Title: Bury My Heart at Redtree
Author: Patrick Chalfant
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Hawk Publishing Group
Pages: 297
ISBN: 1-930709-53-6
Price: $23.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is a highly unusual psychological thriller set in Oklahoma. Although it happens in modern times, there is much connectivity to old Native American ways. Three cross-dressing young men go on a murdering spree of white businessmen who have been investing in dangerous schemes to acquire Indian properties cheaply by salting them with deadly chemicals. It becomes a race against time and a professional outsider hitman as to what justice will be done to whom. We rated this excellent and surprising thriller a very high four hearts.
Title: The Loch
Author: Steve Alten
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Tsunami Press
Pages: 385
ISBN: 0-9761659-0-2
Price: $25.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Zachary Wallace, marine biologist and transplanted Scot, returns to his boyhood home on Loch Ness to battle a monster of an estranged father and the Loch Ness monster of legend. He also finds himself battling a secret Scottish society and a morbid fear of water brought about by two previous drownings/resuscitations. Inadequate sexual performance becomes linked to the phobia of water, despite the interest from a gorgeous childhood acquaintance.
The plot is believable and extraordinarily complex. The characters are well developed and surprising. The settings are very visual. This is a thriller to be remembered. We rated it five hearts.
Title: The Assignment
Author: Mark Andrew Olsen
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Bethany House Publishers
Pages: 464
ISBN: 0-7642-2817-X
Price: $12.99
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is a novel to rival The DaVinci Code. It also reminded me of the old Casca series of the 1970s and 80s. Imagine Christ raises Lazarus from the dead, which makes him immortal. Christ gives him an assignment to constantly fight Satan and his minions until Christ returns. Now add in a secret society of Catholic priests who are dedicated to support Lazarus in this very challenging assignment. Finally, stir in a beautiful young women who seems to have a mysterious connection to this immortal, and you have the recipe for a non-stop thriller.
The author writes a smoothly plausible story. He includes a religious perspective without being preachy. The concepts he presents are fascinating and well plotted. His characters are involved in a good/evil struggle from the start and the journey to the ending will keep you on the edge of your seat and awake until its finished. We rated this a solid five hearts.
Title: The Bridles of Armageddon
Author: Keith Madsen
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: A New Sea Publishing
Pages: 361
ISBN: 1-932903-25-9
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This last-days speculative fiction work is unique in that it transposes the predictions of the Book of Revelations onto America. An evangelical demagogue puts together a credible homeland terrorist threat to conduct civil war against what he perceives to be a Satanic-inspired national government and modern society. He is able to recruit competent military leaders and forces from America’s own military—to include nuclear and biological weapons. What follows is the destruction of San Francisco and Washington DC. Finally, he plans to spread an Ebola virus through suicide carriers throughout the country in a final Armageddon. Protagonist conservative journalist, Drew Covington, and a liberal school teacher must somehow put a stop to ever-escalating levels of threats and violence. We rated this work four hearts.
Title: Bullets for Ballots
Author: Everett Anson
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Emidra Publishing
Pages: 310
ISBN: 0-97233569-5-9
Price: $12.95
Publishing Date: June 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Entrepreneur, Steve Jordan, kisses his wife goodbye and boards a flight from Sacramento to Denver and Austin, Texas. A reserve Air Force pilot accidentally flies his military jet into the airliner. Steve is sucked out of the plane at over 400 mph and over 20,000 feet above the earth. Strapped into his seat, Steve comes to in pain but alive and on the ground in the Sierras. Why did the Lord spare his life? He comes to believe it is meant for him to champion the causes of campaign financing and the national debt as a third party candidate for President. When two of his older children are blown up by a car bomb meant for Steve, his campaign suddenly shifts into high gear, until Steve is accused of engineering their deaths as a political trick.
The author does an excellent job of pointing out what is wrong with our politics and our morals in today’s society. While the author is fighting Republicans, Democrats, and well-meaning militias, the author is pointing our political weaknesses and their possible solutions. We rated this book five hearts.
Title: Double Vision
Author: Randall Ingermanson
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Bethany House
Pages: 284
ISBN: 0-7642-2733-5
Price: $12.99
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Take a highly functional autistic computer whiz, Dillon, a extremely bright biophysicist, Rachel, and a novelist wannabe and Chief Financial Officer of CypherQuanta Corporation, Keryn, and bring them together on a computer development project that will make the company and them billions and change the whole face of the code-breaking community. Add romance, miscommunications, and outside interests such as the National Security Agency, and you have the ingredients for a fantastic yet humorous techno thriller.
The author throws all these balls up in the air, keeps them juggling, and manages not to drop a single one. The points of view through Dillon’s eyes are especially interesting because of his literal-mindedness. Love, science, and intrigue come together in a wonderful combination. We rated this book five hearts.
Title: So Help Me God
Author: Larry D. Thompson
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: BookSurge, LLC
Pages: 449
ISBN: 1-59457-761-7
Price: $26.99
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is an excellent legal thriller, which deals with abortion, politics, and using others to promote one’s causes. A girl is raped, decides on her own to have an abortion, and almost dies from the complications. The parents decide to sue the doctor and the abortion clinic and a TV evangelist enters into the suit as a way of attacking Roe v. Wade. The opposing sides hire the two best trial lawyers in the State of Texas.
The author, a highly experienced trial lawyer, portrays dramatic courtroom scenes on one hand and the human relations among members of a competitive career field on the other. His characters are fascinating, and the plot’s twists and turns are unpredictable and intriguing. We rated this book a very high four hearts.
