In the Company of Killers by Bryan Christy

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on April 13, 2021

Tom Klay investigates crimes against endangered species for an organization called The Sovereign. Similar in some ways to National Geographic, The Sovereign is a nonprofit institution that includes publications and a news channel focusing on nature and its threats. Among other stories, Klay investigates poachers in Kenya, where rhinos are killed for their horns. One of Klay’s sources is a friend who dies early in the novel. Klay suspects that Ras Botha, a former South African cop, is behind a poaching operation that is responsible for his friend’s death.

One of The Sovereign’s apparent supporters is Krieger, who owns Perseus Group, a security company that provides international paramilitary support to governments and private organizations. Klay doubts that Krieger cares much about endangered species, given his conflicting interest in a Chinese plan to run a railroad down the middle of Kenya. Part of the story’s drama involves the sale of The Sovereign to the media branch of the Perseus Group, much to the chagrin of The Sovereign’s president and Klay’s editor, Vance Eady. The sale may drastically change the nature of Klay’s job.

Klay’s backstory as the son of an imprisoned undertaker includes a failed relationship with a South African prosecutor named Hungry Khoza. It also includes a drunk driving accident that caused a child’s death in Jakarta and destroyed his relationship with Erin Dougherty. At a low point, thinking of himself as “a bad person who does good things to hide the truth,” Klay agreed to work under contract for the CIA.

The plot extends well beyond poaching and the ivory trade. Following the plot requires a bit of concentration and a keen memory. Scenes flash by that the reader will later need to connect with new events. People Klay trusts turn out to be untrustworthy. People Klay despises may actually be his allies. The CIA is up to its usual meddlesome tricks, sometimes forming relationships with the wrong people. Unsavory characters of note include a pedophile priest, an Admiral who betrays the American military, and someone who shoots a child to save himself from a charging buffalo.

The least satisfying part of the story concerns the area in the South China Sea that both China and the Philippines claim as their territory. Krieger makes a sales pitch to give China a technological advantage against the American Navy, which regularly cruises international waters to prevent Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. The Chinese intrigue seems out of place. It advances into territory that is too familiar to thriller readers. The novel works best when it avoids conventional thriller plots and concentrates on the kind of story that other thriller writers haven't told.

Bryan Christy uses elephants as a metaphor for power and delayed vengeance (elephants, after all, never forget). The story’s African setting allows Christy to create an atmosphere that sets In the Company of Killers Apart from its competition. Klay isn’t an action hero, making him more credible than most thriller protagonists. The story nevertheless moves with deliberate speed, never bogging down despite its complexity. Christy’s prose is smooth and he doesn’t waste words.

Life changes people. Good fiction reflects that with changes in characters. Klay evolves as the story progresses. He becomes more likeable as he gains more insight into his past. If Christy is inclined to use In the Company of Killers as a springboard for a series — and why wouldn’t be? — it will likely be a series worth following.

RECOMMENDED