Assassin's Mace, A Jake Palmer Novel by Ron McManus

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MWSA Review Pending

 

Author's Synopsis

Jake Palmer is weeks away from finishing a grueling two-year contract with the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command’s elite Task Force Orange in Islamabad. But instead of winding down, he and his partner, Alona Green, are thrust into their most dangerous mission yet: a covert operation deep inside Russia under false identities. With MI6’s Moscow Station Chief, Sania Reed, as their only lifeline, their goal is clear—extract Russia’s top hypersonic missile engineer and deliver him safely into U.S. custody. But when the mission uncovers intelligence with world-shaking consequences, the stakes rise beyond anything they imagined. Now hunted by Russia’s Federal Security Service and its most lethal operative, assassin Nikolai Ivanov, Palmer and Green must outwit an enemy who rarely misses. The consequences of mission failure could redefine the balance of global power and cost Palmer and Green everything.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 363 / 89,000

Savage Remorse by Macklin Grey

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Author's Synopsis

Chase Harper knows one truth—in the Congo, nothing is what it seems.

Haunted by war, Chase Harper fights with the Détachment—a mercenary unit bound by loyalty and survival. When a massacre shocks the world, the unit is framed for the crime, and the hunters become the hunted.

Betrayed and cut off from every ally, Harper fights to expose a conspiracy that runs from the heart of the jungle to the highest levels of government—where someone will do anything to bury the truth and start a war no one can control. As comrades fall, Harper must decide how far he’ll go to make it out alive—and what part of himself he’ll have to leave behind.

Savage Remorse is a relentless thriller of betrayal and endurance, from the award–winning author of The Black Raven’s Song.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 445 / 112,000

The Organization: Operative Nova by Daniel C. Davis

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Author's Synopsis

They don't exist on paper.
They don't answer to Congress.
They were built to protect the Republic from the shadows.

Nova Dunn has spent twenty-one years carrying her father's dog tags-and the weight of unanswered questions. Jonathan Dunn died on a classified mission when she was eight years old. At least, that's what she was told.

Now recruited into The Organization, the same covert force that sent her father on his final operation, Nova is beginning to realize that some classified secrets cut deeper than others.

Operating under federal cover, Nova is thrust into three escalating missions that will test her loyalty, discipline, and survival. She must confront a corrupt official selling secrets to Russian intelligence. Hunt down a missing nineteen-year-old girl and dismantle the trafficking network that erased her. And face a Russian enforcer known only as Bull-a man who believes he cannot be stopped.

He's wrong.

Perfect for fans of Jack Reacher, Orphan X, and Atomic Blonde, The Organization: Operative Nova is a relentless, character-driven spy thriller featuring a new kind of hero-one forged by loss, driven by truth, and trained to operate where the light never reaches.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 200 / 50,000

The Bureau by Dale Kelley

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Author's Synopsis

A gripping FBI thriller packed with crime, corruption, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Sean Hurley is a seasoned FBI agent in Chicago - battle-hardened by Army service, sharp, and driven by duty. He heads a team in a special investigation in Dallas searching for the killer of a federal judge.
This is the 3rd book in a trilogy. All written by a former FBI agent.

The author is a former FBI agent.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 201 / 44,250

Sacred Plunder by Phillip Daigle

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Author's Synopsis

Vietnam, 1969: a SEAL's jungle discovery turns a routine mission into a lifelong vow.
Navy SEAL scout Mike McCall discovers a fallen temple and swears to protect the relics hidden there. Years later, that promise drags him back into the war he thought he'd left behind.
Mike is recruited by Joe Kane's private security firm after discharge—ex-military talent doing corporate work in Southeast Asia. But CIA handler Dani Piedra has other plans: go undercover inside Kane's operation and find out what he's really moving through Saigon.
Vietnamese partner Le and journalist Jane Wade help Mike uncover the truth. Kane isn't just trafficking stolen Buddhist artifacts—he's using the antiquities pipeline to move heroin that's killing American soldiers. The temple relics Mike vowed to protect are funding the war's deadliest secret.
Mike works to expose the ring before Kane's network silences everyone who knows. But the deeper he goes, the more he realizes bringing down Kane means risking Le and Jane, burning his CIA handlers, and destroying evidence that could save lives—or letting the pipeline continue.
To honor his vow, Mike can follow his orders and stay silent or blow his cover and face the consequences.
Sacred Plunder is a character-driven thriller about loyalty, faith, and what it costs to protect what matters when the system is rigged against you.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 315 / 91,000

