Dog trainer and handler, Jillian Lederman, is moving with her pack to Libby, Montana, a place where she has made friends and hopes to find a fresh start. It’s time. For years, she’s just been keeping her wounds fresh by staying in Missoula—where there were regular reminders of all she’s lost—while the rest of the world has continued to move forward. Perhaps the new house, the beautiful mountains, and a certain pair of clear, blue eyes hold the promise of new beginnings.
Since changing careers years ago, former FBI agent Lucas Wolff has found a much better work-life balance as a member of High Mountain Trackers. Still able to serve his community, he has also been carving out a comfortable existence for himself and is not looking to make any changes to it anytime soon. Not even for a particular bold and ballsy redhead he’s been trying to avoid.
That turns out to be an impossible feat when a plane crash during a blizzard sets both of them on the trail of a young girl, all alone in the mountains. But it soon becomes evident they are not the only ones looking, and staying safe means sticking close together.
HIGH INTESITY (High Mountain Trackers 2nd Gen) by Freya Barker is an intense romantic suspense full of action and all the love and emotions I look for in a great read in this genre. This book can easily be read as a standalone story, but there are carryover characters from the other books in the series. I have read and loved them all, but this one is special.
After helping law enforcement and the HMT (High Mountain Trackers) on their last case, Jillian Lederman makes the move to Libby, Montana with her special pack of dogs to make a fresh start and hopefully leave some of her heartache behind. She hopes with her new connections and friends, she can begin to move forward with her life. When a plane goes down in the mountains, Jillian and her dogs are called in when the HMT team discovers an eleven-year-old girl is missing from the crash site and may still be alive.
Former FBI agent Lucas Wolff has found a more balanced life and contentment with the HMT team. He can still serve his community, and he is close to his aging mother. The first time Lucas saw the beautiful redhead with her trained dogs, he knew he was in trouble, but there was no avoiding their interactions in little Libby.
As they work together on this case, the chemistry is inescapable, but so is the danger.
I loved this story! Jillian is so strong, intelligent, and loving with a backstory that broke my heart. Lucas is her perfect other half, and they were definitely meant to be. Their love story is just beautifully real. There are explicit sex scenes, but they are not gratuitous and fit well into a growing adult relationship and romance. Jillian’s dogs are as lovable and important to me in this story as the human characters. I enjoyed getting reacquainted once again with the other HMTs and their families. I felt the suspense plot of this book was much more complex than what you expect in a typical genre romantic suspense and yet it is in balance with the romance. This is an overall great romantic suspense!
I highly recommend this new addition to the series as well as the entire series.
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About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; she creates characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy, but just as deserving of romance, thrills, and chills in their lives.
Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We’ve Read All Year Award for “Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!
For the latest news and updates on books and upcoming releases, you can subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/Freya_Newsletter
Best friends and partners through high-stakes missions . . . And the biggest risk they’ll take is falling in love.
Eight months ago, black ops operative, Magician, infiltrated a sex-slave ring. Little did she realize the mission would not only change her life forever, but kick off a series of events no one saw coming.
Romeo still can’t wipe the image of Magician’s battered body nearly dying in his arms. Since then, one-night stands have lost their appeal. Now, his best friend and partner stars in fantasies he has no business envisioning.
When a pro-American Oil lobbyist and a Saudi Arabian Oil Sheikh—two natural enemies—join forces to destroy new legislation allowing America to gain independence from foreign oil, they utilize bombings to throw the country into chaos.
Magician’s intuition knows there’s a connection between the two, but she’s forbidden to investigate since she has no evidence. Romeo doesn’t think twice about defying orders and remains by Magician’s side. He was sidelined once and Magician paid a horrific price, he will not let anyone hurt her again. Their investigation takes them across the globe, jeopardizing their careers and lives.
But nothing is riskier than gambling their friendship to find love…
***
Elise’s Thoughts
Crossing The Line by P. A. DePaul is the third book in the series. Each book is part of the romantic suspense genre. Whereas the first two books were more suspense than romance, this book is more romance than suspense with the heroine Magician and the hero Romeo, part of the Delta Squad team.
The story goes back to eight months ago. Magician was part of a black ops mission, going undercover to infiltrate a sex-slave ring. Little did she realize the mission would change her life forever. The team was sent it to rescue the girls with Romeo assigned to rescue Magician. He still can’t wipe the image of Magician’s battered body nearly dying in his arms. Since then, one-night stands have lost their appeal. Now, he realizes he is falling for his best friend and partner.
