Tag Archives: international suspense fiction

First Line Friday — The Paris Betrayal

16 Apr

Happy Friday! Exciting things going on this weekend with my family. My daughter gets married tomorrow! Woo hoo. Not a lot of reading has been going on, but I hope to jumpstart that soon. One of the books I am looking forward to is The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal. International suspense is a favorite of mine, yet I don’t often read it. Can’t wait to dive into this one.

Here’s the first line:

From a rooftop perch, Ben Calix watched the courier leave the Tiber and cross the piazza.

After a rough mission in Rome involving the discovery of a devastating bioweapon, Company spy Ben Calix returns to Paris to find his perfectly ordered world has collapsed. A sniper attack. An ambush. A call for help that brings French SWAT forces down on his head. Ben is out. This is a severance — reserved for incompetents and traitors.

Searching for answers and anticipating a coming attack, Ben and a woman swept up in his misfortunes must travel across Europe to find the sniper who tried to kill him, the medic who saved his life, the schoolmaster who trained him, and an upstart hacker from his former team. More than that, Ben must come to grips with his own insignificance as the Company’s plan to stop Leviathan from unleashing the bioweapon at any cost moves forward without him — and he struggles against the infection that is swiftly claiming territory within his own body.

Award-winning author James R. Hannibal rachets up the tension on every page of this suspenseful new thriller.

Former stealth pilot James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He has been shot at, locked up with surface to air missiles, and chased down a winding German road by an armed terrorist. He is a two-time Silver Falchion award-winner for his Section 13 mysteries, a Thriller Award nominee for his Nick Baron covert ops series, and a Selah Award finalist for his Clandestine Service series. James is a rare multi-sense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect. He sees and feels sounds and smells and hears flashes of light. If he tells you the chocolate cake you offered smells blue and sticky, take it as a compliment.

For more First Line fun, head over to Hoarding Books!

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If you liked . . . Promised Land by Robert Whitlow

1 Jun

Every month I try to recommend some books for readers who liked our book club selection. It isn’t always easy. Listening to Anne Bogel’s podcast, What Should I Read Next, I gained some new insight. Books don’t have to be identical, but they do need to contain what resonated with the reader, whether theme or element. I listened to my book club’s reasons for liking (or not liking) Promised Land by Robert Whitlow. They liked the interactions of the married couple, the cultural nuances depicted, the international settings, and the spiritual disciplines of the main character, but didn’t like that the book was short on action. Taking all that into account I have come up with the following recommendations. Hope you enjoy!

 

For Cultural Differences and Societal Issues

The Long Highway Home by Elizabeth Musser

Sometimes going home means leaving everything you have ever known. When the doctor pronounces “incurable cancer” and gives Bobbie Blake one year to live, she agrees to accompany her niece, Tracie, on a trip back to Austria, back to The Oasis, a ministry center for refugees that Bobbie helped start twenty years earlier. Back to where there are so many memories of love and loss. Bobbie and Tracie are moved by the plight of the refugees and in particular, the story of the Iranian Hamid, whose young daughter was caught with a New Testament in her possession back in Iran, causing Hamid to flee along the refugee Highway and putting the whole family in danger. Can a network of helpers bring the family to safety in time? And at what cost? Filled with action, danger, heartache and romance, The Long Highway Home is a hymn to freedom in life’s darkest moments.

 

For Legal Wrangling

Rule of Law by Randy Singer

What did the president know? And when did she know it?

For the members of SEAL Team Six, it was a rare mission ordered by the president, monitored in real time from the Situation Room. The Houthi rebels in Yemen had captured an American journalist and a member of the Saudi royal family. Their executions were scheduled for Easter Sunday. The SEAL team would break them out.

But when the mission results in spectacular failure, the finger-pointing goes all the way to the top.

Did the president play political games with the lives of U.S. service members?

Paige Chambers, a determined young lawyer, has a very personal reason for wanting to know the answer. The case she files will polarize the nation and test the resiliency of the Constitution. The stakes are huge, the alliances shaky, and she will be left to wonder if the saying on the Supreme Court building still holds true.

Equal justice under law.

It makes a nice motto. But will it work when one of the most powerful people on the planet is also a defendant?

 

For Marital Relationships and Edge of Seat Suspense

State of Lies by Siri Mitchell

Someone wants Georgie Brennan dead. And the more she digs for the truth, the fewer people she can trust.

