The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd

“Terrific pace, surprises galore….Move over Jack Reacher, here comes The Bricklayer.”
—James Patterson

There is a brand new master on the thriller scene. Noah Boyd makes a truly spectacular entrance with The Bricklayer—the first in an explosive new series featuring former FBI agent Steve Vail that recalls the #1 bestsellers of John Sandford and Lee Child. An ex-FBI agent himself, Boyd adds gritty insider knowledge and color to this stunning novel, and the word on the street is The Bricklayer is fabulous. Kay Scarpetta’s creator, New York Times bestseller Patricia Cornwell, calls it, “Dazzling,” while Lee Child himself raves, “Non-stop action and non-stop authenticity make this a real winner.”

Book Description

People are dying . . . Each victim has been a thorn in the side of the FBI, and, inexplicably, domestic terrorists who claim to be anti-Bureau are claiming responsibility—and threatening more murders if their huge financial demands aren't met.

The trap has been set. The Bureau's best agents attempt to follow the detailed demands of the blackmailers, only to be drawn into intricate mazes which are ingeniously riddled with hazards, ensuring that no one will emerge alive. The FBI has used every technological secret at their disposal to beat the killers at their game—and they have failed.

The clock is ticking. Deputy Assistant Director Kate Bannon knows that the solution will not be found by following the rules. It's time to call in someone from her past, someone who has routinely handled the impossible—a loose cannon ex-agent fired for insubordination but still the very best she has ever seen.

It's time to call in Steve Vail . . . The Bricklayer.

Other observations on The Bricklayer

Someone gives you a dangerous puzzle to solve, one that may kill you or someone else, and you're about to fail. . . . And there is no other option. No one who can help. No one but the Bricklayer.

The Bricklayer is the pulse-pounding novel introducing Steve Vail, one of the most charismatic new heroes to come along in thriller fiction in many years. He's an ex–FBI agent who's been fired for insubordination but is lured back to the Bureau to work a case that has become more unsolvable—and more deadly—by the hour.

A woman steps out of the shower in her Los Angeles home and is startled by an intruder sitting calmly in her bedroom holding a gun. But she is frozen with fear by what he has to say about the FBI—and what he says he must do. . . .

A young agent slips into the night water off a rocky beach. He's been instructed to swim to a nearby island to deposit a million dollars demanded by a blackmailer. But his mission is riddled with hazardous tests, as if someone wanted to destroy him rather than collect the money. . . .

Vail has resigned himself to his dismissal and is content with his life as a bricklayer. But the FBI, especially Deputy Assistant Director Kate Bannon, needs help with a shadowy group that has initiated a brilliant extortion plot. The group will keep killing their targets until the agency pays them off, the amount and number of bodies escalating each time the FBI fails. One thing is clear: someone who knows a little too much about the inner workings of the Bureau is very clever —and very angry—and will kill and kill again if it means he can disgrace the FBI.

Steve Vail's options —and his time to find answers—are swiftly running out.

Noah Boyd's The Bricklayer is written with the bracing authenticity only someone who has been a crack FBI investigator can provide. And in this masterful debut Boyd has created a mind-bending maze of clues and traps inside a nonstop thrill ride that is sure to leave readers exhilarated and enthralled.

Critical Praise for The Bricklayer

“Vail is in the mold of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Robert Crais’s Joe Pike, though more playful than either one.... The reader is treated to some of the snazziest, smartest, and often surprising dialogue likely to show this or any season.... Vail is fun to watch as he outthinks everyone else in the room, no matter the room.... That there will be more Bricklayer tales is unquestioned. This guy has movie written all over him.”

— Chicago Sun-Times

“A standout procedural thriller.”

— Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Thrilling.... Depending on who’s judging, Vail is a cool maverick with his own moral compass or a dangerously loose cannon. Fans of Sam Spade and Jack Reacher will feel right at home with this new tough guy.”

— Boston Globe

“It’s a good, fast-paced story.... Great action. Great writing. Great story.”

— San Jose Mercury News

“Get in on the crack debut of a compelling new character.... This fictional detective thinks as intricately as a modern Sherlock Holmes.... Boyd, the author who might have lived some of Vail’s adventures, creates consistent tension and dialogue.... Don’t miss it, nor the purported sequels to come. Grade: A.”

— Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Even mediocre thrillers provide entertainment and escapism. But the best come with a healthy dose of authenticity that draws readers quickly and inexorably into the story. Such is Noah Boyd’s novel, The Bricklayer.... If you think you can resist, just read the opening sentence.... Boyd, a former FBI agent with 20-plus years of experience, invests The Bricklayer with an insider’s knowledge of his subject. His prose is spare, his dialogue witty and his characters drawn from life. Foremost among them, of course, is Vail himself -- a brilliant investigator who combines intuition with legwork, a man of solid principles who’s also partial to some judicious illegality -- and an unapologetic loner. He’s the perfect protagonist for Boyd’s superb plotting, a maze of misdirection that takes the reader from plush D.C. offices to L.A.’s dark side and induces serial gasps. But even as the pressure rises, you’ll also find yourself smiling at Boyd’s sly humor, such as the name of the hotel where Vail finds a kidnapping victim, and the banter and sexual tension between Vail and Kate Bannon, the bureau’s deputy assistant administrator. With a fine combination of cynicism and heroism, The Bricklayer is taut and twisty -- and powerfully addictive. Boyd has established himself as a potential master of the genre.”

— Richmond Times-Dispatch

“A compelling page-turner.... The adrenaline-charge action never slows and the abundance of plot twists will satisfy even the most jaded mystery lover.”

— Lansing State Journal

“If the rest of the series is as sensational as The Bricklayer, Vail should have a long, happy life and readers should enjoy every installment of it.”

— Associated Press

“A blistering debut.... [The] cat-and-mouse game between Vail and the Pentad’s chief [has] enough jolts to create a legion of fans.... Irresistible red meat for connoisseurs of action thrillers.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Readers will root for the tough, intelligent Vail while savoring the sexual tension between him and his FBI handler.... This fast-paced thriller includes many authentic-seeming details about the Bureau’s bureaucracy.”

— Booklist

“A top-shelf thriller. The book begins with a bang.... The story employs numerous plots and twists.... It’s fast paced and solidly written. Moreover, just when you think the investigations is winding down, bang, another bad guy emerges with yet another puzzle to ponder.... A mouth-watering story.”

— New York Journal of Books

“The person behind the Pentad is one of the more clever villains I’ve seen in a long time. He’s not really all that brilliant, but he is just smart enough to anticipate what the FBI will do next, and foil its efforts.... Boyd’s writing is solidly paced with few, if any, inconsistencies. Probably his greatest strength is in conveying through his writing the action and tension of a Jason Bourne movie or Casino Royale. Taut, rapid-fire and relentless.”

— January Magazine

“This is an impressive and suspenseful debut whodunit by a rebellious former FBI agent about a rebellious former FBI agent. In other words, Noah Boyd knows whereof he writes.... The Bricklayer is action-packed and never slows down.... A refreshingly unpredictable mystery destined to become a bestseller with many sequels.”

— Winnipeg Free Press

“There’s a new hero on the bookshelf. Imagine Lee Child’s Jack Reacher as a disgruntled ex-FBI agent who makes ends meet by laying bricks.... Steve Vail is a terrific new addition to the crime shift with a Sherlock Holmes perspective mixed with killer elite.... But what really sells The Bricklayer is Boyd’s inside perspective. The bureaucratic posturing, the under-appreciated heroes and the mind-set of evil are razor sharp in Boyd’s unflinching prose.... You’ll want to slide The Bricklayer in alongside Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series.”

— The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)

“It’s the stuff of fiction: FBI agent with a heart of gold goes rogue, turning the agency on its head, exposing an underbelly of ambitious bosses putting career ahead of justice. In the end, our anti-hero emerges from the wreckage wiser and usually better off than when he started. It’s a page turner, especially for Noah Boyd, for whom it’s not just fiction, but his life.”

— Manchester Union Leader

“Non-stop action and non-stop authenticity make this a real winner.”

— Lee Child

“Noah Boyd brings his FBI experience to this dazzling thriller. The pace is frenetic, the action is unique, and the drama intense. We have a new American hero in Steve Vail.”

— Patricia Cornwell

“Patricia Cornwell highly recommended this thriller to me and she was right on. The Bricklayer has terrific pace, surprises galore, and snappy dialogue in the appropriate places. Even better, it has a real hero. Move over Jack Reacher, here comes The Bricklayer.”

