Red Mist

by Sam Mitani

Red Mist by longtime Road & Track editor Sam Mitani is a pulse-pounding thriller that intertwines the worlds of motorsport and high-stakes espionage. The novel follows Maximilian Koga, a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and DEA agent, who is drawn back into a life of danger and deception after surviving a harrowing attack by a drug cartel in Mexico. Koga, a man haunted by his past, is relentless in his pursuit of justice and revenge, particularly against an elusive terrorist leader with frightening intentions.

Fueled by his obsession with cars and speed, a passion inherited from his late father, Koga is recruited by a prestigious automotive magazine with a secret agenda. Alongside a team of skilled operatives, including the enigmatic Stockton Clay and a cunning special agent named Beth Hu, the tormented Koga navigates a world where seductive vehicles and deadly conspiracies collide. For those who crave an intense blend of action and covert ops, seasoned with heart-pounding automotive excitement, Red Mist invites you to strap in for the ride of your life.

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2024

About the author

As the first Asian-American writer at one of the Big Three American automotive publications (Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Road & Track), Sam Mitani established himself as one of the foremost American authorities on Japanese cars. In addition to being the International Editor of Road & Track in its heyday, he has been published in magazines in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Canada and Japan, and in his spare time, authored a couple of travel books on Southeast Asia. Mitani has since entered the fiction market, where his expertise in martial arts and numerous adventures around the world have provided him with a rich source of experiences to tap for his creative projects.

Reviews

[Deborah Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book very much. It is a great read.

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Red Mist to be a solid beach read, what I would call the B list, i.e. good, but not in a class with some of the better thriller writers.

The story moves along well enough, a plot that manages to involve Arab terrorists, North Korea, Mexican drug lords, China and more. There's certainly a lot thrown in there. Our hero is likable but not necessarily a character for whom you'll feel empathy. The author both humanizes him with background information and with the story itself. But he also makes him cartoonish in his capabilities. For example, there's a scene where the hero takes shrapnel to the face and a bullet to the shoulder. Does it faze him? Apparently not as he's soon involved in hand-to-hand combat without mention of his injuries, nor does he ever seek medical attention before moving on to the next scene.

There were also a few continuity errors, if you pay too close attention. For example, the hero is hiding in a private plane and raises the steps to the plane. A few paragraphs later, the bad guys are climbing up those same stairs. Not major, but it should've been caught by the editor (I think).

Enjoyable, beach read, something to while away the time without too much thought.