For the last while, I’ve all but given up reading thrillers, even—or maybe especially—the long-running series by popular authors. What used to be excellent adventure with engaging characters has turned into little more than subtle propaganda exercises, where the underlying message shows the author hasn’t bothered to research beyond the New York Times. … More “The War Machine” by Barry W. Levy
Fans of military fiction, alphabet agency thrillers, suspense, and historical fiction- this one’s for you! “The War Machine” by Barry Levy is a take-no-prisoners, leave-no-witnesses novel that ticks all the right boxes. Set in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 1988, this absolute tour de force flashes back frequently to Vietnam, 1968 as we get into the head of the main character, Kick. He seems like an anomaly- a Canadian fighting with US soldiers in the special forces unit then known as MACV-SOG. They were ghosts in the night. Terrors by day. Dropping into the jungles of Cambodia and Laos where no combat troops were officially allowed … More “The War Machine” by Barry W. Levy
When Vladimir Putin ordered his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, I’m sure many people wished him ill – even wished that, somehow, he would personally be held to account for the pointless loss of life and misery that followed this decision. In “The Warsaw Gambit,” author Benjamin Lloyd has taken this revenge fantasy and made a book of it. The geological oddity of Kaliningrad, an island of Russia wedged between Lithuania and Poland, means that Poland actually shares a border with Putin’s belligerent state, and has a vested interest in keeping him under control. While NATO dithers, a team of five Polish commandoes take matters into their own hands… … More “The Warsaw Gambit” by Benjamin Lloyd
A thrilling mission gone awry, a perilous journey across a treacherous continent, and a budding romance—elements that any lover of espionage thrillers or romantic suspense would eagerly devour. The masterful storytelling by the duo of Larry and Rosemary Mild shines brightly in their standalone novel, “Kent and Katcha: Espionage, Spycraft, Romance.” After the first third of the tale—arguably the setup—the story gripped me, rendering the book impossible to put down. My alarm for the next morning faded into insignificance. The need to be part of the unfolding tale was all-consuming. … More “Kent and Katcha” by Larry and Rosemary Mild
Fareed, a university student, has decided to transfer to a new school in Turkey after breaking up with his beautiful but abusive girlfriend. Fareed finds his eye drawn immediately to the beautiful girl across the aisle on his plane and is intrigued to find her also enrolled in the same engineering class. They begin trading notes in class, but never speak. Even more fascinating to Fareed is that everyone warns him away from the beautiful Nadide. She is the daughter of a Turkish General and is expected to soon be engaged to one of his closest subordinates. The General expects his daughter to marry a Muslim of at least 3 generations of Turkish descent. Fareed, while Muslim, and the son of two world renowned neurosurgeons, has no chance to win the General’s favor: his father is a Palestinian and his mother is an Irish Catholic. … More “Nad of Nadide” by Wagih Abu-Rish
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