Book Review: AGENT G, INFILTRATOR, by C.T. Phipps

C.T. Phipps
AGENT G: INFILTRATOR
Amber Cove Publishing, 2017
193 pages
Science Fiction / Thriller

Agent G is a man with no state, no ideology, or creed. He is an assassin for the International Refugee Society. The twenty-six agents are called Letters. (Think alphabet, twenty-six, and all). Someone on the inside is a mole. Information on Letters is being fed to Carnevale --the only other Assassin-for-hire business. Competition is murder!

Letters volunteer for a ten year position with the Society. Their memories are wiped, and stored. Once they have successfully completed their time, the memories are restored, and a high-life retirement will ensue. A paradise is the dangling carrot offered for the sacrifices assassins are forced to make.

Now, Agent G is tasked with going undercover. The Society has plans for him. Once inside Carnevale, he is to tear them apart. Divide and conquer. Although expected to go it alone, he has his loyal assistant, and lover, Marissa, radioed in. Their communication is the key to his success. Only problem is --with an unidentified mole in the Society, Agent G has no idea who he can trust. With the promise of his missing past hanging in the balance, his freedom . . . it becomes a race against time to figure out what is what and escape with not just his life, but his sanity!

C.T. Phipps has put out an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Read this in two sittings. Hated putting it down the first time. With geneticists, cybernetics, cloning, political plots, and high-tension suspense, AGENT G: INFILTRATOR is non-stop action. The characters are well-crafted, the dialogue crisp, and witty, and the plot plausible! Trust me, this is not a book you want to miss. Do yourself a favor. Add it to your to-be-read list today!

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the Severed Empire Series,
and The Vaccination Trilogy

Book Review: THE FORSAKEN, by Ace Atkins

Ace Atkins
THE FORSAKEN (Quinn Colson #4)
G.P. Putnam's Sons, July 2015
416 pages
Crime / Suspense / Thriller

I thing the latest installment in the Quinn Colson saga, THE FORSAKEN, was by far the most gripping, and emotional.

After a brutal shoot out that left the sheriff of a border county dead, both Sheriff Quinn Colson, and his Deputy Lillie, are in hot water. The DA is talking about a Grand Jury, and a possible indictment, confident the shooting was less than justified.

Additionally, Diana Tully has come forward, and needs Colson's help. Nearly thirty years ago she was raped, shot, left for dead . . . and her friend was murdered. The murderer was never officially caught.

Officially.

The town rallied against the violent crime. They had a baseline description of the suspect. Male, black. Seemed like all they needed. The town covered up the hanging, and burning of a body, but assured the families justice had been served. The problem is, after the town murdered the man they though responsible for the henious crimes, Diana saw the rapist/murderer again.

Could the town have lynched the wrong man?

Colson's digging for truth unearths unwanted answers about his own past. He learns far more about his father than perhaps he ever wanted, or was ever ready to know.

A tight, compelling read. THE FORSAKEN was about as intense as a book can be. I couldn't find out what happens next fast enough. If you enjoy Lee Child's Jack Reacher books, or Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire tales . . . You. Will. Love. Ace Atkins!

Phillip Tomasso,
Author of the Severed Empire Saga,
and The Vaccination Trilogy

Book Review: PLUM ISLAND, by Nelson Demille

Nelson Demille
PLUM ISLAND
Warner Books, 1997
679 pages
Crime / Suspense / Thriller

John Corey is a New York Homicide Detective. He's recently been shot. Multiple times. While healing from wounds sustained on the job, John holes up at his uncle's place. It is an ideal summer home on the water of Long Island. His recovery is brought up short when the local law calls on Corey for assistance in a double murder. A young couple just down the way was found shot to death on their back patio. Since there are not many murders in the area, much less two, local law enforcement is looking for all the help they can get.

The murders become something of a spectacle since the young couple killed were scientists who worked on Plum Island. Plum Island is notoriously whispered about. Rumors are the place researches germ warfare, housing the most deadly and dangerous bugs of all time. With two dead scientists everyone is thinking a deal concerning the viruses gone bad is what happened.

Corey's personal investigation into the murders turns up more questions that answers. Did the young couple sneak a virus out of Plum Island with a brokered plan to sell to the highest bidder? Had he been friends with terrorists? Could something else be going on?

Initially, I did not like Demille's John Corey. But I don't think we're supposed to. I have the sneaky suspicion that is exactly how Demille wanted things. The main character takes some getting used to. He is not friendly. He is not nice. And he does not play well with others. Halfway through the book, I was loving John Corey.

I may be a bit behind the times (seeing as this book was initially released in 1997), but I look forward to catching up on the John Corey saga! PLUM ISLAND was a twisting, turning, and unexpected suspense novel that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the Severed Empire Series
and The Vaccination Trilogy

Book Review: THE BROKEN PLACE, by Ace Atkins

Ace Atkins
THE BROKEN PLACE (Quinn Colson #3)
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2014
384 Pages
Suspense / Thriller / Crime

THE BROKEN PLACE just might be my favorite Ace Atkins book to date. Overall, I am enjoying the terse writing style, the depth of each and every character, and the steady pacing of each Quinn Colson thriller.

In THE BROKEN PLACE Sheriff Colson has his hands full. Three convicts have escaped prison. They have unsettled business in Tibbehah County. Money from a heist gone south should be waiting for them. If not, there was going to be hell to pay.

A new preacher in town has won the heart of Colson's sister, Caddy. Thing is, Jamey Dixon hit rock bottom before finding the Lord. Sent to prison for the murder of a young woman, Dixon was looking at life behind bars. That is until he was granted a pardon, and found himself a free man. Caddy loves the man Dixon is now. The family of Dixon's victim --not so much.

With a forced hand, Colson finds himself in the middle of investigations that have a direct effect on his family. If he's not careful, he and his deputy, Lillie, could find themselves on the wrong side of the law, and possible arrested for murder.

Hate to say this each time I review an Ace Atkins novel, but Quinn Colson is the perfect combination of Jack Reacher and Walt Longmire. His Quinn Colson series has that bad-ass military feel, and that small town everyone-knows-everyone handicap. Absolutely love the plots, the characters, and where Ace Atkins is taking the series!

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the Severed Empire Series,
and The Vaccination Trilogy