The suspense part of the plot has a pro-American Oil lobbyist and a Saudi Arabian Oil Sheikh-two natural enemies-join forces to destroy new legislation allowing America to gain independence from foreign oil, they utilize bombings to throw the country into chaos. It is during a party that Magician attended that she recognizes the lobbyist as being an assistant of the Sheikh, knowing that both were involved in the sex trafficking ring.
But because she has no evidence, the SBG Agency will not give her the go ahead to investigate. She and her partner Romeo decide to defy the order to stand down. Together they investigate on their own with only the help of another teammate, Talon. They are taking a big risk to expose the Sheik and lobbyist, but also realize that they are risking getting emotionally and intimately involved.
This novel emphasizes how the characters through their profession and relationship find that the greatest gift of all is survival, success, and finding a soul mate. DePaul allows the relationship to grow into an intimate one of unbreakable love The protagonists are complex and caring who teach each other how to trust again. The mission is intense and will keep readers guessing until the very end.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for this book?
P. A. DePaul: I was intrigued how Americans became less dependent on foreign oil when I started writing this book. There was also a backstory that started with Exchange of Fire that I delved into with this book in the opening scene. The common thread with all three books is the incident in Mexico. Readers could read each book on their own, but had they read all three books they got a deeper understanding of the op.
EC: Does each member of the team, part of the SBG Agency, have their own set of skills?
PAD: I modeled it off of real life where most of the operators have a dedicated skill set, they bring to the team. I have spoken to a lot of law enforcement and read a lot of military books. My father was military and law enforcement. Wraith, who was highlighted in the first book, Exchange of Fire, is the sniper, while her significant other Grady, being a former Marine, has his military skills. Talon likes to infiltrate and is good with knives. Romeo was a former law enforcement explosives expert. Magician is good with disguises for herself and the team. Jeremy aka Cappy is the strategist and commander. Ted is the IT expert. The team dynamics include love, support, respect, and grief. In book one the team was in it in the last half, in book two the team was in it from beginning to end, and in book three the team was hardly in it.
EC: Did this book have more intimate scenes than the other two books in the series?
PAD: Yes. Any reader that read all the books would have witnessed how Magician and Romeo started recognizing each other on a more romantic level. It just felt right for the progression they had gone through from the beginning. This one was heavier on the romantic and less on the suspense. The first book, Exchange of Fire, had a lot of high action, the second book, Shadow of Doubt, had deeper characters.
EC: How would you describe Magician, the female lead?
PAD: She goes undercover and likes to isolate herself. She is direct, broken, charming, and manipulative. She wants a place to belong because she is afraid of being abandoned. She is very complex.
EC: How would you describe Romeo, the male lead?
PAD: A player who at times can be shallow. He is warm-hearted, humorous, loyal, charming, confident, restless, and introspective. I love the part about him that he reads romance novels to understand what women are thinking.
EC: What about the relationship between the two of them?
PAD: A lot of bantering. They went from friends to lovers. They consider themselves best friends, partners, and have a bond. They have an intense attraction. They have divergent backgrounds. Romeo is from wealth, and she was always abandoned. He wants to protect her, while she is his anchor. Magician is not as trusting of him because he is a player and what happened to her on the op. Because of that op she experiences fear, panic, doubt, and suspicion. Her heart thinks differently than her mind. Because of her childhood she wants to ensure that her teammates and partner, Romeo, will entrust her to help with the mission.
EC: Did the third book have more banter between the characters than the other books?
PAD: Yes, Magician and Romeo tease each other a lot with a lot of sarcasm back and forth. They have that comfort and do charm each other. Wraith/Grady and Cappy/Michelle walked on eggs more in their relationship. Probably because they were in such intense situations.
EC: How would you describe the two women operatives, Wraith and Magician?
PAD: They do have similarities. They both are dedicated to make the mission a success. They have a tender side to them. Wraith can compartmentalize a little more. I see them as quick-witted with sharp minds. Magician can turn on the charm and sway decisions, while Wraith is more direct, and she is not good at shmoozing. But since that Mexican mission they have become distant and guarded with secrets.
EC: The second book, Shadow of Doubt highlights Cappy and Michelle?
PAD: It starts out with Cappy already the team leader. He is always trying to put the team and mission first. He is all about everyone else but himself. Michelle is trying to overcome being a victim of that Mexican op. They both have in common that they had to give up their families.
