Chanticleer Book Reviews

Category: Reviews

FRIENDSHIP GAMES by Mark James – Political Thrillers, Middle East, Military Thrillers

Mark James’ latest geopolitical thriller, Friendship Games, brings together a cast of characters that will keep readers glued to their seats.

James’ action-packed novel doesn’t waste a second to deliver espionage, military strategies, and defense, as an urgent question takes center stage: who is responsible for bombing the American aircraft carrier, USS George Bush, in the Persian Gulf?

We begin in Bahrain with twenty-one-year-old Khalid Husseini, a terrorist spy working at the US Naval facility in Manama. He is on his way home to prepare for a birthday night out, courtesy of his American sailor friends, when an explosion rocks the Khawr al Qulay’ah inlet between Muharraq Island and the main Island of Bahrain. Khalid takes it as the sign he’s been waiting for from his Imam, Hussein Salmeen, setting off a series of events the Imam could not stop, even as he wants to with all his being.

Meanwhile, Hector Gonzales is finishing his day at the US Navy base that Khalid just left. Gonzales, Special Warfare Operator Master Chief of Echo Squad, is celebrating a successful interdiction of a Panama-flagged Japanese oil tanker in the Persian Gulf – whose crew could take comfort that it was the Americans, and not Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, or Al-Qaeda, or another Islamist terrorist group who apprehended their ship.

When a bomb hits the George W. Bush the tension literally explodes as Gonzales and Chief Petty Officer Buck Bradshaw assume they are under attack.

Lieutenant Commander Nigel Wood goes into action with Gonzales’s help. Wood, a British/American, Harvard and Oxford grad, Rhodes Scholar, and Navy SEAL, takes charge as commander of Alpha, Bravo, and Echo Squads of the Navy SEALS. He and Gonzales commandeer Logistics Specialist Seaman Apprentice for FSC, Thew Bryson to move much-needed supplies in the crisis. Wood sets Echo Squad on a mission to save the lives of as many survivors as they can from the bombed ship.

In Iran, Rear Admiral Hashemin Ghavam, Commander of Southern Forward Naval Headquarters at Bandar Abbas, gets news of the bombing of the George W. Bush, and is as confused as the Imam, Wood, US President Bell, Thew, and everyone else. The question of who carried out this attack dominates everyone’s minds.

Friendship Games becomes a cautionary tale of what could happen if such an attack took place amidst so much political and military tension.

James brings to life characters from the highest military officers to the lowliest grunts. He does not answer with every detail of this horrific scenario, and as the tale unravels, we meet heroes and cowards and are left to wonder how volatile our position in the Middle East might truly be.

Mark James’ Friendship Games thrusts readers into a potential nuclear confrontation between the US and Iran. This terrifying and thrilling read earns five stars!

December 22, 2023
TAX MYTHBUSTERS: Don’t Fall Prey to the Tax Misconceptions by Lily Tran – Money Management, Taxes, Essays

Tax MythBusters: Don’t Fall Prey to the Tax Misconceptions, compiled by tax professional Lily Tran with essays by other financial, tax, and accounting professionals, gives valuable insight into the myths of what can and cannot be claimed as a deduction for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

This work provides tips and strategies to optimize tax planning and make the most of available deductions. As the foreword reminds the reader, “Knowledge is power when it comes to taxes,” adding that gaining a better understanding of the tax rules and regulations will allow you to “make smart financial decisions and protect yourself from unnecessary risks.”

The essays that make up this work are short, succinct, and to the point about the pitfalls and challenges that face small business owners, framing these dangers as “myths.”

Some of them are old myths disguised as new enticements, and Tran and her authors keep the reader wary about how fast money online works, the truth about influencer deductions, tax write-offs, and vehicle deductions. Knowing how these popular myths have transformed for the modern age is a must.

The more intensive essays focus on complex and misleading parts of the tax code. Highlights include understanding the rules around reporting losses on the stock market (capital losses), issues around hiring contractors over employees, and even working to understand common myths found on TikTok. There are even myths discussing even including how to deal with cryptocurrency transactions. A better understanding of this collection will help anyone with questions get started on the right track.

The essays in Tax MythBusters are both clear and comprehensive, offering knowledge that small business owners can use and understand comfortably.

