THE FRENCH ILLUSION

5 stars out of 5

Well, this is a bit of an unusual situation – I’m not sure whether I’m happier to have read and finished this intriguing, edge-of-seat story or the expectation that there’s another one (or two, or three or more) in the making? The latter isn’t a certainty, but since it’s billed as “The French Illusion #1,” logic tells me a #2 will follow.

Anyway, it took a while for them to show up, but I already love leading man Stuart Nash and his “future wife,” Rae-Claire Russo – even though, contrary to almost every other book I’ve read by this author, there’s no courtroom action. Nash is an ex-military man and an assistant U.S. attorney in North Carolina, though, and the soon-to-be dynamic duo “accidentally” meet each other at a cybercrime seminar in Washington, D.C.

Behind the scenes – at least the public ones – Paul and Chelsea Tanner head for Paris for their honeymoon. It’s a dream come true, till it turns into a nightmare for the couple and both sets of parents when they go missing – and said parents get ransom calls from what appears to be a network of criminals asking for millions. The money isn’t a huge issue for Chelsea’s parents – dad is an orthopedic surgeon who is financially savvy – but it’s beyond hope for Paul’s less financially well-off mother and father. And of course, all are warned not to tell anyone what’s going on, especially law enforcement.

As the story progresses, readers see what’s happening from the points of view of both the parents and the victims – and, down the road a bit, of the FBI and CIA, which agree to hold hands for once in an effort to shut down what appears to be a long-running and highly successful operation. Enter Nash and Russo (nope, not gonna explain how that came to pass), and from that point on, the action never stops – and neither did my reading about it.

All told, it’s edge-of-seat exciting, and I hope we’ll be seeing this pair again. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this one!

The French Illusion by John Grisham (Doubleday, September 2026); 352 pp.

THE ATLAS MANEUVER

4 stars out of 5

Ah, what a tangled web! In this case, tangling the old with the new: old gold, new Bitcoin. Two cases, two sets of investigators and several possible outcomes - almost all not for the good of the country or retired Justice Department operative Cotton Malone and his small cadre of close friends and colleagues. I feel compelled to say that while both scenarios are extremely intriguing and entertaining - and I've been chomping at the bit for a long time to understand why everyone is so hot to trot (or not!) over Bitcoin - much of the very detailed explanations were way above my intellectual pay grade (that said, I know quite a bit more now than I did when I started the book).

But even if I couldn't quite grasp the complexities of something I can't see, touch or feel (a condition, I believe, called acatalepsy), there's plenty here that kept me fingering through my e-reader pages of this, the 18th book in one of my favorite series. And the ending - for which I'll provide no clues whatsoever - leaves a door wide open for the next installment. Mind you, I'm not totally sure how I feel about the specifics (regular readers of the books, I think, will understand what I mean when they finish this one).

The first (old) situation involves Yamashita's Gold, a stash reportedly worth billions of dollars that was hidden underground in the Philippines near the end of World War II. Some was recovered secretely by the U.S. government and has remained a secret known to only a few ever since; whether there is more - and where it is hidden - is a matter of conjecture. On the newer side, high-level employees at a Swiss bank have gained control of the aforementioned Bitcoin - also secretely - and are planning to wreak havoc on the world economy. Complicating the situation is that a woman who once was, shall we say, close to Cotton is a high-stakes player.

Working on the gold side is Cotton's old friend Derrick Koger, a European CIA operative who's tuned into the reports of buried treasure. He ends up working alongside Cassiopeia Witt, who now is, shall we say, close to Cotton. That in and of itself makes for an interesting situation, to say the least; but it is the action-packed goings-on (and danger) of the two scenarios - and how they end up coming together - that made me not want to put this one down. It's another exciting adventure, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry (Grand Central Publishing, February 2024); 400 pp.

THE EDGE

4 stars out of 5

On the surface, ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine isn't all that much different from several others from several other series who are looking to outrun/compensate for/redeem themselves because of their pasts. But the author's considerable writing talent moves Travis way up on my list of favorites, where I'm sure he'll remain. My only concern now is how I missed the first installment (this is the second).