Clifford's War: Redivivus by J. Denison Reed

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MWSA Review Pending

 

Author's Synopsis

After the conclusion of his case, "Without End", Private investigator Clifford Dee is unexpectedly
pulled from his team in Washington D.C. to assist in locating missing family members of an old acquaintance.
A case that initially appears straightforward but quickly spirals into something far more complex.
The deeper he digs, Clifford uncovers secrets, lies, and a danger that threatens to engulf him.
In the process, past memories and long-buried trauma resurface, especially when he reconnects with a ghost from the past, forcing him to confront his own demons while navigating the treacherous path of where the case leads.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 279 / 76,000

Project Darkheart: a Black Spear novel by Benjamin Spada

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Author's Synopsis

"THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE LEGION."
Ghost mercenary Damien Black moves like a shadow, striking with precision. An occult cabal has hired him to complete two important assignments: 1) Recover the mysterious Morpheus device, a long-buried Cold War weapon with the power to unleash ruin upon humanity; 2) Annihilate the military's Black Spear Initiative in the process.

Captain Cole West has been collecting a different kind of ghost ever since he joined Black Spear. Haunted by memories of all the lives he couldn't save, and all the ones he's taken, he is now tasked with finding Morpheus and uncovering the core of a new enemy's plot before it's too late.

At first, this mission is just a job, but when a shocking secret rises to the surface, Cole West's determination to kill or be killed becomes personal and more meaningful than ever. Armed with anger issues, PTSD, and vengeance, Cole faces off against his most lethal adversary yet.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 491 / 120,000

One Death Too Far by Dennis Koller

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Author's Synopsis

When DEA Special Agent Walt McArthur is assassinated in a fiery plane explosion orchestrated by a ruthless Mexican drug cartel, his son, Ken "Mac" McArthur—a recently retired Navy SEAL and leader of the elite Red Squadron Security Agency—returns home to bury his father…and unleash hell.

Fueled by grief and vengeance, Mac reactivates his covert team of operatives to hunt down those responsible. But cartel boss Victor Serna, a man known for silencing threats before they rise, issues a kill order on Mac—knowing full well that blood ties ignite vendettas.

Mac accepts a shadowy DEA mission—Operation Snow Plow—a sweeping plan to dismantle the cartels once and for all. But as the body count rises, he begins to question who’s really pulling the strings.
What starts as a black ops mission spirals into something far darker. Mac uncovers a treacherous conspiracy within the very agency he’s working for—one that reaches into the heart of Washington power and puts his entire team in the crosshairs.

Now hunted by both the cartel and those he thought were allies, Mac must navigate a deadly web of deception, betrayal, and moral ambiguity…before he becomes the next casualty in a war where no one is clean—and nothing is as it seems.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 319 / 73,000

Dances with Arrows by Steve Stratton

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Author's Synopsis

The Russians and Chinese need our crops. They believe America is broken and attack.

In Wyoming, they will find out what unbreakable means. Brigadier General Lance Bear Wolf and his team form the Wyoming Army of Resistance. The very survival of America is at stake… and Wolf will not let it die.

From the wind-swept plains with their ICBM silos to the blood-soaked snow of occupied Cheyenne, Wolf ignites a rebellion that spreads across the Rockies. Every strike risks annihilation. Every decision is a fight between his principles and a primeval need to avenge the staggering losses America has suffered.

Written in the Mark Sibley Mongol Moon universe—where World War III is not a nightmare but a brutal reality—Dances With Arrows is a raw, relentless story of sacrifice and resistance in America’s darkest hour.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 328 / 91,000

The Gotland Deception by James Rosone

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Author's Synopsis

The world was on fire.
It didn’t matter who started it…
…only who ended it.

