Project Icarus By RD Shah

Project Icarus offers a different perspective of world history, one that sounds intriguing in conspiracy theories but deeply scary if it ever came true. 

Ethan Munroe is a smooth hostage negotiator with a violent past in the Special Forces. The thriller opens with an urgent beckoning for Munroe to rush to a crime scene where a serial killer, Icarus, has taken a young girl hostage and his only demand is to speak to Munroe. What Munroe discovers in his frightening and psychologically twisting interaction with Icarus invites him to a shadowy decades-long war between a joint clandestine organization of US, Britain, and French operatives, and a common enemy that survived its supposed extinction at the end of World War II.  

RD Shah paces the narrative swiftly and smoothly as Munroe is thrust into dangerous action-packed situations where he demonstrates his prowess in hand-to-hand combat, weapons handling, evasive driving, and flying a C-130. There is simply no good time to put the book down until it’s finished as each chapter brings along new twists that add layers of excitement as Munroe seeks the truth behind Icarus. 

The narrative is dark and grizzly, befitting the grim nature of the story. The well-established characters on both sides of the global conflict have bucketloads of potential for fleshier story arcs with room for slight improvement in the dialogues to create more natural conversations. With the epilogue ending in a game-changing revelation, RD Shah’s Project Icarus is an exciting addition to the hardcore action-thriller genre with a distinctive flavor.

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A Shot To Kill By Kronos Ananthsimha

A Shot to Kill is a wildly entertaining short story by a budding author with admirable creativity. Kronos Ananthsimha introduces a different breed of anti-heroes in his protagonist, Slade Heller. Heller feels like a character straight out of a Tarantino movie; dark, violent, and bordering on the edge of sociopathic tendencies. A largely unexplored combination of traits in a leading character. Kronos’s genius lies in making the dark protagonist surprisingly appealing despite the scary blend of characteristics.

The short story shows Slade Heller being tasked with assassinating an enforcer for the Colombian drug cartel. Heller’s orders come from his handler in a PMC known as Elysium Group. As he makes a dangerous and classy entry into Florida, his mission is immediately blown and the action kicks into high-gear with the cold efficiency of a well-oiled machine. 

In a span of almost 50 pages, Slade Heller utilizes a variety of weapons to take out his targets. From the armor piercing rounds of FN Five-Seven to kitchen knives and meat cleavers, Heller creates a symphony of bloody unadulterated violence befitting a man of his disposition as a highly trained killer with little remorse. The action sequences are written with a keen focus on easy readability and visualization. 

It is best read between two full-length thrillers for a quick and effective adrenaline shot to the heart to psyche you up for the next book on your TBR list. At the same time, the cryptic hints about Heller’s past coupled with the promise of bigger action in follow-up stories will undoubtedly whet your appetite to read more of this enthralling new enigmatic assassin. 

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Chain Of Command By Marc Cameron

Chain of Command has the distinctive aura of a classic Tom Clancy thriller with a timely story wrapped in captivating multilayered subplots deftly woven to unravel in a nail-biting ending. 

President Jack Ryan faces his most personal threat in the recent years in the form of foreign pharmaceutical giants who, threatened by President Ryan’s agenda to focus on more localized pharmaceutical companies, hatch an audacious scheme to throw a big wrench in the President’s actions by contracting a merciless group of mercenaries to kidnap the First Lady.

Marc Cameron develops the story in smooth and swift fashion, building a binding rapport with the reader through vivid renditions of fan-favorite as well as novel characters sporting realistic and modern agendas. The fresh narrative of pitting a powerful nation against wealthy private citizens reaching out from behind shadows via cutouts is scarily in-keeping with recent real-life examples of private organizations amassing the powers of nations. With a greater focus on President Jack Ryan handling crisis after crisis in the Oval Office, readers are treated to insightfully commanding peeks at the sheer chaos that comes with the job of running a country with strongly divisive policies.