This time, Travis is called in by his boss to investigate the death of CIA operative Jenny Silkwell, the daughter of the boss's longtime friend and a former well-known politician. Not only is Travis charged with identifying Jenny's killer, he's to learn what happened to her laptop and phone, which could have contained critical and sensitive government secrets. The task sends Travis to the smallish town of Potter, Maine, not far from the Canadian border and Bay of Fundy.

There, the plot quickly thickens; he's to work with local law enforcement, who fall somewhere in between appreciating his assistance and perseverence and wanting to ride him out of town on a rail. Jenny's family, too, is a strange bunch; mom and dad are divorced and mom has remarried, while her sister Alex and brother Dak live in two different ends of the huge family mansion and rarely meet in the middle (perhaps for good reasons).

From the git-go, some things don't add up - including how Jenny's body ended up where it ended up. But Travis is getting push-back from the local cops, who would prefer that old pots not be stirred. Needless to say, that doesn't cut it for him, especially after even more discrepancies turn up and he gets to better know some of the local players. The cuts get deeper still when he finds connections to the past and - even more telling - others who have ties to Jenny turn up dead. Uh-oh, could Travis be next on the killer's list?

I'll never tell. And if you want to find out, read the book - I'm sure you won't be disappointed. In the end, events lead to the next installment - and I, for one, am on the "edge" of my seat hoping that happens soon. Meantime, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one. 

The Edge by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, November 2023); 461 pp.

HARD TO BREAK

3.5 stars out of 5

I read and enjoyed the first book in this series but somehow missed the second; this, the third, was a bit disappointing compared with the first. Apparently, former Navy SEAL is on the outs with his former colleagues and is trying to remain under their radar. For too much of this book, he remains that way as he's captured early on and scenes jump around to other characters and scenarios that don't seem to make much sense till they eventually begin to come together.

Anyway, Gannon's grown son Declan is having a birthday before he sets out to do his thing, so Gannon decides a grizzly bear hunt in a remote part of Alaska is what he needs for a send-off. That trip goes south early on when he's waiting alone for snowmobile repairs and gets chased by a couple of big bruisers clearly intent on causing him bodily harm. As it turns out, they don't kill him; in fact, when he wakes up, he's a prisoner somewhere in Mexico (as far as I could tell).

Why he was captured and by whom takes up a lot of the middle of the book, and some of this part was confusing to me. It started to make a little more sense with the realization that his captor - a former military colleague - is now a filthy rich lunatic drug lord who's managed to twist the truth about his relationship with Gannon (or was brainwashed into believing a non-truth) into a vendetta.

And that's about all I can reveal, except to say that things turn exciting for the last quarter of the book, keeping me pretty much on the edge of my seat from that point on. I think fans of the series will like this one as well - as did I, but just not as much as the first one. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this one.

Hard to Break by Michael Ledwidge (Hanover Square Press, January 2023); 384 pp.

BLOWBACK

4 stars out of 5

A president who's mentally bonkers? Wow, what a concept! Kudos to the authors for a timely topic that showcases what can happen when the leader of the free world's power is totally unchecked. U.S. President Keegan Barrett doesn't have orange hair, nor is he inclined to throw ketchup at walls - but he does believe the only way to get "them" is for him to get them first.

He's got a diabolical plan that starts with a loyal-to-the-core assistant and formation of two teams of CIA operatives - one domestic and one foreign - led by Noa Himel and Liam Grey; they're charged with carrying out the President's direct orders, which are kept secret from all the other government leaders because a) Barrett doesn't trust anyone and b) he's the only one who's right. If everything goes the way he's sure it will, he'll end up a dictator who's admired and revered; after all, he deserves no less. If millions of people's lives are disrupted - and death arguably is the biggest disruption there is - everyone who's left will agree he did it all for love of country.

Also loyal to the core are Liam and Noa - that is, until they're not; nasty things happen (some of which they're ordered by the President to make happen) that lead them to the smell of a rat - a rat with two legs who acts suspiciously like the man they've sworn an oath to obey no matter what. Gradually, the light dawns; but now that they can see where the path they're on leads, what can they do to prevent the biggest disaster the world has ever known? 

Worse, the whole thing is a ticking time bomb; it's not just a matter of stopping the President, but stopping him fast. And when his word is everyone's command, the whole thing turns into a James Bond "Goldfinger" countdown that, of course, keeps readers on the edge of their seats (well, it did me, at least). Some parts are predictable, others elicited a few gasps and the whole thing is a fast-paced adventure. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Blowback by James Patterson and Brendon DuBois (Little, Brown and Co., September 2022); 513 pp.

