The Adversary By Andrews & Wilson

The Adversary might be Andrews & Wilson’s best book to date, which isn’t something I say lightly given how many ridiculously good novels they’ve published.  But it’s true and, furthermore, this latest installment is without a doubt my favorite in the Tier One series.  It’s incredible and a strong contender for thriller of the year due to insane action sequences, psychological mindfuckery, and a ton of raw emotion within a brilliantly crafted story that vociferously screams “team and mission above self.”  A message we all benefit from hearing again.

John Dempsey and his Ember team are in Taiwan on their way to a meeting with a Taiwanese intelligence officer when it all goes sideways.  Their asset is killed, a member of the team gets seriously injured and Ember’s comms and cyber field agent is taken by Chinese operatives.  Putting Dempsy on the warpath, willing to do anything to get his teammate back before disappearing into mainland China forever.  With the help of a SEAL team in theatre for training exercises, Ember attempts a daring rescue mission to get their man back without kicking off WWIII.  And to make it more complicated, Dempsey’s son Jake Kemper – who thinks his dad, Jack Kemper, is dead – is a newly minted nugget on the SEAL team involved in the operation.  Making this a high stakes mission in more ways than one. 

If you’ve read the prior Tier One books before (and if you haven’t, what the hell are you waiting for?), then you know you’re in store for a nonstop, high-octane, action-packed ride that sets your hair on fire and drops you in the middle of life and death battles.  But there’s three things that elevate The Adversary into the rarified air of truly exceptional thrillers. 

First, witnessing Dempsey’s progeny, Jake Kemper, not only ascend to the SEAL teams but also show a bit of Dempsey in his decision making and bold actions is something to behold.  It’s the proverbial apple not falling far from the tree, but without the son having a chance to be molded and mentored by the father.  So, it’s also a study in nature versus nurture.

Second, the main antagonist will send shivers down your spine and cause a visceral reaction.  He has a calm, almost clinical demeanor that amplifies his evilness more than if he was an unhinged lunatic.  Instead, his words are simply a matter of fact, stating a chilling destiny you cannot run from, voicing unnerving promises that evoke a primal dread.  It’s quite unsettling.

Third, this story is overflowing with emotion.  Anger and love.  Desperation and hope.  Fear and joy.  Regret and pride.  Selfishness and selflessness.  Cruelty and kindness.  It’s all there, increasing the intensity of what these characters are experiencing.  Especially between father and son.  Creating strong emotional connections so that you don’t just read what they’re going through.  You will feel it in your soul. 

Do not miss The Adversary.  It’s one hell of a story that’s a must read for anyone calling themselves a thriller fan.  A heart-thumping, emotionally stirring and exhilarating tale that is so completely engrossing that everything around you will fade into the background.  One of the best books you’ll read this year.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Adversary
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Tin Men By Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille

The Tin Men is an intensely terrifying look at the future of warfare that will freak you the hell out.  This high-stakes, vivid and disquieting thriller will challenge your thought process on the use of AI and robots in the military setting, giving you consternation and a severe case of angina.  This novel is a gift from Alex DeMille and his late father, Nelson DeMille, offering one final, profound and entertaining story from the pen of the great literary master for readers to devour.

Army CID Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are sent to investigate the death of a chief scientist who oversees a deep black war games program featuring a platoon of Army Rangers and a few dozen lethal autonomous weapons – aka killer robots.  Brodie and Taylor quickly ascertain that the situation they find themselves in is quickly deteriorating.  The Rangers are being pushed to the limits of their physical and psychological well-being, the robots are acting well beyond their supposed software limits, deception is rampant, and everyone is a suspect.  In the middle of the desert and without the ability to contact the outside world, Brodie and Taylor must not only determine who killed the scientist, but also find out who and what is behind this secret program.  Because if they are unsuccessful, everyone on this base will die and these next-gen weapons systems will be unstoppable.   

This is a military thriller wrapped inside a crime thriller with psychological thriller sprinkled on top.  It is suspenseful, tension-filled and jam packed with misdirection and unanswered questions that keep you guessing until the end when it explodes in ruthless violence.  It has fantastic characters, tests your views on morality, and moves at a breakneck pace.  It also really messes with your head and makes you desperately hope that our government isn’t actually working on a program like this.  Because if they are, no one is safe. 

