Meet BTB Reviewer Kashif Hussain

 
 

Background: I love reading in general, but I always come back to thrillers. Thrillers excite me like no other genre and I try to get my hands on every thriller I might find intriguing and then review it for my folks! In whatever time reading doesn’t take up for me, I’m trying to apply my knowledge and skillset in helping AI take over the world in a safe way.

Go-To Author: Adam Hamdy - he's a terrific storyteller who knows just how to infuse high-stakes action-packed stories with warm and compelling emotional energy for a great payoff. From espionage thrillers to science fiction, he knows how to nail them all!

Author People Should Discover: Rio Youers - his prose is simply masterful. He digs deep into the flawed and deeply human characters of his stories and strikes a fantastic balance between story-driven and character-driven narratives. Once you pick up his books, you'll want to keep reading them.


Book You Would Recommend From 2023: Fearless by M.W. Craven. It's an action-packed ride with a clever premise of a badass protagonist who doesn't feel fear the way normal folks do. What follows is carnage in the best possible way.

Most-Anticipated Book Of 2024: Bang Bang Sisters by Rio Youers - the description is essentially rock-and-roll with vigilante action.... can't go wrong with that!

Favorite Local Bookstore: Barnes and Noble at Firewheel Town Center; great selection of books and delicious cookies.

Favorite Charities: Miracle Foundation is an international nonprofit organization for children. Focused on orphans in need and partnered with over 300 orphanages in India.

Follow Kashif on Twitter Facebook and Instagram or contact him via the site.

View Kashif’s Latest Reviews (book pub. dates)

