Chris Holm ’99 has been thrilling readers across the country recently with his new book, The Killing Kind. The novel tells the story of a well-trained sniper, Michael Hendricks, who was presumed dead on a covert mission in Afghanistan. He decides not to alert people that he survived the mission, and tries to morally redeem himself in an interesting way: by using his skills as a trained sniper to take out other hitmen. Soon the mob gets involved to try and stop Hendricks, and his hunt becomes a clever and suspenseful quest for survival. The story excites and also brings up some interesting questions of morality. Is murder justified when the goal is to save another life? Does accepting high payment for the deed muddy the water?
The novel has been reviewed by a number of different sources, including Barnes & Noble, Huffington Post, and NPR. The Huffington Post review ends with the line: “This is Holm’s follow-up to his Collector Trilogy, and I hope there are many more to come. If a movie deal hasn’t been made, I’m sure there’s one in the works.” Regardless of whether or not we can expect to see Michael Hendricks on the big screen, this book will hook the reader from the very first page. We certainly do share in the hope that there are many more to come.