The Tin Men is a relentless thrill ride.  Tight as a Terminator’s death grip, and just as impossible to escape.  A brilliantly constructed story that will increase your heart-rate and exercise your brain.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Tin Men
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Tourists By Christopher Reich

The Tourists will have you on edge from start to finish with a suspenseful, pulse-pounding and timely story that plows ahead at breakneck speed.  Christopher Reich has delivered another thrilling and engaging novel filled with intrigue, emotion and action.

Mac Dekker is moments away from proposing to the love of his life, when she disappears from a Parisian restaurant without a trace.  But this is no ordinary couple.  Mac is a retired CIA Special Agent and Ava Attal was once a deadly Mossad operative.  Suspecting foul Play, Mac leverages his special skillset to track down anyone who might know what happened to Ava and to interrogate them for helpful information.  This leads to not only finding out where Ava is being held, but also that her abduction is part of a bigger operation involving a nuclear weapon that is to be imminently deployed by a ruthless Qatari prince to derail a monumental international treaty.  With the clock ticking down, it’s up to Mac to rescue the woman he loves, save the lives of thousands of innocent people and stop a catastrophic attack from irreversibly changing the world for the worse. 

This is just a good-old entertaining and intense race against the clock thriller with twists and turns thrown into the mix at perfect moments.  It features a highly skilled and reluctant thriller trying to save the woman he loves and, in the process, stop a devastating attack from occurring.  It contains a narcissistic, rich, power-hungry bad guy who is easy to hate.  And it focuses on the immensely complex topic of Middle Eastern geopolitics, where allies and enemies are not always what they seem.  All of which comes together masterfully to create a compelling, dramatic, and riveting tale sure to engage readers’ minds and pull on their heartstrings.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Tourists
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Leverage By Amran Gowani

You don’t have to be a finance bro to enjoy the investment of your time in Leverage, a dark and droll tale about money and power with the focus on what some people are willing to do to attain them…and just how far people will go to protect both.  Amran Gowani crushes this debut novel with a deep dive into Wall Street depravity and ill-gotten gains, the corrupting influence of wealth, and the lucrative trafficking of illicit information.

Ali “Al” Jafar is a star at infamous hedge fund Prism Capital, when he loses $300M on one investment in a single day.  Instead of firing him, the firm’s founder decides to back Al into a corner with a ridiculous scenario – either Al makes back the $300M in 3 months or he will frame him for insider-trading and have him sent to prison.  Battling depression and desperation, Al gets involved with a shadowy figure named Simon, who is willing to sell the type of information that Al needs to make big moves in the market and save his own ass.  But when Al realizes that even succeeding at this insane game won’t truly set him free, he decides there’s only one thing he can do…turn the tables on his rich and powerful boss.

Gowani does a brilliant job of exploring the finance culture and its cutthroat nature while maintaining the humanity of some characters and highlighting how others sold their soul a long time ago.  Leverage entertains with stories of misconduct, debauchery and megalomaniacs, but balances those out with an examination of being the “other”, mental health challenges, and the dynamics of the different types of relationships in people’s lives.  Resulting in a story with depth that is equal parts crazy intense and quite profound.  Leaving a lasting impact, you’ll be ruminating on for days to come.

Additionally, while this book is a work of fiction, it will have you thinking more skeptically about wild swings in stock prices and if anyone is behind the scenes pulling the strings.  Doing what great novels do – blurring the lines between make-believe and the real world. 

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Leverage
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Down in High Country By Montana Kane

Mysterious, quirky, flirty and spiritually refreshing, Down in High Country is a thrilling and entertaining romp through a loveable mountain town and its dark underbelly of criminal activity.  Montana Kane continues this highly enjoyable series by delivering another engaging, humorous, sensual and intriguing story.

Private Investigator Brandy Martini is hired by a couple to find out if their daughter, the enchanting Kara, is involved in a cult.  Given Boomville, Colorado has a bevy of eccentric characters, Brandy has her work cut out for her during an investigation that requires her to distinguish from the usual strange conduct versus potentially criminal behavior.  Meanwhile, Brandy is looking over her shoulder for a dangerous stalker that haunts her dreams while also fighting her own romantic feelings for the local police lieutenant.  Filled with drum circles, open mike nights, concerts, weed café openings and entrancing scents, Brandy must navigate many obstacles in order to get to the bottom of what’s rotten in Boomville and maybe finally find her place in this distinctive town.