EC: Next books?
PAD: I would like to write Talon’s book. But I am in a holding pattern trying to figure out what his story is. It feels like I am forcing things. Talon is not the most diplomatic and always says it like it is.
Another book is a spin-off in the SBG world, romantic suspense genre. The books we were talking about today has a team, the Delta Squad. But the spin-off will have a single operator, someone who gets in and out. It will come out the end of this year, or the beginning of next year. The working title is Spy Versus Spy. Each spy works for two different agencies and they will eventually have to work together.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEADLY DEPTHS by John F. Dobbyn on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
The death by bizarre means of his mentor, Professor Barrington Holmes, draws Mathew Shane into the quest of five archeologists, known to each other as “The Monkey’s Paws”, for an obscure object of unprecedented historic and financial value. The suspected murders of others of the Monkey’s Paws follow their pursuit of five clues found in a packet of five ancient parchments. Shane’s commitment to disprove the police theory of suicide by Professor Holmes carries him to the steamy bayous of New Orleans, the backstreets of Montreal, the sunken wreck of a pirate vessel off Barbados, and the city of Maroon descendants of escaped slaves in Jamaica.
By weaving a thread from the sacrificial rites of the Aztec kingdom before the Spanish conquest of Mexico through the African beliefs of Jamaican Maroons and finally to the ventures of Captain Henry Morgan during the Golden Era of Piracy in his conquest and sacking of Spanish cities on the Spanish Main, Shane reaches a conclusion he could never have anticipated.
Genre: Mystery, Crime Thriller Published by: Oceanview Publishing Publication Date: August 2023 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 9781608095483 (ISBN10: 1608095487)
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
DEADLY DEPTHS by John F. Dobbyn is an edge-of-your-seat treasure hunt thriller and intricate crime mystery mash-up novel that kept me turning the pages well into the night. This is a standalone novel that is a great mystery/thriller read and while the author is new to me, he does have other published books I will be checking out in the future.
Law professor Matthew Shane also has a love of archeology from his mentor, well known archeologist, Professor Barrington Holmes. Holmes is found dead at his office desk, and it is determined a suicide, but Matthew knows his mentor would never commit suicide.
His search for the truth leads him to a group of five archeologists, including the deceased Barrington, that call themselves “The Monkey’s Paw”. They were entangled in a mysterious expedition and since their return, they are being killed one by one.
Joining forces with the remaining members of “The Monkey’s Paw” and the help of an enigmatic Turkish antiquities dealer in France, Matthew is on a worldwide chase that may cost him his life, too.
I really loved this story. It is full of surprise twists, red herrings, and treachery. Matthew is determined to discover the truth, no matter the peril. He is an honorable, adventurous, and strong protagonist that is easy to cheer for throughout the hunt. The history of the Aztec artifact everyone wants, and the history of the Maroons of Jamaica were both interesting and well positioned throughout the plot to never interfere with the pace. The plot is well paced, fast and seldom lets up even when the plot goes back in time to the diary of a Welsh privateer. The climax was intense, and it leads to a very satisfying conclusion to both the mystery and the treasure hunt.
I highly recommend this high intensity action-adventure mystery/thriller!
***
Excerpt
We arrived at an area of private docks in a town called Oistins. The driver stopped at the base of a wharf that anchored power boats of every size, speed, and description. One power yacht stood out as the choice of the fleet. The Sun Catcher. My guide hustled us both directly to the carpeted gangplank that led on board a vessel that could pass for a floating Ritz Carlton.
The engines were already revving. I was escorted to a padded deck-lounge with maximum view on the foredeck. I had scarcely settled in, when we were slicing through late-afternoon sea-swells that barely caused a rise and fall.
My guide, still in suit and tie, brought me, without either of us asking, a tall, cool, planter’s punch with an ample kick of Mount Gay Rum. For the first moment since Mick O’Flynn told me that someone was asking for me, I made a fully-considered decision. This entire fantasy could easily turn into a disaster that could outstrip New Orleans and Montreal together, but to hell with it. It was just too elating not to accept it at face value – at least for the moment.
My mind was just settling into a comfortable neutral, when I heard footsteps from behind that had more heft than I imagined my guide could produce. I made a move to swing out of the padded deck-chair, when I felt the touch of a hand with authoritative strength on my shoulder. The voice that went with it had the same commanding undertone.
