Finished 7-3-10, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2010
“the establishment is bigger now, more entrenched. The Roosevelt and Truman expansions were ratified by Eisenhower. Kennedy’s and Johnson’s abuses were ratified by Nixon. Bush Jr.’s extraconstitutional moves have all been ratified by Obama. It’s a ratchet effect. There hasn’t been a federal law in the last sixty years that’s done other than increase the government’s power and influence, and the power and influence of the corporations that manage the government by extension. The leviathan only grows.”
Chapter 41
Black ops soldier Ben Treven is back in this political stand-alone thriller and the clock is ticking on his job of recovering 92 tapes of extreme torture that have been stolen. If they are released to the public heads will roll and the people will rise up in horror. Treven knows how to intimidate and kill without remorse and that is what makes him so good at his job, but the man with the tapes is even more impressive than Ben since he is the one who is performing these acts of unspeakable torture. The CIA, FBI and other clandestine government groups all want the tapes for different reasons and in Ben’s pursuit, he becomes tied to a sexy FBI agent.
I read the first book with Treven, Fault Line, and liked this one better. I was intrigued by the story of the tapes (Abu Graib anyone?) and how relevant the story is in today’s political climate. It is timely, scary, and left me with disappointment in the government. And I’m not choosing sides either, all politicians deserve my disgust at times.
It moves fast and there is much to appreciate if you are a political junkie, like me. The author spent three years in a covert position with the CIA, so he knows a thing or two about how things work. The one thing I did dislike in the book was the one sex scene, which I found to be a little too much for me. And I’m not opposed to sex scenes, but this one was too violent for my tastes. But overall I liked the book a lot and it led to a great discussion with my husband on the Fourth of July. The end also left an opening for the next Ben Treven book and I am hoping there will be one.
This book was sent to me by the author.
Stacy's Books 
I do enjoy books like this – a mystery/thriller with some politics thrown in for fun.
Wow, the thing that it is relevant today makes it more enticing. And all politicians deserve my disgust too at times 🙂
I’m not a big political junkie but if it’s a fast moving book with a great story I’ll read it!
This appeals to me too. It makes me feel as if I’m getting a behind-the-scenes look at what’s really going on in the world. I know, of course, that it’s fiction, but still . . .
It is always more interesting when a book like this is written by someone who actually lived that life.