You’ll fall in love with this colorful cast of characters, each one bringing their uniqueness to the fabric of a wacky community.  Providing a whimsical balance for Brandy’s intense focus on being a reliable professional.  That’s not to say the main character can’t let loose in her own way.  But while she’s on the job it’s the supporting characters – the house of bong, the well-intentioned sister, the enigmatic sheriff’s deputy, the buxom bartender, the elderly weed café owner and her weed-growing son, and many others – who make this tale so delightful and spirited while Brandy is doing the serious work of tracking down dangerous criminals who are targeting the very fine citizens of Boomville. 

Down in High Country is simultaneously thrilling and charming.  Chasing danger and pleasure in equal measure.  A book that keeps you guessing from start to finish while inviting you to become a part of an enchanting and adventurous little society.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Down in High Country
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Red Tide By M.P. Woodward

Red Tide is an explosive, emotionally powerful, and frighteningly realistic military thriller that should alarm readers with how plausible its events feel.  Blending traditional warfare with innovative technologies, M.P. Woodward delivers an epic saga filled with strategy, combat, covert ops and heroic acts of valor.  It’s phenomenal!

China makes their move on Taiwan to secure the world’s most important semiconductor manufacturing factories and thwart a deal that would have sent the most advanced chips to the United States.  China goes a step further and lays claim to a large portion of the South Pacific, setting up a naval blockade and threatening action against anyone who approach them.  So, when a US Navy submarine pops up in Taiwanese waters, all hell breaks lose and kicks off naval and arial hostilities between the Americans and Chinese.  At the forefront of this conflict is retiring Rear Admiral Will Cole and his family of “fighting Coles” who all have a critical role to play in turning the tide of the war.  Because if they don’t succeed in destroying the Chinese fleet and retaking Taiwan, the world order will be changed forever. 

What makes Red Tide stand out versus other top-notch military thrillers is how multifaceted it is.  At its core this book is about a vicious and bloody war between world superpowers.  But it’s so much more than that.  First, it dives deep into economics by exploring the criticality of the semiconductor industry and the world’s ever-increasing demand for compute power and AI microprocessors, as well as examining how venture capital investments play a crucial role in defense programs and military innovation.  Second, it’s a study on knowing your opponent, avoiding being tethered to old ways of doing things, and how outside the box strategic thinking will keep you from being too predictable while giving you an edge against your adversary.   Third, it shows that everyone, no matter what their station in life, can make a difference and play a big part in achieving something extraordinary.  Whether you’re an admiral, active duty or reserve military, a military spouse, an investor, a private sector employee, a hospitality proprietor or a vacationing pensioner, every single one of us can help change the world if we speak up and act when we see something. 

All these concepts come together to add tremendous depth to a story filled with some of the best war gaming and hostilities you will come across, conducted by a masterfully crafted cast of characters who understand their mission with complete conviction and will not be deterred from victory.  Resulting in action that elicits a strong emotional response while you fervently root for a successful outcome, even while you intellectually understand not everyone will come through unscathed. 

This is THE military thriller of the year and storytelling at its finest.  Absolutely not to be missed by fans of the genre.  A brilliant piece of (hopefully) fiction from M.P. Woodward. 

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Red Tide
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Proving Ground By Michael Connelly

An enthralling and engrossing legal thriller, The Proving Ground puts you in the jury box to adjudicate a tragic murder and the perils of unchecked technology.  Michael Connelly once again delivers a brilliant, emotional and timely story that will make you ponder the ethics and applications of AI as it comes barreling down the tracks with unstoppable momentum.

Mickey Haller moves from criminal to civil law as he files a suit against an artificial intelligence company alleging their negligently trained generative AI product led to a teenage boy murdering his ex-girlfriend.  Joined by his usual team and journalist Jack McEvoy, Haller must dig through an avalanche of discovery documents, uncover key witnesses and convince them to testify, and overcome roadblocks and setback as he battles a powerful entity with everything to lose.  And when it seems it’s all too much to overcome, Haller still has a few tricks up his sleeve from his criminal defense days he hopes will turn the tide.  That is, if those tricks don’t land him in contempt of court first. 

While moving into the civil court arena is something new for the Lincoln Lawyer, Haller’s relentless approach and antics are unchanged and on full display.  However, his mission to hold a tech company accountable and win favorable judgment for his client can be seen as more righteous than defense law.  Allowing readers to unapologetically root for him to stick it to the 800 pound gorilla who’s claiming no wrongdoing in the face of a grieving mother.  So when Haller is playing in the gray areas and stepping over the line, it feels more than ok because the forces of corporate greed are stacked against him and that’s not something most of us can abide.  Because we all love an underdog story.