In the 2030s, the era of Putin and Xi ended, not with a bang, but in a poisoned whisper. In their place, new leaders emerged—charismatic, technocratic, and unflinchingly bold. As Russia and China purged their past, crushing the oligarchy, an alliance for future control emerged.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 357 / 102,000

Last Gunship Dial M for Mullinnix by Frank A. Wood

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MWSA Review

In his third book, Last Gunship: Dial M for Mullinnix, author Frank Wood departs from his normal non-fiction style and creates a murder thriller at sea. USS Mullinnix has a job to do on the gunline of Vietnam, killing the enemy. But a member of the crew is killing civilians in port and the crew underway, and the ship's company is more scared of this faceless killer than it is of the enemy. Will the killer be brought to justice, or will the ship tear itself apart faster than a main boiler explosion?

Frank Wood knows the life of a "tin-can sailor," and it brings it vividly to the pages of this book. He weaves an intricate story while capturing the sometimes terrifying but usually mundane life of a ship on the gunline in Vietnam. Those who have sailed aboard small Navy ships will feel nostalgic about this book, and those who enjoy murder mysteries will find something to enjoy as well.

Review by Rob Ballister
 

Author's Synopsis

War kills everything! What could be worse? A boiler room explosion and fire, a putrefied body in the bilges, a reefer dedicated to body bags, and the unimaginable – a possible murderer aboard ship!
Wood captures the psychological & emotional reality of serving during Vietnam with unflinching detail and authenticity. Raw. Real. Vivid. Disillusionment. Its humanity laid bare. A powerful account of the camaraderie and haunting aftermath of sailors that served on the Vietnam Gunline in the mid-1960s.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 313 / 56,346

The Vatican Deal by Michael Balter

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MWSA Review

The Vatican Deal by Michael Balter grips you from the very first page and holds you tight all the way through to its climactic conclusion. It is the second installment in the Martin Schott and Bo Bishop thriller series, but the book stands on its own—it is not necessary to have read the series’s first book to thoroughly enjoy this fast-paced mafia thriller.

Marty and Bo are the two hands-on owners of Paladin, Inc., a company that makes its money by acquiring other promising companies and bringing them under its corporate umbrella. Paladin also has two Russian investors, the alluring Natalya and the wealthy oligarch Dmitry, who finance Paladin’s acquisitions. When Marty and Bo pursue their latest target, the Chiurazzi Foundry in Naples, the deal turns out to be anything but routine.

Soon after a member of Marty and Bo’s team is injured during a tour of the foundry, Marty suspects the proposed deal is more than it seems, especially given that the Vatican and its bank are behind the sale. When he is warned not to go forward with the deal, and Natalya is kidnapped by the Naples mafia, Marty and Bo realize they, too, are in the mafia’s sights. Piece by piece they put the puzzle together, suffering intrigue, double-crosses, and personal compromise.

The author’s familiarity with Italy, the ease with which he paints scenes, and his skillful crafting of dialogue breathe reality into every page of the story. Marty’s narration is believable and often introspective, giving us a window into his sometimes-flawed moral compass. We also get to see Bo and Natalya at their high and low points, helping bring their characters to life.

The Vatican Deal is everything a thriller should be: well-written, fast-paced, attention-grabbing, and believable with well-defined main characters. When you finish reading it, you will find yourself scrambling to see when the next book in the series is coming out.

Review by David E. Grogan

 

Author's Synopsis

Danger, deception, and betrayal lurk at every turn in this gripping international crime thriller from the award-winning author of Chasing Money.

Marty Schott and Bo Bishop didn’t expect trouble on their business trip to Italy. They were headed to Naples to buy a sculpture foundry, then back to Rome to close a lucrative licensing deal with the Vatican. Flush with cash thanks to their alluring and enigmatic partner, Natalya, and her powerful Russian backer, the two friends were on top of the world.

Then the threats began.

Menaced and attacked, Marty and Bo quickly discover that the stakes are far higher than they imagined. The Naples Mafia wants the foundry for sinister reasons. The head of the Vatican Bank is playing a dangerous game. The Russian oligarch has his own hidden agenda. Everyone is keeping secrets and telling lies. Marty and Bo are ready to call it quits when a dangerous figure from their past appears in Rome. Then Natalya is kidnapped, and the stakes get personal. Now all bets are off.

Caught in a deadly crossfire between the Naples Mafia and the Russian Vory, can Marty and Bo uncover the truth about the Vatican deal, find a way to rescue Natalya, and escape with their lives and friendship intact?