Of course, no Jack Ryan thriller would be complete without authentically crafted action sequences. Marc Cameron is no stranger to writing fast-paced shootouts, a fact to which the gritty combat sequences in the story coupled with captivating tidbits about weaponry and tactics will testify. A cinematic Texas shootout involving a SWAT operative riding a Harley Davidson into the heart of an active shooter situation is particularly delightful and goes a long way to establish a brand-new recruit for The Campus.

Chain of Command is worthy of Tom Clancy’s legacy as a grand reading experience brimming with creativity and authenticity. Marc Cameron has outdone himself with this one!

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The Body Man By Eric P. Bishop

The Body Man is an excellent debut that feels like a throwback to the classic political thrillers but with relatable modern day setting and unique prospect of an individual who keeps the secrets of the President of The United States and protects the spirit of the White House in a somewhat unorthodox but quite necessary manner in this era of information espionage. 

The story kicks off with the abduction of The Body Man, an event that puts into motion an FBI investigation that leads Agents Eli Payne And Katherine Stone deep into a conspiracy that reveals an ugly truth about the administration with a shocking reveal. The political intrigue was developed with an exciting aura of intrigue and mystique that only revealed itself fully towards the end.  With multiple storylines tying in, involving secret assassinations and femme fatales, there is no certainty about who can be trusted. The brilliance of the author is depicted in how he links the perspectives of different characters towards one major goal of telling the exciting race-against-time narrative in a captivating manner from all sides to engage the readers in an immersive experience.

I loved the characters, particularly FBI agents Eli and Katherine. They formed a fun bond together with witty remarks and strong camaraderie that developed gradually over the course of the book. All characters are written with due diligence towards seeming grounded and realistic in today’s modern era and their interactions felt natural and fitting.

The action is crisp and precise, providing necessary technical details to visualize the shootouts in close quarters. From the brutal hand-to-hand combat to gritty shootouts, the action is well executed and displayed for readers to easily visualize.

With all being said, The Body Man is a spectacular political thriller with multiple intriguing subplots to build the mystique for a huge bang! A fan-favorite kickoff to an exciting new series!   

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Game On By Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum may not be the most badass character in the Thrillerverse, but she is a lot of fun to read about and offers bucket loads of laughter and goofiness to help you decompress after a dark story. Game On was an experimental read of sorts for me as I dove into a lighter side of thrillers with romance and quips.

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter whose latest bounty puts her in the crosshairs of a megalomaniac hacker who will go to dangerous lengths to kill a group of geeks who got a peek at his nefarious agenda to cause all sorts of havoc. The case brings her together with Diesel, a former flame and international bounty hunter. What starts off as a competition for Plum soon turns more violent and sinister in nature as she must work with Diesel irrespective of the bounty to catch the hacker before her loved ones pay the ultimate price. 

Janet Evanovich’s witty writing results in a lot of hilarious banter between characters, particularly any and all interactions with Plum’s grandmother, Grandma. The first-person POV helps keep a singular focus on Stephanie, allowing readers to gel with her emotions and thoughts for the journey and keeping things interesting even in the most banal of situations like family dinners. As an untrained bounty hunter, Plum is not quick to action and more prone to reaction, making her relatable as an ordinary human being with only her determination and some great friends to keep her going. From start to finish, there is no dull moment as you solve the case with Stephanie and get involved in crazy shenanigans that will leave you chuckling if not laughing out loud.

If you feel like kicking back with a blast of hilarious entertainment, a few shootouts, and a dangerous grandma, Game On will not disappoint.

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The Last Protector By Simon Gervais

The Last Protector speaks volumes for Simon Gervais’s skillful approach to writing a realistic protagonist with a balanced appetite for action and emotions in a multi-layered storyline. 

Clayton White is a Secret Service Agent who is tasked with protecting the daughter of the Vice President elect with whom he is in a secret relationship. When an attempt is made on her life, the Vice President elect comes to Clayton with a Carte Blanche to take out the culprits. Unknown to White, he is being manipulated to cover up a dirty secret that will have devastating consequences for various intelligence communities around the world, and particularly the Vice President elect himself. 