Months after her husband, Sean, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, physicist Georgie Brennan discovers he lied to her about where he had been going that day. A cryptic notebook, a missing computer, and strange noises under her house soon have her questioning everything she thought she knew.

With her job hanging by a thread, her son struggling to cope with his father’s death, and her four-star general father up for confirmation as the next secretary of defense, Georgie quickly finds herself tangled in a web of political intrigue that has no clear agenda and dozens of likely villains.

Only one thing is clear: someone wants her dead too. And the people closest to her might be the most dangerous of all.

 

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Top 10 Tuesday — Anticipated Books of 2020 (a few months worth at least)

7 Jan

A new year means new books! And although I have shelves full, there is always room for more great books. My list contains novels that I am looking forward to in the next few months. I am an eclectic reader, so the fiction I have listed runs the gamut of genres — something for everyone!

What new book are you looking forward to in 2020?

For more bloggers’ highly anticipated lists, visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

Top Anticipated Books of Early 2020

 

Chasing The White Lion by James Hannibal (3/3)

Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar (2/4)

  • End Game by Rachel Dylan (released today! Woo hoo!)

 

The Englisch Daughter by Cindy and Erin Woodsmall (4/21)

Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck (2/4)

The Land Beneath Us by Sarah Sundin (2/4)

One Little Lie by Colleen Coble (3/3)

 

Promised Land by Robert Whitlow (1/14)

Starfish Pier by Irene Hannon (3/31)

The Thief of Lanwyn Manor by Sarah E. Ladd (released today!!)

 

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First Line Friday — Promised Land

22 Nov

Happy Friday! Today I am featuring a book that just recently arrived at my house, Promised Land by Robert Whitlow. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, Chosen People, and am looking forward to reading book 2 and discussing it with my book club in the coming year. It’s international setting, suspense-filled plot, and relevant message should make for excellent conversation.

What book will you be reading this weekend? Comment with your first line then make sure to head over to Hoarding Books for more fun!

 

 

With historical mysteries, religious intrigue, and political danger, Promised Land asks one momentous question: What if your calling puts you — and your family — in the crosshairs?

Despite their Israeli citizenship, Hana and Daud cannot safely return to their homeland because a dangerous terrorist ring is threatening Daud. Hana is perfectly fine remaining in the United States, working for a law firm in Atlanta, especially when she learns she’s pregnant. But Daud can’t shake the draw to return home to Israel, even if it makes him a walking target.

Hana is helping her boss plan a huge Middle East summit in Atlanta when Jakob Brodsky, her old friend and former co-litigator, asks for her help with a case. His client is attempting to recover ancient artifacts stolen from his Jewish great-grandfather by a Soviet colonel at the end of World War II. Because the case crosses several national borders, he needs Hana’s knowledge and skill to get to the bottom of what happened to these precious artifacts.

Meanwhile, Daud is called in to help a US intelligence agency extract a Ukrainian doctor from a dangerous situation in Egypt. While overseas, he can’t resist the call of Jerusalem and thus sets off a series of events that puts thousands of people in danger, including his wife and unborn child.

Bestselling author Robert Whitlow explores the meaning of family and home — and how faith forms the identity of both — in this breathtaking sequel to Chosen People.

Robert Whitlow grew up in north Georgia. He graduated magna cum laude from Furman University with a BA in history in 1976 and received his JD with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1979. A practicing attorney, he is a partner in a Charlotte, NC law firm. He and his wife Kathy have four children and three grandchildren.

Robert began writing in 1996. His novels are set in the South and include both legal suspense and interesting characterization. It is his desire to write stories that reveal some of the ways God interacts with people in realistic scenerios.

 

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Book Review: The Gryphon Heist

19 Sep

Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe–a department only known as “Other.” When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology, she figures she’ll be back in DC within a few days. But that’s before she knows where the designs are stored–and who’s after them. With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where only criminal minds and unlikely strategies will keep the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault, hovering in the mesosphere.

Even Tyler is more than he seems, and Talia begins to wonder: Is he helping her? Or using her access to CIA resources to pull off an epic heist for his own dark purposes?

In this Ocean’s Eleven-meets-Mission Impossible thriller, former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James R. Hannibal offers you a nonstop thrill ride through the most daring heist ever conceived.