“Stay where you are, Michael. I’ll join you.”
A matching deck-chair was set beside me. I found myself looking up at a shadow against the setting sun that appeared double my bulk and yet compact as an Olympic hammer-thrower. The voice came again. “You’re an interesting study, Michael. I may call you ‘Michael’, right? I should. I probably know more about you than anyone you know. You might have guessed that by now.”
An open hand reached down out of the shadow. I took it. The handshake fit the shaker. It took some seconds for the feeling to come back into mine.
Before I could answer, the voice was coming from the deck-lounge beside me. “No need for coy name games. You know that I’m Wayne Barnes. And you know that I’m one of the, shall we say, associates in that little clique we call the Monkey’s Paws. In fact, your escort here, Emile, tells me it was the mention of my name that swung your decision to get on that plane.”
He nodded to my nearly empty Planter’s Punch. “Another?”
Before I could answer, he gave a slight nod to someone behind us. Before I could say “Yes”, or possibly, but less likely, “No”, a native Bajan in a server’s uniform was at my left taking my empty and handing me a full glass.
I was three good sips into the second glass before I said my first word since coming aboard. I looked over at Wayne. I seemed to have his full focus. His engaging smile seemed to carry a full message of relaxed hospitality, and none of the threatening undercurrents I was scanning for. “You have an interesting way of delivering an invitation, Mr. Barnes”
He raised a hand. “Wayne.”
“’Wayne’ it is. You must have an interesting social life.”
“I do. Do you find it offensive?”
I looked over the bow, past the deepening blue crystal water to the reddening horizon. I felt the soothing caress of the slightly salted ocean breeze. I took one more sip of the most perfectly balanced planters punch of a lifetime, and looked back at Wayne. “Not in the slightest. Yet.”
“Ah yes, ‘yet’.”
“Right. I’m sure this won’t impress you, Wayne, and it’s not a complaint, but I’ve had a week full of enough tragedy to fill a lifetime. Hence the ‘yet’.”
His smile and focused attention remained. “I know more about your week, perhaps, than even you do. But go on.”
The second planter’s punch was having a definitely mollifying effect. “I have no idea what you mean by that last statement, Wayne, so I’ll just pass on. Given that week, and the abrupt transport from hell on earth to . . . paradise on earth, I’d have to be Mrs. Shane’s backward child not to listen for a second shoe to drop.”
The smile expanded. Still no alarms. “Or perhaps you’ve come into a sea-change of good luck, Michael. Why not go with that?”
“Why not indeed? For the moment. Just one question. ”
“Alright. One question. For now. Make it a good one.”
“Oh it is. It’s a beaut. Ecstatic as I am with all this, why the hell am I here?”
That brought a bursting laugh. “I think I’m going to enjoy having you around for a couple of days, Michael. You have an instinct for the jugular. No chipping around the edges. We won’t waste each other’s time.”
“Thank you. But that’s not an answer.”
“No it isn’t.” He looked out to the diminishing sunset. “The only answer I can give you at the moment that would do justice to the question is this. And you’ll just have to live with it for now. You’re here for a quick but depthful education. I think you’ll find it well worth two days of your life. Are you in?”
“Do I have a choice?”
We both looked back at the rapidly diminishing shore-line behind us. “None that comes to mind. Now are you in?”
That brought a smile from me, another healthy sip of the planter’s punch, and a deep breath of the ocean-fresh breeze. “I’m in.”
We chatted through the sunset on far-ranging subjects that had no association whatever with Monkeys Paws, Maroons, murder-suicides – in fact nothing that gave a clue as to why my gracious host had chosen my company over the undoubtedly vast range of his acquaintances. By then, the moon had risen.
At some point, I was aware that the engines had stopped. The splash of two anchors could be heard on either side. The sun had set. The shift from twilight to a darkness, penetrated only by a quarter moon went unnoticed.
I was slowly sipping away at my third or possibly fourth Planter’s Punch, when I became aware of a bobbing light approaching from the port side. Without interrupting the flow of conversation, I noticed that Wayne was following its approach with more than the occasional glance until it reached the side of the yacht.
Within a few minutes, my original guide, still in suit and tie, approached Wayne’s side with an inaudible whisper. I sensed that a bit of steel crept into Wayne’s otherwise conversational tone. “I’ll see him.”