The narrative unravels quickly but smoothly without rushing the impactful revelations. While the conspiracy is not kept under wraps from the readers, it serves to present a transformative journey for Clayton White whose world turns upside down with emotionally charged twists and turns. The conspiracy-laden fast-paced narrative is augmented by adrenaline-pumping action sequences of stellar quality. Simon Gervais ensures to make Clayton White formidable but not invincible, creating tense shootouts and fisticuffs in which the outcomes are not automatically awarded to White.

With a refreshingly ingenious modern-day storyline, intriguingly believable characters, and a relentless pace, Simon Gervais has struck gold with a brand-new series that has immense potential to be explored. The ending subtly hints at a deeper dive into the conspiracy in the next Clayton White thriller, promising big plans for this franchise.

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Her Name Is Knight By Yasmin Angoe

Her Name is Knight packs its strongest punch in unflinching descriptions of brutality and horror inflicted upon innocent souls, matched only by the swift vengeance of the hardened survivors. This is not a traditional espionage story. Yasmin Angoe’s writing emphasizes the emotional core of the protagonist who goes through unspeakable terror and comes out with a mission as an operative of a clandestine agency to punish the wicked and present a united front for all Africans.  When faces from her past come back to haunt her, Nena, codenamed Echo, has to utilize her cutthroat training in the dark arts of mortal combat to confront her demons and put an end to them.

The supercharged narrative wonderfully weaves between past and present timelines to give readers an impactful insight into Nena’s beautiful character development in time with the twisty unfolding events of present day. The action is crisp and gritty with fast paced shootouts and hand-to-hand combat sequences.  However, with a powerful emotional driving force behind the story, Nena’s interactions with her family and loved ones could have flowed more smoothly and gradually to hit the perfect vibe for such a dark story. 

Exhibiting promising potential for future stories, Yasmin Angoe marks her debut with one of the darkest thrillers to date with a winning combination of violent action and gut-wrenching emotions. It is definitely not for the faint of heart when it comes to reading and imagining the gruesome sexual abuse Nena goes through.

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Better Off Dead By Lee Child And Andrew Child

Better Off Dead is a different breed of Jack Reacher stories with the open-reins setting of a small deserted town bordering Mexico but a much larger-than-expected scale plot that involves a potential attack on the FBI during Veteran’s Day. I went into the thriller expecting a more crime-oriented narrative but the derivation is an understandable change of pace to keep the stories fresh in a long running series.

Reacher is hopping from town to town where he comes across a woman apparently stuck in a crashed Jeep. On closer inspection, he finds out the woman is actually waiting to ambush a few unsavory characters who have information on where her brother is being held. When Reacher realizes the depth of the matter, he steps in to help the woman, although halfheartedly at first because the evidence leads to an enigmatic business owner in a sleepy town whose employees are more threatened by him than by Reacher, putting the latter in a new pickle where his considerable size and threats seem to fall short of getting the job done. With a desperation unlike any before, Reacher must identify the big baddie and stop him by unraveling a string of shocking twists and turns using his wits and deductive thinking before time runs out for him and many other innocents.

The action sequences are typical Reacher-styled with an almost slow-motion perception of the hand-to-hand combat sequences that expertly display Reacher’s prowess. Some moves seem a bit unorthodox but make sense once we take Reacher’s huge physique into consideration. The storyline is a unique take on terror attacks but feels a little out of place in a Jack Reacher thriller where more grounded plots work better for a drifter protagonist who’s essentially a dinosaur in today’s technology driven world. The advantage of Reacher’s old school approach is wonderfully capitalized upon by the authors to explain complex matters such as transponders used in explosive materials in layman’s terms to cater to all audiences irrespective of their depth of knowledge on the matter. 

Better Off Dead is an adrenaline-pumping read from the very first chapter as Reacher goes to town on the bad guys, augmented by a unique storyline and the trademark badassery of Jack Reacher. Apart from the story dragging a bit and a somewhat anticlimactic resolution, it’s a fun read that offers tons of entertainment for long term fans of Jack Reacher.

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Security Day By Matt Cricchio

Matt Cricchio’s factual account, Security Day, goes behind enemy lines in an unconventional but necessary manner that gives essential insights into the Afghan conflict from a domestic and thoughtful perspective. 

