The novel’s protagonist is Detective John Sampson, a DC Metro Police detective. He is characterized through his relationships, including his best friend, fellow DC Metro Police detective Dr. Alex Cross, whom he’s known since childhood. His goodness is established through how he raises his seven-year-old daughter Willow and interacts with the Cross family.

Sampson is also characterized through his internal and external dialogue as a non-nonsense man who is quick to action and quicker to speak his mind. In Chapter 1, Sampson says, “[a]nd when did I ever care about making a good impression?” (13). This sets him up as an example of the lone wolf, a trope of the action genre. He appears to be unconcerned with the consequences.

His flashbacks to his time as a former soldier show Sampson’s military training, which he utilizes throughout the novel when well-trained military and security forces attack him using tactics he recognizes from his time in Afghanistan. His combination of traits reinforce his function as a hero, as he enthusiastically embraces calls to action. He takes risks willingly because he believes that he is fighting for the greater good.

Sampson’s tragic backstory helps establish his