James R. Hannibal (Lt. Col., USAF Reserve), is  the author of Shadow Catcher and Wraith. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who has flown the A-10 Warthog, the MQ-1 Predator drone, and the top secret B-2 Stealth Bomber, totaling over 1000 combat and combat support hours. He regularly reviews terrorism-related nonfiction for the New York Journal of Books.

 

My Impressions:

Spies, explosions, shootouts, high speed chases — you get all this and more in The Gryphon Heist by James Hannibal. I found this novel filled with plenty of international intrigue and a spot-on faith message — an book I really needed. So strap on your 5-point harness and prepare to be entertained! This one is highly recommended!

Talia Inger, a rookie CIA agent, is assigned to the worst possible department in the agency — Other. That means that the poorest Eastern European country with a ho-hum field assignment is her lot in life. Routine becomes anything but as she is swept into a a crazy scheme with even crazier partners. Talia is a character to love — idealistic, determined, and more than a bit broken by her childhood. She relies on no one but herself. The other characters in The Gryphon Heist range from an endearing tech geek to a pyrotechnic psychopath. Oh yeah, these characters are great.  And Talia and the reader can never be sure just who can be trusted. As to the plot, action-packed/adrenline-laced/high octane don’t even begin to describe it. I could not turn the pages fast enough as Talia and the gang sprint from place to place across Europe to prevent a huge attack against the US. Were some of the scenes extreme, even a bit impossible? Maybe. But I didn’t care — I was having too much fun. Talia’s faith journey was serious though, and Hannibal did a great job at walking her through forgiveness and grace. There are some loose ends hanging, and a sequel is due out early next year. I cannot wait!

I have been raving about The Gryphon Heist to my friends and husband, and am eager for them to read it. It’s like a James Bond movie, only better — it’s a book!

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

To purchase, click HERE.

(Thanks to Revell for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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First Line Friday — The Gryphon Heist

13 Sep

I started The Gryphon Heist by new-to-me author James R. Hannibal last night Wow, what a beginning! I can tell this story will be consuming my free time over the weekend. It appeals to my love of international intrigue. The hubs is going to love it too!

What are you reading this weekend? I’d love if you would share, then head over to Hoarding Books for more first line fun!

 

 

Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe–a department only known as “Other.” When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology, she figures she’ll be back in DC within a few days. But that’s before she knows where the designs are stored–and who’s after them. With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where only criminal minds and unlikely strategies will keep the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault, hovering in the mesosphere.

Even Tyler is more than he seems, and Talia begins to wonder: Is he helping her? Or using her access to CIA resources to pull off an epic heist for his own dark purposes?

In this Ocean’s Eleven-meets-Mission Impossible thriller, former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James R. Hannibal offers you a nonstop thrill ride through the most daring heist ever conceived.

 

James R. Hannibal (Lt. Col., USAF Reserve), is  the author of Shadow Catcher and Wraith. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who has flown the A-10 Warthog, the MQ-1 Predator drone, and the top secret B-2 Stealth Bomber, totaling over 1000 combat and combat support hours. He regularly reviews terrorism-related nonfiction for the New York Journal of Books.

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Audiobook Mini-Review: The Third Target

20 Feb

When New York Times foreign correspondent J. B. Collins hears rumors that an al-Qaeda splinter cell ― ISIS ― has captured a cache of chemical weapons inside Syria, he knows this is a story he must pursue at all costs. Does the commander of the jihadist faction really have weapons of mass destruction? If so, who is the intended target? The U.S.? Israel? Or someone else? With tensions already high, the impending visit of the American president to the region could prove to be the spark that sets off an explosion of horrendous proportions. Knowing that terrorist forces are already trying to bring down two Arab governments in the region ― Iraq and Syria ― can Collins uncover the truth before it’s too late? Or will the terrorists succeed in setting their sights on the third target and achieving genocide?

Joel C. Rosenberg (http://www.joelrosenberg.com) is a New York Times bestselling author of 13 novels and five nonfiction books, with nearly 5 million copies sold.

He has been interviewed on hundreds of radio and TV shows, including ABC’s Nightline, CNN, CNN Headline News, C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, The History Channel, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Sean Hannity Show, and The Glenn Beck Show. His articles and columns have been published by National Review,FoxNews.com, CNN.com, the Jerusalem Post, World magazine, and the Washington Times, among others. He has been profiled by the New York Times, the Washington Times, and the Jerusalem Post.