Title: Terror Cell
Author: Joseph H. Badal
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Seven Locks Press
Pages: 364
ISBN: 1-931643-45-8
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This political terrorist thriller uses the backdrop of the Olympic games in Greece coupled with the middle eastern terrorist threat. Veteran CIA Special Ops Officer, Bob Danforth, and his wife are ready for him to climb out of the saddle and retire. The assassination of the Athens Station Chief brings him back into the field. Not only does he have to fight the terrorists, but a look-the-other-way Greek government that has been co-opted by the bad guys. To add to the tension is the looming Olympics contest.
The author adds his extensive knowledge of how the intell community works with the emotional conflict between an old war horse and his long suffering wife. This makes for believable tension as the protagonist is pulled this way and that by duty, common sense, obligations, and love. We ranked this book five hearts.
Title: Trinity
Author: William Denisi
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Publish America
Pages: 390
ISBN: 1-4137-2455-8
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
When does one plus one equal three? When one adds the urban myth of kidney harvesting with a terrorist dirty nuclear bomb scenario. This fast paced thriller features a deputy sheriff, Mike Sullivan, who has been a past government covert warrior of some type and his independently wealthy sidekick, Charlie Gomez, racing against time to uncover an organ theft operation, which is being used to fund a Christmas Eve dirty bomb attack by Islamist terrorists.
The author is a highly experienced law enforcement professional with a military intelligence background. He brings his world onto the pages of his book in an exempliary fashion. The plot is feasible and will keep the reader on edge. We rated this book four hearts.
Title: Devil May Care
Author: Riley Evans
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Storywright
Pages: 278
ISBN: 0-9741462-0-X
Price: $13.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is a story of the heartland—Kansas. State Police Investigator, Nikki O’Keefe, crosses swords with TV Evangelical and body builder, Jack Jackson, to determine where a grave site full of dead babies came from. The lines of good and evil are crossed by local Satan-worshipers and definitely smudged by the so-called good guys. Nikki is assisted by a sympathetic local sheriff and a hot-shot fellow investigator who comes from her own Kansas City Italian neighborhood.
Nikki is torn constantly by the glass ceiling, the good-old-boy network, and the crazy locals. The author shows us that there is a lot of craziness out there, even in the heartland. We rated this book four hearts.
Title: Revolution No. 9
Author: Neil McMahon
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Harper Collins Publishers
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0-06-052918-0
Price: $23.95
Publishing Date: Jan 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Dr. Carroll Monks is kidnapped by a fringe group which includes his estranged son to provide medical assistance to the leader’s four-year-old diabetic son. While kept as a hostage in the forests of Northern California, he is exposed to the leader’s twisted way of looking at American society. The leader, while ordering the murders of affluent people of behind-the-scenes influence, does so for a political purpose. Over time, the doctor falls victim to the Stockholm syndrome and begins to identify with the groups cause—Revolution No. 9, named after a rock song from the 60s.
The pace of this story is frenetic. The author has a way of drawing the reader in to the point of maybe understanding and even agreeing with where the “bad guys” are coming from. This is edge-of-the-seat writing at its best. We scored it five hearts.
Title: Winter in Kandahar
Author: Steven E. Wilson
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Hailey-Grey Books
Pages: 460
ISBN: 0-9729480-0-7
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is an excellent thriller that centers on bio-engineered germ warfare directed toward a specific major population group within Afghanistan and Pakistan. Written by a medical doctor, the scientific aspects of gene manipulation are both understandable and believable. We are shown the centuries-old conflicts and grudges between different tribes in the region and why lasting peace is so unlikely to happen. The roles of the CIA and US special operations in the area and throughout the world and the lifestyles required of their families allows the reader insight into this covert world.
The book’s surprise ending is both entertaining and poignant. We rated this book a high four hearts.
Title: Brothers in Arms
Author: Marcus Wynne
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Forge Books
Pages: 352
ISBN: 0-765-30782-0
Price: $25.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
The author of this excellent terrorist thriller has accomplished a very difficult task. He has used two different lead protagonists from two previously highly successful thrillers and brought them together in the same story. Both ex-special operations experts, Charly Payne and Dale Miller, coincidently find themselves living in the same Minneapolis neighborhood, each enjoying the sun and drinking coffee across the street from one another. Two cars pull up to disgorge a bodyguard team and its protectee. Both immediately take note, and in so doing, notice that the other is packing a gun under each one’s shirt. Suddenly two beautiful girls show up on a small cycle, distracting the guards long enough to draw small machine guns and kill the entire party. As the girls complete their assassination mission, Charley and Dale draw their weapons and attempt to bring down the escaping ladies. The men introduce themselves and learn they both are consultants to the police department. From this beginning comes a non-stop, edge of the seat thriller that pairs the two against Middle Eastern bio-terrorists with every twist and quirk we have come to expect from this highly experienced author.
Marcus Wynne is the real deal in the special ops world. His real life past shows forth brilliantly as he walks the reader through tradecraft and street smarts, while demonstrating the close camaraderie of the special ops world. It was interesting to see how he handled the two strong lead characters in a realistic and meaningful way. This is thriller writing at its best. We rated it a solid five hearts.