All told, it’s another virtuoso performance by the Lincoln Lawyer that adds something special to this already brilliant series.  You’ll stand up and cheer for Haller as he maneuvers, cajoles, jumps over roadblocks, dodges haymakers and fights with everything he’s got to win for his client.  Incredibly well done by the great Michael Connelly.   

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Proving Ground
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Art Of A Lie By Laura Shepherd-Robinson

The Art of a Lie will keep you on your toes as you navigate the twists and turns of an intricate battle of wits between the sexes.  Larua Shepherd-Robinson’s tale of love, fortune, deceit and regret in 18th-century England is completely engrossing, seductively tantalizing and deliciously scandalous. 

Hannah Cole’s husband has been murdered, and she is struggling to keep her life from falling apart.  Her confectionary shop is barely making money, she’s in debt and unable to access her dead husband’s frozen funds, and the local magistrate considers her a prime suspect in her husband’s murder.  Enter William Devereux, a handsome and suave gentleman claiming to be a friend of Hannah’s late husband.  He steps in to help her with legal and business matters, giving Hannah hope for a prosperous future.  But not all is as it seems with William, and Hannah will have to figure out whether to follow her brain or her heart. With devastating consequences awaiting if she makes the wrong decision, Hannah must act carefully.

Thriller fans, don’t let the prospect of a drama set in 1700’s England keep you from picking up a copy of this book.  It’s charming, fast-paced and fascinating.  A crime novel disguised as a romance story that is more cons and mystery than it is love and lust.  The plot is fantastic, the writing superb and the uncertainty of the final outcome drives everything forward at top speed.  But it’s really about the characters.  Individuals who are so intriguing and engaging that you connect deeply with them and care about their fate, knowing they possess both good and bad intentions and continuously rooting for their better selves to prevail.  Rooting for love and redemption while fearing heartbreak and tragedy. 

The Art of a Lie is a suspenseful emotional rollercoaster that ropes you in and gives you a hell of a ride before leaving you spent in the end.  A tasty tale of love, loss, crime and cons.  It’s fantastic!

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Art Of A Lie
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Declared Hostile By Jack Stewart

Gripping, explosive and intricate, Declared Hostile gets your heart pumping with intense action sequences wrapped around a frightening scenario that will give you chills.  Jack Stewart has once again crafted a high-octane story that oozes authenticity in the sky and bleeds intrigue on the ground. 

NCIS Special Agent Emmy “Punky” King is doggedly investigating a conspiracy that possibly links Russian operatives with a curiously obscure corporation and the President of the United States.  Meanwhile, Colt Bancroft and his team are sent into Ukraine on a desperate mission to thwart the Russians from retrieving long lost suitcase nukes and selling them to terrorists.  Despite the distance between them, Punky and Colt’s missions are interconnected, and their success is critical to avoiding a catastrophic event from thrusting the world into disarray. 

Combining covert operations, conspiracies, compromised politicians, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and kinetic action featuring investigators, fighter pilots, and special forces into one exciting narrative results in one hell of a compelling novel.  The stage is patiently set, the characters developed with care, and every detail meticulously placed before a flood of action and anxiety propel the reader forward towards a payoff that’s both satisfying and exceptional.  It’s political/military thriller storytelling at its finest.

Jack Stewart’s fourth Battle Born book delivers the goods with another well-written, entertaining, been-there done-that legitimacy that thriller fans will love.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Declared Hostile
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Departure 37 By Scott Carson

Departure 37 reads like a spooky episode of The Twilight Zone.  Twisting and turning, exposing the audience to an extremely unsettling and improbable scenario that scares you enough to make you wonder if it’s more feasible than you realize.  Scott Carson has crafted a gripping, mysterious and chilling historical sci-fi novel that will leave you uneasy and reflective.  

Hundreds of commercial pilots receive calls from their mothers, begging them not to fly today.  While that’s concerning on its own, it’s even stranger considering that the mother’s deny making the calls…and some of the mothers are dead.  While the powers that be in the US government search for answers, a teenage girl in Maine finds a balloon at a famous B-52 crash site.  The balloon is carrying a strange note and an old watch that belonged to a brilliant physicist named Martin Hazelton, who worked on top secret projects for the US military over 60 years ago.  Now, everyone involved must play their part to figure out exactly what is going on…and stop a long dead cold war program from starting WWIII.