This collection avoids complex equations that might put off those who are less math-oriented, instead focusing on sage advice. Staying down to earth, all the advice and warnings that these professionals impart can be taken to heart. The information provided by Lily Tran’s Tax MythBusters: Don’t Fall Prey to the Tax Misconceptions will be invaluable for those seeking tax clarity.

December 20, 2023
PATIENCE INSANITY And WISDOM by Anna Casamento Arrigo – Poetry, Family & Relationships, Mental Health

Patience Insanity and Wisdom, Anna Casamento Arrigo’s poetry collection, dances seamlessly between reflective, philosophical, whimsical, colorful, and especially therapeutic.

In her author bio, Arrigo shares that she turned to poetry as part of her recovery from a stroke. This gives a glimpse into the true depth of these poems, which offer healing to the reader as well. Arrigo deals with issues of love and loss, depression and survival, and life itself. Her poems carry the echo of her struggle, softly alluded to, but not blatantly laid bare.

Arrigo’s poems take the reader through our shared human experiences. “I am enough” and “I am here” lay between “In Silence”. “Insanity” shares a painful childhood, “A constant stream of hateful words/slurred/rising from a golden whiskey tumbler.” “Wizard Wings” reflects on growing up, “From my toddler years/Through that period when neither girl nor woman be-.” “One soul” shares the joy and bittersweetness of the parent-child relationship, “it was not too long ago You held my hand/ Precious memories and hugs/One Soul We two/Divided in half.”

“Just Another Birth Day” brings full circle the impact of the loss of one’s mother, “yesterday a mom celebrated her 68^th birthday in heaven,” and yet, her continued presence in her children’s lives continues on, “Listen my dear children to the sound of the wind/ I’m there./Watch as dawn sips the darkness away./ I’m there/ Reach out and touch the roses-/comforted in essence of their being/ I’m there. I’m there/Speak my name/ Mom?/’I’m here’.”

Patience Insanity and Wisdom does not shy away from the realities of grappling with life.

“Depression” has this subtitle: “A dedication to the far too many who wear the mask. You are NOT alone,” empathizing with this common, yet hidden experience, “Waiting for those daily doses of ‘Happy Pills’/To bring my soul back to me-/For year/So many years…” and “Depression is not contagious-/Remove your mask!”

“Hold On!” is a shout of encouragement, acknowledging the struggle for some with suicide awareness, “days when everything hurts -Wishing you would disappear…There will be day/ Of fighting back/Standing up/Holding on.”

“Holding on Letting go” starts with the line, “It hadn’t been an easy death. But the will to die was less than my will…to survive […] Holding on/Letting go/A separation/Decisive/And in eternities bound…/Where my projected self-free falls/Letting go.”

The poems share pages with Arrigo’s art, mostly impressionistic compositions with a wonderful mingling of bright and cool colors.

To add to this experience, Arrigo partnered with musician Paul Simeone, setting some of these poems to music videos which can be found on YouTube and SoundCloud. Patience Insanity and Wisdom is like a dessert cart in a favorite restaurant, with poems that should be taken in small portions and savored to enjoy them fully.

December 18, 2023
CHOP THAT SH*T UP!: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military by CSM Daniel L. Pinion – Memoirs, Military Life, Military History
In Chop That Sh*t Up: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military, Daniel L. Pinion reminisces about his experiences in the US Army, both good and bad, before he retired as a Command Sergeant Major.

Some of the stories and lessons he offers are heartbreaking, some are horrifying, and some are insightful. As it turns out, some are even heartwarming.

The author explains his origins: a quiet and uneventful childhood that did not give him much idea of what he should do with his life. Some counseling and a few incidents led Pinion, after high school, to the National Guard and eventually the US Army, where he found his life’s calling.

He learned life lessons through a series of supervisors (noncommissioned officers for the most part) and fellow soldiers, from whom he discovered what to do and when (and predictably, what not to do and when). As Pinion comments, occasionally, one of his supervisors “was tough but fair, and I modeled a lot of my leadership style on what I learned from him.” But occasionally the soldier “rocked the boat and got in trouble.” Despite this, the author tells us, he would “still smile every time” he remembers those events.

Chop That Sh*t Up! details the soldiers Pinion served with and some of the more extraordinary things they experienced. The book closes with photographs of these soldiers and what happened to them—some heartbreaking, some comforting, all memorable.

