Best Terrorism Thrillers
In the #1 New York Times bestselling series’ latest thriller, Mitch Rapp finds himself alone and targeted by a country that is supposed to be one of America’s closest allies. Forced to make a decision that will change his life forever, Rapp quits the CIA and assembles a group of independent contractors to help him complete the mission. Facing an international incident that could end his political career, the President orders America’s intelligence agencies to join the Saudis’ effort to hunt the former CIA man down. The Mitch Rapp story begins with American Assassin , followed by Kill Shot , Transfer of Power , The Third Option , Separation of Power , Executive Power , Memorial Day , Consent to Kill , Act of Treason , Protect and Defend , Extreme Measures , Pursuit of Honor , The Last Man , The Survivor, Order to Kill, and Enemy of the State. He initially found inspiration from his father, the former director of Interpol, and still draws on his contacts in the intelligence community to give his books such realism.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Claudia in my opinion does not read like the person who would fit into the scheme of a operator like Rapp seems to be."
"Another entertaining addition."
"Another great book in the series."
"Typical Rapp story."
"If you enjoyed the other books read this one and enjoy."
"I've rad all of Vince Flynn's books and the new author stays true to Flynn's characters and style!"
"I️ love the fact that Kyle incorporated all the old villains of past books and had them working for Rapp."
"Kyle's books are better on this one I'm my opinion because in the others Mitch was less real."
2 Betrayal
BETRAYAL: Imagine Chris Kyle's AMERICAN SNIPER meets David Baldacci's ABSOLUTE POWER. Presumed dead after a staged terrorist attack, FBI Agent Odysseus Carr is running for his life with the doctor who rescued him. As Odi unravels a devious plot of profound political manipulation and global consequence, the hunted becomes the hunter, and the real terror begins. If you enjoy David Baldacci, Lee Child, Tom Clancy, Nelson DeMille, Ken Follett, Vince Flynn, Andrew Peterson, Daniel Silva, Brad Taylor, or Brad Thor, odds are you'll be smiling a few pages into my books as well. I'm not in a position to help you with tuition yet, but I can provide days of delightful distraction for the price of a cup of coffee, and kind reviews will get good karma sent your way. All the characters contribute in their own unique way to the pace, intensity, depth and complexity of a gripping story that is sure to pull you in. It's no surprise that Tim Tigner was once a Green Beret and specialized in counterintelligence - his expertise drives the story onward through some complicated waters and makes it totally realistic. This is the second time I've read a Tim Tigner novel and it seems to me his works are begging to be made into action movies - they have all the elements to keep viewers in their seats, if only on the edge.--Valerie for ValerieTalksBooks. -- Leslie O'brien Dear Reader, If you enjoy David Baldacci, Lee Child, Tom Clancy, Nelson DeMille,Ken Follett, Vince Flynn, Andrew Peterson, Daniel Silva, Brad Taylor, or Brad Thor, odds are you'll be smiling a few pages into my books aswell. I'm not in a position to help you with tuition yet, but I can provide days of delightful distraction for the price of a cup of coffee, and kind reviews will get good karma sent your way.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This story is a very fast paced story and so suspenseful that it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. The author's writing was so good I felt as if I were right in the story--I could visualize everything as it happened. This is a stand alone story but I am looking forward to more stories about the main characters in this story and hope the author will write more about them."
"Tigner's plot clearly spelled out that Americans with an agenda can manipulate the course of history and not in a good way."
"Tim Tigner kept me not only engaged but oftentimes the suspense was excruciating when I had to put the book down."
"I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys drama, intrigue and political thrillers."
"Entertaining conspiracy thriller pitting a brother-sister combo against a corrupt politician seeking the presidency, while at the same time he's playing both terrorists and war contractors alike so as to prop up the defense industry."
"Suspense, intrigue, this book has it all put together in the storyline."
"This was a darn good read."
"This book filled with action."