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 302 / 80,000

Invaders of the Heartland by James Bultema

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MWSA Review

Invaders of the Heartland by retired LAPD Detective James Bultema is a fast-paced, all-too-real police procedural mystery. From the first chapter, I became a fan of the main character, Jake Dalton.

Even though Jake saves a hostage and shoots a bad guy, political and personal retribution lead to a hearing for Jake after a shoot-out during a bank robbery in Los Angeles. Rather than take the humiliating demotion offered, Jake tenders his resignation and hands over his badge and weapon. He moves back to his hometown in Fairview, Oklahoma, with the intention of escaping politics and working in his family-owned garage.

When the current chief of police is involved in a scandal and is fired, Jake applies for and gets the job. His first task is to restore integrity to and revitalize the department. He hopes to restore community respect for the local police. One day, it comes to Jake’s attention that rural Fairview has been infiltrated by a Chinese-owned marijuana farming company. Outwardly, everything looks legal and above board, but Jake sees red flags.

With evil intentions to completely take over every business in town, the Chinese plan to launder their illicit money through each legitimate business. Jake documents and observes. When he has enough evidence, he goes to the federal authorities, who promptly dismiss him. Saving Fairview is now up to Jake Dalton and his small police department.

I was drawn to Invaders of the Heartland because of recent reports of Chinese-owned land and businesses currently in the United States. James Bultema has written a page-turner that has me wondering when we will wake up.

Review by Nancy Panko

 

Author's Synopsis

A town on the brink. A police force outmatched. A chief with everything to lose.

After LAPD brass scrutinized his split-second decision in a deadly bank shootout, Detective Jake Dalton left the city behind for his hometown—Fairview, Oklahoma. But his return to small-town life is anything but quiet.

Taking over a struggling four-person police department, Jake believes he’s left big-city crime in the past—until the Chinese mafia moves in, turning Fairview into the hub of a ruthless billion-dollar marijuana empire
.
When Jake sounds the alarm, federal agents dismiss him, and local officials look the other way. Outgunned and outnumbered, he stands alone as the last line of defense against a brutal syndicate determined to seize total control. One wrong move could cost him everything.

Written by a retired LAPD officer, Invaders of the Heartland is a gritty, high-stakes police procedural brimming with real-world authenticity, crime, and conspiracy. The story may be fiction, but the crisis is very real.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 351 / 67,000

Arctic Red by James Bultema

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MWSA Review

Arctic Red (Sea of Red Series Book 4) presents a timely military thriller set in and around Greenland in the backdrop of international intrigue with a villainous Russia, a defensive United States, and a sovereign Denmark. Action includes submarines, aircraft, ground forces, and technology supporting them with realistic precision and believable characters. Readers will keep turning pages to see what high intensity battle happens next.

Scenes involving frustrating North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bureaucracy, discussions, and country differences provide an extra layer of interest. Author James Bultema’s research of weapons systems and capabilities came through in his tactical descriptions while he still captured the individual personalities of those on both sides of the fight, making readers care about them or root against them.

Bultema uses engaging and expressive words to paint pictures throughout. For example: “The torpedo splashed into the Greenland Sea in a tall, narrow plume, its minimal disturbance by design to reduce detection. It would have received a 10 if it were a diver in the Olympics.”

Arctic Red is highly recommended for readers of military thrillers who enjoy a combination of politics, tactical engagements, life stories, and suspense.

Review by Valerie Ormond
 

Author's Synopsis

The Arctic is no longer frozen—it's on fire, and Greenland is the target.

In the chilling aftermath of the Sea of Red series, the United States faces its most treacherous enemy yet: a resurgent Russia hell-bent on controlling the Arctic’s strategic frontier. As ice melts, tensions ignite.

Lieutenant Commander Jessie “Swagger” Hampton is back in the cockpit of his F-35, now flying combat missions over the world’s newest battlefield. His wife, Lieutenant Commander Sarah “Danger” Freeman, patrols the skies in her E-2D Hawkeye, the eyes of the fleet, tracking enemy fighters, detecting missile launches, and directing the kill chain as war erupts across the Arctic.