This story builds suspense and tension by moving between characters and timelines that are more than 6 decades apart.  With this approach, readers get a slow and steady drip of past and present information that converge at precisely the right time to illuminate the full truth and provide an emotional weight to what has transpired.  And while you’re trying to comprehend some crazy concepts you wouldn’t possibly imagine in your wildest dreams, you’re also feeling a strong connection to the tragic nature of almost every character contained within the pages of Departure 37. 

It’s a bit disorienting, but in the way that only good books can achieve by making you think and feel at the same time.  Especially if they leave you with a few questions in the end that keep you awake at night trying to parse out the answers.  And rest assured, Departure 37 will certainly stick with you long after you finish it. 

Purchase Departure 37
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Final Strike By Jason Kasper

Final Strike is timely, intense and devastating.  A thriller that makes you hold your breath, fearing the worst from start to finish.  Toying with your emotions through explosive action, high-stakes drama, relentless tension and gut-wrenching results.  Jason Kasper crushes this tenth edition of the Shadow Strike series with a story that will leave you in pieces. 

The CIA is disbanding Project Longwing, but first David Rivers and his team must infiltrate Iran to locate and take out the world’s most wanted terrorist.  The mission goes awry early with catastrophic consequences and requires Rivers and team to adapt on the fly, putting them in mortal danger and pushing them to their limits.  And in the process, they uncover a plot that is larger and more nefarious than their intelligence had suggested.  Requiring them to throw caution to the wind and make a desperate attempt to thwart these evil plans, understanding it likely means not all of them will make it out alive.  But this team has never played it safe and will go to extreme lengths to finish their mission.  No matter the cost. 

The timing for releasing this novel could not be more perfect.  It features several aspects of current events – Iran, terrorism, B-2 bombers and clandestine missions.  And while the storyline is not the exact same thing as what’s happening currently in the Middle East, it makes for a surreal and more vivid reading experience when you compare and contrast it to real life events happening in parallel.

Additionally, with this book potentially being the last in this great series, Kasper holds nothing back.  Testing the team like never before.  Slinging led with desperate abandon, defying orders more than normal and fighting like hell for their brothers.  It’s powerful stuff.  A journey into hell and back.  Certain to leave you shattered in the end.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Final Strike
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Persian By David McCloskey

Thrillers don’t get timelier than The Persian, an intensely suspenseful high-stakes espionage chess match between the intelligence agencies of Israel and Iran.  David McCloskey delivers a dramatic and surreal reading experience during this movement in history, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if this story contains more fact than fiction.

Kamran Esfahani, a middling dentist in Stockholm, agrees to work with Israeli intelligence and returns to his home country of Iran, opening a dental clinic while secretly carrying out covert missions for the Mossad.  As his involvement deepens from moving weapons to orchestrating abductions, he walks an increasingly dangerous line.  After orchestrating a complicated recruitment of a woman with a vendetta against Israel, Kam gets exposed during a daring operation and is thrown into a notorious prison under the control of a ruthless figure known only as the General.  Now, after years of torment, Kam is forced to write a final confession.  But he’s still clinging to one buried truth.  One that he is prepared to take to his grave.

The Persian is a masterfully constructed espionage thriller.  The characters are fantastically crafted, the plot patiently developed, the tension consistently building, the little details perfectly placed and the ending befittingly emotional.  Despite the story starting with the knowledge that Kam is in an Iranian prison, there is so much of the story that needs to be revealed.  Taking readers on a journey that starts as a slow burn before accelerating to top speed and exploding with adrenaline-fueled action and emotional fallout.  And just when you think you know how the story ends…bam!  You’re hit upside the head with shocking revelations that leave you reeling.

This is another novel soaked in authenticity and dripping with realism from the pen of David McCloskey.  A fantastic and complex tale of violence, vengeance and the no holds barred world of international espionage.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Persian
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Fallen Star By Lee Goldberg

Fallen Star is the most fun you can have while being immersed in a murder investigation.  It’s a deadly serious and dangerous investigation juxtaposed with sarcasm, humor and tasty cuisine.  Lee Goldberg delivers once again, crafting an unputdownable police procedural containing wonderfully constructed characters engaged in deception and political maneuverings within a pulse-racing plot.