From Marcus Sakey, “a modern master of suspense” ( Chicago Sun-Times ) and “one of our best storytellers” (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse. “The kind of story you’ve never read before.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher Series. He’s a friend because I read his whip-smart thrillers years ago ( The Amateurs is one of my favorites) and loved them so much I decided I had to meet the twisted mind behind them. “Perfectly titled, this tour-de-force has it all—a credible protagonist, a riveting plot, and enough philosophical questions for a roomful of Jesuits.” — Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "At once mystery, thriller, family saga, and romance...The plot takes many unpredictable twists, the characters are multidimensional, the world quite believable, and the social/political commentary pointed and often chilling.” — Chicago Tribune. “Sakey’s premise is utterly compelling; no committed thriller aficionado will be able to set the book down.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There are only so many stories one can write, and while I won't say that the premise of Brilliance is anything so ground-breaking as to be revolutionary, it takes the standard "superhuman" trope and integrates it seamlessly with our own real world, introducing the "Brilliants" (the 1% of humankind born with high-savant-level abilities in a given realm, without autism or other related disorders) into human history beginning in 1980 and drastically altering the course of human history since. We are introduced to an America where 99% of the population is normal and terrified of losing their relevance against the minority of Brilliants who are responsible for light years of advancement in medicine, technology, mathematics, science, arts, and even weaponry. As a result, they are hyper vigilant towards the very small percentage of Brilliants - as they are more commonly called, abnorms or, more crudely, "twists" - who realise their own superiority as well as the normals' oppression of their kind and respond with acts of extremely well-planned terrorism. An agent of the Department Of Analysis & Response (or DAR), Nick is among the most powerful abnorms as Tier 1 intuit with the ability to translate even the most microscopic changes in body language into patterns that help him predict exactly how someone will move or react, and even how they feel. He devotes himself to tracking down John Smith - the country's most elusive and most dangerous abnorm, who once used his incredible planning skills to defeat four chess grand masters at once - and along the way finds himself in the path of bombings, assassins, and even corruption at the highest levels. The fact that a powerful Reader (as they call those Brilliants who are able to sense one's deepest, darkest secrets simply based on a person's words and actions) always knows you're lying comes at the price that they know when someone doesn't really mean "I love you." This allows for extraordinary depth to the array of personas that grace these pages, from the crass but loyal Bobby Quinn (Cooper's partner and sidekick) to the femme-fatale Shannon, an abnorm under the employee of John Smith convinced of the righteousness of her actions."
"The author is very deft in pointing out the pros and cons of dealing with the possible emergence of these super intellects who are mostly humanistic and those who may have evil intentions."
"I really loved this new author and the trilogy."
"This is a new author to me but I will definitely put him on my list of favorites."
"I highly recommend this book...it was like watching an enthralling movie unfold page by page."
"Interesting concept, storyline and characters."
"what a pleasure to discover an excellent story that is excellently written."
"Brilliance is one of my favorite books read in the last year--I read its followup and everything else I could get my hands on by Marcus Sakey."
Best Hard-Boiled Mystery
Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women. She's been held in the prison her entire life, along with a few other girls who disappear after the coming-of-age ceremony. Zoey and her new friends must break into the compound and rescue the other female prisoners.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Zoey is probably one of the strongest female characters I have found in any book I've ever read."
"(trying not to spoil too much). Hart seizes on the fears of a populace dealing with population control issues and shows us what can happen when control is removed from our hands."
"It is written in present tense, a fad I keep hoping will die, because it is so difficult to write well and, more often than not, just grates on the nerves. As a result she ends up as a rather non-entity and frankly, being a woman myself, I found her a pretty insultingly insipid female protagonist. Thus the few remaining female infants are gathered up and raised in puritanical prison conditions with severe punishments if they ask questions. Instead of investing time on actually developing the main character in thoughts, actions, and feelings that would let the reader get to know her and like her in and of herself, he just added a scene with mean girls picking on an outcast and let the main character show some pitiful token defense so that the reader knows that our heroine is the "good girl." Note to male authors: women can and very often do form very strong, healthy, and supportive relationships with one another and elevating your female protagonist by juxtaposing her next to catty, mean girls is taking the cheap way out."
"Have you ever read a book and been like, what made me read that? I think I have to tell you a little bit about the book to let you know why I am so disappointed in it."
"The treatment of the girls just seemed like an excuse for the author to imagine torturing women. I ended up skipping lots of pages just hoping that this story would finally make sense, but it never did."