Title: The Blue Cove Incident
Author: Will Harris
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: The Writers’ Collective
Pages: 512
ISBN: 1594110212
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: J. Patrick Fitzhugh
Rating:
This terrorist thriller written by a retired Special Forces Command Sergeant Major and intelligence operative, smacks of the real thing. Protagonist Jake Walker, a retired SF expert and writer of novels, is asked to investigate the murder of an old comrade’s daughter. As soon as he arrives on the scene in Alabama, he sets up shop in a rented houseboat. Soon after, a sniper tries to kill him. Playing possum, he gets the drop on his attacker, but is forced to shoot for his life. Later he learns the woman who died trying to kill him was the mother of the murdered daughter. Things really begin falling apart when he discovers the mother is an operative running a local kiddie-porn ring and working for international terrorists. It suddenly becomes a race against time to locate a weapon of mass destruction.
The author uses an incredible array of wild and crazy characters that come on board to help Jake–some from his past and new friends as well. From an ex-vice cop female romantic interest, to a playboy pilot, to a sadistic ex-CIA assassin and interrogator, this team with many others, fights against Al Queda terrorists bent on mass destruction. This is a fast paced action novel that measures up with the best of the genre. We rated it five hearts.
Title: Managed Murders
Author: Thomas Summerhill
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Plum Publishing
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0-9724706-1-1
Price: $23.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Managed Murders is a medical thriller/mystery. The author provides conflict between an ethical doctor and greedy corporate health management executives. At the same time, his wife has left him for another woman, creating a battle for custody of their son. In his bitterness towards women, he angrily makes some harsh, generalized statements about a couple of his terminal female patients, wishing they would just die. His shocked nurse turns state’s evidence when these same patients begin dying off mysteriously. He suddenly finds himself in custody as a murder suspect, having to depend on a woman lawyer for his defense.
The author uses his experience as a doctor and a care management executive to good effect in his writing. His protagonist is very believable. We rated this book three hearts.
Title: Mean Woman Blues
Author: Julie Smith
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Tom Doherty Associates (Forge)
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0-765-30552-6
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Judy Schuler
Rating:
New Orleans police detective, Skip Langdon, has dealt with Errol Jacomine before. The last time, he escaped; now he’s back and as dangerous as ever. After plastic surgery, Errol begins a new life as a cable-television talk-show host in Dallas. With his charisma, he instantly becomes a hit. But he isn’t satisfied with that. He thinks he has a calling to right wrongs. The best way to do that, he thinks, is to become President of the United States. And he has to get Skip, the Devil-woman, and anyone else who might stand in his way.
Julie Smith has created a unique character in Skip Langdon, woman devoted to her job, her friends, and her lover. And a nemesis as evil as any villain ever created. His charm is that he doesn’t think he’s evil. He thinks Skip is. Mean Woman Blues takes us to the streets of New Orleans and the freeways of Dallas in this fast-paced thriller. We give it five hearts.
Title: Bring Me the Eyes of Saddam Hussein
Author: Michael Sadler
Illustrator: Michael Graham
Publisher and/or Distributor: The Phoenix Group
Pages: 700
ISBN: 0-9708747-3-1
Price: $11.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Bring Me the Eyes of Saddam Hussein is the second in a series of geopolitical Military thrillers, which take us behind the scenes of a real life war on terrorism. Written just before the latest war with Iraq, this book uncannily sets the stage for what really happened next. It focuses on weapons of mass destruction and the difficulties of nation building in warlord torn Afghanistan and an Iraq preparing for an inevitable war with the United States.
The author’s knowledge of special operations and the motivations behind the major players of the region is uncanny. Although he is currently a building contractor in Southern California, one must wonder if he isn’t also a contractor of a different sort for certain US government agencies, which will remain unnamed here. This is a really good thriller and should be read by those with an interest in post 9/11 activities of our government. We rated it five hearts.
Title: Domo 17
Author: Donald Neal McKay
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor:
Pages: 500
ISBN: 1-932053-03-4
Price: $12.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Domo 17 is an international thriller with a protagonist who reminded me of the old Phantom comic strip. Dr Alexander Jamazi, an immortal ethnic Indian, operates his highly sophisticated private investigation service from Paris. He and his sidekick, a retired legionnaire Sergeant Major, Max Folcault, join in with the new Russian Democracy’s Federal Security Service, to safeguard a Russian monarchist and the dead body of Lenin, while saving the new Russian government from evil communists.
The best aspect of this book is the richness of its characters–they are multi-talented and larger than life. This is a first in an anticipated series, and yet it has the feel of a book one might read in the middle of a series, because of the protagonist’s memories of historical events before the times of the book’s other characters. It is an interesting read. We rated it three hearts.
Title: Lethal Cure
Author: Kurt Popke
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Durban House
Pages: 235
ISBN: 1-930754-34-5
Price: $15.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
You’re an emergency room resident physician. A badly injured burglar is brought in. Unbeknownst to you, the gunshot victim of this burglar in the next cubical is your wife. When you learn this, you also learn your young daughter is missing and the burglar’s partner calls later to ask for ransom. What do you do? Do you torture your patient to discover where your daughter might be? Was it really a robbery, or was there a much more sinister agenda?
This is a fast paced medical thriller of high quality–the type the publisher is well known for. The physician author brings his considerable street experience to bear to craft an enthralling novel that will leave you breathless. We rated it a high four hearts.
Title: Bring Me the Soul of Kim Jong Il
Author: Michael Sadler
Illustrator: Michael Graham
Publisher and/or Distributor: The Phoenix Group, San Jose, CA
Pages: 410
ISBN: 0-9708747-4-X
Price: $9.95
Publishing Date: March 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This book had me worried needlessly. How could an author manage to mix together a Navy SEAL’s covert mission, the technical aspects of a Hollywood film shoot, the kidnapping of North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Il, a cataclysmic volcano eruption that created a worldwide nuclear winter for almost two years fifteen hundred years ago, and a talking dog? Incredibly, he does so in an exemplary fashion. He also is so up to date and accurate in his analysis of terrorist and third world threats.
