Fade In: A Thriller

Kyle Mills’ Fade In hooked me from the first chapter and didn’t let go. Not because the hero is perfect, but because he’s not. Salam “Fade” al-Fayed is a mess in the best way possible. He’s a former Navy SEAL and covert operative with the skills to dismantle an elite strike team, but also the cynicism, bad habits, and self-destructive streak of someone who’s been through too many wars, both literal and personal. His flaws aren’t just window dressing; they drive the way he approaches every fight, every decision, and every relationship.

The opening sequence alone is worth the price of admission. Fade wakes in the middle of the night to the sound of intruders and handles it with equal parts tactical genius and improvised chaos, armed to the teeth but wearing next to nothing. The action here isn’t glossy movie choreography; it’s gritty, fast, and unpredictable. Bullets tear through plaster, homemade explosives take down walls, and at one point, the soundtrack to The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” plays over the carnage. Mills balances the adrenaline with just enough humor to make you smirk while you’re gripping the book.

What makes these action scenes pop is how grounded they feel. Mills writes them with a tactician’s eye: angles, timing, cover, and movement all matter. But he never loses sight of the fact that fights are messy. Fade gets lucky sometimes, makes mistakes, and takes hits. It’s never “cool guy” invincibility; it’s survival at its most raw.

And that’s where Fade’s flaws make him interesting. He’s not on a noble crusade. He’s broke, tired, and often operating on pure instinct. He’ll admit he doesn’t believe his actions will change the world for the better, and that moral detachment can be uncomfortable to read. But it’s real. His cynicism is earned, and every so often, it cracks just enough to show that maybe, deep down, he still wants redemption.

The supporting characters add to the tension, especially Matt Egan, a former CIA operator now working for billionaire Jon Lowe, a man who thinks in cold, global chess moves. Lowe is the kind of character you can’t help but watch closely; he’s smart, dangerous, and convinced he’s doing the right thing, even when it means blackmail or unleashing autonomous killer drones. Egan, stuck between loyalty and pragmatism, makes a great counterweight to Fade’s lone wolf mentality.

What I enjoyed most was that Mills doesn’t pull punches with his hero. Fade’s past is ugly, his present is unstable, and his future is uncertain. He screws up. He makes questionable calls. He’s a professional at keeping people at arm’s length. But in the middle of chaos with bullets flying, smoke filling the air, and enemies closing in, he comes alive. That’s when his flaws stop being weaknesses and start being the thing that keeps him breathing.

If you want a thriller with non-stop action and a protagonist who’s as frustrating as he is fascinating, Fade In delivers. It’s not about saving the world, it’s about surviving it, and that’s exactly what makes it such a rush to read.