Best Espionage Thrillers
A decade ago, fourteen-year-old Suzanne Lombard, the daughter of Benjamin Lombard—then a senator, now a powerful vice president running for the presidency—disappeared in the most sensational missing-person case in the nation’s history. “This live-wire debut begins with a promising lead in the long-ago disappearance of the vice president’s daughter, then doubles down with tangled conspiracies, duplicitous politicians, and a disgraced hacker hankering for redemption...Hang on and enjoy the ride.” — People. “Unbridled power and relentless revenge converge in the exciting, tightly plotted The Short Drop ...The multifaceted Gibson has the makings to support a long series.” —SouthFlorida.com.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"That said, I did enjoy the second half of the book which did keep moving from beginning to end, holding my interest without my having to push myself to read it like I did for the first half of the book. So, when the central plot line in The Short Drop turned out to be the fact that a current Presidential candidate's 13 year old daughter had been kidnapped, I merely wrote that off as a coincidence."
"I’ve found that thrillers, particularly those with a political bent, can be a little light on character development and a little heavy on the unbelievable-and-over-the-top plots. The characters are well developed, complex and multi-faceted, flawed and susceptible to injury (both emotional and physical)."
"As an old retired IT guy it made sense to me where it needed to and was not written for the 17 year old."
"This book caught my attention from the sample on Kindle and held it through half a week while I told myself I had time of other already purchased books to read."
"His characters are beautifully developed and appropriately psychologically complex, so much so that the reader doesn't know who the "bad guy" is and might even fall in love with him or her in the meantime. 4.5 stars. Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review."
Best Military Thrillers
In the chaos, conspiracy theories rage about a foreign cyberattack--that this might be the first shockwave of a colossal global shift in power--but even this becomes unimportant as Mike and his family struggle for survival in the wintry tomb of a doomed New York. Translated in twenty three countries, CyberStorm is a worldwide bestseller, a new apocalyptic disaster classic in the spirit of On the Beach , Alas Babylon , One Second After , Lucifer's Hammer and Pandemic that will appeal to fans of Clancy, Thor, Riddle, and Hugh Howey. - Wes Davies, author of The Runner " A riveting account of the (potentially) devastating impact ofcyber attacks on ordinary citizens." I'd like to thank my editor, Gabe Robinson (previously at Harper Collins in NYC but now freelancing) for his incredible help in getting CyberStorm assembled and edited. I'd also like to thank my small army of dozens of beta readers who combed through the early manuscripts--this is as much my novel as all of theirs, and a testament to the power of the internet in shaping new media.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The author does a great job of getting you into the minds of the characters, and paints a picture of a possible cyber meltdown I found realistic and quite frightening if it were to occur."
"Dependence on the cyber world and a host of attacks combined with a horrible winter storm bring a modern, urban city to its knees and brings life and our human priorities into a focus that should serve as a reality check for us all."
"I enjoy good writing, and Mr. Mather is a well-accomplished wordsmith, using a rich background of good science and great common sense!"
"Enjoyed the book."
"The writing style was engaging and I completely fell head over heels for the premise and story development."
"I loved this book! Matthew, you've done an amazing job with this book."
"I enjoyed this book and as an "added attraction" it hit close to home as i work on 7th avenue between 25th and 26th street in Manhattan, basically in the same neighborhood as the story."
"He obviously let his emotions get in the way from time to , he did however come up with some genius ideas, like hiding the food and creating a scavenger hunt like thing to find it later for survival."
Best Assassination Thrillers
In the #1 New York Times bestselling series’ latest thriller, Mitch Rapp finds himself alone and targeted by a country that is supposed to be one of America’s closest allies. Forced to make a decision that will change his life forever, Rapp quits the CIA and assembles a group of independent contractors to help him complete the mission. Facing an international incident that could end his political career, the President orders America’s intelligence agencies to join the Saudis’ effort to hunt the former CIA man down. The Mitch Rapp story begins with American Assassin , followed by Kill Shot , Transfer of Power , The Third Option , Separation of Power , Executive Power , Memorial Day , Consent to Kill , Act of Treason , Protect and Defend , Extreme Measures , Pursuit of Honor , The Last Man , The Survivor, Order to Kill, and Enemy of the State. He initially found inspiration from his father, the former director of Interpol, and still draws on his contacts in the intelligence community to give his books such realism.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Claudia in my opinion does not read like the person who would fit into the scheme of a operator like Rapp seems to be."