The plot is kinky, elaborate, and unpredictable. The pace is nonstop. The dialogue, especially the dog’s, is tongue in cheek and thoroughly enjoyable. What’s really scary is his concept is plausible. I can’t say more without giving too much away; however, you really need to read this book–it’s amazing and earned five hearts.
Title: Warrior in the Shadows
Author: Marcus Wynne
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Forge
Pages: 351
ISBN: 0-765-30443-0
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Warrior in the Shadows is the thriller of the year. It features two shadow warriors, both special ops experts. Charley is an ex-CIA door-kicker and Alfie is an ex-Australian SAS fighter. Although both have similar backgrounds, Charley has become a contract forensic photographer for the Minneapolis police department and Alfie, part aboriginal shaman, is a contract killer for a drug lord. Alfie turns his killings into ritualized, cannibalistic ceremonies in seeking additional spiritual power. When Alfie kills a policeman and his family, Charley sets out to revenge the victims, who were his best friends. He is aided in his quest by a lady ethnologist and art historian, Kativa, from South Africa. Their journey takes them to the Australia Queensland outback, where they must confront Alfie in a physical and spiritual battle forseen by a shaman fifty million years before in “the dreamland.”
This novel is a sterling example of how alike protagonists and antagonists can be except for the choices they make in life. The pace will keep you on the edge of your chair all night. It is seldom that we grade a book we review with perfect scores in the eleven areas we evaluate. This one did just that. The author, himself a shadow warrior, has attained that fine balance between reality and fiction in such a manner that one knows not where the boundary lies. It was as perfect a thriller as this reviewer has ever read and deserves its five hearts.
Title: Black Sheep
Author: R.J. Kaiser
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: MIRA
Pages: 464
ISBN: 1-55166-726-6
Price: $23.95
Publishing Date: Sept 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
The title, Black Sheep, describes the protagonist, Jonas Lamb, of this fascinating thriller. This barely functional entrepreneurial gigolo has had his ups and downs. Married six times, generally a cad, Jonas is mellowing in his declining years. Faced with a family fight over his inheritance from his rapidly dying wife, he is brought salvation in the form of his son from his second marriage. The genetic researching son has developed a strain of corn code named Black Sheep that will assure cheap ethanol production for the world. He picks his father to market it to the world. Big oil interests and nations who have and have not oil resources become keenly interested in the father and son team—enough interest to end a lifetime.
The author spins a credible web of conflict between hi-tech and eco-terrorism. As a writer, he is well versed in the genre and produces a very good read. His character development is superb, and his understanding of high level power interests and concerns is very realistic. In all, a really good thriller. We rated it a high four hearts.
Title: Red Zone
Author: Alan McTeer
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: GreyCore Press
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0-9671851-9-X
Price: $24.00
Publishing Date: Oct 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is a novel based on an incredible true story. Pilot Alan Richards is hired to ferry an airplane to Columbia. After an emergency crash landing in a burning plane in Venezuela, he and his co-pilot end up in a South American prison. Everyone believes they are drug smugglers. Confessions are obtained by electrical torture and crooked lawyers and politicians have their hands out for money to buy their freedom. Bribed out of prison, they end up in Columbia at the mercy of real drug lords.
They author does an excellent job of showing how two naïve Americans lose their illusions of justice and learn to mete out their own despite overwhelming odds. This story actually happened to the author, but he has placed it in a fictional context for reasons that will be obvious if you read this book. We rated it a very high four hearts.
Title: Brilliant
Author: Marne Davis Kellogg
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0-312-30347-5
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: May, 2003
Reader: Judy Schuler
Rating:
Kick Keswick is a jewel thief with scruples and a shady past. She works for Ballantine's, a well-known auction house in London. Thanks to her deceased lover and the former owner of Ballentine's, Kick doesn't have to worry about finances. But she loves jewelry and she loves the thrill of stealing it from rather nasty people. She always leaves her calling carda bouquet of shamrocks. When dashing industrialist and rogue, Owen Brace takes over Ballantine's, Kick puts her plans for retirement on hold temporarily and sticks around to see how long it takes for him to run the company into the ground. Kick finds Brace irresistible, but is he really the man for her? His past is even more shady than hers. Can she escape the law and retire in peace, or will she be dragged into trouble by Brace's schemes?
Marne Davis Kellogg has clearly done her research into the auction business, as well as jewelry, cat burglary, security, and wine. Brilliant is full of glamour, luxury, jewels, sex, and plenty of twists. It's a slick, fast-paced thriller with intriguing characters. We give it five hearts.
Title: More Than Courage
Author: Harold Coyle
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Forge Books
Publisher Website: www.tor.com
Pages: 416
ISBN: 0-765-30188-1
Price: $25.95
Publishing Date: April 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
More Than Courage is a timely novel about military conflict in the Middle EastSyria. It's about a Special Operations team stretched beyond reasonable endurance limits and gets caught in hostile territory looking for a chemical warfare lab. The team's leadership is lost, several of the men are taken captive, and the powers of Washington work together to bring our boys home. Meanwhile, they men are being tortured unmercifully.