When Russian forces launch a surprise invasion of Greenland, the U.S. military scrambles to respond. From silent submarine warfare beneath the polar sea to high-altitude dogfights and boots-on-frozen-ground combat, Arctic Red delivers relentless action and razor-sharp realism.

The war for the Arctic has begun—and the cost of failure is global. From multi-award-winning author James Bultema.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 429 / 76,000

Target Kyiv by J. M. Taylor

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MWSA Review

Target Kyiv is a fast-moving thriller set in modern-day Ukraine. Author J. M. Taylor has given us a likeable and capable protagonist in Matt Ross, an ex-army sniper and nuclear specialist. Ross is sent into Ukraine undercover as a member of the International Atomic Energy team to inspect and monitor the two nuclear reactors in Ukraine. One, closed and dormant, is Chernobyl. Since it’s still spewing radioactive material inside its containment shield, Matt's visit soon finds him trying to avoid being shot by the Russians or burning up inside the hot reactor. The Russians embark on a plan to blame Ross and another IAE team member for a nuclear accident that will spread radioactive material over a large section of Ukraine. First, however, they have to kill or capture him. The fight is on, and with the support of Ukrainian guerilla fighters, Ross may just survive. I recommend this book.

Review by Bob Doerr

 

Author's Synopsis

FEBRUARY 2022: Intelligence reports prompt a call to Matt Ross, ex-U. S. Army nuclear expert and sniper, to deal with the nuclear threat not only to the Ukrainian military and civilians, but also to the International Atomic Energy team at Chernobyl and his new friends in the Ukrainian drone-flying, tank-busting Aerorozvidka outfit. Along the way Ross picks up Ulf, a brindle Dutch Shepherd bomb detection dog, and finds himself in the middle of the Russian invasion trying to remember how to down an attack helicopter with a Stinger missile, destroy a tank with an Ukrainian Skif anti-tank missile and prevent the spread of radioactive debris across Europe.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 261 / 83,808

Home for the Homicides by Rosalie Spielman

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MWSA Review

Home for the Homicides by Rosalie Spielman is set in New Oslo, Idaho, where townsfolk prepare for Christmas and the first Running of the Grinches. Even Magnus the Moose gets in on the festivities by twice eating Army retiree Tessa Treslow’s truck decorations.

Another book in the Spielman series, Home for the Homicides follows Tessa and Aunt Edna as they prepare for Christmas and try to catch the real-life Grinch threatening New Oslo. The trouble escalates from broken storefront windows to stolen toys, firebombing, and murder. Tessa and Edna must find the culprit before Christmas is ruined.

Tessa organizes a citizen patrol for the town to catch the person responsible for attacking the businesses in town. She finds a clue at each of the sites that ties each event together. In a small town, where everyone knows each other, who could do these things to a neighbor? Tessa and Aunt Edna spot a stranger who seems to be around whenever there’s a crowd. Who is he, and why is he in New Oslo?

Home for the Homicides is a fast-paced cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing. Even though I’ve read some of the other books in the series, I still appreciate the cleverly named businesses and quirky named people like the Bimbeaus. Rosalie Spielman can always make me laugh!

Home for the Homicides is a book worth curling up in front of a fire to read.

Review by Nancy Panko

 

Author's Synopsis

It's Christmastime in Army retiree Tessa Treslow's small Idaho hometown of New Oslo, but someone is determined to play a grinch this season and is robbing local businesses of their holiday cheer!

In the midst of preparing for the first annual Running of the Grinches, a fundraiser to support the Sergeant Santa Toy Drive and the local historical society, a string of unfortunate incidents hit the townsfolk hard. It starts with broken windows then progresses to car theft, assault, and arson—each instance accompanied by a clue that clearly ties the crimes together.

Tessa organizes a watch patrol for New Oslo, and during her first shift she helps rescue a victim from a fire. Unfortunately, it is clear to Tessa that the woman was already dead before the fire was set. Did the arsonist accidentally kill her...or is something more heinous and less in the spirit of the season at hand? It's up to Tessa to find out before tragedy strikes again!