These fascinating stories range from Daniel Pinion being dragged into a hunt for evidence of infidelity that involved climbing to an upper-story balcony, awkward spying techniques, and cumbersome recording equipment; a malfunctioning toilet (the details are a bit much, but perhaps entertaining to those who have similar memories in the service); and superior officers with attitude (and perhaps more than a bit of a need for psychotherapy) versus those who truly earn the loyalty of their soldiers.

What remains with readers at the end are the mentions of the author’s fallen fellow soldiers after describing each one and their eventual fate: “I will see you in Valhalla, my friend, and recount the fun times we had together.”

Overall, CSM Pinion’s work runs the reader the gamut of what life has in store for a soldier, and what can be learned from all of its challenges. Judging by the accounts of this book, the military life is not one for everyone, but clearly, it’s a life that worked for Daniel Pinion.

Chop That Sh*t Up has received multiple literary awards including that Military & Front Line Book Award from the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards.
December 15, 2023
COLD As HELL: Black Badge Book 1 by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle – Supernatural Western, Mystery, Action/Adventure

James Crowley isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill cowboy. Nor is Cold as Hell, by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, your typical gunslinging western.

Although he’s got all the right characteristics – tough exterior, snarky personality, and commitment issues – Crowley is much more than he appears. Resurrected to immortality straight from death’s “sickly sweet aroma,” Crowley is duty-bound as a Hand of God to serve the White Throne in its shadow war against demonic presences called the nephilim unleashed by freezing hell.

But it’s not all ‘good guys versus bad guys’. As Crowley learns, “good choices don’t always mean doing right or wrong things. Especially when it comes to serving a Master like [the White Throne].” Forced to be the middle man between God and the Devil, Crowley has to decide for himself how to care for the people around him and bring true justice to fruition. Forced to be the middleman between God and the Devil, Crowley has to make his own choices about how to care for the people around him and bring justice to fruition.

Jam-packed with simmering romance, evil yetis, reckless bar fights, and other outlaw shenanigans, Cold as Hell will warm readers’ hearts as it freezes them to their seats with anticipation.

When a band of demonic hell creatures begins robbing a chain of banks owned by resident millionaire Dufaux and devastating towns full of innocent civilians in their wake, Crowley teams up with his trusty mare Timperina, nagging angel handler Shar, and dim-witted yet dependable Deputy Dale to hunt down the vile nephilim and help those in need. Along the way, he runs into old acquaintances such as the beautiful, revenge-driven Rosa and his worst enemy and murderer, Ace.

In the end, it’s up to Crowley to get to the bottom of the mystery and wreak revenge on the monsters – both hellish and human.

Despite his icy attitude, Crowley captures readers with his personal values to defend the oppressed and the defenseless. His unique ability to relive the last moments of the recently killed urges him to resist violence whenever possible, making him an empathetic renegade and, at times, more human than the real human characters.

As Crowley uncovers layers of obscured atrocities during his quest, he sympathizes with the brutality and injustice of colonization, racism, enslavement, sexual violence, and much more, elevating this feel-good read to the status of a social commentary.

Castle’s and Bruno’s strange, action-packed supernatural western leaves nothing to be desired. Steeped in witty sarcasm, the easy-to-follow prose is immersive and thrilling. Gritty, colorful, and at times deeply moving, the first installment of the fantasy-western Black Badge series envelops readers in the cowboy blues and horrors of the otherworldly.

Cold as Hell by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Paranormal Awards for Supernatural Fiction.

December 13, 2023
GETTING To YES by Tim Hunniecutt – Romance, 1970s, Emotional Struggle

As a freshman at Florida State University, Chris should be enjoying the usual 1970s “free spirit” college experiences, a little studying and a lot of partying. In Tim Hunniecutt’s Getting to Yes, Chris dreams of being a poet. His way with words, boy-next-door looks, and an athletic runner’s body means he has no trouble attracting one girl after another. However, Chris wants more than just a fling.

He’s looking for a relationship, a girl who loves him, but the girls he meets don’t seem to want forever. Most of them only want a good time or have boyfriends back home. After a series of failed romances, Chris finds himself depressed, realizing part of the problem lies in the emotional chasm he’s carved within himself after his parents’ disastrous marriage.

Chris’s emotional roadblock began when he caught his mother naked in the arms of a man who was not his father.

