sonja Kurtz through the first book in the series gave us the impression of a tough-minded soldier who prefers to close herself off to others in order to survive. Her maternal instinct, until recently kept very much at a distance, is hitting her far harder than she first expected and is now her primary motivator. When she learns that Emma may have run into trouble there’s absolutely nothing that’ll get in her way as she comes roaring in to save her. Meeting Hudson Brand provides her with a similarly efficient and capable ally.

With numerous tense confrontations, gun battles and ground to air fights An Empty Coast leans right over to the action adventure sub-genre. If you’re looking for a frenetic finale featuring a strong female lead, An Empty Coast delivers in spades.

Okay, and finally, I’m gonna say it. I’ve read, and enjoyed, a lot of Tony Park’s books. They all contain some terrific information about Africa and the dangers found within. But they also all have an aspect in common that’s often just too much. It’s the cringey sex scenes that appear in every single bloody book. Now, I don’t mind characters having sex lives. I’m all for it. But, Tony, mate, so often, the pages long descriptions of sexual encounters are often overblown, over-described and rob the story of its momentum. And so many times the sex scenes add absolutely nothing to the plot of the story apart from being one big cringe-fest. Ugh, it’s got to stop. There, phew, got that out of my system - that’s been building up over the last 3 or 4 T. Park books I’ve read to be honest.