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 255 / 70,000

The Suwalki Crisis by James Rosone

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MWSA Review

The Suwalki Crisis by James Rosone is Book Two of a World on Fire series. Book One was The Gotland Deception. This second book, set in 2033, starts with an intense session in the Joint Intelligence Operations Center in Hawaii as there is “alarming maritime activity around Taiwan.” This chapter is loaded with acronyms as would be expected in this location under these circumstances. It is best read quickly – experience the intensity and don’t worry about most of the capital letters. PLA refers to the Chinese; ROC are the Taiwanese; EDEP or Eurasian Defense Economic Pact or Russia, China, and Belarus; acronyms ending with UV are underwater vehicles and SV are surface vehicles. Flipping back and forth between the story and the list of acronyms may make you miss the point – it’s intense!

Although the book title refers to a European location, the first 6 chapters are set in the Pacific. However, the Suwalki Gap, located between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad, is key to what is happening in the Pacific. There are several major locales: Taiwan Strait, Bering Sea (Adak, Alaska), Gotland Island (Sweden), and Europe – specifically Poland, which abuts the Suwalki Gap. Controlling that contested area can isolate Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia from NATO. Other locations for the West include Colorado, the White House, the Philippines (where contractors with AI expertise are imbedded with a command center), Taiwan, Germany, and Belgium as well as various surface ships and submarines in the Philippines. EDEP locations include a destroyer and a submarine.

And then there are the spies. The Taiwan Study Group significantly impacts the ability to defend Taiwan from the Chinese attack. Most of the book is from the Western point of view, but there is enough from EDEP players to understand their point of view.

This book tells the worst possible scenario for the West – all of those key locales are attacked at once. The story moves smoothly and clearly through the various locations and engages the reader in each one. The reader is in the midst of battle – in all those locations.

Review by Nancy Kauffman

 

Author's Synopsis

The Suwalki Crisis is the second book in our World on Fire series. The war for control of Asia and Europe has started. It's now a race to see which side will destroy the other's ability to fight and determine who will dominate the 21st century.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 377 / 99,160

The Compass Room by Mark James

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MWSA Review

In The Compass Room, Mark James delivers a high-octane geopolitical thriller that explores a world on the brink of collapse. The narrative follows Vice President George "Daddy Longlegs" Wartmann as he navigates the fallout of a catastrophic naval disaster that has left the United States vulnerable and its allies indecisive.

The story blends technical military strategy with the morally gray side of high-stakes diplomacy. Operating from his private study—the titular "Compass Room"—Wartmann emerges as a tenacious protagonist willing to cross ethical lines to protect a fractured nation.

Intellectually engaging and relentlessly paced, this novel is for fans of political and military fiction. It offers suspense and provides a sobering reflection on the architecture of the modern global order. The Compass Room is the gripping sequel to the Friendship Games — a Wartmann thriller that stands on its own.

Review by James Elsener

 

Author's Synopsis

The gripping sequel to the Kirkus-starred Friendship Games — The Compass Room is a Wartmann Thriller that stands powerfully on its own.

The war was over before it even started.

In the aftermath of disaster, more than 200,000 Americans are stranded in hostile territory, and Washington reels from a conflict it never imagined losing. Across Europe, unrest spreads while America's allies falter, divided and indecisive — much like its own President. In contrast, Turkey moves boldly to expand its reach, while Russia and China seize the moment to press their advantage.

Vice President George "Daddy Longlegs" Wartmann now faces his greatest test: holding a fractured nation together as political polarization deepens, impeachment looms, unrest grows at home, markets crash, and enemies maneuver abroad. Every choice carries peril, and survival may depend on finding direction in a world turned upside down.

The war might have been over before it started… but one man refuses to accept defeat, and he knows the story is only beginning.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 353 / 71,564

The Big Bad by Brad Huestis

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MWSA Review

The Big Bad charges out of the starting gate introducing three of the main characters and hinting at the challenges they will face. Major Jess Gilbert’s inner dialogue reveals her reasons for choosing the field of law and her unlikely decision to join the Army. Her desires to deploy and make an impact beyond rear echelon work are realized when her three-star general boss informs her and her female mentor JAG officer colonel that they are soon to be leaving for Iraq.

Readers soon meet the villain, Colonel Mike “the Big Bad” Wolfe who is instantly easy to dislike. He’s arrogant, plays favorites, and bullies troops based on them not meeting his self-created standards. He, too, feels that he’s received a gift when he receives the orders to deploy his Brigade Combat Team to Iraq. Within weeks of training, Wolfe has fired his executive officer with a torrent of expletives and for no good reasons. The Big Bad clearly likes to flex his muscle in a show of force to intimidate his team into submission.