He never told anyone, including his father, about the affair, and his parents went on for a while pretending their relationship wasn’t falling apart. Their loveless marriage created in Chris a fear of expressing his own emotions. In his adolescent mind, not revealing the weakness of loving too strongly became normalized. When his father finally broke down and cried to Chris about his mother’s lack of love, Chris’s derision of feelings became cemented in his psyche. Girls were simply pretty distractions. Ironically, the maturity he likely developed because of this situation makes him easy to talk to, and girls flock to him.

It isn’t until he meets Deb, a girl in his class with a terrible home life, that he begins to realize a need within himself to find more than just physical attraction. Though Deb is unattainable, she awakens an “overwhelming hunger” within him, which he sates by dating as many girls as possible in his first year at FSU. He thinks he finds what he’s missing in Colleen, his first girlfriend.

His first attempts at physical love end in failure. When he finally finds physical fulfillment with a girl, he falls immediately in love with her.

Colleen seems perfect for him, but when he discovers she has a boyfriend, he doesn’t try to fight for her. He won’t acknowledge his strong feelings, and he allows her to slip away. Chris vows never to allow his inability to open up get in his way again, and when he returns home at the end of his freshman year, he meets Chloe.

It’s love at first sight–at least for Chris. He falls quickly, offering his heartfelt “I love you” early in their relationship, but Chloe comes with her own issues. Her abusive father left a need for male approval that she seeks in the arms of the wrong boys, and she repeatedly finds herself in loveless relationships in which she is used and tossed aside.

Chris’s pain is palpable in the novel, and his uncertainty is heart-wrenching, creating a strong theme of trust– the kind of trust that comes with allowing oneself to love and knowing the other person will return that love. When Chloe finally allows herself to express aloud to Chris what he desperately needs to hear, she gives herself permission to feel this trust.

Tim Hunniecutt’s Getting to Yes is a tale of a young man searching for his first real love and finding that what he learned from his parents does not have to be his fate. This book is recommended for anyone who wants to explore the complexities of early love though a young man’s perspective as he struggles to overcome the damage of his own parents’ marriage.

December 11, 2023
HAVE YOU SEEN ME by Alexandrea Weis – YA Mystery, Serial Killer Thriller, Amateur Sleuths

In Alexandrea Weis’s YA mystery thriller, Have You Seen Me? something is wrong at Louisiana’s Waverly School. Deadly wrong.

This private educational institute for the state’s wealthiest has an unsettling record of young women disappearing. Three, from decades ago, were never found. In the last few years, a girl by the name of Margaret vanished, and now her sister Lindsey has followed suit. Despite numerous investigations, no clues have surfaced. Moreover, the steely head of the school, Sara Probst, uses intimidation and fear to keep the school operating at any cost.

Were these disappearances just high-spirited women who left on their own accord, or was there something more sinister at play? And now, after Lindsey’s disappearance, it seems a serial killer has returned after all these years.

Into this morass steps Aubrey LeRoux, a recent Waverly graduate, hired by Sara to teach history.

The job offer is both temporary and precarious. Sara makes it clear that Aubrey must conduct herself in the precise manner that Sara dictates, using the same unsettling intimidating methods Aubrey experienced as a student.

Aubrey feels the impact of the school’s issues. As a scholarship attendee and a young Black woman, she understands fully the dynamic at Waverly. Harassment was part of her life there, often instigated by Margaret. When Margaret went missing, Aubrey was even briefly interrogated as a possible suspect.

With Lindsey having recently disappeared, Aubrey finds herself experiencing many of the same feelings she had as a student. But now, she’s in a position to deal with it all: Sara, the disappearing women, and now, her students.

What she doesn’t know is that Lindsey had gathered a crew of six misfits, creating a circle of friends who are devastated by her disappearance. They discover Aubrey’s problems with Margaret when they were both students, and so develop a devious plan.

These students will pretend to like Aubrey as a teacher, but meanwhile use every trick at their disposal to prove that Aubrey is connected to the fate of both missing sisters.

They conspire to push Aubrey into helping them become investigators into Lindsey’s disappearance, hoping to force Aubrey into making a misstep, dropping clues as to her knowledge of the disappearances.

Their investigation takes them to parts of the school grounds rarely frequented: founded on a Confederate-era plantation which was itself built upon burial grounds for a Native American tribe. Their unauthorized excursions draw Sara Probst’s wrath on Aubrey but also strengthen Aubrey’s resolve to discover the fate of the missing students.