Nobody's Hero by M.W. Craven (12/3/24)
The Elias Network by Simon Gervais (9/17/24)
Enemy of the State by Robert Swartwood (8/20/24)
The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski (7/23/24)
Shades of Mercy By Bruce Borgos (7/16/24)
The Bang Bang Sisters by Rio Youers (7/16/24)
The Bourne Shadow by Brian Freeman (7/16/24)
Sentinel by Mark Greaney (6/25/24)
A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson (6/11/24)
Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart (6/11/24)
The Devil's Fortress by Dale Brown (5/28/24)
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay (05/28/24)
Act of Defiance by Andrews and Wilson (5/21/24)
A Spy Like Me by Kim Sherwood (4/23/24)
Catchpenny by Charlie Huston (4/9/24)
Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton (4/9/24)
Day of Wrath by Matthew Cricchio (4/8/24)
Deep Cover by Aiden Bailey (4/7/24)
Guns and Almond Milk by Mustafa Marwan (4/2/24)
4 Minutes by Andrews & Wilson (4/2/24)
City in Ruins by Don Winslow (04/2/24)
Lethal Horizon by Jason Kasper (3/26/24)
Lethal Action by Andrew Warren & Aiden Bailey (3/19/24)
Cape Rage by Ron Corbett (3/19/24)
On the Run by Max Luther (3/14/24)
To Kill a Shadow By Julia Castleton (3/2/24)
Outlaw by Jack Stewart (2/20/24)
The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney (2/20/24)
Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz (2/13/24)
Crosshairs by James Patterson and James O. Born (2/12/24)
Black Cordite, White Snow by Nate Granzow (2/11/24)
The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes (2/6/24)
The Price You Pay by Nick Petrie (2/6/24)
The Trigger Man by Aiden Bailey (1/31/24)
The Mountain King by Anders de la Motte (1/30/24)
The Ascent by Adam Plantinga (1/2/24)
The Girl Beyond Forever by Adam Loxwood (12/12/23)
Shadowfast Trilogy (Metal Lies) by Cole Chase (12/12/23)
Night Owl by Andrew Mayne (12/1/23)
Assassin's Mark by Ward Larsen (11/28/23)
Unknown Rider by Jack Stewart (11/21/23)
The Warmaker by Benjamin Spada (11/15/23)
The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak (11/14/23)
The Doomsday Code by Sara Yager (11/14/23)
Devil's Own Day by Joe Goldberg (11/14/23)
Perfect Shot by Steve Urszenyi (11/14/23)
A New Game by A.M. Adair (10/27/23)
Baltic Black Ops By Stephen Leather (10/26/23)
The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child (10/24/23)
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett (10/24/23)
Blood Lines by Nelson DeMille & Alex DeMille (10/10/23)
The Defector by Chris Hadfield (10/10/23)
Ransomed Daughter by Eric Bishop (10/10/23)
The Last Guardian by Simon Gervais (10/10/23)
Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver (10/5/23)
The Night House by Jo Nesbo (10/3/23)
Moscow X by David McCloskey (10/3/23)
Dead Hand by James Stejskal (9/21/23)
The Traitor by Ava Glass (9/19/23)
The Exploit by Daniel Scanlon (9/14/23)
The Belgrade Conspiracy by Jason Kasper (9/12/23)
Code Red by Kyle Mills (9/12/23)
77 North by D. L. Marshall (9/7/23)
Tom Clancy's Weapons Grade by Don Bentley (9/5/23)
White Fire by Adam Hamdy (8/31/23)
Shadow Sanction by Steve Stratton (8/30/23)
The Killing Room by Robert Swartwood (8/22/23)
Fadeaway Joe by Hugh Lessig (8/22/23)
What Still Burns by Elle Grawl (8/15/23)
The Last One by Will Dean (8/8/23)
Deadlock by James Byrne (8/8/23)
The Sandbox by Andrews and Wilson (7/25/23)
The Bourne Defiance by Brian Freeman (7/25/23)
Dead Fall by Brad Thor (7/25/23)
Clean Kill by Stephen Leather (7/20/23)
The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos (7/18/23)
Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman (7/11/23)
Fearless by M. W. Craven (7/11/23)
Soon Dies the Day by Stephen England (6/30/23)
The Guardian by Joshua Hood (6/27/23)
Disarm by Lukas Walker (6/23/23)
Shrouded in Darkness by Charles Hack (6/23/23)
The Eden Initiative by David Scott (6/15/23)
Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk (6/13/23)
What Remains by Wendy Walker (6/13/23)
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (6/6/23)
Endless Vessel by Charles Soule (6/6/23)
Six Bullets to a Man by Jethro Wegener (6/2/23)
The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (5/30/23)
Weapons of Opportunity by Dale Brown (5/30/23)
Triggers by Stephen Leather (5/28/23)
Dark Horizon by James Swallow (5/25/23)
Flash Point by Don Bentley (5/23/23)
The Last Songbird by Daniel Weizmann (5/23/23)
The Devil You Know by Chris Hauty (5/23/23)
Dead Drop by M.P Woodward (5/23/23)
Only the Dead by Jack Carr (5/16/23)
Forgotten War by Don Bentley (4/25/23)
City of Dreams by Don Winslow (4/18/23)
The Instructor by T.R. Hendricks (4/11/23)
Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood (4/11/23)
Blind Spots by Thomas Mullen (4/4/23)
The Guilty One by Bill Schweigart (3/21/23)
Robert Ludlum's The Treadstone Rendition by Joshua Hood (3/16/23)
Wolf Trap by Connor Sullivan (3/14/23)
Deep Fake by Ward Larsen (3/14/23)
Beast Three Six by Jason Kasper (3/14/23)
Red London by Alma Katsu (3/14/23)
Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton (3/14/23)
The Mazatlan Showdown by Patrick Weill (3/13/23)
What Have We Done by Alex Finlay (3/7/23)
Death Watch by Stona Fitch (3/2/23)
The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson (2/28/23)
Net Force: Moving Target by Jerome Preisler (2/21/23)
Dempsey by Andrews & Wilson (2/21/23)
Burner by Mark Greaney (2/21/23)
Black Wolf by Kathleen Kent (2/14/23)
The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz (2/14/23)
The Bullet Garden by Stephen Hunter (1/24/23)
Shadow State by Andy McNab (1/5/23)
Still Standing by Stephen Leather (1/5/23)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Dragonfire by James Swallow (1/3/23)
Murder Book By Thomas Perry (1/3/23)
Amok by Barry Eisler (12/6/22)
Red Winter by Marc Cameron (12/6/22)
Judas 62 by Charles Cumming (12/6/22)
One of Those Faces by Elle Grawl (12/1/22)
Rio Grande Night by Stephen Leather (11/27/22)
NYPD Red 7: Murder Sorority by Marshall Karp (11/22/22)
Little Black Crimes by Nathaniel Blackhelm (11/20/22)
Whispers of a Gypsy by JT Patten (11/18/22)
Rebellious Son by Joe Goldberg (11/15/22)
The Survivor by Simon Conway (11/3/22)
No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child (10/25/22)
The Blackbriar Genesis by Simon Gervais (10/18/22)
The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy (10/11/22)
The Furies by John Connolly (9/27/22)
Oath of Loyalty by Kyle Mills (9/13/22)
Blowback by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois (9/12/22)
The Hacker by Daniel Scanlan (9/1/22)
Kingdom of Spies by Bevan G. Roberts (9/1/22)
Fox Creek by William Kent Krueger (8/23/22)
Narco Assassins by Jason Kasper (8/23/22)
Out of the Blue by M.M. Harrold 8/20/22
Firestorm by Taylor Moore (8/16/22)
Dark Harvest by Will Jordan (8/16/22)
The Titan Protocol by David Scott (8/16/22)
Heat 2 by Meg Gardiner & Michael Mann (8/9/22)
The Last Sentinel by Simon Gervais (8/9/22)
The Neighborhood by Matthew Betley (8/9/22)
I Will Kill You by Halo Scot (8/8/22)
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (8/6/22)
A Simple Choice by David Pepper (8/2/22)
Alias Emma by Ava Glass (8/2/22)
FNG by Benjamin Spada (7/31/22)
The Bourne Sacrifice by Brian Freeman (7/26/22)
The Nameless Height by J.D. Narramore (7/21/22)
Dirty War by Stephen Leather (7/21/22)
The It Girl by Ruth Ware (7/12/22)
The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci (7/12/22)
Dark Objects by Simon Toyne (7/12/22)
Upgrade by Blake Crouch (7/12/22)
Into the Darkness by Charles Hack (7/8/22)
Rising Tiger by Brad Thor (7/5/22)
Armored by Mark Greaney (7/5/22)
Outside by Ragnar Jonasson (6/28/22)
China Hand by Scott Spacek (6/21/22)
Shadow Tier by Steve Stratton (6/14/22)
Cold Fear by Brandon Webb & John David Mann (6/7/22)
Zero Hour by Don Bentley (6/7/22)
Snowstorm in August by Marshall Karp (6/7/22)
Sons of Valor II: Violence of Action by Andrews and Wilson (6/7/22)
The Gatekeeper by James Byrne (6/7/22)
It Dies with You by Scott Blackburn (6/7/22)
The Handler by M.P. Woodward (5/31/22)
Airside James Swallow by (5/26/22)
In the Blood by Jack Carr (5/17/22)
The Island by Adrian McKinty (5/17/22)
With Prejudice by Robin Peguero (5/17/22)
Countdown To Midnight By Dale Brown (5/17/22)
Child Zero by Chris Holm, out on (5/10/22)
Robert B. Parker's Revenge Tour by Mike Lupica (5/3/22)
The 13th Hour: Chaos by Richard Doetsch (5/3/22)
Storm Rising by Chris Hauty (5/3/22)
Hostile Intent by Don Bentley (5/3/22)
City on Fire by Don Winslow (4/26/22)
Cold Snap by Marc Cameron (4/26/22)
The Sweet Goodbye By Ron Corbett (4/19/22)
The Investigator by John Sanford (4/12/22)
Assassin's Edge by Ward Larsen (4/12/22)
Standing Alone by Stephen Leather (4/5/22)
Dark Angel by Andrews & Wilson (4/5/22)
The Treadstone Transgression by Joshua Hood (4/5/22)
Watch Dogs: Stars & Stripes by Sean Grigsby & Stewart Hotston (4/1/22)
Wild Card by Stephen England (3/18/22)
Shadow War by A.M. Adair (3/15/22)
Shadows Reel by C.J. Box (3/8/22)
The Baja Directive by Craig Hooper (3/4/22)
Splinter Cell: Firewall by James Swallow (3/1/22)
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay (3/01/22)
Grim Measures by David Darling (2/27/22)
Those Who Hunt Wolves by Harrison Taylor (2/22/22)
No Second Chances by Rio Youres (2/22/22)
Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett (2/22/22)
Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton (2/15/22)
Margaret Truman's Murder at the CDC by Jon Land (2/15/22)
Sierra Six by Mark Greaney (2/15/22)
City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman (2/8/22)
Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz (2/8/22)
Restitution by John A. Daly (2/8/22)
The Moscow Protocol by Terrance McCauley (2/2/22)
Code Green by Andrew Warren (1/25/22)
Road of Bones by Christopher Golden (1/25/22)
Undermoney by Jay Newman (1/25/22)
Targeted by Stephen Hunter (1/18/22)
The Runaway by Nick Petrie (1/18/22)
End of Days by Brad Taylor (1/11/22)
Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins (1/11/22)
Box 88 by Charles Cumming (1/11/22)
Insurrection Day by Chris Hauty (1/4/22)
Covert Kill by Jason Kasper (12/21/21)
Rogue Asset by Brian Andrews and Jeffery Wilson (12/7/21)
48 Hours to Kill by Andrew Bourelle (12/07/21)
Sea Hawke by Ted Bell (12/7/21)
Sympathy for the Devil by Terrence McCauley 12/01/21
A Time to Kill by Kronos Ananthsimha (11/23/21)
Twentymile by C. Matthew Smith (11/19/21)
Project Icarus by RD Shah (11/18/21)
A Shot to Kill by Kronos Ananthsimha (11/16/21)
Chain of Command by Marc Cameron (11/16/21)
The Body Man by Eric P. Bishop (11/11/21)
Game On by Janet Evanovich (11/02/21)
The Last Protector by Simon Gervais (11/1/21)
Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe (11/1/21)
The Nameless Ones by John Connolly (10/26/21)
Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child (10/26/2021)
Security Day by Matt Cricchio (10/17/21)
The Lion's Paw by Stephen England (10/15/21)
The Kill Box by Rip Rawlings (10/5/21)
Appointment in Tehran by James Stejskal (10/01/21)
A Time for Monsters by Gareth Worthington (9/28/21)
Whitesands by Johann Thorsson (9/26/21)
Enemy at the Gates by Kyle Mills (9/14/21)
Last Target Standing by Jason Kasper (9/14/21)
KGB Banker by William McCormick (9/10/21)
Pantheon 2: Ares & Athena by K. R. Paul (9/9/21)
Left for Dead by Sean Parnell (9/7/21)
The Island by Ben Coes (8/17/21)
Down Range by Taylor Moore (8/3/21)
Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka (8/3/21)
Assassin's Dawn by Ward Larsen (8/2/21)
The Bourne Treachery by Brian Freeman (7/27/21)
Traitors by Alex Shaw (7/23/21)
Black Ice by Brad Thor (7/20/21)
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (7/6/21)
Falling by T.J. Newman (7/6/21)
Sleeping Bear by Connor Sullivan (7/6/21)
Shadow Masters by J.T. Patten (7/4/21)
The Impostor by David Temple (7/1/21)
Stealth Attack by John Gilstrap (6/29/21)
Cthulhu Reloaded by David Conyers (6/24/21)
Shadow Target by David Ricciardi (6/15/21)
The Tipping Point by David Darling (6/15/21)
Sons of Valor by Andrews & Wilson (6/8/21)
Target Acquired by Don Bentley (6/8/21)
The Spy Devils by Joe Goldberg (5/26/21)
Warshot by Don Keith and George Wallace (5/25/21)
A Hostile State by Adrian Magson (5/4/21)
Bone Rattle by Marc Cameron (4/27/21)
Red Wolves by Adam Hamdy (4/15/2021)
The Devil’s Hand by Jack Carr (4/13/21)
A Dangerous Freedom by John Ruane (3/31/21)
Renegade by Rob Sinclair (3/30/21)
The Bounty by Janet Evanovich (3/23/21)
Red Widow by Alma Katsu (3/23/21)
Nemesis by Anthony Riches (3/4/21)
Czar of England by Ian Kharitonov (3/3/21)
The Outside Man by Don Bentley (3/2/21)
Family Business by J.J. Fauser (2/28/2021)
All Fall Down by James Brabazon (2/18/21)
Relentless by Mark Greaney (2/16/21)
The Treadstone Exile by Joshua Hood (2/2/21)
Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz (1/26/21)
The Enemies Of My Country by Jason Kasper (1/15/21)
Savage Road by Chris Hauty (1/5/21)
The Deeper Shadow by A.M. Adair (11/30/20)
Drone Strike by David Austin (11/25/20)
Time to Hunt by Simon Gervais (11/10/20)
The Sentinel by Andrew Child (10/27/20)
Get Idiota by Nate Granzow (10/1/20)
The Hidden Vector by Matthew Snyder (9/28/20)
Total Power by Kyle Mills (9/15/20)
Rogue State by Ross Sidor (8/24/20)
The Buffalo Pilot by Lawrence A. Colby (8/21/20)
Assassin's Strike by Ward Larsen (8/18/20)
The Stranger by Simon Conway (8/13/20)
The Bourne Evolution by Brian Freeman (7/28/20)
Near Dark by Brad Thor (7/21/20)
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby (7/14/20)
All The Good Men by Craig N. Hooper (6/17/20)
Rogue by James Swallow (5/28/20)
Broken by Don Winslow (4/7/2020)
Curse the Day by Judith O'Reilly (4/2/20)
One Minute Out by Mark Greaney (2/18/20)
Black 13 by Adam Hamdy (1/23/20)
The Treadstone Resurrection by Joshua Hood (9/17/19)
Presence of Mine Enemies by Stephen England (8/15/2019)
Shadow by James Swallow (5/3/19)
The Break Line by James Brabazon (1/29/19)
Fault Lines by Steven Hildreth Jr. (1/7/19)
Kill for Me by Tom Wood (11/6/18)
Into The Black Nowhere By Meg Gardiner (1/30/18)
Freefall by Adam Hamdy (11/2/17)
The Pendulum by Adam Handy (11/3/16)
Rules for Revenge by Ian Graham (10/2/16)
Raven One by Kevin Miller (8/15/15)
No Tomorrow by Tom Wood (9/02/14)
The Son by Jo Nesbo (5/13/14)
The Cleaner by Mark Dawson (1/3/14)
Veil Of Civility by Ian Graham (4/17/13)
Threat Vector by Tom Clancy-Mark Greaney (12/04/12)
Pandora's Grave by Stephen England (7/29/11)
The Ghosts of Belfast By Stuart Neville (10/1/09)
Veterans Day by Jack Stewart (querying author)
Desperate Pursuit by Kerry Frey (querying author)