In a good versus evil story, Jess the JAG must investigate allegations against Wolfe once they are both in Iraq. She finds Wolfe’s men unusually dedicated to him and uncovers deep discrepancies in their stories, which elevates the case to a multiple-murder investigation. Jess juggles with the intricacies of military law, the warrior ethos, and the heartache of young enlisted men taking the blame while those who gave the orders escape the brunt of the law. While Wolfe is the quintessential villain, the Army’s justice system presents itself as an antagonistic force as well.

Author Brad Huestis penned a realistic and page-turning book revealing difficulties in applying the rule of law and inexact rules of engagement in asymmetric warfare. Highly recommended for thriller readers and those interested in what could happen behind the scenes in modern warfare.

Review by Valerie Ormond

 

Author's Synopsis

When Jessica Gilbert, a US Army JAG Corps major, deploys to Iraq in early 2006, she is excited to help rebuild the rule of law. But soon the disturbing allegation that an infamous Army colonel cut the ears from dead Iraqi fighters as bloody war trophies captures her focus. Her investigation quickly morphs into a murder inquiry when she uncovers gruesome photographs revealing that the fighters were brutally executed on the battlefield. In her quest to uncover the truth of what happened and why, she wrestles with the disparity in treatment of decision-makers versus trigger-pullers. Besides figuring out who committed this atrocity and their motives, she must fight to make sure everyone involved-from the top down-is held responsible.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 240 / 66,679

The Long Game by Mark Fleisher

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MWSA Review

The Long Game by Mark Fleisher is made up of four short works ranging from 88 pages for “Second Chances” to 15 pages for “A Round Trip.”  The other two stories are 31 and 21 pages each. The Preface suggests the author was influenced by Mickey Spillane, and that is seen most clearly in “What’s Up, Doc” and “Dumpster Dilemma” with street slang and quick, short sentences.  The endings are left up to the reader’s imagination – happy endings or problems to come.

Second Chances: Vic Russell defends himself in a bar when he steps in to protect a woman being harassed, but his strong punch results in the death of the harasser.  He is assigned a public defender who has never handled a death case.  Vic is sent to jail for manslaughter and serves every day of the 8-year sentence.  When he is released, he gets a 2nd chance with help from friends.  He builds a good life and meets a girl raised in money who loves him. Ultimately, Vic is given the opportunity to work for the Corrections Department in a program called Second Chances, counseling newly released inmates.  The program has many professionals, but they want someone with experience serving time who then transitioned successfully to life outside prison.

What’s Up, Doc: Tucker Holliday is not a doctor, but his retired heart surgeon neighbor nicknames him Doc after the “Old West gambler, gunfighter, and one-time dentist.”  His friend Dorrie, a clinical psychologist, asks Doc to help her friend Andrea, who is sharing custody of her daughter with her ex.  Andrea wants sole custody of her daughter because her ex rarely spends time at home on his custody days.  Further, he has just fired his nanny, which seems suspicious.  Doc investigates and finds Andrea’s concerns are valid, although that takes some time and has some twists.

Dilemma in a Dumpster: A body is found in a dumpster, and it takes a good deal of detective work to solve the mystery.  It looks like a mob hit, and possible witnesses are afraid to tell what they know.  Lots of reality in how crimes are solved.  Too good to offer any spoilers

Round Trip: Why would an experienced teacher head for California and then return 14 months later?  Her writer friend has a friend who is a detective.  But is the story over?

Review by Nancy Kauffman
 

Author's Synopsis

In The Long Game Mark Fleisher serves up a quartet of stories involving murder, mayhem, courtroom drama, and old-fashioned detective work. His locations are diverse: Kentucky, New York City, Boston, and western Massachusetts. All are places he describes with pinpoint accuracy and replete with local flavor and local characters. His moments of serious dialogue crackle and sizzle. Yet Fleisher writes tenderly of relationships and sprinkles humor throughout the stories. The final paragraphs of each tale will keep the reader guessing where the main characters will next journey.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only
Review genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Pages/Word count: 175 / 46,000