Set in Uruzgan Province, the book focuses on a weekly convoy of shipments protected by vicious warlord General Mir Hamza Khan. When he gets a whiff of America’s plan for withdrawing, he begins to play a dangerous game that ensnarls him, a rookie intelligence agent, and an Afghan man desperate to provide for his family. The result is a devastatingly intense chain of events with cutthroat and devious espionage that ratchets up the nail-biting quite a few notches.

What truly separates Matt Cricchio’s debut from most other espionage thrillers is the deep-rooted authenticity of the subject matter, from the streets of the Afghan province to the intricate subtleties of the regional dialect in spoken communication. We see a ground-level view of the conflicts from varying and all-encompassing perspectives that lend unique contributions to the grand scheme of the narrative.

The grounded espionage-laden landscape doesn’t leave a lot of room for over-the-top action. Instead, the thrills spawn from the slow-burn pace of the story, always accompanied by a sense of foreboding danger and catastrophe that keeps you reading late in the night because you can’t help not knowing what will happen next. Each character and situation are poised with a keen awareness of existence in the real world, elevating the long-lasting impact of the narrative.

Security Day is a mesmerizing and intriguing account of the Afghanistan-US conflict from a boots-on-the-ground outlook covering both sides of the proverbial coin in a thoughtful and respectful modus operandi. This debut is packed with clear indicators of the author’s brilliant potential to offer the thrillerverse more of his authentic and gritty stories that put premium emphasis on the characters, a thing of rarity in contemporary thrillers.

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The Lion's Paw By Stephen England

The Lion’s Paw is pulse-pounding storytelling at its finest. Stephen England’s meticulously researched action thriller puts characters front and center as they steer through the morally gray areas of an urban warzone.

Mossad Field Officer Mohamed Taferi is tasked with going behind enemy lines in the bullet-ridden heart of Syria to gather time-sensitive intelligence about Russia’s brand-new Su-57 stealth fighter deployed for field testing. Going undercover with jihadists to lead the mission against Russians, Taferi sets on his most dangerous mission yet, hunted by Russian Spetsnaz and Syrian Special Forces, with no true ally of his own. 

In true Stephen England fashion, the action in The Lion’s Paw is spectacular, constant, and authentic with the revitalization of guerrilla warfare pitting a rag-tag team of rebels against the technologically superior Russian BMPs and helicopter gunships. The low-key approach to warfare brings a refreshing twist to a genre dominated by high tech gadgets and weaponry, resulting in a beautiful cacophony of brutal and relentless violence befitting a violent conflict.

While the action is an important aspect of the thriller, the narrative never loses focus of the key element, the characters. Often, thrillers depicting large scale military conflicts tend to lose focus of the characters on the ground firing the shots. Stephen England cleverly avoids this pitfall and manages to create a multitude of characters, as alive and life-like as in the best of stories that stick with you long after you’re done reading them. There is a large variety of characters, from CIA and Mossad overseeing the operation all the way to the rebels and the Russians and Syrians, and yet each character shines in their roles with unique motivations that readers can relate to even for the vilest and most misguided of characters. 

The Lion’s Paw is a heartfelt story that addresses the gut-wrenching conflicts in Syria with a warm emotional core and heavy hitting action, the combination of which creates a rare gem that must be read at all costs.

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The Nameless Ones By John Connolly

The Nameless Ones was my first foray into the enchantingly dark writing of John Connolly. Jumping headfirst into the series without having read the previous books, I was highly impressed that I could easily connect with the characters and their emotions, undoubtedly the result of Connolly’s masterful and powerful narration that flowed elegantly from character to character.

