Many authors use "hell" as a simile, but Duane Swierczynski is almost literally describing the setting in which most of Hell & Gone takes place, as ex-cop Charlie Hardie is kidnapped by the nefarious Accident People--killers who make their hits look like accidents--and sent deep underground to run a prison that supposedly holds the world's most dangerous criminals. Life is hell in a place with no windows or sunlight, but if anyone tries to escape, everybody dies. Things turn topsy-turvy when one of the prisoners says she didn't do anything wrong; she was looking for Charlie when she was abducted and brought here. The guards had warned Charlie about how this prisoner can mess with people's heads, so who--and what--should he believe?
As with the novel's predecessor, Fun & Games, the pace here is unrelenting, and though the story takes many bizarre turns, Swierczynski is inventive enough to keep readers from guessing where it's headed. Poor Charlie: he can never get a moment's respite from the craziness around him, caught in a situation whose purpose he still doesn't understand--much less his role in it. It's difficult to see "Unkillable Chuck" at the start of Hell & Gone, weakened by injuries he sustained during his first encounter with the Accident People and subjected to their mysterious medical procedures. He will get to strike back in the end, though, even if his actions don't achieve all the desired results. Still, Point & Shoot is yet to come--and if the cliffhanger is any indication, the finale to this trilogy promises to be out of this world. --Elyse Dinh-McCrilllis, freelance writer/editor, blogging at Pop Culture Nerd