I read this just before our troops went into Iraq. I immediately thought of this book when the first American POWs were shown on TV. I felt Harold had prepared me well in terms of what to expect was being done to our troops. He uses his detailed knowledge of the military to create a highly credible story line and a realistic portrayal of government and military politics and human dynamics. This is a must read for all who are interest in learning what "Harm's Way" means in the Middle East. We rated it four hearts.
Author: Jim Chriss
Publisher and/or Distributor: Creative Arts Book Company
Publisher Website: www. 
Pages: 338
ISBN: 0-88739-236-9
Price: $14.50
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Allan Lechner
Rating: 4
This story has been taken from the headlines. It is a story of power, murder, intrigue, and corruption at the highest levels of the government. It is based on the trials a secret service agent had to go through after he lied to protect the President of the United States and how he went about to clear his name.
This book is an extremely fast read. Once you pick the book up, you will not want to set it down. One can only hope that this story does remain fiction. We must believe that our elected and appointed officials act in an upright and moral fashion and put the nation ahead of their personal gain. This book rated four hearts.
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Title: Innate Hostility
Author: David Simmons
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Bedside Books
Publisher Website: www.american-book.com
Pages: 241
ISBN: 1-930586-84-1
Price: $22
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Innate Hostility is a very well done techno thriller. Set in Utah, Georgia, DC, Argentina, and the Middle East, this is a story about two technoids who stumble across each other in a highly dangerous investigation of murders, money laundering, and illegal technology transfers. One man becomes an avenging angel type of an intelligence field operative and the other becomes his computer geek backup. They race against time to convince the US government that they have uncovered a nuclear threat to world peace before that very government locks them away as criminals.
The author includes the latest computer and spy technologies in a very understandable manner. His fight scenes are realistic and are scattered throughout the story in such a manner as to insure a very quick story pace. His characters are interesting and a sense of justice pervades the story. We rated this book four hearts.
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Title: The Jesus Thief
Author: J R Lankford
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Great Reads Books LLC
Publisher Website: www.greatreadsbooks.com
Pages: 287
ISBN: 0-9718694-1-3
Price: $26.95
Publishing Date: March 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5
The Jesus Thief is a fascinating thriller predicated on the possibilities that the Shroud of Turin is the real McCoy and that its bloodstains could provide the DNA of Jesus Christ. The protagonist, Dr. Felix Rossi, a wealthy microbiologist and gynecologist, gains access to the shroud, acquires a bloodstained thread, and creates a clone, which he implants in the womb of his black housekeeper. From that point, it's a race against time, the media, and puppet masters pulling strings behind the scenes. A very wealthy power monger is cast as a parallel to King Herod.
There is a significant amount of excellent symbolism scattered throughout this book. Its pace rockets along to a touching conclusion. We are regaled with interesting and understandable information about cloning. The supporting characters have dimensions of their own, especially a doorman who is in fact a spy for the manipulator; however, he becomes the baby's best guardian. We rated this book five hearts.
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Title: Waking Walt
Author: Larry Pontus
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Writer's Showcase
Publisher Website: www.iuniverse.com or www.wakingwalt.com
Pages: 427
ISBN: 0-595-25425-X
Price: $22.95
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Judy Schuler
Rating: 4
Urban legend has it that Walt Disney didn't die, but was cryogenically frozen, awaiting a cure for lung cancer. Waking Walt takes that idea and runs with it. In this fast-paced thriller, Walt's circle of friends brings him back when a corporate raider threatens to take over and destroy Disney's company. An experimental cancer drug has been developed that looks promising and the group can't wait any longer. They must bring Walt back to save the company.
I couldn't put this book down. Larry Pontius has evidently done his homework researching Walt Disney. I don't know if Walt was the crusty character portrayed in the book, but I'd be willing to bet he was awfully close to it. Waking Walt is a fun read. We give it four hearts.
Title: Oil Patch
Author: L. E. "Buz" Buzarde, Jr.
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Xlibris
Publisher Website: www. Xlibris.com
Pages: 301
ISBN: 1-4010-5831-0
Price: $???
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Judy Schuler
Rating: 4 Hearts
Oil man, Jack Manning, has risen from Wildcatter to billionaire. Now an old enemy threatens his company. To preserve what he has spent a lifetime building, he must outmaneuver a wiley foe.
In Oil Patch, Mr. Buzarde takes us into the little-known world of the oil business, from wildcatting to production. Although Jack's love affair was a bit hard to believe, the action and characters more than make up for that minor flaw. Someone should buy the movie rights. We give it four hearts.
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Title: The Jesus Thief
Author: J R Lankford
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Great Reads Books LLC
Publisher Website: www.greatreadsbooks.com
Pages: 287
ISBN: 0-9718694-1-3
Price: $26.95
Publishing Date: March 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 Hearts
The Jesus Thief is a fascinating thriller predicated on the possibilities that the Shroud of Turin is the real McCoy and that its bloodstains could provide the DNA of Jesus Christ. The protagonist, Dr. Felix Rossi, a wealthy microbiologist and gynecologist, gains access to the shroud, acquires a bloodstained thread, and creates a clone, which he implants in the womb of his black housekeeper. From that point, it's a race against time, the media, and puppet masters pulling strings behind the scenes. A very wealthy power monger is cast as a parallel to King Herod.
There is a significant amount of excellent symbolism scattered throughout this book. Its pace rockets along to a touching conclusion. We are regaled with interesting and understandable information about cloning. The supporting characters have dimensions of their own, especially a doorman who is in fact a spy for the manipulator; however, he becomes the baby's best guardian. We rated this book five hearts.