The story opens up with a gory execution of a family by Serbian gangsters, the details of which will haunt a reader for days. With the butchered family being close acquaintances to the formidable assassin, Louis, he sets off on a rampage to track down and terminate the vicious criminals responsible for the atrocity with extreme prejudice, if only things would be that straightforward. The path to retribution is marked with numerous complications and unforeseen consequences that keep the late-night lamp burning. The narrative splits the focus between Louis on the hunt with his friends, and the bad guys feeling the noose tighten around their necks as they are hunted not only by Louis but by other more sinister parties, making for an edge-of-your-seats storytelling where it’s difficult if not impossible to predict what might happen next. The reader experience is augmented by not only the multi-layered present-day exploits but also real-life historical events that shed necessary world-building emphasis on the characters to coincide with their realistic albeit twisted motivations in the case of the bad guys. In addition to the white-knuckled revenge ride of grim proportions, there is an eerie supernatural element to the narrative that solidifies The Nameless Ones as a rare blend of thrillers that leave a lasting impression, especially once that last line hits you like a freight train.

A fresh change of pace and vibe from the usual thrillers, The Nameless Ones is guaranteed to keep you entertained and each succeeding chapter hooks you in stronger than the last.

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Appointment In Tehran By James Stejskal

Appointment in Tehran reads more like a very interesting factual account of a major geopolitical event for Americans rather than a fictional story. The backdrop for James Stejskal’s second novel in The Snake Eater series is the capture of the US Embassy in Tehran by local protestors. In response, US forces are authorized to undertake a quick mission to rescue the Americans trapped in the embassy with a slight twist. In the chaos of the embassy takeover, a Russian agent discovers the identity of a US operative responsible for a tactical nuke hidden in Tehran. Along with rescuing embassy hostages, the special Snake Eater members are tasked with infiltrating enemy lines and extracting the nuke before either Iranians or Russians capture and use it against America. 

The storyline moves quickly and crisply, introducing the characters with their specializations before getting into the heart of the operation. In keeping with the authentic tone of the story, the first half of the book is focused on realistic operational planning and firearms training. The emphasis on planning and training gets readers better acquainted with the characters before we see them in action against the Russians in a grand showdown with helicopter gunships and giant explosions as both Americans and Russians rush to get their hands on the nuke first. The action is saved for the later parts of the book as a tactical approach for tensions to simmer as US forces in Tehran evade adversaries often by the skin of their teeth in order to prevent their plans from being compromised.

With commendable emphasis on a realistic outlook on military operations, the one downside was that the characters were not fleshed out as well as they could have been. Apart from that, this thriller is sure to entertain fans who enjoy a realistic detailed-oriented account of planning and executing military operations.   

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A Time For Monsters By Gareth Worthington

A Time For Monsters is an incredibly dark and depraved story of a woman’s path to rid the world of abusive men by violent means. Gareth Worthington kicks off the narrative without wasting any time as readers are introduced to the main character, Reyna Blackburn, who in the first chapter is coolly admiring her handiwork of murdering an abusive husband at a crime scene. The grim introduction sets the darkly sinister vibe of the thriller. Soon enough, a weary detective is put on the hunt for Reyna who is known as The King Klubb Killer for bludgeoning the victims with a Kubb piece. What would have been a simple obstacle for Reyna to avoid turns personal when she learns about the detective’s dark past, setting her on a collision course from which she may not escape as unscathed as she had planned.

Worthington masterfully paces the story to smoothly explore both the past and the present for Reyna without losing momentum. It took me less than 12 hours to finish the book. A highly laudable component of the narrative is Worthington’s unfiltered exposition of the inexplicable torment that feels horrifyingly grounded in the current world with regards to domestic abuse. This insight helps with understanding the necessity of Reyna’s motivations and actions, giving you a front row seat into the mind of a killer. The flashbacks are just as essential for the nerve-wracking twists and turns as the author slowly unravels the entire plan that Reyna had concocted before setting on her path for retribution, never revealing enough to give away the full picture prematurely. The result is a highly satisfying albeit saddening resolution.

Nordic crime thrillers have a flair for the noir theme where characters are deeply flawed and broken which adds to the unpredictability of what the characters might do.  The cloudy and chilly setting of Oslo is perfect for a narrative as grim as A Time For Monsters. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I can definitely testify that this is a bonafide unique serial killer story, one where you root more for the killer than the cops for a change. A must-read, hands down!