Nobody's Hero By M.W. Craven

Nobody’s Hero is a worthy follow-up to M.W. Craven’s gritty and badass introduction to Ben Koenig. Koenig is a long way from hunting down dangerous criminals as head of the US Marshal’s elite Special Operations Group. Where the first book introduced the man who feels no fear, Nobody’s Hero shows how far the bad guys can push our hero until he cracks.

A brazen murder and abduction on the streets of London in broad daylight opens a Pandora’s box of secrets shrouded in layers of deception and subterfuge. What’s more troubling is a list of names on which the final name is Ben Koenig. Even more troubling is that Koenig can’t seem to understand why his name would be placed with strangers. It’s only when he remembers a mysterious woman whom he helped disappear that he realizes whatever has her resurfacing can only spell doom for thousands if not millions of people.

M.W. Craven has put forth a rising star in the thrillerverse with his unflappable protagonist who genuinely unsettles you, not by any measure of scrupulous characteristics but by his medical affliction that leaves him processing fear in a way most people can’t understand. It’s this drive that leads him to do some pretty cool action sequences, albeit they’re lingering on suicidal. Not only does M.W. Craven nail the intense kinetic combat but he also finds a way to instill traces of fear in a man to whom that notion has become foreign. Topping this with callbacks to famous action movies, jaw-dropping twists, and a final death that is so gruesome yet badass you can’t help but read it and play it back in your head with unaltered admiration and horror, this book is a sure-shot high-class entertainer.

Buckle up, get your snacks ready, and get comfy with this fast-paced thriller that has everything you’d want to read in a dark and gritty story laced with apprehensions about just how wild the protagonist can get before tipping over the line. Nobody’s Hero is a fun read through and through. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Nobody's Hero
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Elias Network By Simon Gervais

Simon Gervais is one of the most prolific authors in the thrillerverse with a lot of great thrillers under his belt, but The Elias Network is my favorite work of his by far. If you want a sophisticated and cool-as-cucumber espionage thriller with lots and lots of shootouts, then rest assured, Gervais hits the bullseye with this awesome beginning of a new series.