LASD homicide detectives Eve Ronin and her partner Duncan “Donuts” Pavone are called to Malibu to investigate a dead body found in a fifty-five-gallon drum on the beach.  They quickly recognize the victim as a key player in an ongoing bribery and corruption scandal involving local politicians and businessmen.  And if that’s not enough, a helicopter crashes on the hillside behind Eve’s home that is connected to both the corruption case and Eve’s past.  Leading Eve and Duncan on a twisting and turning investigation that will have far reaching ramifications.  Including putting Eve’s life in mortal danger.

All Lee Goldberg does is churn out exceedingly entertaining books that you plow through like Duncan Pavone at a Las Vegas buffet, leaving you full, satisfied and with a smile on your face upon completion.  Fallen Star is just the latest example.  It’s chock full of intrigue, politics, crime, shady characters, misdirection, investigative twists, ethical dilemmas, and food.  Oh, and Eve continuously ignoring the sage advice of her partner, Captain and everyone else around her, resulting in putting herself in harms way time and time again. But while her actions are questionable, her instincts are undeniable and she gets results.  Along with some scrapes and bruises.

This has been a fantastically fun series and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon.  It will be exciting to see where it goes next.  In the meantime, if you’re not already reading about Eve Ronin’s exploits with the LA Sherrif’’s department, you need to rectify that immediately.  And if you have, then do not miss this latest installment.  It’s excellent!

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Fallen Star
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Crooks By Lou Berney

Crooks is a riveting tale of a one-of-a-kind crime family’s forty-year run of corruption, scams, transgressions and business dealings.  Lou Berney delivers an extraordinary tale that is unlike anything you’ve ever read.  It’s engaging, sinful and wickedly entertaining.

This is the story of the Mercurio family.  The patriarch is Buddy, a Vegas mob guy, and the matriarch is Lillian, a charming woman with criminal proclivities of her own.  After fleeing Vegas to avoid their imminent demise, they surface in Oklahoma City and start a disco that seemingly prints money through legitimate and illegal activity.  And their five young children are all involved. Which sets each one off on a different path to either embrace or escape their family’s dark history.  Kicking off a trip through four decades that checks in on each member of the family at different times, showing how their past has shaped their future…for better or worse.

The structure of Crooks storytelling is fascinating.  It starts with the parents, then shows the family together in their early years, before transitioning to focus on each one of the kids individually at different points in time.  The story builds chronologically, but through the actions and exploits of each individual character before moving to the next one at a later date.  Allowing for a deep dive into each character, developing their story and showcasing their life choices without interruption or distraction from what the others are up to at that moment.  And while there is some overlap of the characters in some of the sections, this book can be viewed as 7 separate short stories that come together to form a complete novel through the common thread of exploring a single family’s life through the years. 

It’s a unique method to keep the intrigue levels high and to create a sense of urgency for the reader to want to move forward in order to learn each character’s story.  Kudos to Lou Berney for coming up with this concept and executing it so well.  It makes for an absorbing and exceedingly interesting reading experience.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Crooks
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Apostle's Cove By William Kent Krueger

Poignant, evocative and completely engrossing, Apostle’s Cove is a corkscrewing mystery that will exercise your brain and stir your emotions.  William Kent Krueger has done it again, delivering another impressive and moving story in this incredible series.  From the littlest details to the big picture, everything is crafted with precision and purpose to achieve storytelling perfection.

Cork O’Connor receives a call from his son Stephen, who tells him that while working for a nonprofit dedicated to freeing wrongfully convicted prisoners, he has come across a murder case involving an Ojibwe man whom Cork helped imprison.  A man who now appears to be innocent.  Cork is compelled to reinvestigate the case but must do so without the help of the very convict he put away, who has found purpose and peace behind bars.  As he digs deeper, old feelings that something was always off about this case arise and are further stoked when he becomes a target by those in Tamarack County who want to leave the past buried.  However, Cork will not be deterred in his quest to find the truth and defend his honor as a law enforcement officer and as a person with a strong moral compass.  Even if there are others who would do him harm to keep him from finally figuring out what happened 25 years ago.

Apostle’s Cove is structured in two parts:  part one is an uninterrupted flashback to the crime and the initial investigation and part two is the current day reexamination of the case.  Which makes this feel like two stories in one book that each provide an undisturbed narrative of the events as they happened, rather than a slow drip of info that goes back and forth between past and present.  Both methods can work, but in this case, it was the perfect choice to grab the reader’s attention and hold it throughout, essentially having us ride shotgun during both investigations and asking us to continuously theorize what really happened and who was involved. 