I began to get up to provide privacy. Wayne held my arm in position. “Stay, Michael. Let your education begin.” My guide nodded to someone behind us and lit his path with a small flashlight.
I settled back, as a fiftyish man with narrow, cautious eyes and thinning grey hair that might have last been combed by his mother came up along Wayne’s right side. The loose wrinkles in his ageless cotton suit indicated that he might have been close to six feet, but for a constant stoop as if to pass under an unseen beam. The stoop caused his head to bob and gave him the look of one asking for royal permission to approach.
Wayne’s eyes turned to him. I noticed the stoop of the back became more noticeable. Wayne’s voice was calm and soft, but it commanded his visitor’s full attention. “Do you have it? I assume you wouldn’t be here without it, yes, Yusuf?”
The thin mouth cracked into a smile that conveyed no humor. “Of course. Of course. But perhaps our business . . .”
Wayne nodded toward me. “No fear. Mr. Shayne is here for an education. We shouldn’t deprive him of that, should we?”
The smile on the man’s lips did not match the apprehension in the tiny eyes, but he nodded. “As you say.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
The man gave a slight glance to either side as if it were the habit of a lifetime. He reached into some deep pocket inside his suitcoat. I noticed a slight but tell-tale hesitation before he slipped out what appeared to be a hard, flat, roundish object, about seven inches across. It was wrapped in several layers of ragged cloth.
He held it until Wayne extended a hand and took it onto his lap. He laid it on the small tray on his stomach. He looked back at the man, who simply forced a smile .
“I assume it all went well?”
“Oh yes, Mr. Barnes. No problems,”
Wayne smiled back. “How I do love to hear those words.”
My eyes were glued to Wayne’s hands as he carefully peeled back one layer of cloth after another. When he turned over the last layer, the object in the shape of a disc sent out instant glints of reflections of the rising moonlight.
I could see Wayne running the tips of his fingers over the entire jagged surface of the disc. He took a flip cigarette lighter out of his pocket, opened it, and lit the flame. When he held it close to the object, I could make out the resemblance of a human face, coarsely pieced together from chips of green stone.
Wayne held it up toward me and ran the flame in front of it.
“Do you recognize it Michael?”
“I’m afraid not.”
He nodded. “Most wouldn’t. Your friend, Professor Holmes, would spot it immediately. The Mayans made death masks to protect their important rulers in their journey to the afterlife. They go back to around 700 A.D.”
“What stones are these? They look like jade.”
“Good spotting. The eyes were made of rare seashells.”
“And I assume valuable?”
He laughed again. “Right to the crux of the issue. Right, Michael.”
He turned the object over and ran his fingers over the back side of it. “One that apparently goes back as far as this, and belonged to the ruler we have in mind, the right collector will pay half a million. Isn’t that right, Yusuf?”
Yusuf’s grin was beginning to become genuine. “Oh yes. Oh yes. And more, as you would know, Mr. Barnes.”
Wayne swung his legs over the deck-lounge toward me. He sat up and very carefully replaced the wrapping that had covered the mask. He stood up and walked toward the man. “And the key to its value is that it is absolutely authentic.”
Wayne looked down at the grinning eyes of Yusuf for several seconds. I think I let out a yell that came from the pit of my stomach when Wayne hurled the wrapped object over side of the yacht, into the pitch blackness that absorbed it with barely a splash.
I thought that the man would crumble to the deck. He barely held his balance. In the blackness of the night, I couldn’t make out his features, but I know to a certainty that every drop of blood left his face.
Wayne called a uniformed attendant.
Before the man moved, Wayne took hold of his arm. I was almost as frozen to the spot as the man. I think we were both certain that he would be following the object into the blackness below.
Wayne held him close enough to speak directly into his ear, but spoke loudly enough, I’m sure, so that I could hear.
“It’s a fake, Yusuf. I’m sure you know that. But you’ll live to do me a service. You’re a delivery boy. Nothing more. I want you to take a message back to Istanbul. I want you to say just this. ‘You had my trust. I give it sparingly, and not twice. Rest assured, we’ll speak of this again.’ Do you have that Yusuf?”
The man had all he could do to nod.
Wayne signaled his attendant. “Take him back.”
The man was escorted, practically carried toward the back of the vessel. In a few minutes, I could see running lights heading away from the yacht.
Wayne sat back down. “What do you think, Michael? One more Planter’s Punch before dinner?”
I could only smile at the abrupt change of tone and subject.
