Release Spotlight: Burner by Mark Greaney

I’m going to ignore my usual format a bit today, to let you know that the latest Gray Man novel is coming out. It’s a series I keep meaning to start, both because I want to read the books AND because I want to watch the show – both of which have been the subject of many recommendations. So here’s a little information (courtesy of the publisher, Berkley/Penguin Random House) about the latest (twelfth!) novel, Burner, which released two days ago.

About the Series

The film adaptation of Mark Greaney’s first thriller, The Gray Man, 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 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).

Storytelling legacy

Mark 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. Those shared books were prophetic. 

Full circle

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. 

Globetrotting and gunslinging research 

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 extensively to 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. 

About the Book

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.

About the Author

Mark Greaney has a degree in international relations and political science. In his research for the Gray Man novels, including Sierra Six, Relentless, One Minute Out, Mission Critical, Agent in Place, Gunmetal Gray, Back Blast, Dead Eye, Ballistic, On Target, and The Gray Man, he traveled to more than thirty-five countries and trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. With Marine LtCol Rip Rawlings, he wrote the New York Times bestseller, Red Metal. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority.

Find Mark online at www.markgreaneybooks.com.