When it appears their investigation is in full swing, a serial killer begins targeting Lindsey’s student crew, one by one.

Despite Aubrey’s desperate efforts to keep them safe, even with the help of a hunky local sheriff, it’s clear that no one can be fully protected, not when each of them thinks they can solve the mystery of Lindsay’s vanishing on their own. Each of the students is found murdered, with clues that make it clear that this is the work of a serial killer. But who would want them dead? And why?

Have You Seen Me? is a taut, well-written novel, a page-turner with enough plot twists and turns to keep the story moving on multiple fronts. Aubrey’s ethnicity is woven seamlessly into her character and the history that defines her relationship with Waverly. Overall, an immensely enjoyable read.

Have You Seen Me by Alexandrea Weis won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Clue Awards for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

December 8, 2023
MYSTERY FORCE: Volume One by Ted Neill, illustrated by Suzi Spooner – Middle Grad Mystery, Fantasy Creatures, Picture Books

Set in a world where magical talking creatures are a normal part of society, the Mystery Force series by Ted Neill is a must-read for any animal-loving kid.

Book One, Mystery Force, Assemble!, begins with warehouses of previously unheard-of magical creatures being discovered and freed. Out of fear, these new creatures continue to hide, and a group of curious kids – Rasheed, Jonathan, and Jojo – decide to get to the bottom of the mystery!

In book two, The Case of the Stolen Horn, Rasheed, Jonathan, and Jojo are on the case after their unicorn drama teacher, Mr. Twinkles, is attacked, with their pegasus geometry teacher Ms. Weymont being arrested for the crime. The Mystery Force kids are determined to clear Ms. Weymont’s name by finding the real culprit.

Book three, Blazing Blizzards, confronts the Mystery Force gang with an unusual May blizzard. They waste no time in investigating the cause, trying to save their town and a newly discovered magical creature from the forces behind the terrible weather.

All three adventures contain exciting twists and turns, but also important lessons to learn.

In the Mystery Force world, well-known magical creatures have come out of hiding and live among people. When lesser-known creatures are discovered, the more popular creatures think themselves better. Rasheed, Jonathan, and Jojo think otherwise and do all they can to help the more obscure magical creatures; even though they haven’t heard of them before, these new creatures deserve love and acceptance.

Many characters have a disability of some kind, and the wonderful representation of the Mystery Force series goes a step beyond to include less visible disabilities. This inclusivity will resonate with those who deal with similar struggles, and reflects the need for more stories like this one.

Overall, Mystery Force: Volume One, is a fun and fast-paced collection of stories about helping others in danger.

In each tale, there are great examples of deductive reasoning for children that will strengthen their own critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Additionally, Rasheed, Jonathan, and Jojo’s determination will encourage readers to look out for others and stand up for what they think is right.

This is just the beginning of Rasheed, Jonathan, and Jojo’s adventures! A series not to miss, and much more to come!

Mystery Force: Volume One by Ted Neill, illustrated by Suzi Spooner, won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Gertrude Warner Awards for Middle Grade Fiction.

December 1, 2023
THE LAST LUMENIAN by S.G. Blaise – Science Fiction, Space Opera, Romance

Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but in The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.

Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.

Wanting to fight against the injustice and horrific treatment of the refugees, Lilla tries desperately to prove herself, especially after a disastrous first mission where she not only crashes her ship but also ends up in the hands of General Callum, leader of the Teryn Praelium.

With sparks of humor, the story grips the reader as the stakes are ever-rising with the demands on Lilla building relentlessly.

Known as the “brutes of the Seven Galaxies,” the Teryn army seems hellbent on destroying every world they encounter, but the more Lilla learns about Callum, the less she believes that to be true. When she discovers both she and Callum are concerned about recent murders on Uhna, she realizes their agendas may not be that different. The bodies pile up, and Lilla suspects there will soon be an Era War between the Archgod of Chaos and Destruction and the Archgoddess of the Eternal Light and Order, putting her planet in the middle of two terrifying conflicts.

Eventually, she learns of her identity as the last Lumenian, a creation of the archgoddess to fight the archgod. Lilla must decide which path will take to ensure her people’s survival, but as the rebellion, the Era War, and her love for the dangerous general escalate, she only grows more uncertain of her place amongst any of them. With the clock ticking down, she will have to choose, and the decision may cost her everything.