— James Patterson

“The Bricklayer is lots of fun, plenty smart, and great escapist reading. And Steve Vail is a magical FBI agent. If I had my way, I’d read stuff like this every minute I’m not on deadline.”

— Seymour Hersh

“[A] non-stop thriller.... Sparks fly between Vail and Bannon, who supports Vail’s ingenious and unorthodox methods against bureau recalcitrance and rules. Vail’s numerous escapes are wonderfully over-the-top and Boyd’s FBI background authoritatively fleshes out the story’s intricacies. [Boyd’s] fiction has the distinctive ring of authenticity.”

— Seacoastonline.com

“In an age when every male protagonist in a thriller novel is being compared to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, here finally is one that actually comes pretty close. But Steve Vail is different enough to avoid any claims of copyright infringement. He can use both his brawn and his mind to creatively problem solve. He leads a solitary life and enjoys it.... The story [is] very entertaining and suspenseful.... Steve Vail and his creator Noah Boyd (a pen name for a former FBI agent) have a very bright future.”

— Deadly Pleasures magazine

“The intricate and detailed plot continually picks up speed toward a thrilling (and surprising) resolution. Steve Vail’s irreverent outlook on life lends itself to witty repartee between him and the other characters, which is further supported with very clever, intriguing narrative. Noah Boyd has a sure-fire winner in this exemplary start to a new series.”

— FreshFiction.com

“The Bricklayer is full of twists and turns and ingenious scenes of murder and mayhem. The fast-paced novel never lets up and the reader must remind themselves to breathe occasionally. The Bricklayer sizzles.... Steve Vail’s my new hero; a good guy with a sense of honor who fights authority. Yes!”

— Examiner.com

“Noah Boyd develops the characters of Vail and Bannon in ways that make you want to see more of them—much more of them. A 5-star suspense that is fast-paced and well-written.”

— Armchair Interviews

“There are plot twists and turns enough for the most devious mind, the pace is unrelenting, and Vail is believable.... For readers who enjoy the PREY books of John Sandford or the RAIN books of Barry Eisler, Vail will probably be another addition to your list of go-to guys. Vail is a man of principle, a man with standards.... It’s a pleasure to read about guys like that, especially when the writer is as good as Boyd is. It’s also a pleasure to watch Boyd grow the relationship between Vail and Bannon. Not all writers of thrillers can do that well. Boyd can. And does.”

— Reviewing the Evidence (online)

“If Siskel and Ebert had four thumbs, this would get a four thumbs up review. The Bricklayer is a thriller that starts off fast and doesn’t stop until the last page is read. This book will put Noah Boyd up with the likes of Harlan Coben, Lee Child, and Vince Flynn. The Bricklayer has it all, mystery, romance, fast action, deception, and one thrilling escapade after another. A “MUST” read for anyone who wants to stay up nights turning page after page to find out what happens next.”

— Paul, Paul's Book Reviews, Borders

“The Bricklayer is a fantastic read and I can’t wait for the next in the series. I am telling all my friends and family about this exciting new hero, Steve Vail. He is sure to become one of my favorite ‘go to’ reads.”

— Maria Goodin, Bookseller, Books & Co, Dayton OH

“The Bricklayer is a winner. I absolutely could not put it down. From a buildup in each chapter, to a climax in the next chapter, there is no let down. The story just keeps going and gathering strength. Just who is the bad guy? The ending just took me by surprise. I loved this book and I am sure it will be a movie. Actually, it should be two movies. Maybe a TV series? This should be discussed by all booksellers as it will be in my Barnes & Noble store. I loved it from start to finish.”

— Norman Goldman, Barnes&Noble #2583, Encino, CA

“Boyd’s Steve Vail, AKA The Bricklayer, is irreverent, smart and doesn’t play well with others, which is why he is brought in to help the FBI foil an extortionist who anticipates and betters the agency at every turn. The Bricklayer satisfies those seeking suspense and intrigue. ”

— Buzzy Porter, Borders, Raleigh, NC

“I have just finished reading the advance copy of The Bricklayer. It is an excellent debut novel--right up there with Jack Reacher, Elvis Cole, and Bob Lee Swagger. Can’t wait for the next one.”

— Bill Cummins, Townhouse Books, St. Charles, Illinois

“The Bricklayer is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end. It is sexy and clever, and if I was trapped on a desert island with just one person, I would want that person to be Steve Vail. This action packed thriller would make a great movie.”