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The Kill Box By Rip Rawlings

The Kill Box reads like a fascinating guidebook for war strategies of the modern century but with a cruel twist where the US forces are outgunned by the technologically superior Russians. H. Ripley Rawlings quickly sets the foreboding theme for the story in the beginning pages as an American patrolling force in the Russian Occupied West Virginia is quickly obliterated due to superior Air Force and a deadly sniper hell-bent on killing anyone who appears in her crosshairs. With a bigger plan in the works by Russian forces, it’s only a matter of time before Russia claims complete victory over America unless Lieutenant Colonel Tyce Asher can outthink the Russians and stop the complete invasion of his home.

The narrative includes some explosive skirmishes between the two opposing forces, written with the keen expertise of someone who has extensively studied all and implemented at least a few of the army techniques found in the story. The concept of a supercomputer being able to predict the outcome of battlefields is extremely cool and explored in a mythical fashion that’s all the more fun to think about. The Kill Box also introduces a femme fatale sniper who remains somewhat of an enigma throughout the narrative, perhaps to be explored more in the next installment. Her ruthlessness is matched only by her prowess behind a sniper rifle. Speaking of enigmas, there are quite a few in this narrative that come together to create a breathtaking cliffhanger. From mole hunts to supercomputer origins leading back to the Second World War, Rawlings has opened up a whole gate of potential goldmine for follow up stories.

Packed with gritty large-scale combat, entertaining characters, and lots of mysteries set up to be unfolded in the sequel, The Kill Box is a must-read for fans of hardcore military thrillers with chilling descriptions of battlefield carnage and all the emotional and physical baggage that follows.

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Whitesands By Johann Thorsson

Whitesands is a fascinating hybrid of genres combining the nitty gritty elements of a murder investigation thriller with the unsettling aura of horror and supernatural stories, resulting in a highly enjoyable narrative of realistic characters facing not-so-common demons.

Johann Thorsson’s debut novel introduces John Dark, a hardened world-weary detective obsessed with solving the biggest case of his life; the disappearance of his daughter. As the leads turn up dry for the next two years, he fights against the notion that he may never see his little girl again. He and his partner, Monique Moreno, are assigned to a homicide case where a husband has stabbed his wife to death. The only catch is, the husband has no recollection of ever doing it. Not so far away, a diagnosed schizophrenic, Daniel Hope, starts to see spirits of the departed. With a supernatural twist to the murder investigation, Dark and Hope’s paths cross and nothing will be the same for either of them. 

Johann Thorsson’s creative writing style is an absolute delight to read. With a strong understanding about his target audience, he skillfully balances grim characters with paranormal occurrences to drive the story with strong emotions written in beautiful fashion so much so that it seems somewhat plausible that love just might accomplish the impossible. The mystique behind the bigger picture is preserved until the very end for a quiet moment of shuddering contemplation where we realize the true culprit’s identity was hinted at all along. Whitesands is a building block to a much bigger overarching storyline and Johann Thorsson ensures that the ending does not wrap anything haphazardly but rather presents a sinister cliffhanger that left me speechless and desperate for the sequel.

Whitesands is perhaps best read in the darkness of the night when the moon shines the brightest and the imagination runs the wildest. With a cinematic vibe to the storytelling, I can easily imagine a tv show based on this impressive debut. This is certainly one of the best thrillers I have read this year and an excellent choice for those seeking a bone-chilling experience behind the safety of a book.

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City On Fire By Don Winslow

City on Fire is a tremendously captivating crime thriller that goes back to the days of Irish and Italian mobs in the 80s when the tempers were high and blood was in the air. Don Winslow kicks off his latest thriller with a beautifully described fleeting moment of peace and tranquility for the characters before a spark lights the fuse for a bloody war between the two crime syndicates in a desperate tug of war for power. Once you turn the first page, all bets are off.

Danny Ryan yearns for a better life than being a longshoreman and muscle for the Irish crime syndicate in Providence, Rhode Island. His grounded thoughts for self-actualization and freedom relate to the desire in every man and woman to reach out for something beyond what they settle for in absence of better opportunities. His seemingly mundane destiny takes a big detour when a woman upsets the thinly held peace between the Irish and the Italians, leading to a small scale tit-for-tat matched altercations that quickly escalate into an out-of-control conflict once the first body drops. There is simply no time to rest once bullets start flying and hits are sanctioned on both sides of the syndicate along with double crosses and corrupt police officials, the fusion of all elements creating a highly unstable and unpredictable powder keg of explosive events.

