‘The List’: A Ledger of Evil

Steve Berry’s new standalone novel attempts an unconventional take on the standard thriller playbook.

"The List" by Steve Berry gives a tense, unconventional thriller. Carey Sheffield/Grand Central Publishing

Some standard plot rules in the thriller genre are considered essential for the story to work. One of these is pretty straightforward: to have at least one good guy who’s up against a formidable bad guy (or guys). The bad guy has a secret plan that must be stopped. The good guy must figure out what the plan is and use that knowledge to foil the baddie in time to save the day.

So what happens when the rule is broken? Can a thriller work when this isn’t the game plan?

“The List” starts two years before the main events of the book, with two very different fishing trips. One is an old man jigging for bass in his private lake near Concord, Georgia. The other is a professional killer who’s hidden on the shore of the lake. The old man is his target.

It’s a creepy, effective beginning, showing the contrasting mentalities of two men going about a task they’ve done a hundred times before. The old man is enjoying the simple pleasures of casting a line and using the proper technique to lure bass to his bait. There’s the killer, reflecting on the twisted thrills he gets from eliminating people for a living.

The rest of the book takes place over a period of three weeks in June, the present time. Brent Walker has recently returned to his hometown of Concord to start a new job as assistant general corporate counsel for the Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company.

He’ll be handling workers’ compensation cases for the company. His previous gig was as a prosecutor with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Atlanta, specializing in violent crimes and murders. His mother began to show early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, so he reluctantly relocated.

Concord holds a lot of bad memories for him. His wife, Paula, died in a car accident on these roads, and there was evidence indicating it was a suicide.

A Reunion

Two people who are very glad to see Brent return are Hank Reed and his daughter, Ashley. Hank is the current president of the local electricians’ union and the former mayor of Concord. He and Brent had worked together for many years in opposition to Southern Republic’s law team, but Brent is switching sides now.

That doesn’t bother Hank much; he’s been “a brother, father, and friend” to Hank for many years. He also happens to know that his daughter, Ashley, is deeply in love with Brent.

Interspersed throughout these moments, author Berry also shows vignettes of assassinations that are going on in different areas at the same time.

Each murder is conducted with the same cold precision displayed in the prologue. They are perpetrated by a highly adept killer who only refers to himself as an “Associate,” and calls his targets “the Priority.” The murders are carefully orchestrated to look like the victim died of natural causes.

Breaking the Rules

The unconventional aspects of Berry’s novel mentioned above show up very early. Most thrillers involving a nefarious conspiracy typically tease out the details of the shadowy plan over many chapters. The reader and the hero are often left in the dark about the motivations and the identity of the villain until much later in the story.

Not so with “The List.” Almost right away, we learn that the three owners of Southern Republic have ordered these killings: Chris Bozin, Hamilton Lee, and Larry Hughes. All of those on their “Priority List” are former employees of the company. They have filed costly medical claims and are being eliminated to save the company millions. The company’s head of security, a ruthless man named Jon De Florio, administers the “Priority File” and supervises the mercenary killers.

"The List" breaks the rules of a conventional thriller.

Chris, however, is not happy. He rankles at the fact that the others are constantly voting against him, but he’s also harboring a dark secret: He’s pretty sure that he’s dying. When the outlook seems hopeless, he begins to enact a mysterious plan that involves his co-conspirators. He might be looking to betray them, but in what way?

When Brent and Hank stumble upon a portion of the list, the race is on to see whether they’ll figure out what’s happening before Southern Republic learns what they’ve discovered.

How does knowing the details of the “evil plan” right from the get-go work for this thriller?  Pretty good, actually. Author Steve Berry substitutes the standard playbook by allowing the reader to see what happens when his evil cabal threatens to fall apart. At the same time, he’s giving the readers smart, well-detailed characters to root for. In either case, it’s not certain how it will all turn out until the end.

Detailing the elimination of several members on the list becomes more gruesome than suspenseful, and it’s a pity that Berry doesn’t give more time to exploring the idea of seeking redemption. Christian culture is featured somewhat significantly in the book. A deeper dive into what it takes for atonement might have given “The List” more resonance.

Steve Berry’s “The List” is a solid, if somewhat unconventional, thriller.

‘The List’ By Steve Berry Grand Central Publishing: July 22, 2025 Hardcover, 384 pages

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