Gone Dark

Author: Ryan Steck
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Series: Matthew Redd #4
Pages: 352
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

In this pulse-pounding thriller, former Marine Raider Matthew Redd, “a force to be reckoned with” (Jack Carr) and “the go-to man in a bad situation” (Brad Taylor), must face his greatest fears and figure out how to escape when the one way out goes up in flames.

Matthew Redd doesn’t go looking for trouble. But this time, it’s found him anyway . . . and he’s not the only one in the crosshairs.

Late-summer wildfires are a fact of life in Montana. But as an inferno nears Wellington, Matthew Redd gets the unusual call that a team of smokejumpers has suddenly gone dark. As head of the county’s fledgling search and rescue team, Redd drops into the fire zone and finds way more than he bargained for: a killer has taken out the smoke jumper team along with two civilians, and only a terrified young boy is left as witness. Redd and little Jack narrowly escape the raging fire, and Redd calls in Gavin Kline, now acting director of the FBI, to investigate the bigger forces at play.

That afternoon, during one of her last clinic shifts before the birth of her second child, Emily Redd loses a young patient to an overdose. Fed up with yet another loss to the opioid crisis—this one a former schoolmate and a wounded veteran—Emily tracks down and confronts the retired doctor responsible for feeding her patient’s deadly addiction.

Hours later, when their home is attacked, Redd and Emily wonder which of them kicked a hornet’s nest—or if they’ve both stumbled onto pieces of a much bigger puzzle. As the fire closes in, they follow the connections from a corrupt doctor and a local opioid supplier all the way to a murdered whistleblower for a Big Pharma giant. As Redd’s concern for young Jack grows, those who want to silence him forever hunt him down. Redd will do whatever it takes to protect the boy and his family . . . even if it means he’ll have to outrun an inferno and come face-to-face with his greatest fear.

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Reviewer: Tammy Lunsford

This book was impossible to put down once I started reading it. If you are an action fan, you will not find a book with more action than this one from wildfires, bullets, hand to hand combat and runaway trains, just to name a few, this book will fill your cup up with its fast pace and adrenaline laced chapters. So what if some of the scenes were a little out there? That’s what makes reading fiction so much fun. It’s not supposed to be real. 

Matthew Redd is a former Marine Raider. He is a wonderful husband and father by day. He is trying to build a search and rescue team in his hometown. When he is called to drop down into a fire zone to find a team of smoke jumpers who have gone silent, he does not even blink or think of saying no. He is devastated and shocked by what he finds, and this is just the beginning of a wild ride of horror, suspense and some scary moments. When I think about the character of Redd, I think warrior, hero, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk all rolled into one. This guy is fearless and his protective instincts are off the charts. A little boy needs his protection, and he will stop at nothing to protect him.

This story addresses hot-button issues of drug overdoses and problems with addiction. There is so much at stake on this quest for truth and justice. This was basically a good versus evil scenario. 

The characters in this book were interesting to say the least, as you will quickly learn that nothing is normal for this cast of characters. This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I will be looking for more. 

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Reviewer: Beverly Laude

Matthew Redd is an ex-Marine, now living on a ranch in Montana. Now, he works as the head of the county’s newly formed Search and Rescue team. Communication has been lost with a team of smokejumpers fighting a raging wildfire in the area and Redd is asked to drop into the fire zone to see why. He soon discovers that the entire team (minus two) has been killed and then finds a cabin with two dead civilians. The only witness to this horror is a terrified young boy named Jack.

At the same time, Matt’s wife, Dr. Emily Redd, loses a patient to a drug OD. Even though she is soon to give birth to their second child, her anger at this senseless death leads her to confront a retired doctor who was feeding the patient’s drug addiction.

Soon, the couple find themselves facing danger in their home. Unsure which of them is being targeted, they begin to think that the two cases might be related. Matt is determined to keep Jack safe, maybe seeing a bit of himself in the young boy.

The book is full of non-stop action, thrills and tension as the bad guys come after Matt and his friends and family. The book reads like a screenplay for a “Walker, Texas Ranger” episode and moves at a quick pace. 

At times, it almost felt cartoonish with how Redd was able to handle extremely tough (and often unbelievable) situations. But, if you enjoy this genre, the characters are well-written and likeable. The pace is fast, and the ending is satisfying. “While there is life, there is hope.”

I enjoyed the descriptions of the wildfire and the author does a great job depicting the sights, sounds and danger involved. As a retired volunteer firefighter, I could see these scenes in my mind as I read.

One quote that will stick with me: “Home wasn’t a fixed place, but something else. It was wherever the people you love and who love you in return were always waiting.” 

The book is part of a series, but I had no problem with following the storyline and the connections between characters even though I hadn’t read the other books. If you enjoy this genre, you will enjoy this book. I plan on finding the rest of the books in this series to follow Matt and his family through other adventures.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews via NetGalley for my honest opinion.

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