An Athlete in Winter
A man forced into a brutal war against weaponized Artificial Intelligence. Will the family he once left behind become collateral damage?
Coming home never ends well. After decades away, Mason James returns to the East Bay when his father, Max, is found half-dead in an Emeryville alley behind the Key Club. Max won’t talk. The police call it a mugging. Mason knows better.
The McKnights—family by blood and bond—built an empire that went legitimate long ago. Now someone is prying it open from the inside: identity theft, hacked systems, and a pressure campaign aimed at one prize—mineral-rich farmland Melvin McKnight refuses to sell. Rare minerals vital for powering new forms of high-tech digital systems, those now being targeted by a new criminal force hoping to militarize all forms of emerging Artificial Intelligence. The man making the offer is Omer Sahin, a Turkish power broker with nightclub fronts, Russian muscle, and a deadline. His enforcer network reaches into the past: Victor Novikov at the Key, and Jason Riverton, the crooked ex-cop who once made Mason’s teenage life hell.
With Max’s health failing and Melvin hiding an early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Mason is forced back into the methods he swore off—surveillance, leverage, and violence—while fighting panic attacks, guilt, and a temper that has ruined lives before. Backed by a razor-smart tech ally and Midas McNight, the one friend who knows his darkest history, Mason enters a cat-and-mouse war where every move is watched, every loyalty has a price, and “legit” is just another mask.
A silent father. A ticking deadline. And a hunter who won’t let go. How far will you go when the past demands payment?
Like his first novel, “A Snow Leopard Named Midas,” S.L. Cook’s “An Athlete In Winter” is for readers who love the moral complexity of S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland, the hunter and hunted tension of Thomas Perry’s Vanishing Act, and the psychological depth of John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
“Cook’s writing style is sharp and immersive, making every scene feel cinematic. The pacing is relentless yet balanced, giving readers just enough time to breathe before diving into the next adrenaline-fueled moment.”
Barnes and Noble
“If you are a fan of mystery, thrill, grit, and close-to-real-life themes when reading, look no further than S.L. Cook’s masterpiece of a work.”
Goodreads
“I love the intensity and sharpness of Cook’s storytelling, and the depths he explores to create memorable settings and characters. He is clearly well-versed in his genre… The ending is worth every page that proceeds it.”
L.E.A
“Character development is a standout strength. The author crafts complex, believable characters whose motivations are layered and often morally gray. This depth adds emotional weight to the story and keeps readers invested not only in the outcome, but in the personal costs each character faces along the way.”
J.E. Gaspar
“A distinctly Californian thriller that packs heavily sentimental and visceral punches when a dangerous man returns to the Bay Area on family business in Cook’s crime novel, the second in the Midas series.
Mason James, currently a resident of Hermosa Beach, grew up in San Francisco’s East Bay; he’s back in town after he gets word that his father, Max, was mugged. Max was exiting a card room in Emeryville when he was assaulted.
On closer inspection, it appears this was no simple robbery, but rather a targeted attack related to organized crime. Max has “lived a life of capability and ruthlessness,” and neither of them are strangers to the world of shady activities. Mason spent more than 20 years as a member of the Unit, “a squad that took care of problems around the world too hot for official channels.” The Unit has had some lingering troubles that have “exploded over the past few months,” but Mason’s main concern at the moment is his father. (Mason may be a little worse for wear, but with his background in boxing and his many California connections, he’s not one to be trifled with.) Max’s problems are not the only thing on Mason’s plate. McKnight Holdings is a legitimate company with an extensive real estate portfolio; Mason has “grown up as a favored cousin in the McKnight empire,” and when he’s asked to look into a problem, he accepts. Recently, the company has come under attack via sophisticated hacking, and someone is showing sudden interest in McKnight’s ‘farming property in the central valley.’ Perhaps Max’s assault and the trouble at McKnight are related in some way?“
Kirkus Review
A Snow Leopard Named Midas
When survival demands restoring the very weapon you once abandoned, a reluctant warrior discovers that some battles never truly end.
After his girlfriend is kidnapped, brutalized, and left drugged in a filthy hotel, Midas McNight is forced to return to a persona he buried years before: A ruthless and lethal black bag operator known to a chosen few as The Snow Leopard.
But that was a long time ago, and Midas is not the same man. This wary and aging soldier now has no choice but to face a small army of former associates who want to eliminate him and everyone he cherishes.
“A Snow Leopard Named Midas” goes to the heart of the anxiety and fear now pervasive throughout not only the United States but beyond its borders as well. Told through flawed survivors committed to a war against apathy and fear, as well as enemies which, due to sheer numbers and organization, can never truly be overcome.
Those trying to make incremental improvements in a world where wrong people inevitably win.