Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: International Mystery & Crime

  • SMITE The WATERS: The Isaak Collection by David T. Isaak – Terrorism Thriller, Conspiracy Thriller, International Mystery & Crime

     

    Smite the Waters by David T. Isaak begins with the xenophobic billionaire Rex Atwater whose goal is to eliminate terrorism. His certainty that it’s “us” or “them” has led him to one horrifying conclusion: he must nuke Mecca.

    Convinced of his twisted plot’s perfection, Atwater assembles a deadly team. Carla Smukowski is a military assassin mourning the death of her brother. Boyce Hammond works as a covert FBI agent deeply entrenched in a right-wing movement. And rounding out the cast is Gerald Graves, a nuclear expert willing to commit this heinous crime. Together, they vow to annihilate terrorism.

    Virtually every character in this story is fully fleshed out, gritty and driven, to draw the reader deep into their individual stories.

    Carla stumbles through a haze of alcohol, no job prospects and no money to fall back on. But even under the influence, she carries herself with violent prowess, showing the years of military action that have made her such a valuable operative for Atwater. And her dire straits are no position from which to refuse his offer—not that the rage over her brother’s death would let her anyway. Well-used to death, Carla drowns sympathy for the innocent under blood spilled by the guilty.

    Hammond, after years deep undercover, wants out. But the chance to catch a man like Atwater is too great for his superiors to allow his return to his own life. Catching the FBI’s white whale means putting himself in greater danger than ever, and even the Bureau couldn’t have predicted the scope of Atwater’s plan. As he realizes the true global peril Atwater poses, Hammond has to put his own safety aside for the sake of countless others.

    Dr. Gerald Graves is rescued from a rough and wrongful Patriot-Act empowered imprisonment and delivered the means to address serious nuclear disarmament—at least, as far as Atwater cares to tell him. Because, while some people can be paid enough to work any scheme, true believers in a mission are driven beyond their own sake. And as Atwater knows very well, that true belief can be directed to unparalleled violence.

    This dynamic cast is a highlight of Smite the Waters. Readers of the thriller genre might be used to shadowy figures who forward the narrative without much character behind them, but in this book, every person has their reasons for being here—whether they stand with or against Atwater.

    Smite the Waters careens like a nuclear bomb towards total disaster.

    Atwater’s goal—the destruction of Mecca to shatter the Muslim world and remove it as a threat to America—spurs intrigue and tension alike. Thriller readers will obsess over every revealed detail, trying to intuit how the grand plan will play out as some forces move to make it happen and others work against the clock to prevent it. Highjacking a cargo ship full of nuclear waste from Indonesia, turning it into a destructive bomb, and delivering it to its intended target is all in the plan, but can it be executed?

    Smite the Water by David T. Isaak is a thriller filled with action and intrigue that takes you on a complicated, perilous race. Along the way, it’s left to the reader to find out who it is that will reap the rewards, and who will suffer the consequences.

     

  • HEAVY HYSTERIA: A novel of Corporate Intrigue Involving the Minerals of this Sacred Earth by Charlie Robinson – Conspiracy Thrillers, Technothrillers, International Mystery & Crime

    Scientific and moral questions swirl in Charlie Robinson’s latest thriller, Heavy Hysteria: A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Involving the Minerals of this Sacred Earth.

    Readers are thrust into a suspenseful journey with worldwide implications alongside Dr. Charlie Cavanaugh, a 68-year-old priest and scientist.

    Arriving home after a spiritual retreat, he is surprised by an FBI agent sitting with Cavanaugh’s gun on his lap. The agent has subverted a freshly enhanced security system to retrieve Cavanaugh’s encrypted, unpublished Hybrid Hysteria report from a concealed USB stick.

    The FBI needs Cavanaugh’s assistance with a delicate national security issue.

    His widely researched and circulated Applied Physics Letters scientific publication revealed the severe danger that specific configurations of the Gauss Hybrid Electric Auto Company’s batteries posed for human health. That report saved thousands of lives—and his expertise is called back to action.

    GHEA is now under new management. Prices for GHEA battery minerals are rising rapidly, putting national security and electric car manufacturers at risk.

    A small secret organization wants to build on Cavanaugh’s research to track down the people behind the threat, focusing on the “Tones,” a rogue group within the Deep State. But chances are high that Cavanaugh’s involvement will again put him on the Tones’ radar, who previously abducted his fellow scientists and co-authors.

    Following the widely acclaimed Hybrid Hysteria—a Novel of Corporate Intrigue Both Holy and Diabolical, this serpentine tale reveals deep-seated treachery and calamitous profit-driven deception.

    Cavanaugh, a man of the cloth, shrewdly transcends his duty as a “simple priest” and takes on the unfamiliar hat of a spy to unearth complex truths. With a bull’s eye on his back, he assumes challenging positions that push him into the unfamiliar dark web.

    Heavy Hysteria’s corporate espionage transcends tribal territories and state borders.

    It is a truly compelling plot with a vividly drawn, sharp-witted hero, ticking all the boxes of a suspense thriller. Together, these features draw readers with ever-growing curiosity towards an exciting and unforeseen end.

    Well-written and propulsive, this novel delivers much more than it promises.

    Robinson’s background in electrical engineering and neuroscience also adds a unique power to his narration. Heavy Hysteria: A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Involving the Minerals of this Sacred Earth earns a high place within its genre.

    With an intriguing premise, this tour de force is bound to captivate readers whether or not they’re fans of suspense thrillers.

     

  • MAJOR JAKE FORTINA And The TIER ONE THREAT by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Terrorism Thriller, International Mystery & Crime, Global Thriller

     

    Why would Iranian terrorists break into a Paris cemetery and steal the bones of an American Jewish WWI veteran? The answer lies in the deadly parallel history of WWI and the Spanish flu, but it’s a mystery that Jake Fortina will have to uncover in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s thriller, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat. 

    During WWI, the Spanish Flu killed millions of people—some estimates as high as 100 million—but a Jewish nurse tossed off the flu like a cold and continued to serve her country. Iran’s leaders believe the DNA in her bones will let them develop a virus that could kill Americans and Israelis by the millions while simultaneously developing immunity for Iran’s own population.

    This threat drives the story as it reaches deep into multiple countries and their governments, who collectively try to figure out the importance of the bones theft and, ultimately, what to do about it.

    Jake Fortina is an Army foreign area officer, a special position designed to handle international and political-military duties. He’s called to work with an FBI agent in France to track down the terrorists, but must be careful so they can derail the plot and arrest the perpetrators.

    The chase starts in Paris and winds its way eventually to the Italian coast. Jake’s skills are more diplomatic than James Bond as he navigates the complex relationships between multiple governments.

    Even the carrying of a weapon by an American agent into some countries is forbidden unless specifically approved by a government agency. Jake and his fellow officers must swim in these political waters in order to track down the terrorists.

    This novel favors patriotism, professionalism, and process over slam-bang cinematic action. Virtually every aspect of Jake’s actions, his relationships with colleagues, the cooperation of governments—from heads of states to ordinary agency and military officials— is spelled out in detail. Author Steinke paints Jake’s intricate world with undeniable authenticity.

    Readers will enjoy a well-written thriller and come away with a better understanding of how the real world works (or should work) when confronted by an existential threat. It is at once a novel and an education in international diplomacy and coordination, balancing all aspects well.