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Title: Silent Wild
Author: Lloyd Price
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Pine Publishing
Publisher Address: P.O. Box 999, Pine Island, MN 55963
Pages: 312
ISBN: 0-9720550-0-2
Price: $13.75
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 3 Hearts
Silent Wild is an ecology thriller based in the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota. An ex-SEAL, his wife, and friends battle corporate greed and governmental incompetence and politics to save their beloved Boundary Waters from tourist development and drug cartel money laundering.
The author portrays the real world ecological challenges to the Boundary Waters area with a plausible story line. His settings give the reader a glimpse of how special this area isa last frontier in mainland United States. The story reads well, although some characters could have been developed further. This book is a worthwhile read in that it has important lessons and information to impart. We rated it three hearts.
Title: Because They Were
Author: Frank Caceres
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Gardenia Press
Publisher Website: www.gardeniapress.com
Pages: 354
ISBN:
Price: $16.95/26.95
Publishing Date:2002
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Because They Were is an unusual political thriller that takes place over twenty years from now. There are three presidential candidates, one is a strong military defense advocate, one is a Puerto Rican who wants to bring back family values and a strong health care system, and one is a scheming White Supremacist. The latter is found dead in his mansion and the younger, brain-damaged brother of the second candidate is found in a dazed condition, holding the smoking gun murder weapon. With the presidential election only days away, what is truth and how will it affect voting?
This is a touching novel that has much to teach about family values and relationships, the ulterior motives of cultural hate, and the professionalism of dedicated law officers. The author uses good characterization, pacing, and symbolism to tell a gripping story which reads very rapidly. It is one of those books that you don't want to start late at night, because you'll never get any sleep until it's finished. We scored this book four hearts.
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Title: Secret of the Scroll
Author: Chester D. Campbell
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Durban House
Publisher Website: www.durbanhouse.com
Pages: 243
ISBN: 1-930754-24-8
Price: $15.95
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Secret of the Scroll is a thriller mystery about a retired Air Force OSI agent, Colonel Greg McKenzie, who unknowingly is sold an ancient parchment scroll, which a Palestinian terrorist group wants smuggled into America. When he doesn't give it back to them in the States, they kidnap his wife and hold her in ransom for the artifact, which reveals the location of very valuable temple lamps. Circumstances quickly escalate to an international incident level when an extreme right-wing Israeli group also becomes involved. Can he save his wife and abort World War III at the same time?
The author is a retired journalist and political speechwriter (which means he's experienced at writing fantasy). His book is published by one of my favorite small publishers, Durban House. He develops a slightly flawed protagonist, teaches the reader about the roles of an OSI agent and the dangers of Air Force politics, and produces an excellent thread of tension, which could snap at any time. He uses the differences among Jews, Islamics, and Christians in the Holy Land to good effect. We rated this book four hearts.
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Title: Vigilante Justice
Author: Michael LaRocca
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Hard Shell Word Factory
Publisher Website: www.hardshell.com
Pages: 153
ISBN: 0-7599-0494-4
Price: $ 10.95
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Vigilante Justice is a 2002 Eppie Award finalist thriller. This is a story about a brother's revenge. Gary Drake, an Internal Affairs detective, uses and abuses his knowledge and connections to discover all parties involved in putting poisoned crack cocaine on the street and into his brother's pipe. This edgy novel tracks a man's steady dissolution into the darkside in search of revenge. His choices don't make much sense until we learn why the detective no longer values his own life. There is much more than revenge as a theme here. The whole story is extremely ironic and the end will surprise you.
The author's plot is twisty but tight. There are ample surprises along the way to a devastating end to keep the pace a frantic one. We rated this book four hearts.
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Title: Nothing to Declare
Author: Josef Kraus
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Wexford College Press
Publisher Website: www.wexfordcollegepress.com
ISBN: 0-9709917-0-3
Price: $14.95
Pages:353
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Kate Fox
Rating: 5
Normally, I reserve my "Top Scores" for exceptional work, to give them freely would be to devalue and waste them. Finally, a book worth the wait.
Mr. Kraus's tale of smuggler Thomas Breck is a work of literary art. His characters, plot, setting, dialogue are all top notch. The novel is like an Inspector Pierrot/James Bond international thriller and what I can't understand is why the publisher is even bothering with galleys. Publish now, and send it on the movie industry, they will want to make a movie out of this thing! We rated it five hearts!
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Title: The Ultimate Test
Author: Catherine Schuett
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: AmErica House, Baltimore, MD
Publisher Website: www.publishamerica.com
Pages: 212
ISBN: 1-59129-089-9
Price: $19.95
Publishing Date: 2001
Reader: Allan Lechner
Rating: 3
The Ultimate Test is the story of four seemingly unconnected people, three of whom are kidnapped from different parts of the United States and their tenuous relationship with Antonio Cartillone Jr, head of the Cartillone crime family. It also explores the relationship that is formed between Kyle, Matthew Peters, Deborah Miller, and Maria Martinez in their fight against Cartillone and their fight against nature at its worst.
The five main characters in The Ultimate Test are extremely interesting. The two main supporting characters Daelynn and Hawk do their bit to add to the story. When Hawk decides to leave the Cartillone family and escapes from his henchman, and flies to Washington D.C., I knew she was going to be coming back into the story somewhere. I was surprised to find out what the ultimate test was. I thought they were going to be hunted as human prey, but I was wrong. I was pleased with the surprise, but found it hard to swallow the premise that man could have so much control over the weather. Throughout the story there were words in sentences that made no sense. It was obvious that spell check was run, but in some spots there was not a sanity check. We rated this book three hearts.
