The novel “Ghosts” by Mark Dawson was published for the first time in 2014. It’s the fourth book in the John Milton series and follows “The Driver“.
In Texas, John Milton gets into trouble when he decides to intervene with a pair of bullies, one of whom turns out to be the local sheriff’s son. He knows he has very little time to escape from the prison where he’s been held before his former colleagues come for him, and is surprised when he ends up in the custody of an FBI agent instead.
When the two of them leave, the woman reveals that she’s actually a Russian intelligence agent and knows John Milton’s real identity. Her Russian superiors want him to do some work for them, and, in exchange, offer him the life of Captain Michael Pope, a man who saved John’s life and is now a Russian prisoner. To save Pope, John must find Beatrix Rose, who used to be Number One in Group Fifteen years earlier, until Control betrayed her.
“Ghosts” continues John Milton’s series by delving into the roots of his history as a member of Group Fifteen, specializing in intelligence operations that often include the elimination of people deemed dangerous. For this reason, it begins with the first of the completely unofficial operations he participated in eight years prior to this novel’s main plot.
John Milton’s series belongs mostly to the thriller genre and occasionally includes espionage elements. “Ghosts” is the classic story in which the protagonist faces the ghosts of his past, which in this case, include clashes between various intelligence services, with open conflicts but also betrayals. Mark Dawson develops this type of story within the protagonist’s backstory with great consistency.
John Milton rightly believes he can’t trust anyone, but Michael Pope is one of the very few people to whom he feels he owes something. On the path he’s taken, he knows he can’t do anything about the people he’s killed, and for this reason, he tries to help the people he meets, who are usually strangers or near-strangers. In this respect, “Ghosts” is different because he knows Pope and Beatrix Rose, and helping them means helping himself in ways he hadn’t anticipated.
Mark Dawson had already offered information about John Milton’s past, about some of his former colleagues, and about Control, who runs the unofficial activities of Group Fifteen. “Ghosts” is also the story of Beatrix Rose, the former Number One, how Control betrayed her, and what happened to her over the years.
John Milton is trying to build a new life but is drawn back into his old one, also discovering previously unknown secrets connected to Beatrix Rose and Control. In the world of television, this would be called a backdoor pilot, an episode broadcast within a show that serves as a pilot for a new spin-off series. Mark Dawson used “Ghosts” to launch more novel series centered on Beatrix Rose and her daughter, Isabella Rose.
Mark Dawson writes novels that have independent plots and, at the same time, include parts of a larger story arc. “Ghosts” is particularly significant because it represents a pivotal moment in John Milton’s personal history. More than ever, it leaves the protagonist’s personal story open to new adventures with possibilities yet to be explored, first of all for himself. If you like thrillers that may include espionage elements with a lot of action, even violent, I recommend reading this one. You can find it on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