Caspian Anderson leads a double life. To most, he’s a boring translator for the United Nations. But underneath this carefully constructed facade is his reality as an elite assassin tasked to eradicate all threats to American interests as part of Onyx, a black program within the Department of Homeland Security. Not a stranger to taking out hits on individuals across the globe, he’s sent on a mission to Switzerland where he stumbles upon a web of conspiracies that trace back to high level political officials, people he had sworn to kill for. Shaken by this new reality, Caspian must hit back hard and fast to push his new foes back on the rope, while his girlfriend, who’s beginning to slowly see through his boring cover, shocks Caspian with some nifty secrets of her own.

Gervais doesn’t waste any time getting to the hard-boiled action in this narrative, one of the many things that instantly hooked me onto this incredible thriller. It’s a fast-paced spy thriller that takes the age-old adage of a spy burned by his own, and adds spicy new twists and turns to the story with a memorable roster of characters and engaging descriptions of exciting spycraft and action set to the backdrop of exotic locations. It certainly invokes a little bit of Mr and Mrs Smith vibe as neither Caspian nor his girlfriend, Liesel Bergmann, have the slightest bit of clue about each other’s personal lives, until it all comes together with shocking turns and bullet casings. The fact that you have no clear indication of where the story’s leading and how Caspian’s next encounter will turn out means you’re at the Gervais’ mercy as he takes you for a splendid adventure.

The Elias Network is a refreshing tale in that it does not simply take stereotypes as facts in painting friends and enemies, but rather dissects individuals to paint them as realistic beings with character developments and underlying values and motivations that lead to intriguing plot points as opposed to cliched good guys and bad guys. The core concept of a lone operative operating in the shadows still holds a certain charm to it and Gervais puts his own cool spin on the narrative for a highly entertaining narrative. The Elias Network is fun, sexy, and spurred on by breakneck pacing as it introduces a charismatic protagonist who you’ll want more as soon as you hit the final page. I sure can’t wait to read more of Caspian Anderson take on his opponents like a total badass. 

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase The Elias Network
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Enemy Of The State by Robert Swartwood

Enemy of the State is a stunning and dark follow-up to a memorable debut by Robert Swartwood, doubling down on the twists as well as the action-packed intensity of the narrative. Strap in and hold on to your seats.

Daniel Burke is just about to get on a plane when he’s contacted by a voice from his past. His old teammates from an elite black ops program have tracked him down after the carnage in Las Vegas from the previous events and are now hot on his trail. Running no longer an option, Burke must fight his way through old friends and new foes alike to find out who had framed Burke as a traitor. With CIA taking aggressive steps towards neutralizing Burke, he must use all his skills and wits to swiftly take out his targets and get to the bottom of the conspiracy.

Robert Swartwood shows no signs of slowing down his roll of action montages and gripping twists and turns that keep the story pumping at full steam. We get even more insights into Daniel Burke and the darkness he struggles to contain and make up for. Swartwood doesn’t shy away from showing the vulnerabilities in Burke’s character, further emboldening him as a memorable hero with unique conflicts and challenges to overcome. Not only does it make the story more intriguing but it makes the action more satisfying as you root for Burke to make it out of the sticky situations, shootouts, chases, deadly hand-to-hand combat, and betrayals despite his checkered past. Swartwood navigates the pacing smartly, adding unexpected hurdles to keep readers on their toes as they flip the pages unsure of what to expect might be awaiting Daniel Burke on the next page. 

There’s no dull moment in Enemy of the State, even in the final moments where what you thought you knew for sure turns upside down for a dangerous reveal and ending that beckons to be explored in follow-ups. This supercharged action-packed thriller is the perfect pick to satisfy that deep-seated itch you have for hardcore action thrillers with a superb blend of realistic and cinematic sequences along with great characters you will passionately love and/or hate.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Enemy Of The State
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

The Recruiter By Gregg Podolski

The Recruiter kicks off a storm in the thrillerverse as a debut with a charismatic protagonist who is more relatable than you might be comfortable with, given his dangerous and less than legal role as a criminal recruiter. Gregg Podolski knows how the game is played and writes it really intriguingly, especially for a debut.

Rick Carter is a man who deals with the most dangerous and lucrative killers. The caveat is that he only accepts the contracting responsibility for targets he deems would bring some semblance of justice to the society at large. When his hand is forced by a client to recruit killers for a job to monopolize the black market by dragging those he’s spent years trying to protect into the crosshairs, he must outsmart not only his new clients but also the most lethal assassins he has ever had to connect with clients in his career. He’s gonna have to step into the action himself this time.

Gregg Podolski kicks the high-octane storytelling off with a first-person perspective that helps to quickly and swiftly familiarize the readers with Rick Carter, the seemingly suave but tormented protagonist who lives a lonely existence. As he is forced to step up as a hero for his family, he goes from a guy you don’t know how to really feel about, to a guy you want to root for and embrace relating to. Action isn’t his forte but he must get his hands dirty this time. Carter gets into well-crafted skirmishes with allies he picks up on the way, adding a cinematic action flavor to the whole experience that fits well into the narrative of Carter picking up a few skills in hand-to-hand combat and firearms to fend off any double crosses in his line of business. Carter’s main weapon though is his intellect as a man who can discern patterns and read people well. His ingenuity in cracking down the leads as to the true identity and mission of his client are what is ultimately needed to bring the house of cards tumbling down. 

Podolski creates a rich new world of assassins and underworld in his debut, setting up a sequel with a cliffhanger that will hit you like a full bucket of frozen water. What captivated and enthralled me above all else is that ultimately, The Recruiter is a resonating narrative about how a man, plunged head first into a world of first-hand violence and chaos, must stay afloat to protect his family against all odds. By the ending, Carter will win your heart and your desire to keep reading more of his stories. I can’t wait to read what troubles Podolski puts him up against next. 

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Shades Of Mercy By Bruce Borgos

Bruce Borgos follows up his debut with yet another zinger of a thriller that thrusts his protagonist into the world of cartels and automated weapons in the usually quiet high desert of Nevada. It’s fast-paced, twisty, and highly entertaining.

Sheriff Porter Beck, leading his small cadre of police department, is faced with terrible tragedies as a growing number of people, including a childhood friend, is afflicted by a new strain of strong illegal opioids in his town. At the same time, another one of his friends is targeted by a military drone hacked by a skilled individual. As Porter investigates the two cases, he’s led to a teenager who may have had a hand in the hacking of the military drone. Only issue is, she’s locked up in the juvenile detention center with no access to computers. Digging deeper into the incongruity of the situation, Porter soon realizes there’s more sinister things at play and that it all ties together like nothing he could have expected.