“No? Then shall we go in to dinner. The chef should be prepared by now.”
When he stood up, I saw that he took something from under his deck-lounge. My mouth sprung open when a glint of light from an opening door of the yacht cabin lit up the death mask. I could see amusement in the smile of my host.
“What on earth did you throw overboard?”
“Oh that. I substituted my lap tray in the wrapping for the desk mask. I’ll keep the mask.”
“But if it’s a fake.”
“It is, but a fake by a well-respected forger of these antiquities. It has enough value for that reason alone to pay the expenses I’ve already incurred in acquiring it. Shall we go to dinner?”
***
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Author Bio
Following graduation from Boston Latin School and Harvard College with a major in Latin and Linguistics, three years on active duty as fighter intercept director in the United States Air Force, graduation from Boston College Law School, three years of practice in civil and criminal trial work, and graduation from Harvard Law School with a Master of Laws degree, I began a career as a Professor of Law at Villanova Law School. Twenty-five years ago I began writing mystery/thriller fiction. I have so far had twenty-five short stories published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery magazine, and six mystery thriller novels, the Michael Knight/Lex Devlin series, published by Oceanview Publishing. The second novel, Frame Up, was selected as Foreword Review’s Book of the Year.
“Sacrifices must be made; battles will be lost. It is always this way in a quest for change.”
In the near future, Earth’s oil reserves are depleted. Nations grapple to find an alternative energy source. Terrorists race for control over world resources. And the Syndicate―a conglomerate of allied intelligence agencies―struggles to maintain peace.
Syndicate operative Juliet Arroway and her best friend, Mariam, a progressive Saudi princess, are tasked with hunting down terrorists and putting an end to the global energy war, the same mission that cost Juliet’s father his life. But when multiple terrorist attacks result in devastating losses, including the death of Juliet’s longtime boyfriend, and the Syndicate begins to suspect that Mariam’s family is somehow involved, Juliet must rise above her heartbreak to discover the truth.
In her quest, Juliet is paired with Graham―a dashing yet arrogant FBI agent―and embarks on a dangerous journey toward love and survival as they race to obtain the formula that could solve the energy crisis. But when peace demands a stunning betrayal, Juliet must decide how much she is willing to pay for the success of her mission. Brilliantly weaving fact and fiction, Butler tells a story seldom told―how female heroics can change the course of war.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Syndicate Spy by Brittany Butler is an intriguing story that allows readers a glimpse into the espionage world. A former CIA operative, Brittany uses her personal experience to take readers on a thrilling ride.
Brittany Butler spent nine years as a targeting officer within CIA’s Directorate of Operations, Counterterrorism Center. Both at Langley and on temporary assignments in the Middle East, Brittany spearheaded operational efforts to achieve some of the most sensitive foreign intelligence objectives abroad. She uses her first-hand knowledge of targeting methodologies to recruit spies along with extensive field experience to discover and apprehend terrorists abroad.
As a staunch advocate for women’s rights in the Middle East, Brittany has worked for human rights campaigns in Afghanistan to protect and promote the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls.
She tries to incorporate her feelings into the novel. The story takes place in the future where the Earth’s oil reserves are depleted. Nations grapple to find an alternative energy source. Terrorists race for control over world resources. And the Syndicate, a conglomerate of allied intelligence agencies, struggles to maintain peace.
Both heroines, Juliet Arroway, and her asset, Saudi Princess Mariam, are trying to hunt down the Islamic terrorists responsible for many murderous attacks. A member of Mariam’s family is suspected as the main instigator of the war and terrorist attacks. Juliet is paired with FBI agent Graham in the task to obtain the formula that could solve the energy crisis.
This is a story of deception, double-cross, heroism, and female empowerment. Both Juliet and Mariam are independent, self-assured, and self-sufficient women trying to change the culture of how women are treated.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Did your professional experience influence the story?
Brittany Butler: I really feel passionate about women’s rights in Afghanistan. My last assignment was in the Pakistan-Afghanistan division where I worked for about three years. I saw all the abuses of the Taliban. I now volunteer for an organization called, Women for Afghan Women. They provided funds for shelters there. One of the Afghan women I became friends with has worked for the US military and intelligence community quite a bit, becoming a translator. I wrote the novel as fictional to go into the moral dilemma of espionage with internal struggles.
EC: It seems to be you have the same uphill struggle J. A. Jance went through, writing in a man’s world?