Lilla’s character is the star of this novel that will pull in readers who want to celebrate her as she proves her worth – to herself as much as anyone else.

Though Lilla’s mother died when she was only five, Lilla still remembers the fierce, beautiful woman who so valiantly fought to keep her only child safe and happy. When she discovers her mother’s secret heritage as a creation of the archgoddess, made to be a perpetual guardian of the light, Lilla fears she may never live up to such a standard. Constantly plagued by doubts in her abilities, Lilla fights like only youth and sheer bravado can to rise above the menial expectations of a contract marriage and a pretty showpiece of the palace.

She fearlessly confronts the archgoddess, telling her that she must earn Lilla’s respect despite the power pouring from the deity. After being tasked with hunting and killing the dark archgod and his minions of destruction, Lilla is rightly terrified, but she refuses to let that stop her. She risks treason, death, and the corruption of her very soul.

However, as much as her passionate fire of youth drives her forward, that passion draws ever more danger towards her.

She plunges into the rebellion after seeing firsthand the cruelty of the overseers and soldiers when one of her friends, a young servant, is taken to the camp and badly beaten for simply being a refugee. Once “inside” the rebellion, she discovers that her mother supported the cause, which cements her resolve.

Lilla doesn’t take the time to investigate whether she truly shares this group’s values. Xor, the leader, uses Lilla’s guilt and self-doubt over her position as the king’s daughter to bully her into deadly situations. And Lilla nearly misses out on an amazing partner in General Callum, as she initially shuns him for his bloody reputation. She even steals from him to aid the rebellion – all the while, Callum has her back, literally and figuratively.

The world of Uhna will entirely transport the reader.

A mixture of magic and science, this place creates an unbelievable environment, where fanged warhorses exist alongside floating elevators and transmitter necklaces that will put the newest smartphone to shame. The magical elements of earth, air, fire, water, and animal will feel both familiar and novel. The past and the future seem to collide here and coalesce into a unique spin on the space opera genre.

The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction.

November 26, 2023
THE SPILL by Keith Abbott – Terrorism Thriller, Techno-Thriller, International Crime

In Keith Abbott’s thriller, The Spill, an intelligent, well-funded, politically connected organization of Arab Terrorists precipitates an environmental catastrophe meant to have world-shattering consequences – in their favor, of course.

But the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. Their plans are uncovered, giving their opposition a chance to mobilize all of its forces. Those terrible consequences may be too late to completely thwart, but there is just enough time to channel the disaster in a way that could save the world rather than end it.

All it will take is one lawyer who refuses to let the villains win and one crackerjack scientist willing to go where no one has gone before – and come back to tell the tale.

The gripping story of The Spill begins with a well-planned and thoroughly executed environmental disaster – along with a couple of less well-planned actual executions. From there it’s a breakneck race, as American oil company executive Jesse Ford struggles to contain the oil spill itself, the political and economic fallout, and dig deeply into the causes that set this whole mess up in the first place.

Set against Jesse and his colleagues is a hidden cabal of scientifically-minded terrorists who plan to take the West down by a combination of stealth, bioterrorism, and fanaticism. The first stages of their plan go almost flawlessly, but it begins going off the rails once Jesse and company start digging into their network of secrets.

The characters on the two sides of this conflict, Jesse Ford and Aran Lassiter, are forceful and driven, and yet opposite in every way.

Much of the story is told through Ford’s first-person perspective. From inside his head, we see a pragmatic man, but one who cares about his people and has lines he never thought he would cross.

Aran Lassiter is his perfect foil, a man broken and reforged in pain. He has been molded into a weapon, willing to cross any line and break any rule – or person – to share his pain with everyone in his path – friend and enemy alike.

The Spill is a techno-thriller that’s compulsively page-turning from the very first word.

The plot to destroy the West is chilling in its execution – all the more so because it feels entirely too plausible. Readers will get close to Jesse and his team, to the point where each victory is a moment to cheer, and each loss heartbreaking.

To thwart the villains, these heroes turn to a solution so far out of the box that it’s sourced in science fiction – but the story is so riveting that even non-SF readers will be pulled along to the conclusion.

The ending manages to plant the seeds of later destruction in its victorious moment, leaving readers hungering for more of this absolute thrill ride of a read!

November 20, 2023