“Mills offers an unflinching and, frankly, terrifying look at what happens when the ultra-elite stop pretending and start ruling” — Ryan Steck, The Real Book Spy and Author of Gone Dark
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Twenty years after first introducing Navy SEAL Salam “Fade” al-Fayed to the world in his 2005 thriller, Kyle Mills brings back his fan-favorite hero for a mind-blowing adventure that’s not to be missed.
Generally speaking, one should try not to get hit by a sniper’s bullet. But if you do, perhaps death is the best-case scenario, as Fade soon learns upon waking in a hospital room to kick off this book, set after the events of Fade (2005). While the sniper’s bullet should have ended his story, it instead becomes the beginning of something far more dangerous. Crippled, hunted, and left with no options, Fade finds hope in a shadowy program run by a billionaire with unfathomable medical resources. After undergoing his Deadpool-like transformation, Fade is once again made operational, but suddenly realizes two things. First, that his resurrection was an exchange for absolute obedience.
And that receiving advance medical superpowers comes at a price you can’t pay with any debit or credit card.
Never one to love orders, and certainly not known for complying with them, Fade is tasked with helping to take down a brilliant Chinese scientist who has either gone mad or is on the verge of saving humanity, you know, depending on which camp you side with. Either way, Fade suits up and gets back to doing what he does best—killing. And once the action starts, there’s no stopping as Mills takes readers on a breathless race to the finish, a journey packed with supersized helpings of twisting, jaw-dropping surprises and high-flying action. Mills’ fans will eat up every word to be sure, as the plot zigs and zags its way from one thought-provoking revelation to another, all while Fade, who wants out and to be free of any master pulling his chain, is sucked deeper and deeper into the world he no longer wants anything to do with.
Hold on tight. Kyle Mills dials things way up for his first outing since leaving Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp universe, leaving no doubt that he is unquestionably still one of the best thriller authors on the planet. From the first chapter on, Fade In grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go as our hero regains his strength and is thrown into a world where billionaires pull the strings of global power, and the stakes escalate from personal survival to the fate of civilization itself, with only Fade standing between order and absolute collapse. In a world primed to see the first trillionaire emerge sooner rather than later (we’re looking at you, Elon), Mills offers an unflinching and, frankly, terrifying look at what happens when the ultra-elite stop pretending and start ruling. The action is gritty, cinematic, and pulse-pounding, but it’s the more profound questions—like what happens when we trade freedom for security?—that makes this book hum along and impossible to put down.
Kyle Mills is back. Brimming with espionage, bio-warfare, and a ticking-clock intensity, this is a must-read for fans of Brad Thor, Gregg Hurwitz, and Mark Greaney. Fade In isn’t just a high-octane thrill ride. It’s a chilling, all-too-plausible warning shot . . . and trust me, you’ll be thinking about it long after you’ve turned the final page.
Book Details
Author: Kyle Mills
Series: Fade #2
Pages: 336 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 979-8893310399
Publisher: Authors Equity
Release Date: July 29, 2025
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor in addition to running TRBS. He is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, GONE DARK, and TED BELL’S MONARCH. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. For even more content and book news, subscribe to The Real Book Spy Substack!