THE NEW NEIGHBOR

3.5 stars out of 5

My first thought when I finished this book? Thank goodness the story doesn't take place on a bigger cul-de-sac. If there'd been more neighbors to accuse, I don't think I could have made it to the end.

You see, CIA counterintelligence agent Beth Bradford has long been on the trail of a spy nicknamed "The Neighbor" - a person who has been recruited by an Iranian uber-spy solely for the purpose of recruiting others in and around the D.C. area (reminiscent of the popular TV show, "The Americans" starring Kerry Russell and Matthew Rhys). On a day-to-day basis, Beth lives a relatively normal life with her husband Mike; the last of their three children just took off for college and the empty-nesters are packing up to leave their beautiful but too-big home on a cul-de-sac near the Langley military facility where she works. Like Beth, at least one person in her half-dozen or so neighbors' families has ties to Langley operations, and they've all formed a close friendship over the years.

Until, that is, Beth's house is purchased by a youngish couple sight unseen, and clues turn up that suggest The Neighbor has ties to a cul-de-sac. Other clues lead Beth to suspect the wife may be the person she's been looking for - but out of the blue, she's unceremoniously yanked off the case and reassigned to another facility teaching new CIA recruits.

To say that doesn't sit well with Beth would be an understatement; instead of letting others take over "her" investigation, she begins a relentless obsession with proving herself right - even if she has to tromp on legal and ethical boundaries to do it (over and over again). Each time she finds a new target - the one who she's certain must be The Neighbor - her cycle of angst begins all over again, and her efforts to confirm her suspicions threatened to cross the line into silly. Very soon, I grew weary - especially since fairly early on I'd pretty much figured out one "twist" and had a pretty strong feeling about another (I was right on both counts).

Those issues, though, didn't keep me from being just as eager as Beth to unearth the truth - keeping me glued to the pages all the way to an end that's far more complex than either of us could have imagined. Overall, it's a fast-paced story that was fun to read - one I think many readers will very much enjoy. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the pre-release copy.

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland (Ballantine Books, July 2022); 295 pp.

NEAR DARK

5 stars out of 5

For whatever reason, I've missed the last couple of

books in the Scot Harvath series - as in did not read. Not long after I started this one, I realized I've missed them like I miss long-lost friends. As Celine Dion sang, "It's all coming back to me now" - and I've vowed not to make the same mistake going forward.

What that boils down to, in book review terms, is that I absolutely loved this one. Maybe it's because I saw a less gung-ho, more circumspect Harvath, still reeling from events that happened in previous books. There was plenty of action, but it didn't seem as rough as usual, and I sensed that Harvath's heart wasn't really in it. Besides that, the author's sometimes lengthy diatribes against some issue or other were noticeable to me in their absence. Quite honestly, all that made this book more interesting to me, but I'll venture a guess that die-hard fans might not be quite as enthusiastic. My husband - also a fan of this series - just started reading this one, and I'll be interested to get his take.

As it begins, Harvath is drowning himself in his sorrows (more accurately, in substantial quantities of alcohol) in Key West when he gets bad news; a  beloved colleague has been tortured and murdered. The news gets even worse: apparently, someone is offering an almost unbelievably high bounty on his own head - to be paid to the first player to achieve success. Over his years working for the Carleton Group, which functions as a more clandestine CIA, Harvath has accumulated no shortage of enemies. But is it possible that the two bad news scenarios are somehow connected? 

Enter beautiful and well-skilled Norwegian agent Solvi Kolstad, also a protogee of Harvath's murdered colleague and an intelligence agent, who is on the warpath to find the man's killer. What's more, she wants to hook up with Harvath and put their heads together (with a hint that a few other body parts might be shared as well somewhere down the line). The trick, you see, will be ferreting out the colleague's murderer (and, depending on who that is, who ordered the hit) while avoiding the bounty hunters who will do almost anything to snuff out Harvath for good. The sometimes bloody trail takes him and Solvi to a few countries and a few narrow escapes and culminates, I must say, in an ending that's satisfying to some characters but not to others.