And it is one hell of a well-written story that has everything you would expect from a Cork O’Connor novel.  Crime, investigations, a divided community across Native American and Caucasian lines, tremendous character development, dangerous situations, gruesome and lewd descriptions balanced out with moments of love and tenderness, and the truth finally revealing itself after a twisting and turning examination where Cork seeks the help and wisdom of others. 

And of course there’s a healthy dose of family, spirituality, emotion and life lessons that make your heart feel full and your soul feel free as you close the back cover.  Marking the twenty-first example of William Kent Kruger’s literary brilliance in telling Cork O’Connor’s stories.  And resulting in the annual confirmation that this is the best, and my favorite, series in print today.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Apostle's Cove
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Washington Field By F.X. Regan

Washington Field goes hard from start to finish, ramping up the intrigue and danger throughout the frenetic-paced and action-packed plot that keeps you guessing until the rousing finish.  F.X. Regan has delivered another exhilarating thriller filled with authenticity and suspense. 

A lobbying firm with deep ties to the Republican National Committee experiences a data breach of their systems followed by one of their IT specialists found murdered in a Washington DC alley.  The potential ramifications to the current President are huge and the FBI won’t touch the case, having been accused of being too “political” and impacting past elections.  But the Assistant Director of the Washington Field Office knows there’s more to this story and pulls in CJ Hawk, a former special agent turned PI, to investigate under the radar.  But Hawk doesn’t do anything quietly and quickly finds himself running and gunning in the middle of a clusterfuck of politics, foreign intelligence services, and unsavory individuals.  And one thing is clear; the truth will only come out if Hawk can find it.  He’ll just have to dodge bullets and protect those he cares about first.

CJ Hawk is the star of the show and one of the more interesting protagonists you’ll find.  He’s driven by mission and morality but has no problem working in the gray areas and dropping bodies when necessary.  However, he’s filthy rich and doesn’t need to be inserting himself into dangerous situations.  Yet he can’t help it, maybe because he’s addicted to the adrenaline rush or possibly because he’s making up for getting booted out of the FBI.  Or it’s just in his blood to thwart evil doers and use his substantial finances to his advantage to do good. 

Regardless of his motivation, he’s the central figure in this non-stop thrill ride that propels readers forward at warp speed with a burning desire to find out what’ll happen next and who’s the ultimate villain in this story.  Washington Station is stimulating, engaging and entertaining from start to finish.  

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Washington Field
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity By M.P. Woodward

Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity is all gas no breaks.  From the Pacific Northwest to the Indian subcontinent, the intrigue is high, the action is hot, and the consequences of mission failure are dire.  M.P. Woodward has delivered another absorbing Clancy-verse thriller, creating a sense of urgency to fly through each suspenseful page in a desperate attempt to see how it all unfolds. 

A wave of brutal killings across the U.S. leads the FBI to a startling connection: the victims were all tied to a past mission that crippled a dangerous terror group, the Umayyad Revolutionary Council. Now, a new leader has emerged, seeking revenge.  Director of National Intelligence Mary Pat Foley authorizes the Campus to strike. John Clark sends ex-Delta operative “Midas” Jankowski on a mission to eliminate the threat deep in the disputed hostile mountain territory of Kashmir.  But when the mission goes sideways, Jack Ryan Jr. must ditch the Indian wedding festivities he’s attending with his fiancée, cross the Himalayan wilderness with a battle tested Mujahadin fighter, save Midas and stop a global crisis before it ignites.

As you would expect, this latest Jack Ryan Jr novel is filled with kinetic action and covert ops that bring some of our all-time favorite characters into the mix to save the day…again.  But it also feels timely and relevant with the disputed region of Kashmir in play and how a terrorist organization can thrive in that environment to create chaos between India and Pakistan, as well as the rest of the world.  Throw in some relationship drama, deception, and life-or-death decision making and you’ll find yourself fully engaged and invested in the characters and the outcome.  And the ending leaves a bit of a cliffhanger that provides multiple avenues for the future direction and development of Jack Ryan Jr.  Leaving us readers eagerly awaiting the next book in the series and contemplating the many possibilities of what could happen next. 

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Terminal Velocity
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Grave Artist By Jeffrey Deaver & Isabella Maldonado

Captivating and intense, The Grave Artist is a suspenseful thriller that grips you by the collar and won’t let you breathe until it concludes.  Jeffrey Deaver and Isabella Maldonado have crafted a second straight banger with great characters, a gripping plot, sinister mystery and emotional attachments.