"Another entertaining addition."
"Another great book in the series."
"Typical Rapp story."
"If you enjoyed the other books read this one and enjoy."
"I've rad all of Vince Flynn's books and the new author stays true to Flynn's characters and style!"
"I️ love the fact that Kyle incorporated all the old villains of past books and had them working for Rapp."
"Kyle's books are better on this one I'm my opinion because in the others Mitch was less real."
Best Hard-Boiled Mysteries
Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women. She's been held in the prison her entire life, along with a few other girls who disappear after the coming-of-age ceremony. Zoey and her new friends must break into the compound and rescue the other female prisoners.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Zoey is probably one of the strongest female characters I have found in any book I've ever read."
"(trying not to spoil too much). Hart seizes on the fears of a populace dealing with population control issues and shows us what can happen when control is removed from our hands."
"It is written in present tense, a fad I keep hoping will die, because it is so difficult to write well and, more often than not, just grates on the nerves. As a result she ends up as a rather non-entity and frankly, being a woman myself, I found her a pretty insultingly insipid female protagonist. Thus the few remaining female infants are gathered up and raised in puritanical prison conditions with severe punishments if they ask questions. Instead of investing time on actually developing the main character in thoughts, actions, and feelings that would let the reader get to know her and like her in and of herself, he just added a scene with mean girls picking on an outcast and let the main character show some pitiful token defense so that the reader knows that our heroine is the "good girl." Note to male authors: women can and very often do form very strong, healthy, and supportive relationships with one another and elevating your female protagonist by juxtaposing her next to catty, mean girls is taking the cheap way out."
"Have you ever read a book and been like, what made me read that? I think I have to tell you a little bit about the book to let you know why I am so disappointed in it."
"The treatment of the girls just seemed like an excuse for the author to imagine torturing women. I ended up skipping lots of pages just hoping that this story would finally make sense, but it never did."
Best Espionage Thrillers
A decade ago, fourteen-year-old Suzanne Lombard, the daughter of Benjamin Lombard—then a senator, now a powerful vice president running for the presidency—disappeared in the most sensational missing-person case in the nation’s history. “This live-wire debut begins with a promising lead in the long-ago disappearance of the vice president’s daughter, then doubles down with tangled conspiracies, duplicitous politicians, and a disgraced hacker hankering for redemption...Hang on and enjoy the ride.” — People. “Unbridled power and relentless revenge converge in the exciting, tightly plotted The Short Drop ...The multifaceted Gibson has the makings to support a long series.” —SouthFlorida.com.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"That said, I did enjoy the second half of the book which did keep moving from beginning to end, holding my interest without my having to push myself to read it like I did for the first half of the book. So, when the central plot line in The Short Drop turned out to be the fact that a current Presidential candidate's 13 year old daughter had been kidnapped, I merely wrote that off as a coincidence."
"I’ve found that thrillers, particularly those with a political bent, can be a little light on character development and a little heavy on the unbelievable-and-over-the-top plots. The characters are well developed, complex and multi-faceted, flawed and susceptible to injury (both emotional and physical)."
"I pretty much finished the book to see how the main character arrived at the same conclusions I had, long before him."
"Given that there were over 1500 other reviews, none of which I read (never do), anyone reading this review can read any of the others for what they are worth. As for my point of review, I look for several things: plot, character development, interesting story line, feasibility of the story being told, and how well the story kept me involved. I certainly hope and expect it to be just as good."
Best Political Thrillers
A SECRET THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND. However, when an unknown group immediately becomes interested in her work, Alison realizes John Clay may be the only person she can trust. - Gail Ward "You'll miss a great experience if you don't read this book." "After I finished "Breakthrough" at 11pm in bed I immediately bought his next book; "Amid The Shadows" without even reading the synopsis or the reviews. Being retired and having read several hundred Kindle books, I can honestly say this has to be the most exciting heart pounding story I have yet read on my Kindle. I give it 10 stars out of 5 and - as another reviewer said "I guarantee you'll be downloading his next book.... As a postscript, I finished the book, found that the author had another Amazon book available, Amid the Shadows, and immediately downloaded it. I expect great things from Mr. Grumley and am looking for his next book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am going to buy the next book now to see how the story continues."
