Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: political thriller

PURGE ON THE POTOMAC, Volume 3 of the Patriot Series by David Thomas Roberts – Political, Spy, Thriller/Suspense

When the U.S. is threatened from within, help comes from within in David Thomas Roberts’ political thriller featuring the Texas Rangers and their leader Pops Younger in a pitched war against the establishment.

In a generation or so from now, the U.S. has its first female president, Annabelle Bartlett, a politically savvy left-winger who has come to the office after the attempted impeachment of her predecessor, Tyrell Johnson. The impeachment proceedings and the dirty tricks that provoked it, cause a mighty stir in Texas. When several stalwart Texas heroes are murdered, a battle between the feds and the Texas Rangers heats up. The Rangers win. Secession is in the air, and it’s clear that President Bartlett will only make matters worse.

As Texas Ranger Commandant Pops Younger, a grizzled die-hard known for his Stetson hat, Wrangler denims, and handlebar mustache, often repeats, “Texans may forgive, but they don’t forget.” And sometimes, as in this case, if things go too far, they may not forgive either. In league with ex-Navy Seal and former CIA operative Zach Turner, Younger will trace the corruption he is sure he smells in the U.S. body politic all the way to the top.

Suspicious election tactics aside, President Bartlett is an intelligent adversary who chooses political gain over democratic functioning. When a conservative Supreme Court justice mysteriously drowns while on vacation to be replaced by a corrupt Bartlett appointee, straight talkers and straight shooter Younger and Turner have had enough. The ground will shift under Bartlett’s feet, and a significant defector from her ranks will make Younger’s case unshakeable.

Describing himself as a “serial entrepreneur,” Roberts offers a highly complicated plot that begins at the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, D.C. and ends there, amidst the carnage that began in earnest when Bartlett took on the Texans.

Roberts’ twisted tale is filled with motifs that seem almost like the new normal in the current American political life: rumors of rigged elections, Russian involvement, a power-hungry leadership, and the failure of moderates to act for a just cause ─ all for the sake of staying in office.

Purge on the Potomac is the third book in The Patriot series by David Thomas Roberts, focusing on the grit and ethics of men like Younger and highlighting the dogged sense of independence that Texans, in general, seem to exude. A few glimpses of the characters’ private lives and tenderer feelings give emotional tone to this hard-edged and sometimes violent saga.

August 28, 2018
EPSTEIN’S PANCAKE by Bjarne Rostaing – Political Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, CLUE AWARD WINNER

Styled in the cooling off days of the Reagan era and the still heated Iran Contra imbroglio, Epstein’s Pancake features a street-wise hero afflicted by PTSD and new to the spy vs. spy game. Viet Nam vet Rob Price is not having an easy time with civilian life when a friend introduces him to a mysterious man who wants to hire him for some low-level, well-paid courier work in France – dropping things off, meeting people in airports, that kind of thing.

Of course, it’s espionage and despite how careful Price normally is, he doesn’t hesitate. He has little to lose, though he will gradually realize that even someone with little to lose might find something worth saving. In this case, possibly, the entire world. As he gets more tightly drawn into more secretive levels of the work, Price begins to wonder who the good guys really are. He has one trustworthy supporter, a martial arts teacher name Jennie whose instruction might save his life as he takes on an entire military-industrial complex.

At the core of this multi-layered plot is a scientist playing with something that still seems ultra-futuristic, though it has been around for longer than most people realize: artificial intelligence. In this case, AI is represented by a plate full of genetic mush connected to wires and computers – the eponymous pancake that multi-nationals, dictators and even the leaders of the free world want to control. After numerous near-death experiences and constant switchbacks that force Price to re-learn his playbook almost daily, he will identify the villains in the piece and force their hand. But not without cost to his psyche.

Rostaing, an award-winning author, paints a remarkable picture of the times and the setting of this action-rich, intelligent tale, and is able to convey it in rich language. Doubtless, he has accessed many sources in piecing together a novel that seems entirely accurate down to small but significant details, from everything that was on TV in the late 1980s to how the bigwigs were thinking.

He inserts some believable behind-the-scenes vignettes and a few well-chosen opinions without weighing the narrative, and he has an excellent ear for dialogue. In Price, he has brought to life an enjoyable mix of John le Carré’s cool-headed Smiley and Dashiell Hammett’s hard-bitten Sam Spade.

With international intrigue, a new twist on almost every page, life-threatening danger, and a hard-living hero with a soft heart, Epstein’s Pancake is a smart story solidly in the spy thriller genre that’s bound to garner a loyal readership.

Epstein’s Pancake won First Place in the 2016 Clue Awards for Bjarne Rostaing.