A newlywed is found dead in what appears to be a tragic accident but later discovered to be the result of foul play.  As agent Carmen Sanchez and her partner Jake Heron investigate, they find other similar crimes that point to an intelligent and methodical serial killer at large.  Dubbing him the Honeymoon Killer, they find the killer revels in the grief of the survivors more so than in the murder itself.   Now, Sanchez and Heron must use every tool and resource at their disposal – blurring the lines of legality – to quickly determine who this individual is before more innocent people are targeted and killed. 

Fast-paced with no wasted movement, The Grave Artist moves with purpose towards the inevitable showdown between good and evil.  Even though the reader knows who the killer is early on, there is plenty of intrigue and twists to keep the story exciting and far from predictable.  The enjoyment is derived through the process of being on the hunt for a serial killer…and having a front row seat to the will they/won’t they romantic undertones of Sanchez and Heron’s relationship.  Throw in a sentient AI program that helps accelerate the investigation and you have a bit of everything you could want in a thriller.

The first two installments of this series have been action-packed, anxiety-inducing and fun as hell.  The result of two great authors teaming up to create something new and entertaining.  Don’t sleep on this series!

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Grave Artist
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Cry Havoc By Jack Carr

Jack Carr knocks this one out of the park!  Cry Havoc is an explosive and emotional thriller with elements of historical fiction that pulls no punches and leaves you shaken as the brutally unforgiving events of war unfold.  It’s a masterclass in blending storytelling with real-life events, expertly blurring the lines between fact and fiction. 

It’s 1968 and the Vietnam War rages on.  The USS Pueblo has been captured by the North Koreans.  The Soviets are supporting the North Vietnamese and recruiting spies everywhere.  And Tom Reece is a Navy SEAL attached to a highly classified group named MACV-SOG, running operations across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.  And Tom is convinced there’s a leak that is giving the enemy key information that puts his team at risk every time they operate.  Thrusting him into the middle of the action on multiple fronts that involve intelligence and military operations, all of which put those he cares about in harm’s way and could get him killed. 

What makes Cry Havoc a special thriller is the amount of care Jack Carr put into crafting this compelling narrative.  It’s obvious that an incredible amount of research was done to get every little detail exactly right, which serves to honor those brave men and women whose sacrifice and heroism inspired different parts of this story.  Giving off a feeling that writing this book was much more than just writing a novel, rather it’s a deeply personal and important mission for Carr.

The result is a highly engaging saga that captures your attention and keeps you hooked throughout, turning you into an addict who can’t flip pages fast enough to get your next fix.  It’s an emotional rollercoaster filled with moments that will make you gasp, exclaim expletives, fist pump and shed tears.  Taking you from the jungle to the streets, waterways and hotels of a war-torn Vietnam to experience the conflict from different perspectives while you cheer on our heroes and pray for the demise of the enemy.

They say war is hell and in Cry Havoc you will see why that is, as you get a front row seat to the underworld of bloody combat operations. 

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Cry Havoc
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Whisper Place By Mindy Mejia

 

The Whisper Place starts as a slow burn, constantly building pressure and intensity before erupting in a panic-induced race to the finish that will have you reading at warp speed with a frantic need to learn the outcome.  Mindy Mejia has crafted an emotionally gripping and severely unsettling thriller that will fray your nerves and exercise your heart. 

Charlie walks into the office of Celina Investigations and drops a large bundle of cash on the desk, asking Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick to find his missing girlfriend.  But there’s a catch – he doesn’t know her real name.  It’s the type of case that Max, a former police officer, and Jonah, a psychic detective, are perfectly suited to explore.  As they investigate and learn about the missing woman’s past, their concern and sense of urgency explode and create a desperate need to find her immediately.  Before it’s too late.

The third book in this series, The Whisper Place does a good job of continued character development to advance the narratives from the two prior books while also representing a good starting point for new readers to jump in.  It’s a thriller that thrives on the actions, emotions and relationships between the individuals in the story, using their relatability to build strong connections with the readers that gets them fully invested in the outcome.  So, when the story kicks into high gear, increasing the danger and the possibility of multiple characters not surviving, you’re all in and have a visceral need to rocket ahead to get to the conclusion.  Hoping for the best but fearing the worst.  A feeling that only the best thrillers can pull off.  And this thriller is one not to be missed.

Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Whisper Place
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Meet The Review Team