"I am 72 years old and I have been reading science fiction since I discovered the genre 68 years ago."
"Then there is secondary plot of two government Navy commanders who are an investigative team and they are looking for a secret robot sub that went down without provocation in the Caribbean."
"It began to unravel a bit, though in the end where weak character arcs gave way to action setpieces. Given a bit more time for research and a bit more character development (such as a villain who had more than simplistic warmongering as a motive), this would have been a rolicking read; I fear that with the quick schedule of his first three releases, though, Grumley is going for quantity and skirting quality."
"The book is a little over 300 pages but I read it in 2 days. Instead of the World Series and college football, maybe I read the next 2 books."
"There was never a dull moment as the various story lines, all of which are interesting in themselves, race to converge into one action filled plot. Aside from the action, the book raises interesting moral questions about human interactions with other species and with our planet, the morality of powerful people who are not elected government officials and the consequences of the mindless obedience of the military."
"I loved the mixture of a thriller like Clive Cussler & Tom Clancy and a mixture of SciFi like Bob Mayer's Area 51 series and the original classic mini TV series "V", which had me knowing ahead of time what the "Ring" was actually transporting. I also thought it was very different and very interesting that most of the characters were not in their twenties or early thirties which is very unusual for a thriller."
Best Conspiracy Thrillers
A generous offer of money convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Bruce Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets. John Grisham is the author of thirty novels, one work of nonfiction, a collection of stories, and six novels for young readers.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was originally expecting a few more "thriller" elements, but I'm actually glad that Grisham did not include chases or high suspense, because I think they would have weakened the story in the end."
"Another issue with the book was the basic unbelievability of the idea that an insurance company would consider a young, underachieving woman potentially valuable in uncovering a master thief who was hiding extremely valuable manuscripts that had been stolen from Princeton University - enough so that they would invest heavily in her as an undercover agent. I had no desire to stay up all night finishing the book, but I don't think it was meant to be an all night thriller - just a very pleasant read for lovers of books and book business."
"If John Grishams name was not on this book,it would have never been published.It is banal ,trite and dull.Save your money and time,it isn't worthy of either one.."
"I know I'm spitting in the wind, but every time a Grisham book is recommended to me, I groan and say no, and this one demonstrates why. This book is at best a formulaic caper, with a plot that is so predictable that the "surprise" ending comes as no surprise and characters who give "wooden" a whole new meaning."
"It starts out with some promisingly interesting characters pulling off a heist, 4 F Scott Fitzgerald manuscript, from the Princeton U library."
"I'd gotten to the point where I thought I knew what to expect from him, so I automatically buy his new books the day they're first available."
"Worst Book ever!!! It is a waste of time."
Best Assassination Thrillers
In the #1 New York Times bestselling series’ latest thriller, Mitch Rapp finds himself alone and targeted by a country that is supposed to be one of America’s closest allies. Forced to make a decision that will change his life forever, Rapp quits the CIA and assembles a group of independent contractors to help him complete the mission. Facing an international incident that could end his political career, the President orders America’s intelligence agencies to join the Saudis’ effort to hunt the former CIA man down. The Mitch Rapp story begins with American Assassin , followed by Kill Shot , Transfer of Power , The Third Option , Separation of Power , Executive Power , Memorial Day , Consent to Kill , Act of Treason , Protect and Defend , Extreme Measures , Pursuit of Honor , The Last Man , The Survivor, Order to Kill, and Enemy of the State. He initially found inspiration from his father, the former director of Interpol, and still draws on his contacts in the intelligence community to give his books such realism.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I think It's obvious Vince Flynn was still heavily invested in the series, and I believe he would be very pleased with how Mills has continued it."
"Kyle Mills is doing a great job of carrying the torch for Vince Flynn."
"If by book 17 one does not need to be page after page retelling who: Irene Kennedy, Stan Hurley, Marcus, Scott, Claudia, Mike, and Alexander are."
"Claudia in my opinion does not read like the person who would fit into the scheme of a operator like Rapp seems to be."
"Another entertaining addition."
"Another great addition to the Mitch Rapp series."
"I've rad all of Vince Flynn's books and the new author stays true to Flynn's characters and style!"
"Kyle's books are better on this one I'm my opinion because in the others Mitch was less real."