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Title: The Kingfisher's Call
Author: John Reed
Publisher and/or Distributor: Source Books Landmark
Publishing Date: 04/2002
Pages: 304
Price: $22
ISBN: 1-57071-797-4
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
The Kingfisher's Call is a spy/military techno-thriller written in the style of Tom Clancy or Harold Coyle. An American spy master, Jon Cross, and a long requited love, Bao Qing, who is a master cryptologist for the Chinese vow to come together in their twilight years. They have both reached their 70s and it¹s time to break Bao free from her Chinese intelligence service masters. Jon puts together the perfect team of CIA agents to extract her. At the same time there is developing love and conflict within the team¹s human dynamics. Threats abound warlord getting ready to take over his country, a Burmese drug lord, a vengeful Chinese agent, and a McGiver-like professional American agent who is about to be overcome by true love.
The author¹s characters and their conflict set in an accurate portrayal of state-of-the-art spy and military technology makes for exciting and interesting reading. This is a high energy read from start to finish. We rate this book a solid four hearts.
Title: The Medusa Strain
Author: Chris Holmes
Publisher and/or Distributor: Durban House Publishing
Publisher Website: www.durbanhouse.com
Publishing Date: 2002
Pages: 269
Price: $15.95
ISBN: 1-930754-22-1
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
The Medusa Strain is a timely bio-terrorist novel which incorporates the events of September 11th and afterward. Iraq has developed a hybrid strain of anthrax married to a cold virus which allows it to be spread from human to human. Race with government and civilian virus chasers as they trace how the plague disease travels from Iraq throughout the United States. The author¹s medical technology is up to the minute, as is his understanding of the spook world. This thriller incorporates the very best of military, government and civilian disease centers, and political knowledge. The threat is chillingly real and is portrayed in a highly believable manner.
All is not cold technology in this book. There is room for caring and recovering people and relationships; therefore, it is something all people will enjoy. Once you begin reading this story, hang on. You will lose track of time and yourself within these pages; then you'll lose sleep asking, "Could this really happen"? The author takes the time to leave your teeth on edge in parting with his knowledgeable reassurances in the epilogue that this bio-weapon technology is with us today. The Medusa Strain really could happen! We give this book a strong four hearts rating.
Title: Goliath
Author: Steve Alten
Publisher and/or Distributor: Forge
Publisher Website: www.tor.com
Publishing Date: 07/2002
Pages: 416
Price: $25.95
ISBN: 0-765-30064-8
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Goliath is a nautical thriller a la Clive Cussler but better. Gunnar Wolfe is an ex-special ops soldier who had been unjustly accused of being a traitor to his country and sentenced to Leavenworth's Federal pen. A few years after his release he is invited to leave his farm and team up with his ex-fiancee, Commander Rochelle "Rocky" Jackson, who designed the ultimate stealth attack submarine, Goliath. A mad peace activist has taken it over and has destroyed a US aircraft carrier fleet. Gunnar and Rocky eventually find themselves on board the sub which has been taken over by the ship¹s computer (somewhat like HAL in 2001).
The author does an excellent job at creating both plot and setting. His descriptions of life behind Leavenworth¹s prison bars are right on the money. He shows an excellent understanding of military technology and the mind sets of both military careerists and peace activists. In all, this was a powerful, well thought out, balanced story. We give it four hearts.
Title: Clutch of Phantoms
Author: Clare Layton
Publisher and/or Distributor: Poisoned Pen Press
Publisher Website: www.poisonedpenpress.com
Publishing Date: 08/2002
Pages: 323
Price: $24.95
ISBN: 1-59058-027-3
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Clutch of Phantoms is a British thriller written by the past chairman of the British Crime Writers Association. A young professional woman, Cass Evesham, has just succeeded in rising above her probationary status in a London stock brokerage, when she learns that her divorced lover is still married and is breaking up with her. At the same time she learns that her maternal grandmother, whom she thought to have died in a crash, is being released from prison after twenty-five years for murdering her husband and a diva opera singer lover. At the same time, the diva's daughter, Julia, decides that public condemnation of Cass may revamp her flagging theater career. Cass must fight to regain public and self respect while her grandmother must come to terms with living outside the prison walls and teaching an incorrigible juvenile delinquent to read and write. Cass and her grandmother come together and surprisingly strong bonds develop between them. A stranger suffering from pneumonia comes knocking in the dead of night in a horrendous thunder storm. He becomes a catalyst for either solving or complicating the lives of the two women. At the same time, a virulent tabloid British media makes life miserable for everyone.
The author skillfully weaves a cast of interesting characters throughout a strong plot and setting, allowing the reader to see the Cass and her grandmother¹s innermost feelings while they are pilloried publicly by the media, enemies, and friends alike. The story is about anger management and dignity during the worst of times. The characters are so rich with strengths and weaknesses, they become increasingly human to the reader. Many of the classic themes are used in degrees, with people rising above or plunging below others' expectations. The British media almost becomes an archtypical character in its own right. This was a really good read and rates four hearts.