August 12, 2018
The BLIND POOL by Paul McHugh – Political Thriller, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Organized Crime
The Blind Pool won First Place in the 2018 CIBAs in the CLUE Awards. Congratulations!

Imagine you’re stuck in traffic on a hot Florida Overseas Highway when you notice a group of rough-looking motorcyclists roaring down the highway between the cars. Irritating and enviable. But then, the leader of the group suddenly stops at a Cadillac and smash in the driver’s side window with his helmet. What would you do? Would you step in? Would you pretend you didn’t see it?

Meet Dan Cowell, the man who steps in, and his girlfriend, Linda Parker, who cannot stand idly by while bullies terrorize the elderly couple inside the car.

Heroes. But, now our heroes are in trouble. And just like Anton Chekov was so fond of saying, “Where there’s water, someone’s gonna go in…” * our heroes plummet over the railing and into the waters below. Welcome to the opening scenes of Paul McHugh’s thriller, The Blind Pool.

The rest of the novel keeps up the thrilling and suspense-filled pace. Dan and Linda survive the fall, but their adventures are far from over. The leader of the gang understands that Dan and Linda survived the fall, which means they can identify him. His identity is at the center of interlaced mysteries, each a jagged puzzle piece on a deadly board.

Our heroes need professional protection. Enter Carl Blackadar, Dan’s buddy from his service days, a guy with more military and federal connections than anyone on the planet. His girlfriend, Melanie Olson, as sassy as she is smart, is a journalist who has recently been dismissed from the FBI for insubordination. Before that, she was the wife of a U.S. congressman, a position that still enables her to wield political clout. A moment in her company and no one is surprised about the insubordination charge; no one tells this feisty fireball what to do, and heaven help the misguided fool who tries.

Dan’s and Carl’s investigations about the motorcycle gang take them to Ecuador where they discover a retired Russian general turned top-level gangster following the fall of the Soviet Union. His office is an extravagant yacht, and here McHugh delivers exemplary scenes of crimes committed on the water in the dark of night. Meanwhile, Linda and Melanie undertake their own investigation in Texas, posing as a journalist and photographer, where they scrutinize a privately-owned prison with highly suspect practices and uncover the prison’s most notorious prisoner, Ted James Burnett, a man who murdered his parents in an insidious fashion. The women also take in the local color, including running interference with an annoying and odd tattoo artist who has ties to the prison. How does all of this relate to the motorcycle gang on the highway? In myriad and intricate ways that will have readers guessing and holding their collective breath until almost the last pages of the book.

The action takes place in the present tense, giving an immediacy and added suspense to already alarming situations. Much of the plot is moved forward by dialogue, and what dialogue it is! Witty, snappy, satiric, funny, anything but dull. Each of the four main characters has a distinctive conversational style, but the women especially shine. From Linda’s broken English to Melanie’s fluid charm, each can deliver a verbal punch when the situation calls for it. It’s a pleasure to read a novel that so celebrates the intricacies and art of the verbal take-down.

This can’t be the end for these characters—Paul McHugh must carry on and give us more! At a time when the interference of foreign governments and gangsters in American life is much in the news, those who spend time with The Blind Pool will want a sequel. Not only that, but it would be a pleasure to read a prequel. Given the bits and pieces we know about our four main characters and how they came to know each other, I’d love to read a book that sets The Blind Pool in motion. It’s rare that a reader roots for a before and after, but, to his credit, Paul McHugh leaves us wanting just that.**

*Chekov actually said, “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”

**Hot off the press! Mr. McHugh just informed us that a prequel is forthcoming. Also, he is hard at work on a sequel!

“A thrilling ride!” Chanticleer Reviews

“From Florida’s Overseas Highway to Ecuador, our heroes are hot on the trail of organized corruption that may spell their doom. A hold-your-breath thrill-ride that does not disappoint.” – Chanticleer Reviews
- Writing: Excellent
- Sex: Nudity, sexual violence
- Violence: Several scenes involve physical violence and torture
- Narration: Third Person
- Tense: Present
- Mood: Highly suspenseful
April 6, 2018
RAVEN’S RESURRECTION by John Trudel – Cybertech, Paranormal, Thriller

“Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” – George Orwell

The much-anticipated sequel to Raven’s Redemption is finally here! The story is set just a few weeks after we left Josie and Raven saving the President of the United States from certain death and thwarting the attempts on their own lives using some rather creative methods. The President is a true believer in Josie’s “remote viewing” talents and has her designated a national treasure, worth saving at all costs. Josie’s information can be trusted but never proven. Raven’s job is to do whatever it takes to keep her alive.