City on Fire’s macabre narrative owes its gut-wrenching brutality to the highly grounded and realistic characters who go through horrible situations. Don Winslow writes his stories and characters in shades of gray where battle rages between evil and lesser evil. Powerful and natural dialogues accompany believably selfish drives befitting imperfect characters, giving the story a distinctive non-fiction flavor. It appeals to fans of crime thrillers with corrupt souls and dark events as much as it appeals to anyone who simply picks up the book with no idea of what to expect; Don Winslow writes for the readers regardless of what genre one prefers. A magnificently horrifying thriller that ingeniously sets up a brand-new crime saga with scope and grit unparalleled by any other series except Don Winslow’s The Cartel trilogy.

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Enemy At The Gates By Kyle Mills

Enemy at the Gates is not only one of the best political espionage thrillers of the year, but also one of the most impactful Mitch Rapp stories to date. Kyle Mills continues to push Rapp out of his comfort zone in spectacularly grounded ways with uncharted territory in both personal and operational aspects. Once the first page is turned, there is no putting it down until the very last sentence leaves you heartbroken. 

Set months after Mitch Rapp saved America from the harsh events of Total Power, he is brought back into the fold when Irene Kennedy asks him to assist the world’s first trillionaire in rescuing a kidnapped American virologist whose pioneering work poses a threat to global pharmaceutical empires. Rapp undertakes the task in the beautifully badass fashion typical of the legendary protagonist. What was supposed to have been a simple rescue mission, cascades into a huge conspiracy with shifting allegiances and going straight up to the White House. With an old-fashioned mole hunt involving deceptive messages and staged events spearheaded by Mitch Rapp off the radar, the suspense keeps you reading well past midnight and long after the sunrise. Will Rapp be able to work his way up the conspiracy chain or is this enemy too powerful for Rapp’s own good?

The twists and turns keep coming at high speed but there is one particular twist that absolutely rocks the whole narrative off its hinges as Kyle Mills boldly sets up a deeply impacting storyline for the following books to continue, a fresh change from the previous just as excellent stories that were wrapped up in one book. Enemy at the Gates features a strong political backdrop reminiscent of Vince Flynn’s works, but this time Kyle Mills revitalizes the theme with a grander sinister agenda for The US President in tune with the current events, the likes of which have not been explored thoroughly in political thrillers today.  

The mole hunt also presented an enthralling and personal vibe that brought back the charm of old school misdirection with modern precedent in espionage.  Kyle Mills ages Rapp gracefully as an operative both physically and emotionally, not so abruptly as to suck the fun out of the creative action sequences but enough to see the cracks in Rapp’s demeanor as a weathered operative who has been living a perilous life of fake identities and burned friends for far too long, setting the roots for some unique follow-up stories. 

Enemy at the Gates is concrete proof of Kyle Mills’ ingenuity at keeping Mitch Rapp fresh and relevant so long into the running series. Mitch Rapp has been my hero from the moment I read American Assassin and I have nothing but immense gratitude for Kyle Mills for never letting me down as a huge fan. I can’t wait to read what Rapp does next.

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Last Target Standing By Jason Kasper

Last Target Standing is a surprising treat for military action thriller fans best described as the much more realistic and interesting version of “The Expendables”, with constant shootouts and a one-setting premise utilized to near perfection by Jason Kasper.

After the events of The Enemies of My Country, a ragtag team of violently talented CIA contractors are on the bloodthirsty hunt for a person of interest who had concocted an attack on American soil on the 4th of July. Their mission takes them into the treacherous rugged mountains of China’s Xinjiang Province, an area filled with opium smugglers and Chinese secret agents. The story plays out entirely around the team’s insertion into the region and the subsequent mission that is plagued with the infamous Murphy’s Law as the team contends with twisty accidents and constant showdowns with enemy combatants, resulting in detailed adrenaline-pumping action sequences written with razor-sharp authenticity that is found only in the finest of action thrillers. 