Title: Law of Gravity
Author: Stephen Horn
Publisher and/or Distributor: Harper Collins
Publisher Website: www.harpercollins.com
Publishing Date: 08/2002
Pages: 336
Price: $24.95
ISBN: 0-06-019441-3
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Law of Gravity is a story about Phil Barkley, a rare breed, a Washington DC governmental lawyer who is a straight shooting, tell-it-like-it-is, seeker of justice. He also is a political animal who reached the nadir of power, fell from grace because of his honesty, and is now marking time, hoping for an early retirement. He is assigned to a potentially politically embarrassing case, which involves a senator presidential hopeful who happens to be married to Phil¹s ex-wife. He is paired with an ambitious lady FBI agent, Blair Turner. Bodies are falling everywhere and fingers are pointing at everyone involved.
The plot twists and turns and surprises at every juncture. The author turns Phil into a sadly flawed protagonist that readers will delight in rooting for. The ending has many surprises and the involvement of a retired police detective adds great spice to the story. We rated this book a solid four hearts.
Title: The Jericho Gambit
Author: Col (Ret) Frederick F. Meyers, Jr.
Publisher and/or Distributor: Gardenia Press
Publisher Website: www.gardeniapress.com
Publishing Date: 07/2002
Pages: 342
Price: $16.95
ISBN: 0-9712525-1-3
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 3
The Jericho Gambit is a good, solid military techno-thriller written about an Islamic terrorist attack just before 9/11. The author is a highly experienced US Army officer who's lived the life he writes about with such authority. As a past instructor at the prestigious US Army War College and past assignments to the Middle East, he was able to weave very credible background knowledge into a compelling story of an elite Islamic terrorist force that trains for and executes a nightmarish attack on an ammunition depot and a nuclear power station in North Carolina. The protagonist, Ltc Matthew Gannon comes across as a knowledgeable, human leader who knows how to plan and execute military operations. The Antagonist, Salal, the Islamic terrorist mastermind, comes across the same way. They are two dedicated professionals with valid reasons for how they believe and for what they must do.
The author's characters are balanced and authentic. The setting is real and the plot is scarily plausible- to include a tactical suitcase nuclear weapon. The plot mixes stymied romance with bull headed pride for spice and examines the personalities and relationships of professional warriors and their significant others. We rated this book a very high three hearts.
Title: Change of Heart
Author: Jack Allen
Publisher and/or Distributor: Burping Frog Publishing
Publisher Website: www.burpingfrog.com
Publishing Date: 2001
Pages: 315
Price: $14
ISBN: 0-9703053-0-3
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Move over, Dale Brown, the Navy spy and adventure pool just got crowded. Jack Allen's Change of Heart is a fast-paced story that pits Navy Intelligence operative, Josh McGowan, against the defunct but dangerous Russian Communist Party machine, the Russian mafia, Japanese Federal Police, and his own bosses. It's a race against time to save a beautiful Russian ex-KGB sparrow (prostitute) who holds the key to regaining the Kremlin for the Communists. Throw in shipments of volatile plastic explosives and Iraqi terrorists for spice, and you've got the makings of an exciting spy and adventure thriller.
Allen's craft is honed to a cutting edge. He's mastered the art of producing a compulsively page-turning novel. He uses good weaponry and technology descriptions and knowledge along with a protagonist who is constantly trying to examine what makes himself tick, while committing the actions that will accomplish the mission, usually in a loud and messy manner. An excellent start to a series we look forward to reviewing. This rated four hearts.
Title: Against All Enemies
Author: Harold Coyle
Publisher and/or Distributor: Forge
Publishing Date: 05/2002
Pages: 416
Price: $25.95
ISBN: 0-765-30239-X
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 4
Against All Enemies is a speculative military fiction novel which delves into an issue which has been with America since the revolutionary warstate¹s rights. The author has rightly identified this issue as the driving force behind the whole patriot militia movement. At question is the venue for a trial of six militia members. Military action breaks out over this conflict. The characters he has created to tell this story are treated even handedly, showing that all have valid view points and concerns, regardless of which side they are on. One side is the American federal establishment and the other is the State of Idaho and its charismatic governor. As is typical of a Harold Coyle novel, the action focuses on individual soldiers who are painted in realistic terms. He flat nailed the political and philosophical issues without dwelling overlong on the radical racial aspects so often touted by the media. The story centers around actions which may lead to a second American civil war. This is an excellent military technothriller from an outstanding military writer. His expertise as a military historian shines through in the details of setting and comparisons of actions. We give this book a solid four hearts.
Title: Death of A Healer
Author: Paul Henry Young
Publisher and/or Distributor: Durban House Publishing
Publishing Date: 2001
Price: $15.95
ISBN: 1-930754-09-4
Reviewer: Bob Spear
Rating: 3
Death of A Healer by Paul Henry Young is an excellent medical thriller with a morality play built in. The author, himself a board-certified neurological surgeon, did an apt job of presenting his specialized world in such a way that almost any layman reader would find it understandable. The story is about Dr. Jake Gibson, who insists on always performing the highest quality of medicine he can and always speaking the truth, even if it puts him in a bad light.
Dr. Gibson fights against the corruption of the medical profession, losing almost every woman he loves to the evil actions of a crooked medical cabal out to improve their bottom line and personal power at all costs. When he¹s done all that he can do, he leaves America to bring his skills to the poor people of Belize. After twelve years of operating in a jungle hospital, he returns to save the one woman he has always loved but can never have. He does so despite an imminent arrest for practicing medicine without a license.
The moral of his story is to always speak the truth and live the Hippocratic oath, or any other oath to which one might ascribe.
The story's pacing, symbolism, and emotional content are superb. The author is especially good at handling point of view aspects to the story. We give this book three hearts.