The conclusion to my review is a non-conclusion; I have no idea from whence my copy came. Most of the books I read I get as advance review copies from publishers via NetGalley, but this one - a hardcover edition - simply showed up in the mail with no accompanying documentation. I have a vague recollection of entering some kind of giveaway - possibly from Bookish First - but thus far I haven't been able to confirm it. So for now, all I can say is whoever you are, I thank you very much. 

Near Dark by Brad Thor (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, July 2020); 349 pp.

THE EIGHTH SISTER

5 stars out of 5


One thing I've learned about books by this author: It's not likely I'll be disappointed. No surprise, then, that this one earned yet another five-star rating from me. Here's the scoop:

Charles Jenkins is in his 60s now, married to a younger woman who's close to delivering their new baby. A former CIA case officer, he left the agency with a bad taste in his mouth after a case that didn't go as planned some 40 years ago. Now,  he runs a security consulting business that appears to have a single client - a high-profile firm in Seattle that tends to be in arrears when it comes to payment for services rendered. Then one day, Charlie gets a surprise visitor: his long-ago CIA station chief, Carl Emerson, who begs him to take on an undercover job in Moscow (where, conveniently, Charlie's client has an office). The task is to determine the identity of the "eighth sister," a Russian agent who is behind the recent murders of a couple of members of a U.S. spy cell known as the seven sisters. They've operated successfully and secretly for many years until now; the hope is that Charlie will nail the eighth sister before she finishes off all the others.

Desperate to stop the red ink in his business, Charlie reluctantly takes the assignment without letting his wife in on his secret. But early on, he learns something is dead wrong; for openers, the woman he believes is behind the killings isn't the assassin. Even more frightening, what she tells him - if in fact she can be believed - forces him to doubt everything he's been told about the case so far.

Everything goes totally haywire when Charlie and the woman find themselves in the crosshairs of a Russian agent who wants them in jail (or better still, six feet under). But why? Nothing Charlie has said or done should have triggered that kind of response. Could it be that something or  someone's gone afoul in the CIA? And if so, who? Everything ends up in a trial, during which a possible insight on that question (as an aside, especially relevant these days) is offered. When Charlie asks, "How do we get the government to lie?" the response speaks volumes: "We just get them to move their lips."

Fast-paced, exciting and another winner, this is a not-to-be-missed thriller. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer, April 2019); 437 pp.

THE LAST SECOND

5 stars out of 5


I've read two of this "Brit in the FBI" series and absolutely loved them both, so when I got the chance to wade into this one as an advance review copy, I was ecstatic. And guess what? The story is a bit more "out there" than the others, but it's yet another 5-star winner in my book.

The very likable characters, in particular special agents Nicholas Drummond and his sweetie, Michaela "Mike" Caine, are back. The two are staying with friends and other regular characters Grant and Kitsune Thornton, while Mike nurses a nearly healed broken ankle that happened during a previous adventure. Mike and Nicholas head the FBI Covert Eyes Team, while Grant runs a private security company that's been hired to protect Jean-Pierre Broussard, the founder of Galactus Industries.

In the prologue, readers learn that astronaut Dr. Nevaeh Patel was drummed out of the space program after a near-death experience during a spacewalking event, after which she claimed to have heard extraterrestrial voices called the Numen. No one believed her and most think she's gone bonkers - and thus unfit for another outer space mission. Insisting she's not crazy, Nevaeh quits the program, later hooking up with Broussard. He wants someone to take over that company while he searches the seas for the "Holy Grail" - a rock believed to have healing powers.

But Nevaeh has much more on her mind than running a company that puts small satellites in space at an affordable cost. Those voices never stopped calling, you see, and they're getting louder by the day - urging her to undertake a project that will disrupt the entire world and give them, and Nevaeh, total control. Once Mike and Nicholas learn what's going on, they have other ideas - but can they find a way to stop what she's about to make happen, even if it's at the last second?

A good bit of the almost nonstop action takes place at sea, with scenes reminiscent (to me, at least) of Clive Cussler's NUMA Files books. As the two intersecting plots on land and water begin to seriously converge, all the characters get involved in ultra-dangerous situations that call for super-human feats, and the ending is worthy of an Ian Fleming 007 novel. My verdict? Thank goodness for one of the most boring Super Bowl games ever (and I haven't missed a single one since the 1967 inaugural game) that allowed me to finish the final third of the book nonstop. And speaking of thanks, I'll send some to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review it. 