— Patricia Sanders, Barnes & Noble #2940, Towson, MD

“The Bricklayer is the most engaging thriller to come along in many a season. Populated by intelligent heroes, diabolically evil villains and fueled by an intricate, ingenious plot, it holds the attention from page one... All of this is heightened by dialogue worthy of a noir classic that is the final ingredient in a perfect mix.”

— Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books

“Loved The Bricklayer! A steamroller of a debut novel! Started it Saturday morning with coffee and just finished it up with Sunday evening beer. Vail is a great new character sort of reminds me of Connelly’s Harry Bosch. Great mystery can’t wait to sell it 2010!”

— John Hugo, Andover Bookstore, Andover, MA

“Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou for including me in the group that received the “pre-advance/sneak peek” of Noah Boyd’s The Bricklayer!! I dropped what I was reading at the time and fell right into it. I had the privilege of reading Angels and Demons in advance of it’s publication and I had the same great feeling reading Boyd’s debut -- this guy will have a place at the table with writers we’ve come to know as the big hitters...Dan Brown, Harlan Coben, Lee Child to name a few. It was spectacular, the relationship and repartee between Steve Vail & Kate Bannon is sassy and sexy - the whole package is smart, fresh and fast! One of the biggest compliments I can give to an author is that s/he creates characters I would like to have dinner with...reservations for four, please --- I’m buying!!! I am so excited to sell this book.”

— Bev Newton, Innisfree Bookshop, Meredith, NH

“This novel by Noah Boyd packs a punch-and happily it is the first of a planned series featuring non-conforming, irreverent ex-FBI agent Steve Vail, fired for insubordination but too valuable to forget. Vail is a tough man’s man that male readers will want to be, and the women will want, period. The pace is good, the writing well researched, and the plot complicated and interesting. This is going to be a very popular series that should capture fans of John Sanford and Lee Child especially.”

— Jacki Blem, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

“If Siskel and Ebert had four thumbs, this would get a four thumbs up review. The Bricklayer… starts off fast and doesn’t stop until the last page is read. This book will put Noah Boyd up with the likes of Harlan Coben, Lee Child, and Vince Flynn…. [It] has it all, mystery, romance, fast action, deception, and one thrilling escapade after another. A ‘MUST’ read for anyone who wants to stay up nights turning page after page to find out what happens next.”

— Paul Pessolano, Borders, Snellville, GA

“Just finished The Bricklayer. Excellent story and well-plotted. Never would have expected Tye to be one of the baddies.”

— Pat Murphy, Librarian, St. Clairsville, OH

“People are being killed and ransom money is disappearing when FBI assistant director, Kate, visits Steve Vail, an FBI agent who wouldn’t follow the FBI “mold”, was fired and now works as a bricklayer. He’s the only one who can find the killers but he will only do so off the radar. With Kate tagging along, Steve survives several very nasty, deadly attempts on his life. He’s a wonderfully likeable guy who is sexy, sharp as a tack and irreverent enough to be a huge thorn in sides of the regular FBI and he even corrupts Kate with his thinking. I love a really good thriller like this!”

— Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM

“Just finished The Bricklayer and absolutely loved it. So many of our customers love Lee Child and now I have someone else to recommend to them. This fast-paced well written thriller has it all and I hope this is just the beginning of a new series.”

— Sue Richardson, Marine Coast Book Shop, Damariscotta, ME

“Steve Vail has it all. He is intelligent, creative, thorough, and intuitive. Steve and Kate are a great team. The story is fast moving and engrossing. I look forward to reading more adventures in the future.”

— Regina Barnes, Toadstool Bookshops, Keene, NH

“Pat, my wife and bookstore partner, started reading The Bricklayer a couple days ago, and wouldn’t put it down. I was being totally ignored. When she finished, I scooped it up, and started reading to see what that was all about. And I found out. No way can I compete with Steve Vail. This is one smooth character - McGuiver, Jack Reacher, James Bond, and Indy Jones all rolled into one - yet still coming off as being realistic and likeable. And a tradesman, no less. Jealous? Envious? You bet I am. But seriously, we both loved this book. Characters (I’m kind of attracted to Kate, myself), plot, pacing...all are first rate; the writing is smooth as can be. We need to order more - this will be our hand-sell of the month. In the meantime, I need to go buy a trowel.”

— Gary Shulze, Once Upon a Crime, Minneapolis, MN