BB: I looked at a statistic. Out of 127 spy authors only two were female. I thought about changing my name or just putting my initials, to hide the fact I was a woman. But I want to showcase the female perspective, so I do not want to hide behind a different identity. I also wanted to point out in the book that doing this type of job many women feel they cannot espouse femininity.
EC: You have in your book strong women?
BB: The Afghan woman who is my friend showed strength, even after so much hardship. They did not want to be victimized, but wanted to educate themselves, to have a better future for their children, and to be given opportunities to work. I decided to write a story that showcased a powerful Arab woman, Mariam. I also wanted to change the narrative about female intelligence officers. We do not use our bodies and sex to obtain information. We use our brains, tradecraft, with the same training and skills as our male counterparts. Twenty years in this war and the country is back to where it was, regarding the women there.
EC: How would you describe Juliet, the intelligence officer?
BB: Strong, feisty, has her own mind, reckless, independent, and a former Army Ranger turned spy. She grieves the loss of her father and is determined to end the energy war that cost her boyfriend and father’s life. She is also passionate and becomes frustrated as I did with ending these wars, while trying to achieve something.
EC: How would you describe FBI Agent Graham?
BB: He deals with a lot of the same pitfalls as Juliet. He is loyal, protective, brash, brave, bold, powerful, and strong.
EC: The relationship between Juliet and the hero, FBI Agent Graham?
BB: They can push each other’s buttons. Juliet is guarded and likes to avoid attachment. I drew this from my own relationship with my husband. The dynamic is that he is supportive and empowering. His love for me allowed for me to be who I am, which is the same case with Juliet. This made me feel more secure which is how I wrote their relationship, to do the difficult work. Juliet and I are accepted for who we are.
EC: What about the Arab asset, Mariam?
BB: Strong, a feminist, defiant, reckless, and courageous. She uses the same tactics as her male counterparts, just like me, but is judged in a more severe way.
EC: How would you describe the Islamic terrorists?
BB: They are vindictive, Chauvinists, evil, violent, not empathetic, and egotistical.
EC: A scene in the book reminded me of the Khost bombing where many CIA people were killed?
BB: Yes, it mirrored the operation in 2009. This had a tremendous impact for my decision to leave after my good friend, Darren LaBone died there. We worked together as case officers in Jordan. He felt bad he was not there for his wife and three-year-old girl. We were desensitized from the danger, until this happened. Regarding that scene, my dad died while writing the book, so I drew my personal grief from his and Darren’s death.
EC: What is the Syndicate Organization based upon?
BB: I mirrored it on what the CIA does in terms of working with foreign liaisons. We operate as a conglomerate of allied intelligence agencies. We work hand in hand together. We share information from sources.
EC: The scene between the Saudi Royalty, Salmon and Aziz,-what does it represent?
BB: Trying to find ways that unite people versus what divides them. There was a quote in the book, “We all worship the same G-d. Why can’t we unite on that fact.” Salmon wants to continue to achieve economic growth and prosperity for the Saudis through cooperation. Aziz has the alternate viewpoint, to maintain monopolies on all energy sources, to wage the Jihad War.
EC: Next book?
BB: My next book will involve Russia and China. Mariam is waging a war in support of the Feminists, based on what is happening in Iran. She needs the Syndicate’s help, but they are intimidated by her accumulative power. There is no title and release date.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas follows the life of a 19-year-old huntress, Feyre Acheron, who was brought into an unfamiliar magical realm after killing a faerie in the forest. Upon entering the world of the faeries, she was forced to adapt and live in a world where humans don’t belong. As Feyre becomes more involved with the people around her, she becomes aware of the looming catastrophe she must face to save everyone.
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Book Review
From the description alone, most people, like writer Anjitha M, will say that it’s a simple retelling of the classic Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. However, despite the obvious reference to the Disney classic, Maas was able to craft something different on her own that makes the book unique from the movie.
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in the series of the same name. The author’s strong worldbuilding immerses readers in a setting that offers both excitement and uncertainty as we, the readers, set foot in the world of Fae through the eyes of Feyre. In A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR to its legions of fans), we get to meet various characters who all have different backgrounds and perspectives, and we get to journey with a female protagonist who can stand on her own and shoot arrows with her bow.
The story starts with Feyre’s life-changing encounter with a faerie in the woods, which obliged her to leave her family in the human world for a place she had only heard of in stories. Even though Feyre is human, the story revolves around her journey as she interacts and connects with the fantastical creatures of the Fae. As readers, we get to acquaint ourselves and learn about the world’s culture along with her. Feyre’s determination to remain strong despite being thrown in an unfamiliar place with no allies is something worth admiring about her.
Although the first part was a bit slow-paced, the latter half brings so much action and drama. It makes it impossible to not pick up the second book and read what happens next. Reading ACOTAR on its own isn’t enough to fully understand and appreciate the world that the author has created for us. If you plan to read the following book, A Court of Mist and Fury, you can expect more gripping drama, intense romance, and exceptional worldbuilding from Sarah J. Maas.
ACOTAR is a page-turner if high fantasy, adventure, and romance suit your preferences. Once you finish you will want to check out the entire series since the beginning only gives you a glimpse of what’s to come.
Now may just be the best time to read it too as Deadline announced that producers plan to release an ACOTAR TV adaptation on premium cable and streaming networks. If you want to delve into the world of the Fae with vibrant visuals, you can check out the TV adaptation soon. However, if you’re interested in more action-packed adventures and romance books than fantasy, you should add Guild Boss by Jayne Castle to your to-read list. Accompanied by Lucy and Gabriel, you can discover the lawlessness of Illusion Town.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for WATERBORNE by J. Luke Bennecke which is the second book in the Civil Terror series featuring Civil Engineer Jake Bendel.
Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
A thought-provoking thriller about a very real threat to the essence of life: water. You’ll be forced to consider how you’d react if you were cornered and trapped in a terrifying, life-threatening situation. Jake Bendel and a cunning team of experts create a five-plant desalination system – all powered by environmentally friendly molten salt reactors – providing clean, healthy drinking water to millions of thirsty Californians. But the dark side of humanity sees this as a chance for revenge against the United States. A genius weaponizes the system, threatening to kill more Americans than all of World War II.
The clock is ticking. Can Jake and the FBI stop the terrorists before more innocent people are murdered in the name of the Jihad? WATERBORNE will grab you by the throat and pull you into a vicious struggle that will define the fate of the world for generations to come.
WATERBORNE by J. Luke Bennecke is the second book in the Civil Terror thriller series featuring Civil Engineer Jake Bendel. This is an action packed, fast paced thriller set in the immediate future that is equal parts thought provoking, edge-of-your-seat thrilling, but also a fun read with characters good and bad that remind me of an over-the-top movie adventure. While you can read this book as a standalone, I believe all the main characters and their motivations are better understood if you read the first book, “Civil Terror: Gridlock” first.
Jake Bendel is “the” civil engineer in California who has big ideas and answers to many of California’s and the nation’s climate problems. Jake is working to get five desalination plants up and running which are powered by an environmentally friendly nuclear reactor to solve the shortage of fresh water problem and the nuclear waste problem together.
A criminal mastermind works to weaponize the water flowing from the plants with a waterborne virus that effects not only humans, but plant life, also. Can Jake, his friends and the FBI discover who is behind this plot and find a way to neutralize the virus and save the infected?
I really enjoy reading this series of thrillers! Mr. Bennecke writes a protagonist who makes being a civil engineer exciting and demonstrates the many solutions they work on for the good of civilization. Jake is an average man thrown into extraordinary circumstances and danger. The premise of the book is interesting, realistic and thought provoking. It is easy to read and fast paced with plenty of thrills, but it is the characters that pull me in and keep me turning the pages. The characters are over the top, especially the evil antagonists and so are the FBI agents.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For me, this series of books are an action-adventure thrill ride based on a realistic premise.
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Author Bio
J. Luke Bennecke is a native Californian and veteran civil engineer who has spent his career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. In addition to his first book, Civil Terror: Gridlock, which became an Amazon Bestseller, Bennecke has written several novels and screenplays, a creative process he thoroughly enjoys. He has a BS in civil engineering from Cal Poly Pomona, an MBA from Cal State San Bernardino, a private pilot’s certificate, and is a partner in an engineering firm based in Riverside. In his role as philanthropist, he awards scholarships annually to high school seniors at his alma mater.
Bennecke resides in Southern California with his wife of 30 years, whom he enjoys traveling with, and three spunky cats. In his leisure time, he spends his hours flying, learning about innovative tech, playing golf, and catching up with his grown daughters.
Bennecke is a member of International Thriller Writers and looks forward to attending ThrillerFest every year in New York.