For those who’ve read Borgos’ debut, The Bitter Past, Shades of Mercy has high expectations riding on it, rightfully so given how excellent the debut was. I can confirm that the expectations are indeed met in this riveting thriller with plenty of gunfire to go around and a lot of intriguing twists that keep readers and characters on their toes. Porter along with his sheriff department and his gung-ho sister make for a terrific combo in this great mixture of cutting-edge techno thriller, small-town crime-solving mystery, and a contemporary depiction of the war on drugs that continue to rage today. Borgos takes his time in developing the characters with each decision and action his characters engage in, elevating the relatability of the characters and making them come to life through vivid sceneries and descriptions. The suspense is wonderfully woven into the tapestry of violence and threat of impending doom. Whatever you do, you’ll find your mind wandering to the narrative, just compelled to finally see how it all comes together.

Shades of Mercy serves as concrete evidence that Borgos is here to stay in the thrillerverse with awesome stories that vividly capture life in a desert town with cool new scenarios and dangerous threats to keep the good guys and gals busy with action and suspense. 

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The Bang Bang Sisters By Rio Youers

Rio Youers rocks and rolls in this high-powered action-packed ride through grimy streets and hallways filled with dead bodies and bullets. The Bang Bang Sisters is what you get when you combine kickass characters with an equally badass setting all put on the stove at maximum heat to get all that kinetic energy zooming past you like angry hornets at a rave.

Brea, Jessie, and Flo spend their public lives in bars and stages rocking hard in their band. But what they don’t reveal is that they are skilled at more than just musical instruments. Each possesses unique skillsets in utilizing firearms, melee weapons, and even their bare fists and feet to clean the scum of the Earth. After a close call, they decide to take some time off, but the presence of a serial killer making headlines takes them to Reedsville, Alabama. However, it turns out to be a trap set by a dangerous sadistic mobster who has a personal ax to grind with the Bang Bang Sisters. Soon, they are caught in a dangerous game where the only way to live may be to kill each other.

Youers sets up an enthralling gauntlet for the heroines to battle, ramping up the anxiety, terror, and bloodshed as the sisters quickly get caught up in one twist after another. With a whole city as their playing ground, there is no shortage of gripping events and bolstering action as sisters have to fend off each other. What truly sets the dark and gritty tone of the narrative is the feeling of despair and helplessness that leaves the sisters open to desperate measures. It’s a thrilling adventure as we follow each of the three heroines try to outmaneuver not only each other but the vicious killers on their trail goading them on to kill each other for sport. The action sequences are vicious and breathtaking with a heavy toll on both the characters and readers, brilliantly showcasing Youers’ ability to evoke powerful emotions in his deeply personal storytelling.

The Bang Bang Sisters is an adrenaline-fueled battle royale tour de force with captivating protagonists who reflect the best of us in a twisted world. It is everything you want in a fast-paced thriller that sinks its talons into you for the whole intense ride.

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The Bourne Shadow By Brian Freeman

After the explosive finale of The Bourne Sacrifice, I was supremely excited for how Brian Freeman would continue the story of Jason Bourne in keeping with the high bar he set in his take on the character. I’m so happy to say that The Bourne Shadow not only matches up to the aforementioned high expectations but sets a new standard in the series for subsequent chapters to follow. If you think you know all there is about Jason Bourne, you really don’t.

Long before Bourne lost his memory, he was a talented but disaffected young man who went by the name of David Webb. When Bourne runs into a woman who recognizes him by his real name, he’s pulled into the far depths of his past, retracing his first ever mission as part of Treadstone. Fighting the pull of his memories along with numerous assassination attempts by a cabal of supremacists keen on silencing Bourne before he can work his way up the food chain and his memories, Bourne certainly has his work cut out for him.

Brian Freeman’s Bourne thrillers are packed with great action, and The Bourne Shadow continues that tradition with superb bone-crunching fisticuffs and thrilling shootouts. This time however we get a sense of Bourne’s vulnerabilities as we see him challenged like never before. It sets a more dangerous tone for the narrative as Bourne is caught in the headlights and barely manages to escape, often with help of new-found allies. While it doesn’t discredit Bourne’s prowess at handling combat, it does acknowledge his humanity and mortality with growing threats that catch both him and the readers off-guard.

I love how The Bourne Shadow feels like a smart cross between old-school pulpy thrillers and modern espionage and political thrillers. From exotic dangers and action to characters throwing us off with hidden agendas and twists that shake the whole narrative, it’s every bit as captivating as one would expect from a high caliber thriller with a fast pace and an interesting insight into Bourne’s past that shines an important light into his behaviors in the present. That’s some impressive character evolution by Brian Freeman.

If you’re keen to get your socks knocked off by a hardcore action thriller with one twist after another and incredible characters you won’t soon get your mind off of, The Bourne Shadow is a terrific choice. Of course, it’ll be infuriating to wait for the sequel after that intense climax that opens a whole Pandora’s Box for future stories featuring Jason Bourne.   

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Sentinel By Mark Greaney

Mark Greaney delivers a summer blockbuster action-packed thriller with all the adrenaline-booster shots you’ll need to keep you up for a whole day as you read Sentinel, unable to tear yourself away for even a second.

After the explosive events of Armored, Josh Duffy and his wife Nikki are now working together for the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service providing protection for diplomats in the field. When they’re posted together to Ghana to provide protection for an embassy personnel there to highlight American commitment to the construction of a new dam, they imagine a straightforward setting with their kids, almost like a short vacation for the family. But the brief tranquillity is shattered by a plan orchestrated by a Chinese spymaster to destroy the dam. Josh and his wife, Nicole, are caught up in the chaos of gunfire and explosions as he squares off against mercenaries, and a deadly foe from his past.

Mark Greaney has often likened his Gray Man protagonist to John McClane from the Die Hard series. Even though Josh Duffy is miles away from being anything like The Gray Man, Duffy is absolutely as John McClane as one can get in this action-packed outing. One of the many ways readers will resonate with Josh Duffy is that he’s someone ordinary folks can understand fundamentally. He’s a family man, and he can switch off to be at rest with his wife and kids. But when the going gets tough, Duffy can raise hell for his foes and he does so spectacularly in Sentinel. While it takes a bit to set the stage for the intense action-setting, once Duffy spots the threat , the narrative ratchets up in overdrive.

In true Greaney fashion, Sentinel is rife with detailed combat sequences augmented by technical details that bring the pages to life. Duffy shoots and punches and kicks and blows up his opponents in moments of sustained combat throughout the course of the story, each chapter tinged with anticipation of what twist would meet Duffy next as he wades his way through the storm of bullets.

It was a lot of fun to see Josh and his wife working together this time. Not only did it make for a few playful moments between the two, but it also amplified the stakes as Josh not only fought for his mission as a Special Agent of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, but he also fought as a husband and a man who would go to all lengths to protect his family.