The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison (Gallery Books, March 2019); 464 pp.

RED SPARROW

5 stars out of 5


After seeing trailers for the just-released motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton and learning that it's based on a book of the same name, my husband decided to give the book - the first in a trilogy - a try. Then he told me it was very, very good.

Whether or not we watch movie remains to be seen (pun intended), but I knew I wanted to read the book first. I also knew it's close to 600 pages - not easy to fit into a stack of advance-copy books I've agreed to read and review. But make time I did, and I'm ever so glad. It's one of the best spy thrillers I've read in a very long time.

At first blush, the story seemed reminiscent of the TV show "The Americans" starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys; spies and counterspies, each trying to recruit others while remaining "black" (i.e., undetected and unidentified). Main characters Nathaniel Nash is a young CIA officer, assigned as the handler of a top-level Russian undercover U.S. spy; Dominika Egorova is a wounded (both physically and mentally) former Russian ballerina who stays on her toes under the watchful eye of her powerful uncle. But when her uncle sends her to "Sparrow School" - euphemism for a place females learn the art of seduction for the purpose of recruiting spies for the Russian government, her love of her home country under the dastardly Vladimir Putin and his loyal minions turns sour. 

Needless to say, Nate and Dominika are brought together to serve cross purposes; he to recruit her, she to recruit him. And needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way. It does, though, make for an intricately woven, hard-to-put-down story interlaced with tricks of the spy trade, twists and surprises - none of which, alas, I can describe without spoiling the book for other readers. 

I can, however, is highly recommend this book - and I do. Outstanding!

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (Scribner, June 2013); 577 pp.

NEED TO KNOW

4 stars out of 5


If I discovered that my husband of a decade isn't even close to who he claims to be and his truth goes against everything I've ever worked for and believed in, would I hang around even for the sake of our kids? Until it happens to me, I can't say for certain, but I seriously doubt it. But get pregnant by accident not once, but four times? Oh, hell no!

Such were my reactions as I read this otherwise totally engrossing debut novel that already is, according to several reports, slated to become a motion picture starring Charlize Theron. But setting aside my feelings that a professional woman like successful CIA analyst Vivian Miller simply couldn't, and wouldn't, make this many dumb decisions, I really, really enjoyed this book and all its psychological drama.

Vivian, you see, is trying to ferret out a Russian sleeper cell. One fateful day, she makes a breakthrough - and discovers the photos of five spies who are operating in the United States. Great news, surely; and for four of the five, that's true. The identity of one, however, chills her to the bone - bringing her entire married life into serious question and threatening the lives of her family, including the four children she shares with her much-loved husband Matt.

Now that she knows, she must wrestle with what she will do about it; at least the first quarter of the book deals with her angst in trying to rationalize her decision either way. Once she makes it, of course, there will be no turning back, and her life - and those of her husband and young children - will be forever changed (for better or worse). 

Finally, she makes her choice, and from that point on, things turn exciting. Throughout, Vivian continues to fret over every word, action and facial expression coming from everyone around her, but the action is inescapable and the twists (most of them surprising) keep coming right up to the end. 

As other reviewers have said, the book is reminiscent of FX TV's popular series, The Americans; visions of stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys danced through my head throughout whether or not I wanted them to. I also can see potential for the movie, and it might be interesting to see how the story translates to the big screen. I'll probably pass, since I'm not much of a movie-goer (especially if I've read the book). As for the latter, I absolutely recommend it and offer sincere thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland (Ballantine Books, January 2018); 304 pp.

USE OF FORCE

5 stars out of 5


Every time the author churns out a new Scot Harvath thriller, I have second thoughts about reading it. That's because settings in hot, dirty, far-off countries where war and strife are facts of daily life really don't have much appeal to me. Then too, I know I'll be subjected to a dose or two - sometimes hefty - of the author's opinions about what the United States ought to be doing about it (with which sometimes I agree but more often don't).

