Fangs Out
A Cordell Logan Mystery • Book 2
by David Freed
Why You'll Love This
A Buddhist ex-assassin who teaches flight lessons is probably the last person you'd expect to untangle a death row confession — and that tension is exactly what makes this work.
- Great if you want: a wisecracking antihero with genuine moral complexity and military grit
- The experience: brisk and punchy — moves like a low-altitude flight, fast and close to the ground
- The writing: Freed writes with dry wit and insider military detail that feels earned, not researched
- Skip if: you haven't read book one — Logan's voice lands harder with context
About This Book
When a condemned man's final words cast doubt on his own guilt, the question of who really killed a war hero's daughter refuses to stay buried. Cordell Logan—civilian flight instructor, reluctant Buddhist, and former covert operator—signs on to chase down information that might protect a powerful man's reputation. What starts as a favor to a living legend becomes something far more tangled and dangerous, unfolding against the sun-baked backdrop of San Diego with stakes that turn out to be considerably higher than anyone let on.
What sets this series apart is Freed's voice: dry, sharp, and genuinely funny without ever undercutting the tension. Logan is a contradiction held together by dark humor and hard-won discipline, and watching him navigate moral complexity is half the pleasure of reading. Freed's background as a journalist keeps the prose clean and propulsive—no wasted sentences, no false moments. The pacing moves like a well-trimmed aircraft, and the details of aviation and military culture feel earned rather than decorative. Readers who like their mysteries character-driven and their protagonists genuinely flawed will find this series difficult to abandon after just one book.