Joel has spoken to audiences and met with religious and government leaders all across the U.S. and Canada and around the world, including Israel, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the UAE, Turkey, Afghanistan, Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, India, South Korea, and the Philippines. He has also addressed audiences at the White House and the Pentagon, addressed members of Congress on Capitol Hill, members of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, and a conference held at the European Union Parliament in Brussels.

He is the founder and chairman of The Joshua Fund (http://www.joshuafund.com), a nonprofit educational and charitable organization he and his wife launched in 2006 to mobilize Christians to “bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, according to Genesis 12:1-3.”
Joel’s books, most of which are published in numerous languages.

For more information on conferences Joel organizes, please visit http://www.epicenterconference.com. You can find his blog at https://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/. You can follow him on Twitter @joelcrosenberg.

 

My Impressions:

My husband and I often listen to audiobooks when on road trips. Trying to find something a little different from our typical Agatha Christie mystery that both of us would enjoy, I settled on The Third Target by Joel Rosenberg. The first book in the J. B. Collins series, this book promised a ripped-from-the-headlines plot with plenty of action. And that is exactly what we got — ISIS terrorists intent on establishing a caliphate by destroying their enemies. The pace of the book is fast and furious as international correspondent Collins seeks to break the big story of ISIS with WMD. Both real and fictional characters populate the pages, making this novel credible and realistic. The terrorists are ruthless and cruel, and their actions are chilling. Moderate Arab leaders, Israeli leaders, and the US President play important roles in the parallel story line of a peace accord between the Palestinians and Israel. The two big stories intersect in explosive ways.

While we really enjoyed this international political thriller, we did find the main character’s actions sometimes at odds with his intuitive and savvy persona. My husband may have muttered stupid move a few times. LOL! The narrator of the book was also a bit too intense in his reading of the book. We sometimes had to take a break from the edge-of-seat narration. But in spite of these small cons, we recommend The Third Target for fans of the thriller genre. My husband has moved on to the second book, The First Hostage, listening to it every chance he gets.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

To purchase, click HERE.

(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

 

 

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Book Club Selections for January!

1 Jan

I am so excited! Both of my book clubs are meeting this month. By The Book meets regularly every month, but Page Turners has been hit or miss for a while. But, we’ve got great books scheduled for both groups. Yoo hoo! What about you? What are you reading this month?

 

By The Book’s January Selection — Chosen People by Robert Whitlow

During a terrorist attack near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a courageous mother sacrifices her life to save her four-year-old daughter, leaving behind a grieving husband and a motherless child.

Hana Abboud, a Christian Arab Israeli lawyer trained at Hebrew University, typically uses her language skills to represent international clients for an Atlanta law firm. When her boss is contacted by Jakob Brodsky, a young Jewish lawyer pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of the woman’s family under the US Anti-Terrorism laws, he calls on Hana’s expertise to take point on the case. After careful prayer, she joins forces with Jakob, and they quickly realize the need to bring in a third member for their team, an Arab investigator named Daud Hasan, based in Israel.

To unravel the case, this team of investigators travels from the streets of Atlanta to the alleys of Jerusalem, a world where hidden motives thrive, the risk of death is real, and the search for truth has many faces. What they uncover will forever change their understanding of justice, heritage, and what it means to be chosen for a greater purpose.

 

Page Turners’ January Selection — Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis — known as Jack — she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy. 

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice — and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had. 

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story — a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

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Book Review: The Fragment

2 Mar

UnknownIt’s 1923, and a resilient Paris is starting to recover from the ravages of World War I and the Spanish Flu Epidemic. Enter young Muriel Ross, an amateur American photographer tasked with documenting the antiques that her employer, U.S. Senator Tom Bryan, has traveled to France in order to acquire. Although she’s exhilarated to have escaped her parents and the confines of their stifling Virginia home, Muriel has lingering questions about why the senator has chosen her for this grand adventure. Nevertheless, she blossoms in her new surroundings, soaking up Parisian culture and capturing the sights and sounds of Paris on her camera.

But events take a dangerous turn when she discovers that the senator is on a mission far more momentous—and potentially deadly—than a mere shopping trip. At the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Senator Bryan asks Muriel to photograph an astonishing artifact: a piece of the True Cross, discovered by Empress Helena—a historical figure familiar to readers of The Pilgrim. When rumors surface that another fragment has been unearthed, Muriel becomes enmeshed in a covert international alliance dedicated to authenticating the fragment—and protecting it from those who will stop at nothing to steal and discredit it.

davis-bunn-2015Davis Bunn is an award-winning novelist with total worldwide sales of seven million copies.