But every single time, all that fades into the background once I start reading - and I've been reading for quite some time (according to Amazon, this is the 17th book featuring Harvath, now a covert counter-terrorism operative who does a lot of work for a private company and its aging owner and Harvath's mentor, Reed Carleton). As this one starts, Harvath has left the love of his life in Boston and is chasing a suspected suicide bomber - which turns out to be three - at the Burning Man Festival.

It is also learned that a man thought to be up to his Bunsen burners in  weapons of mass destruction was on a boat that went down in the Mediterranean Sea. Too bad, so sad, on the surface - but his death raises the question of what he was doing there, where he was headed and what he was planning after he arrived. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency wants answers to those questions, but they don't have the reach (i.e., permission to run clandestine operations) to get the them. For that, they turn to Harvath; whether or not he's successful - and there's every reason to believe he will be - there won't be any blowback on the CIA.

As if that weren't enough, it seems someone once close to Carleton may now be his worst enemy - out to get the old man along with any or all of his team members. The ensuing pages are stacked with plenty of intrigue, torture, murder and razor-close calls, with all the story lines coming together for a satisfying ending (plus one that's sure to carry over to the next book in the series). For sure I'll be in line to get it!

Use of Force by Brad Thor (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, June 2017); 369 pp.

THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

4 stars out of 5


In 2015, one of the 123 books I read was Mrs. John Doe, the first in a series featuring Nora Baron, wife of CIA operative Jeff Baron, actress and drama teacher at Stony Brook University on Long Island, N.Y. (where, for the record, our son earned his master's degree). I enjoyed that one, so when I got the chance to request an advance review copy of this second installment, I didn't hesitate for a second.

Nora's actions in that first adventure apparently impressed her husband's boss at the CIA so much that he picked her to lead the mission here. That seemed a bit of a stretch - I've heard how insular those CIA folks are, after all - until I learned that this job would require Nora to pose as a TV news host. All rightee then, I said - she may not have a lot of journalistic chops, but she certainly should be a shoe-in for portraying her assigned character.

The script goes something like this: A beautiful and talented Russian theater star, Galina Rostova, has contacted the CIA to seek asylum in the United States in exchange for information she claims is critical to U.S. security. Getting her to the States, though, won't be a walk in Central Park; Nora and her team must travel to Venice - where Galina is starring in a stage production of Chekhov's The Seagull - ostensibly to do a profile of the actress. At some point during the fake interviews, Galina is to be whisked away to a plane that will take her to freedom - far from the Russian general (and lover) she insists is a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to stop her from leaving him.

Not surprisingly, that old best-laid plans thing rears its head early on, most notably in the form of a snowstorm that effectively shuts down the entire city, its airport and waterways - and nearly drops the curtain on the escape plan. Meanwhile, Russian agents, who possibly suspect that a defection is in the works, begin to pop up stage right and left and anywhere else they're not wanted. Even though he's working primarily behind the scenes, Nora's husband Jeff gets involved as well, taking cues from his wife and doing what he can to keep Galina and everyone on the CIA team alive and the mission on pace.

All of that is complicated by a few twists that suggest some of the situations may not be as described and characters not as honest as they claim, so it's touch-and-go as to who will make it to the final bows. I'll never tell, though, so you'll just have to read it and find out for yourself.

The Woman Who Knew Too Much by Tom Savage (Alibi, March 2017); 242 pp.

THE GOOD SPY DIES TWICE

4 stars out of 5

If this is, as the description suggests, the first book in a series, it's off to a pretty good start. The characters are interesting, the plot intriguing and the action relatively fast-paced. Leading the case is investigative journalist Jake Boxer, who used to host a tabloid-type show called "Bullseye." 

Several years back, Jake's sound man on the show is murdered - presumably by Russian intelligence agents - while he was digging up fodder for the show related to a strange humming noise said to be causing health issues for local folks. At the time, the sound man was engaged to the Clare, the show's producer; but after Jake goes on one too many far-out on-camera rants, the show is canceled and he's kicked off his career path.

Fast-forward a few years to the start of the current story, when a man convicted of murdering Soviet spies back in the 1970s and who claimed to be a former contract hitman for the CIA is executed. Jack has just married Clare (who's now a travel writer), and the two have landed at a fancy-schmancy ski resort in remote Alaska called Blind River - ostensibly so she can write an article about the place. Clare interviewed the now-dead inmate several times for a story years ago and, to Jake's surprise, she's clearly upset by the guy's execution. Suddenly, her behavior turns curiously secretive; and after a nasty turn of events, Jake learns only that the man's last words to Clare were, "The good spy dies twice."