Sentinel is an excellent addition to Mark Greaney’s saga of gritty, hard-hitting, timely, and action-packed thrillers and it’s one of the most entertaining thrillers you’re going to read this year. Think of Sentinel as this summer’s cinematic adventure with lots of action. I can’t wait to see where Greaney takes Josh Duffy next, but I’m sure it’s going to be a wild ride.

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A Talent For Murder By Peter Swanson

A Talent for Murder is a psychologically dark narrative that’s equal parts thrilling and creepy. You’re going to feel that uneasiness under your skin while you’re driven to read through the unsettling story.

Martha Ratliff had made peace with the fact that she was cursed in love. She lived alone and was content with it until she met Alan. Against her own prejudices, she finds herself saying yes to Alan’s proposal and soon, they’re married and living a cozy life, albeit a bit distant. When Martha discovers a spot of dried blood on Alan’s shirts and a news clip stating a woman was killed at one of the conferences where Alan had been over a weekend, she can’t get out of her mind the possibility that her husband may be a killer. Her investigation leads her down a dark rabbit hole where more murders come up in all the areas Alan has frequented. Does she really know her husband, or is he hiding an ugly secret underneath the sweet divorcee facade? As Martha seeks the help of an old friend, it seems that the past may not be as distant as it may seem. 

Peter Swanson does a phenomenal work of creating a strong lingering aura of paranoia and fear in the subtle scenes he portrays between Martha and Alan, but all powerful in their underlying tension and subtext. There’s always this gnawing sense that what the clues may be hinting at isn’t what’s actually going on behind the scenes. It’s one of the rare suspenseful thrillers where finding out the secret of the killer doesn’t kill the intrigue, but amplifies all the actions that follow. Swanson is a master at eliciting genuine fear out of the reading folks with his twisty approaches to the mystery thriller genre and he makes sure to tick all the boxes that one wants ticked when picking up a fast-paced captivating and believable mystery in tune with all the quirks of our society. 

If you’re looking to be captivated by a tense mystery thriller that grabs your attention with its sinister theme and paranoia-inducing narrative due to the gritty realism of the characters and situations, A Talent for Murder is a great way to spend the weekend. 

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Assassins Anonymous By Rob Hart

Assassins Anonymous is the kind of thriller that unexpectedly drops in on you when you least expect it and by the end of it, you come out feeling more vulnerable to the beauty of human banality and the dangers that lurk out there. It’s a heavy read at times but one that is well-worth the intensity and emotional baggage that comes along with brutal action and strong storytelling.

Mark is a man trying to make amends for his previous life as a formidable killer-for-hire. He’s staying true to his commitment with a 12-step group of like-minded individuals who’ve forsaken the life of violence when he’s suddenly targeted by a rather vicious assailant, putting Mark right back in the very world he so desperately tried to escape. As he dons his dark persona, the ensuing complications aren’t just a matter of life and death, but it also becomes a battle for salvation of his soul and all that he has worked for since he gave up his guns and knives. When taking a non-lethal approach to his issues put him in much more danger, will he yield to the darkness of his prior life or will he persist for goodness even if it kills him?

Rob Hart masterfully weaves a narrative propelled by philosophical discourse and thoughtful concepts set in a world that is full of violence and chaos. This helps tremendously to set a brilliant pace, alternating between Mark’s point of view as a man struggling to hold onto his reformed spirit versus his desire to let his old vengeful spirit lay waste to all that stand in his way. For the first time in a long time, I actually rooted for a protagonist in a situation ripe for action to actually take the path of non-violence. Such is Hart’s ability to get the readers truly thinking and feeling for the situation as if it’s happening for real. It also becomes a real treat when we do see Mark having to put up a fight when his adversaries do not share the same moral principles as he does.

Assassins Anonymous is a heartfelt tale of violence and hope in a dark world with the promise of redemption for those who truly seek it. It’s a thriller, sure, but it’s also a reflection of human flaws and betterment when one strives to make the lives of others better by molding themselves first.

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The Devil's Fortress By Dale Brown

Want to take a break from the monotony of a hectic work week? You’ll find yourself in great action-packed company with Dale Brown’s latest action-frenzied thriller, The Devil’s Fortress. Pack your wingsuit because you’re going flying with this badass ride.

Nick Flynn and his team continue the clandestine mission of The Quartet Directorate in proactively taking out whatever threats arise to meet US interests, especially those with the backing of Russia’s authoritarian president. Raven Syndicate is back to face off against Flynn and his team, this time bringing with them a plan so diabolical that it will affect generations to come if the Quartet Directorate does not wipe out the threat instantly. With a do-or-die strategy, Flynn must storm the Devil’s fortress head on with every bit of firepower possible to destroy the threat once and for all. 

Dale Brown snipes his target of entertaining his readers big time with this action-packed fast-paced no-nonsense adrenaline rush of a thriller that not only emboldens the killer imagination of the bad guys but also bolsters all the fun and heart-pounding stunts the good guys undertake to meet the challenges. From the get-go, the narrative slows but a minutia to settle readers in before taking off at rocket speed with awesome military tech and cinematic shootouts that will play in your head over and over again as you read the pages. The added element of danger as Flynn and his team operate behind enemy lines keeps you nudged into your sofa as you flip the pages at a burning pace. 

The Devil’s Fortress is indubitably one of the prime examples of books that must be read in one-sitting quite simply because it never lets go of you. Bustling cinematic action with rip-roaring sequences and pedal-to-the-metal plotting, it doesn’t get better than this.

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If Something Happens To Me By Alex Finlay

If Something Happens to Me is suspense on steroids. Alex Finlay in his artistic style weaves an entangled web of parallel stories that tie together with a gravitas that takes your breath away.

Ryan Richardson is a young man haunted by memories of a terrible night where his girlfriend was snatched away in front of him. As he tries to get his life back together after that harrowing event, he finds himself back in that dreadful mystery when his girlfriend’s car is found with a note that says “If something happens to me” in his girlfriend’s writing. This is right when he runs into a face from his past, the face of the man who took his Ali away. Confounded by the turn of events, he picks up the web and starts untangling it, leading him to a Deputy Sheriff Poppy McGee who is working the new developments of the case, unaware that she’s bound to shake the skeletons in the closet in the small town. 

In true Alex Finlay fashion, the reader is taken along for the ride, bombarded by amazingly crafted and heart-stopping twists and turns that even if you predict before time will still give you pause to see come to fruition. It’s an absolute pleasure to read how Finlay takes parallel-running storylines and weaves a giant web of interconnected secrets that all tie together with a satisfying click. From the engaging characters to the fresh narrative with dark and intense energy, If Something Happens to Me is a nail-bitingly suspenseful thriller that checks off all the boxes a thriller fan wants in a well-written story with just the sweet spot between fast-paced and slow-burn pacing for a compelling read from start to finish. 

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Act Of Defiance By Andrews and Wilson

Act of Defiance is a genuinely worthy follow-up to the classic and revered submarine thriller that cemented Tom Clancy as one of the greatest thriller writers. To follow up such a tale 40 years later with an equally impressive and grand thriller is a task that may have been uneasy to think about, but falls perfectly within the wheelhouse of Andrews and Wilson’s dynamic duo.