Josie’s paranormal talent makes her a target, and the safe house she and Raven occupy is compromised. Their would-be attackers leave behind clues that open links to a possible Quds base in California, and to a character from Soft Target and Privacy Wars whose mysterious kidnapping over a decade ago will challenge the team to redefine the events that took place at that time.

The story is set a couple of presidencies in the future and progresses by a series of conversations that require close attention to get the most from this novel. Characters discuss past events and perspectives as examples of ideologies, methods, and motivations dating back to the earlier administrations.

Raven’s Resurrection plunges the reader into strategic meetings for covert operations. While involving high levels of government, the team operates in the shadows: no cell phones, no recordings, not even written notes for the most part. They do, however, utilize technology created by Cybertech, because of its advanced security features. Targeted individuals need to be taken out without the threads of blame leading back to anyone on the team—especially not to the President.

Our hero is working less “rogue” now and more as a team member. Raven also realizes that he is stronger when he and Josie work together. Their relationship is maturing, and while the more intimate moments between them are off screen, readers will witness the couple’s deep tenderness toward one another, and thrill as the more strategic aspects of their lives together develop as they work on the logistics of just how best to protect one another.

Meanwhile, attempts on the President’s life are continuing. Raven’s supporters are pushing the Joint Chiefs to abide a secret committee with the curious name of “Covfefe.” This group operates off the books, deep black, to remove – not arrest – targeted individuals on the premise their elimination would weaken the enemy faster than an all-out war, with the added benefit of fewer casualties.

Meanwhile, Josie has valuable INTEL regarding an individual with whom the Russians have an interest in, in exchange for something the Americans want; a meeting ensues, but can the Russians be trusted?

Staging scenes that would be fitting for James Bond, Trudel shines in skill and talent as he gives us wildly entertaining action sequences. Smoke bombs, zappers, lethal weaponry abound! The team has irrefutably graduated from an under-funded, often fumbling, renegade cluster to a sophisticated outfit with souped-up cars, choice weapons, and a decent backup at their disposal.

This book departs from the familiar third-person narrative. The “I” voice changes from scene to scene, bringing the reader into a “point-of-view” that is as fun to imagine as it is hard, shifting readers from hero to villain. Of course, the first-person point-of-view also invites the opportunity for the unreliable narrator, which adds another layer of intrigue to this story.

Trudel provides a list of acronyms and their meanings at the beginning of the book. At the end of the book, readers will find his familiar “Factoids and Fantasies” that provide his framework of events and references (from his perspective) on which much of his work centers around. If you’ve enjoyed any of the Cybertech series, you won’t want to miss this latest installment.

January 16, 2018
FEARFUL MASTER by Arthur Lawrence, a political thriller

In this timely and relevant suspense novel, Canadian Intelligence analyst, Jason Currie, is chosen by his government to liaise with the Untied States SECOR agency, a greatly expanded and highly efficient version of Homeland Security. Jason’s mission is to demonstrate to the Americans that Canada is a committed ally in the war and the fight against terrorism.

But before Jason can report to the SECOR L.A. office to begin his assignment, he experiences firsthand the arbitrary nature of how America now detains ordinary citizens for even the slightest suspicion. While attempting to enter the country, he’s stopped and escorted to a holding cell, supposedly because his name is on a list. The name on the list is Kouri, his original Lebanese family name before immigrating to Canada, changed by his father years ago to Currie.

As Jason is transported to a camp in the desert and inducted into the expanded wartime detention system, he is well aware that he could easily disappear without ever having the chance to clear up the misunderstanding over his identity. Only rescue by the American General to whom he was supposed to report in Los Angeles could save him from that fate.

This novel depicts an increasingly extremist United States, battered by the effects of global warming and war. The country has become paranoid and fearful, severely restricting the rights of its citizens and detaining them in large numbers without due process.

In Jason’s case, even though he’s a Christian, he’s been detained because of his recent trip to the Middle East to visit relatives. In the case of another prisoner Jason meets, even though the man has lived in America for 40 years, he’s detained for being an unemployed Muslim stonemason who has come to California to learn about the fate of his son, an imam, jailed for speaking out against American policies. And Jason’s longtime close friends, he finds out later in the story, have reacted by growing more hard-line, or by speaking out and as a result, being forced to flee the country.

Arthur Lawrence masterfully crystallized a “what if” scenario of the potential ramifications that hard-line government security policies can have on ordinary citizens if a culture of fear is allowed to take hold. This intriguing and, frighteningly so, realistic novel portrays a future that none of us would wish to experience, in which our government could become, indeed, a “fearful master.”

August 7, 2015