Needless to say, Jake - ever the newshound (and a paranoid one at that)  - can't bring himself to not try to get to the bottom of his wife's interest in the old man and the meaning behind those words. As he pokes around the secluded town and resort, he runs into several questionable characters  and, potentially, an international conspiracy that's rooted in the past but has far-reaching implications for the present and beyond.

For the most part, the writing is solid, with lines here and there that gave me a chuckle, such as:

"...the ice-skating rink and hot cocoa stand was [sic] decorated with enough mistletoe to get the entire town laid."

I must admit, though, that although I enjoyed the book, I never "connected" with any of the characters who - despite all that happens to them - never seemed to give off any emotional vibes that seemed real to me (hence my rating of 4 stars instead of 5). There is plenty of ongoing tension as Jake tries to learn who's behind the conspiracy - no, I didn't know till the end - but somehow I just couldn't feel his often considerable pain. I really did hate to put the book down when other chores demanded my attention, but at the same time, at least twice I found myself wondering if the ending would turn out like the memorable finale of "Newhart" (if you don't know what that was, it's worth looking up). 

For the record, I was granted an advance copy in exchange for an honest review courtesy of the author and publisher via NetGalley. And also for the record, yes, I've put this series on my watch list for the next installment - if only because the former journalist in me wants to find out what story Jake will end up chasing next.  

The Good Spy Dies Twice by Mark Hosack (Wide Awake Books, September 2016); 324 pp.

HARD CASE

4 stars out of 5

I was made aware of this book, the first in a series featuring former Marine Corps special ops guy turned freelancer and extreme cage fighter John Harding, through an Amazon.com offer to download it for 99 cents. I'm not even sure why I took a closer look, except it was the first in a series, so if I liked it, I'd be able to look forward to more; and, I liked that it had earned an average of 4-1/2 stars from 76 reviewers. The clincher, though, was learning that Harding spent his teenage years in Leavittsburg, Ohio.

Say what? Leavittsburg is a very small community of a couple of thousand residents along the Mahoning River in Trumbull County not many miles from my home - and it's so small that it's unlikely anyone would mention it in a book unless he or she were familiar with it. So I did a little sleuthing of my own; I didn't unearth much except that the author at one time attended the now-closed Western Reserve High School in nearby Warren, Ohio, and thus Leavittsburg would have been almost in his back yard. But that was enough for me to say what the heck? It was less than a buck, and I was intrigued. 

And now that I've finished it, I'm hooked.

Harding, it seems, ran away from his Leavittsburg home and an extremely abusive father at age 14; with a little age adjustment, he got into military service, where he performed spectacularly and learned several languages. Subsequently, he's recruited by a CIA agent to take on special projects that must remain under the government radar - most of which involve utilizing his special skills and killing bad guys. To supplement that income and satisfy his need for violence, he earns money as an extreme cage fighter and takes on odd jobs doing bodyguard and skip trace work for his manager.

Along the way, Harding manages to knock the stuffing out of an extreme fighter backed by the Russian mob, thus putting himself in their crosshairs. At the same time, he's recruited to protect a young Afghani woman he knew as a child when he was doing military service there - now grown, she's come to America to speak out against the atrocities happening back at home. Helping Harding with the latter task is lawyer and love interest Tess Connagher (it's her law firm that was directed to hire Harding to protect the Afghani woman). 

Since there are two more books in the series that I know of - Hard Case - The Lure of Hell and Hard Case - Voyage of the Damned - it's clear from the beginning of this one that Harding will survive. And given his background and occupation, it's also clear there'll be no shortage of knock-down, drag-out fights in this book. In fact, those events are pretty much ongoing - moving from action in the field to action in a cage. People get killed right and left (but, as Harding points out, he doesn't kill people who don't deserve it). There's a little romance, a little humor here and there, and the result is that it's really a good book that held my attention all the way to the end. I will caution, though, that it you don't like reading about blood and guts, this probably isn't your style. As for me, bring on the next one!

Hard Case by Bernard Lee DeLeo (RJ Parker Publishing, November 2013), 288 pp.