When Russia’s deadliest submarine, the Belgorod, sneakily launches for a mission that isn’t gleaned cleanly from US intelligence reports, there’s a disturbance in the thinly held peace between the two nations. What makes for an even more disturbing situation is that this intelligence failure harkens back memories of an event where it all started, when a Soviet submarine codenamed, Red October embarked on a dangerous mission and caused a crisis which gave rise to the OG Clancy hero, a much younger Jack Ryan. Years later, Jack Ryan as the president of the United States must contemplate this new development, while making peace with the fact that his daughter, Lieutenant Katie Ryan, now faces the legacy of Red October.

One of the many captivating aspects of a Tom Clancy thriller is the grand scale with multiple events unfolding parallelly on various battlefronts. There was never any doubt with respect to the writing prowess of Andrews and Wilson to tackle this challenging aspect of keeping multiple plot points synchronized and entertaining at the same time, and as expected, they nail the high-tension high-caliber storytelling we’ve come to love in Clancyverse. Whether it’s operatives of The Campus leading their clandestine mission into Russia for intelligence, or Katie Ryan thrust into dangerous naval combat, the authors drum up a lot of intensity and enthusiasm for the narrative to keep readers buckled in for the whole narrative and before you know it, you’re already knee deep in the storyline.

Lieutenant Katie Ryan however takes the prize for me. Her character is superbly written with a strong foundation to her developments aided by astute and compelling characterization where she earns not only the respect of her superiors but also the admiration of readers with her straight-shooting attitude and inquisitive demeanor, much like her father’s character in the earlier books as an analyst. The authors made the right call with establishing Katie Ryan in a story that’s all about the legacy of Red October, not only in terms of the story, but also in terms of the history as Red October launched Jack Ryan as a household name, much like Act of Defiance will win over readers and compel you to want more of Katie Ryan in future stories. 

Act of Defiance is a terrific entry for Andrews and Wilson into the Clancyverse with their style of narrative and storytelling coming across as a natural fit for thrillers that are worthy of the Clancy estate.

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A Spy Like Me By Kim Sherwood

James Bond is back in a way I couldn’t have anticipated. Kim Sherwood expands the universe of the legendary 007 with modern heroes and threats alike, compounding the world of spycraft with grittiness second to none.

The story opens up with a devastating bomb blast in London, the saving grace being the quick work of Double Os on the scent of the sophisticated terrorists. Given carte Blanche to hunt down the enemy, MI6 agents Joseph Dryden, 004, and Conrad Harthrop-Vane, 000 are assigned to follow the money trail all over the globe, some places swarming with eccentric billionaires and some pulsing with violence. At the same time, Johanna Harwood, 003, is picking up James Bond’s trail as he disappeared at the hands of the insidious private military company Rattenfänger. As the investigations tighten the noose on the antagonists, it becomes harder to trust anyone, especially the Double O’s. After all, who else can pose a bigger threat than those trained to subvert the greatest of threats? 

A Spy Like Me is a terrific espionage narrative right off the bat. Sherwood tackles this grand worldwide conspiracy with both panache and an emotional rawness that works best in spy thrillers where you appreciate the fast-paced shiny cool spycraft as well as the high emotional stakes and broken souls that propel characters to step into the abyss in the first place. Each Double O is given their fair share of spotlight and each shines with unique flairs. Dodging bullets, treachery, and one pounding mystery after another, each Double O reaches a tipping point that drastically changes the playing field for all. Ultimately, Sherwood captures the entangled plotlines in a stupendous combination of emotion and action with the right balance between lethality and humanity in the protagonists to make you root for them as they wade in the seas of danger. 

A Spy Like Me is an enthralling spy narrative that beautifully inaugurates the spy-savvy world of Bond in today’s era of misinformation and societal unrest. To add even more flavor to the delicious main course, the story ends with a chilling cliffhanger. When I say the cliffhanger will shock you to your core, I mean that it truly will give you a buzz. Sherwood sure knows how to set up a daunting next chapter and it’s one that shakes the foundation of what we’ve expected from this new series.

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Catchpenny By Charlie Huston

Catchpenny is an intriguing blend of fantastical elements we’ve come to enjoy from the likes of Stephen King’s books along with a gritty insight into LA’s underworld of drugs, music, and dark arts. 

Sidney Catchpenny is a fascinating character. Sure he’s going through a depressive slump but what he can do is steal like none other. How’s that? Well, he can travel through mirrors. Life has a funny way of finding him when he’s down. Even without any desire to catch some new work, he’s sought out by a friend who leads him to a PI-styled adventure that ties in a video game threatening to cause havoc in the real world, a missing girl, lots of dark mojo conjured by dark magic, and a doomsday occult. It’s up to Catchpenny to navigate through the myriad of worlds coexisting with the surface world most of us never break past, until we do.

What charmed me immensely about Catchpenny is Charlie Huston’s breathtaking ability to craft an intricate story that somehow seems to flow effortlessly throughout the course of the book, everything seemingly unconnected at first but fitting perfectly with the right pieces of information that Sidney acquires through his private investigation. Huston’s depiction of a darker and yet more magical world running parallel to ours is creative, exciting and ingenious to the point that it’s much easier than you’d imagine to fall into this new world without even questioning how it would have come to be, simply adopting it as if taken for granted. 

Catchpenny is a story of love, trauma, and a quest to find one’s purpose that would resonate with readers of every genre. It’s got something for everyone. Sprinkling a warm story at its core with really awesome twists and old-school noir elements that will make you want to pick up a Raymond Chandler book again, Catchpenny is a fantastic all-round thriller with so much to offer. 

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Mal Goes To War By Edward Ashton

Edward Ashton tackles AI in a way I wasn’t prepared for. Mal Goes to War is a witty, hilarious, and thought-provoking insight into a possible future as glimpsed through the eyes of an AI entity.

Mal is an AI observer of a war between the bio-augmented Federals and the puritanical Humanists. Not much for playing an active role in the conflict, Mal spends his time in the infospace. When Humanists cut off access to his home while Mal is out looking for salvaging scraps from the battlefields, he finds himself stuck inside the body of a cyborg mercenary. Suddenly thrust into the battlelines while protecting a bio-enhanced girl, Mal will find out more about being human than he could have thought in his endless simulations.

What I found exhilarating about Edward Ashton’s latest technothriller was how he established AI’s as darkly humorous and at times straight-up horrifying beings, a notion that comes with the ability to outthink humans on a large scale. As much as it is a thriller with danger and intrigue, it is also a perspective on how much AIs may learn to emulate humans, with traits like greed and survival at all costs. With the added benefit of us readers being inside Mal’s head as he goes on a journey through the wastelands, the narrative gains that extra touch of blending the book’s reality with ours as Mal acts more and more human throughout the story. Ashton also breaks away from going into much technical detail about the AI, presenting Mal as a character more than a piece of code that mutated.

Mal Goes to War is an incredibly addictive read which thrills, excites and puts you in a thoughtful ponder with supreme ease through Ashton’s fast-paced writing and stimulating characters all packed between bouts of cool hacking sequences as well as violent shootouts.

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Deep Cover By Aiden Bailey

Deep Cover is a fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping, revenge-fueled, action-packed thriller that elevates the espionage action thriller genre a notch or two.

Picking up from the fresh events of The Trigger Man, Mark Pierce, the former CIA paramilitary officer is tortured over a time span of months at the order of a treacherous CIA spymaster out for his own financial gain. Pierce, aptly code-named Trigger Man, wakes up to find himself in a car, with dangerous criminals planning on putting a bullet in his head. What follows is a spectacular action sequence where Pierce takes out his foes efficiently with punches, kicks, and bullets. Pierce finds a surprise in the trunk of the car, an Asian woman tied up by the gangsters. But he has to decide quickly if he can trust all that she seems to be as he faces off against the traitorous spymaster, a spoiled brat in charge of a diamond mining company, an African warlord, and a group of mercenaries all in cahoots to frame Pierce for theft of nuclear waste with a sinister and horrifying plan. 

Aiden Bailey couples the highly intense plot with brutal hand-to-hand combat sequences in a variety of techniques and excellent shootouts with armament fitted appropriately to the exotic locales in the book. Speaking of exotic locales, one of the stellar aspects of the book is the use of exotic locations that are not commonly featured in action thrillers. While the story is set on African Continent for the most part, the different cities explored are done so with extensive research on the author’s part, so much so that one can be fully immersed in a location at any given point with just the right amount of information about the environment in a fast-paced action thriller.

Bailey distinguishes Deep Cover from a straight shoot-em up action fest with its depiction of inhumane horrors in the African warlords governed areas to the philosophical insights in the mind of Pierce as he contemplates revenge and terror. Despite the grand-scale plot, Bailey humbles his protagonist with tremors that get in his way when he’s amped up as he must be to survive the countless action sequences. It comes across wonderfully as the stakes feel higher and the combat more intense, a beautiful but haunting display of a crack in Pierce’s armor.

It flows off the pages that Aiden Bailey has grand plans for his series, taking Trigger Man on global adventures with heart-pounding and cinematic action sequences and characters that continue to evolve spectacularly, so much so that you feel deeply invested in the outcome. The cliffhanger once again shakes things for Trigger Man, and I am keen to find out where he lands next.

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Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
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4 Minutes By Andrews & Wilson

Andrews and Wilson have taken on shadowy syndicates and AI in their books and are now exploring the vast realm of sci-fi military thrillers with a really fascinating take on time travel that’s nothing like you’d expect. You’ll be awestruck, terrified, and tensed beyond your grasp as you’re taken on a dangerous mission.

Special Operations Chief Tyler Brooks is a man who relishes being a door-kicker, being in the thick of the combat side by side with his brothers and sisters in combat. When his SEAL brethren are ambushed in a manner that would seem highly impossible, he wants answers. Those answers come in the form of being recruited to lead Task Force Omega, with a directive to use time-bending technology to glimpse 4 minutes into the future. As Brooks rallies his new troops to utilize this opportunity to save lives, he comes face to face with a danger that not only threatens the team, but the entire United States. It’s a mission that will require every single moment in the present and the future.

Time travel can be a tricky topic. There are so many possibilities to address that it can get overwhelming. However, Andrews and Wilson really thought things through to create a narrative that’s both cool and innovative. As the characters get a hands-on education of this new game-changing technology, the readers also gain keen insights and perspectives into the time-jumping missions and the haunting price paid in pursuit of doing good. The core premise is brilliant and invites readers to suspend disbelief without a complaint because of emphasis on reasonable tactical judgment displayed by the heroes throughout the story, holding you captivated with the realism even in the face of an incredibly complex element such as time travel.

On top of the jaw-dropping time travel take, the authors top off the package with great action that immediately jumps off as seeming perfect for a cinematic rendition. The gritty and brutal hand-to-hand combat and fast-paced car chases with shootouts are worthy additions to the best of Andrews and Wilson’s action sequences. You’ll be compelled to re-read a few pages just to play the action sequences in your head at least a couple of times.

4 Minutes is an enthralling beginning of a new saga that amplifies high-stakes storytelling with a cutting-edge premise that will grip you with its talons and shock you with its unexpected deviations and twists. I am so excited for more to unravel in this new series going forward. The cliffhanger won’t make it easy to wait.

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Purchase 4 Minutes
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

Guns And Almond Milk By Mustafa Marwan

Mustafa Marwan’s debut is one I’d been itching to read ever since I heard about its plot. It seemed like a fresh change of pace in the thrillerverse, almost seeming more like a literary novel than a straight-up thriller and even before I reached halfway in the novel, I knew I’d gotten that part right.

Guns and Almond Milk tells the narrative from the eyes and ears of Luke Archer, a British Egyptian doctor who is hiding from his demons and troubled past in war-ravaged Yemen. When the hospital he’s working at gets taken over by Western security contractors, he realizes he must face his past head-on because fate has brought it to doorstop no matter how far he thought he had run away from it.

If that description sounds a little vague, it’s on purpose. As you dive into this book unprepared for what’s to come, you deeply resonate with the world Mustafa Marwan has created, one that mirrors ours with characters that feel inspired and relatable, none more so than Luke Archer. Marwan captures the essence of a Muslim who feels the tidal pulls of staying true to his religion versus the lure of following his impulses. Not only is the protagonist well-informed about his religion but he also practices it in a realistic manner in keeping with his upbringing, leading to healthy respect for his character as the protagonist upon whom this entire narrative depends on. This plays an essential role in developing his character as someone whom readers can genuinely relate to in the difficult decisions he faces throughout the course of the narrative. The setting may be familiar as a war-ravaged middle eastern landscape but Luke’s odyssey as he navigates both his tormenting past and the perilous nature of his present with bullets flying around and explosions swirling around is absolutely captivating and enthralling, with tones of old-school character-driven stories that I easily fall in love, all flaws of protagonists intact.

The action hits you with a pang of overwhelming energy just as it impacts Luke Archer and his friends who may be versed in dealing with bullet wounds and injuries but not the deer-in-the-headlights panic of being in the gun-toting action themselves. As the characters get trapped in the hospital, there’s sustained gunfire and combat that never loses its momentum.

Guns and Almond Milk is an awe-striking debut by Mustafa Marwan as he zeroes in on what makes people tick and crafts a superb story that not only transforms its protagonist by the end, but also brings alive a warmth in the hearts of readers who at times may feel just as lost as the protagonist but sure enough find their footing in the most unexpected of ways. It’s a thriller but above all else, it’s an engrossing journey across faiths and cultures and different meanings of life.

Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.

Purchase Guns And Almond Milk
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)

Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen

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