Jason Kasper’s experiences as a former Green Beret immensely help to set a captivating tone for remarkable characters that fit the real-world modern-day escapades of deniable assets sent behind enemy lines. Far from cliched tropes, each member of the CIA contractor team is distinctive and extremely fun albeit dark to read. The narrative changes POV frequently between the different characters to help readers connect with each team member in a unique fashion. The dynamic nature of the team’s mission with utmost unpredictability hooks readers in from the very beginning.

With an arching storyline that is preserved to be told over multiple books, Last Target Standing entertains with high action and tense situations brimming with realistic challenges for the “good” guys to overcome, and a fascinating backdrop ripped right from the most current worldwide news.

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KGB Banker By William Burton McCormick And John Christmas

KGB Banker is a riveting and suspenseful story with a powerful message to do the right thing even when the odds are stacked against you. 

Financial executive Bob Vanags yearns to explore his heritage tracing back to the country of Latvia. He takes a job at the biggest bank in-country, enticed by the bank’s promise of cleaning up its public image. When he starts digging into the company’s history, he comes across dangerous revelations that mark him for death by shadowy killers and corrupt oligarchs in Moscow operating hand in hand with the bank. Bob and his son must uncover the conspiracy, working with a tenacious journalist who is as lethal as she is resourceful in chasing down leads for a killer story. With treacherous twists and turns, there is no moment to relax as William McCormick keeps the momentum racing.

There’s a strong sense of realism resonating from both the characters and how the story is framed. The inherent dangers of whistleblowing are highlighted without laying down any unbelievable safety nets. The narrative unwraps at a steady pace, spending appropriate time on explaining the motivations of the characters without lingering on any unnecessary points. The action picks up in the second half as the conspirators deem Bob a threat and take drastic measures to take him out of the picture.  The setting of Bob and his son on the run along with the journalist is imbued with striking visuals of Nordic locales where you can feel the chilly breeze in your hair as you read through the pages at breakneck pace.

For die-hard fans of conspiracy thrillers with plausible scenarios and appealing characters, KGB Banker is a must-read dose of high adrenaline in the world of financial empire.

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Pantheon 2: Ares & Athena By K. R. Paul

Pantheon 2: Ares and Athena is a superb follow-up to KR Paul’s strong debut that incorporated cinematic science fiction elements into the modern day espionage-political setting. 

Set immediately after the events of the first book, Valerie Hall, AKA Athena, is recovering from a gunshot wound after encountering Russian operatives like her with the special ability to “jump” or teleport. At the same time, a tough-as-nails Marine Murphy Hawkins is pinned down by the enemy under heavy fire when the stress unlocks his latent ability to teleport his men to safety. With this new discovery, the Pantheon organization sets to work on molding the initially stubborn and not so likable character into an interesting and likable personality. While Pantheon is focused on the new recruit, a power-hungry senator with twisted views on national security hatches a plot with white supremacists to carry out terrorist attacks in an effort to increase defense funding, particularly to militarize Pantheon. Can Pantheon prevent the attack on innocents at the risk of exposing their true nature to the public? 

Paul offers gradual and impactful character development and a roller coaster of emotions. The novel builds a connection between readers and characters, so the gut-wrenching twists and the unforeseen ending hits hard.

An exquisite aspect of the Pantheon series that KR Paul has beefed up immensely in this sequel is the surprisingly grounded portrayal of the teleportation superpowers. Instead of making the superhuman characters immediately all powerful, KR Paul highlights the vulnerabilities that come with having the ability to go anywhere in the blink of an eye, particularly the extraordinary exertion on the body, while incrementally introducing further abilities to keep the ball rolling with exciting revelations and surprises as the Pantheon operators discover themselves in well-written emotional crises uniquely suited to each character’s predicaments.

Culminating in a game-changing emotionally intense finale, Pantheon 2 is a highly entertaining read that follows a great recipe for creating a grounded sci-fi military-styled thriller with roots for more grand action-packed showdowns in the future.  

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Purchase Pantheon 2: Ares & Athena
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

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Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen