The Order By Daniel Silva

I'm a huge Daniel Silva fan and the Gabriel Allon series, for my money, is the best series in the spy genre. So every year when a new Gabriel Allon novel is released, I say I'll read it slowly & savor it. And every year I fail miserably, flying through it. No different with The Order. I loved it! Though I will admit that the last few books in the series were, in my opinion, a bit better because they were more traditional Allon tales whereas The Order is more DaVinci Code-ish, a departure from what we've come to know and love from Daniel Silva. That's not to say this book isn't great because it is. The writing is beautiful, the story is well crafted and the characters well developed. there are several plot twists and a satisfying ending. Additionally, this book seems to set up a transition for Gabriel, which is critical to take into account since the big picture and future of Gabriel Allon is important in the context of this long running series.

Long story short, Daniel Silva is the master and he delivers another entertaining, beautifully written story. To me, this is hands down the best series in print today. Highly recommend starting from The Kill Artist and reading all 20 books. Can't think of a better use of your available reading time.

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The Silver Waterfall By Kevin Miller

The Silver Waterfall is much more than a book, it’s an immersive experience.  Author Kevin Miller thrusts the reader into the cockpits of WWII bombers and fighters during the Battle of Midway to feel every incoming shot from enemy ships, every exploding anti-aircraft shell and every enemy fighter trying to gain position to blow you out of the sky.  Even better, the reader gets to experience these sensations from both the American and Japanese sides of the war, bringing a higher level of humanity and moral ambiguity to the battles that you wouldn’t get from reading only about the American side of the story.  

What makes this book so compelling can be summed up in one word: perspective.  In addition to the book providing viewpoints from both countries in the Battle of Midway, it also does a brilliant job of telling the story from different levels of the military. The book follows Admirals, XOs, COs, fighter pilots, bomber pilots and gunners.  Each character has a different role and a different take on the mission and the war.  By providing insight into different levels of the military within the context of one major battle, the reader gets a richer experience through holistic storytelling that allows you to piece together the bigger picture.

And the coup de grâce – this book is historical fiction.  The events and characters are real.  The experiences are real.  The damage to planes, ships and people are real.  In fact, the individuals in the book have life stories that either end in the waters of the Pacific Ocean or continue on for many years (the author shares the stories of major surviving characters after the war).  It takes a lot of talent to utilize real characters and a real battle, add in tons of research and flying acumen, then add fictionalized context on what each character feels and does.  But Kevin Miller does it quite impressively.

I highly recommend The Silver Waterfall to fiction and non-fiction fans alike.  It’s a fantastic WWII story about a pivotal battle that we’ve all learned about in history class, but provides a unique perspective that I found fascinating and believe you will too. 

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Savage Son By Jack Carr

Jack Carr has quickly become one of my favorite authors. So when I won an advanced copy of Savage Son through Goodreads, I felt extremely privileged and lucky. Both The Terminal List and True Believer were in my Top 5 books from 2018 and 2019 respectively, so Savage Son had a lot to live up to. And I'm happy to report it not only lived up to Jack's prior books, but it blew them away! It's magnificent!

As always, I don't talk about too many specifics in this review in order to avoid giving anything away. But here are several reasons why I love this book:

1. The continued development of James Reece. The Terminal List is a balls to the wall thriller from start to end. We get to meet Reece under the darkest of circumstances and cheer him on as he gets revenge. In True Believer, we learn more about what makes Reece tick as he strives for redemption and I believe this book is his true origin story. Then we get to Savage Son. Reece is trying to figure out his life and all kind of hell breaks loose...again. He's still a kick-ass former SEAL who knows his way around weapons and tactics. But you also get to see his evolving feelings towards those around him as he tries to determine what he wants to do next. He's been through great trauma in the past, so to see his emotional healing take place, even as it gets interrupted, is really great character development.

2. The bad guys. There are 2 main bad guys - Oliver Grey and Aleksandr Zharkov - who play important but different roles in the book. They're both solid bad guys for different reasons. Oliver is the cerebral one who plays a big role in Reece's past and knows he's in Reece's cross hairs so he wants to direct a preemptive strike. Aleksandr is a sick mofo SVR director/son of a mob boss who feels Reece will finally provide a worthy opponent to his "game." Why do I call him a sick mofo? You have to read to find out but you won't be disappointed. Don't think I've ever read a book with a bad guy who does what Aleksandr does for fun.

3. The action. There's plenty of action in Savage Son, but there are two main "battle" scenes - one in Montana and one on a Russian island in the Bering Sea - that are just fantastic. They're intense and memorable for different reasons. I'll leave it at that so I don't give anything away.

4. The Hastings family. We already knew that Raife is a bad ass and a good dude. But his family is equally as impressive and I love them! Not just for what they continue to do for Reece, but because they're awesome people who can handle themselves in a crisis and are always there for the ones they care about. I want to be friends with them.

5. Reece's diversity of kills. I love how Reece can kill his enemies in different ways. And the ways he eliminates his targets in Savage Son are amazing. I definitely cheered out loud and fist pumped a few times as the unsavory characters met their demise.

6. Reece's journey at the end. I won't go into details, but when you think Reece has done what needs to be done on Medny Island, there's more. He goes on an epic 6-month journey through harsh terrain to finish the job and get info that hopefully sets up the next book. It's balls-y and insane and awesome.

I can go on and on extolling the virtues of this book, but I'll sum it up with this. Jack Carr has the goods. I said it after The Terminal List. I said it again after True Believer. But it's never been more evident than after reading Savage Son. It's his best book to date and I expect we'll continue to be seeing amazing things from Jack going forward. He's the next big thing in the thriller genre and everyone needs to get on board ASAP. It's like being able to say you were there from the beginning with Tom Clancy.

Lastly, I've heard Jack mention on several occasions that this is a book he's wanted to write since the 6th grade. To have this story in your mind for all that time, get it published, and absolutely nail it within an inch of perfection must be an amazing feeling. Which is awesome because as good as this books is, Jack Carr is an even better human. It's awesome to see great things happen to great people.

Bravo Jack!

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Strike Me Down By Mindy Mejia

I really liked Strike Me Down. It's a wonderfully written whodunit mystery that has you guessing throughout as to who is to blame. I changed my mind several times throughout the book as I tried to determine the culprit, but figuring it out was elusive which is a sign of a good book. And I personally loved having a strong female accountant/amateur kick boxer as the hero. Yes that's right, the main character of this thriller is Nora, a forensic accountant by trade and bad ass kick boxer by night. I know this sounds like a weird occupation/combo for a thriller protagonist but it gives the reader something quite different versus the usual male military or law enforcement bad ass, and it works well in this book. As a finance person myself, it's cool to have a protagonist who loves numbers & spreadsheets. That's my jam and it's a pleasant surprise to read a fast paced, action-packed page turning thriller with someone who is a little bit like me. Ok, I'm not nearly as athletic or even a tenth of the bad ass that Nora is, but that's not the point. The point is that Mindy Mejia wrote a fantastic book with good character development, multiple twists and turns, page turning action and a fresh concept - what more can you ask for from a thriller? Great book by Mindy Mejia. I'm a fan.

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The Dead Don't Sleep By Steven Max Russo

Intense and violent with several oh-shit moments, The Dead Don’t Sleep is a deadly cat-and-mouse game between septuagenarian Vietnam veterans that makes you contemplate the long-term effects of war on the men who fight in them.  Steven Max Russo has delivered a captivating tale of everlasting camaraderie and vengeance that has no statute of limitations.

Frank Thompson is a Vietnam veteran who just lost his wife of more than 45 years.  Alone, grieving and adjusting to his new reality, he decides to visit his nephew Bill in New Jersey.  While there, the two of them go trap shooting and run into someone who believes they recognize Frank from the war.  Unfortunately, the man remembers who Frank is, which dredges up past events and hard feelings despite the nearly 50-years since they served together.  Teaming up with two other combat veterans from the same unit, they go on a road trip with the intent to hunt and kill Frank as retribution for what they believe he did to another member of their unit in Vietnam.  However, Frank is not any ordinary veteran.  He possessed elite skills that he not only deployed against the enemy, but he used to train the very men who want him dead.  Preparing to face off against these three men, Frank will have to summon his old skillset to defend himself and survive the upcoming attack while also reckoning with a past that never seems to leave his side.  

The Dead Don’t Sleep is an exploration into the psyche of men who physically return from war but can’t fully disconnect from it mentally and emotionally.  Some are haunted by what they experienced while others miss the action and adrenaline rush that combat provides.  Some want to leave the killing behind and do everything they can to forget what they witnessed whereas others relish the idea of continuing to be the harbinger of death.  In this book, these two types square off and offer a glimpse into how differently people handle the aftereffects of war.  

And despite these men being old and grey, they bring the fight to each other in an action-packed, strategic way as if they were still in the jungles of Vietnam.  Which provides one hell of a visual that would easily translate to the big screen.  I can see a younger, but still old Clint Eastwood as Frank defending himself from his would-be executioners played by the likes of Dennis Hopper (if he was still alive), Joe Pesci and Danny Trejo.  Or pick your favorite elder actors and picture them hunting each other in the back country of Maine as if they were 50 years younger and on an officially sanctioned mission from the US government.  Despite the dark subject matter, The Dead Don’t Sleep would make a fun, powerful and intense movie. One that I would like to see.

Kudos to Steven Max Russo for crafting a compelling, intriguing novel with well-developed characters and a unique plot.  A book with a storyline that is a departure from modern military thrillers, but one that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.

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Veterans Day By Jack Stewart

Give me a good story with characters I care about and I’m a happy man.  I want a book to provide an escape from the routines of daily life and allow me to make an emotional connection with the characters.  And if I’m very lucky, the book will also make me think and/or teach me something new.  Veterans Day by Jack Stewart achieved all of this and more.  It’s a theological and mystical Jack Reacher-like novel with an absorbing plot, mysterious characters, plenty of action, and several gasp-inducing twists to keep the reader on their toes.  

Veterans Day combines military operations, vigilante justice and the spiritual world into one story about losing yourself before finding redemption via faith, action, and forgiveness.  Ronan Doyle is a compelling protagonist who hits rock bottom before facing various trials he doesn’t understand but are ultimately the path to salvation.  Following his journey is inspiring and you can’t help but root for him while he fights the forces of evil to not only to save the day, but to save himself in the process.  Thankfully Ronan has a guardian angel – and an unanticipated kick-ass female partner – on his side to help him find the way.

Honestly, Veterans Day book was not at all what I was expecting and a bit out of my spiritual comfort zone.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It felt intimately personal, with the author reflecting on a long, distinguished military career and the people he’s encountered along the way, which came out in the writing and made it easy to connect with the plot and characters.  As such, I flew through the book in less than 24 hours. It’s a good story that will resonate with all thriller fans, but I suspect those with deep faith and spirituality will find a higher plane of gratification from this book.  

Count me in as a Jack Stewart fan and I will be rooting for him to land a publishing deal.  Thriller fans deserve to read his well-written work.

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