His work has been published in twenty languages, and critical acclaim includes four Christy Awards for excellence in fiction and his 2014 induction into the Christy Hall of Fame.

Davis divides his time between Florida and England, where he serves as Writer In Residence at Regent’s Park College at The University of Oxford. Visit Davis at http://www.davisbunn.com.

 

My Impressions:

The Fragment is an international suspense novel that clearly expresses the wonder of God while keep its readers on the edge of their seats. Centuries after Constantine’s mother, Helena, embarked on a quest to find the cross of Jesus (you can read my review of The Pilgrim HERE), a small group endures danger to retrieve one fragment of that cross. The culture and politics of the world in 1923 serves as a backdrop to this novel. The Fragment is Bunn at his best, and I highly recommend it.

Muriel Ross, aged 23, feels her dreams have come true as she wanders the streets of Paris photographing the people she encounters. She is traveling with a US Senator intent of retrieving ancient artifacts. Muriel is an expert employed with the Smithsonian and is crucial to his quest. But Muriel is unaware of the stakes involved — intrigue, danger and betrayal.

The Fragment is written with short chapters keeping the story fresh and fast-paced. The action is only interrupted by the sacred moments Muriel encounters. I loved the suspense, but the moments that Muriel is swept up in the her encounters with God were truly special. Plot takes center stage, but the few main characters are developed enough to get a sense of their thoughts, dreams, struggles and doubts. Muriel is an interesting heroine, at once daring and reflective. Her faith is challenged, but remains firm. For fans of history, The Fragment has it all — a great sense of place and time and well-researched details of the political atmosphere of Europe and the Middle East of the 1920s. Throughout The Fragment, Bunn weaves a faith message that never wavers. Not all the characters are believers, but those that are rely heavily on God’s promises in the midst of trials and tests.

Although the action is concluded in The Fragment, I sense that Bunn is not done with Muriel Ross. I hope that I am right. I would love more books like The Fragment.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

To purchase this book, click HERE.

(Thanks to the author for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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Book Review: The Columbus Code

18 Sep

UnknownThe Columbus Code is just that the true, historical puzzle few could comprehend until today. Consistent with great historical fiction of our time, New York Times best-sell author Mike Evans pens a story replete with intrigue, adventure, and brutal persecution. The story begins with John Winters, an American Secret Service agent, who unravels centuries old truths about Christopher Columbus and the real drama that lay behind those famous voyages to the Americas.

 

mike-evansMIKE EVANS is a #1 New York Times best-selling author with more than 25 million copies in print, including Christopher Columbus: Secret Jew. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Ten Boom Museum in Holland (tenboom.org) and also of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem (FOZHC.org). Evans is founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team (jpteam.org) and has sixty published books.

 

My Impressions:

The Columbus Code is an international suspense novel reminiscent of The DaVinci Code. Filled with ancient documents, terrorist threats and a secret society determined to establish a one-world government, Mike Evans’ novel is perfect for those who like conspiracy theories and last days narratives. I found this book unputdownable!

John Winters is a Secret Service agent on administrative leave due to an operation that went south. His past and present have collided to keep him off-duty until he opens up to his government psychiatrist. His strained relationships with his only daughter and much younger brother and recent death of his mother keep Winters isolated and paralyzed by fear and doubts. A simple request to continue his mother’s genealogical search turns deadly and threatens not only his family members but his country.

The Columbus Code is definitely plot-driven. Fast-paced and adrenaline-laced, it kept this reader turning the pages. I finished it in record time! The elements of secrets shrouded in history and mystery, a shadowy Brotherhood with evil intentions, and a conspiracy among nations to upset the US economy were interesting and seemed a bit too real. Although the emphasis was on plot, not character, I still connected with John, his daughter Maria and Sophie, an academic and love interest for John, and worried for their safety. Did I say the book seemed very real?! The author also includes hints of the End Times with references to the antichrist and blood moons. Some of the bad guys get away and some of the good guys are missing at the end, so I think there will probably be a sequel to come. I hope so, because The Columbus Code left me wanting more.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

To purchase this book, click HERE.

(Thanks to Worthy Publishers for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

 

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