Hell and Gone - Henry Brown

This rag-tag gang of has-beens has never worked together before, but Dwight "Rocco" Cavarra has less than a week to train them and lead them on the hairiest operation of their lives. It's not bad enough that they have to plow through an African civil war, infiltrate a fortified terrorist encampment and steal a black market tactical nuke from a mob of fanatic sociopaths - there are Israeli wild cards in play: two death-dealing Mossad agents who don't necessarily share Cavarra's agenda. When the mission is compromised before it has even started, Rocco and his Retreads are caught between bloodthirsty local warlords and the genocidal government in a fight to the death. And this battle might be just the first in the next world war.

I really enjoyed Henry Brown's Fight Card novel TOMATO CAN COMEBACK, so I wanted to give his debut novel a try. HELL AND GONE is an action/adventure thriller that's reminiscent of THE EXPENDABLES (but much more realistic and not as over-the-top) and THE DIRTY DOZEN (but not as grim and more fun). It's also fast-paced and very well-written. Rocco Cavarra is a fine protagonist and a sequel is on the way. I'm looking forward to it. In the meantime, HELL AND GONE is available in both e-book and trade paperback editions.