David Ricciardi

David Ricciardi had one of the best thriller debuts last year with Warning Light. His follow up, Rogue Strike, delivers on all the promise of the first novel and makes Ricciardi one of the most exciting thriller authors to watch. Rogue Strike sees the hero of the of last year's novel, Zach Miller, with a new name and a new job. Now known as Jake Keller, he is in Yemen on a mission to take out one of Al-Qaeda's top leaders. Keller and his partner call in a drone missile strike and when it show more doesn't show up, they suspect a malfunction. It turns out that the drone instead attacked thousands of innocent pilgrims on their way to Mecca.

The United States is desperate to figure out what went wrong and is also anxious to have a scapegoat. Keller and his partner are near the top of the list. Keller gets to work trying to figure out what really happened and what is going on in the Middle East. What he discovers is a false flag operation and a conspiracy between rogue elements in China and Saudi Arabia aimed at changing the balance of power in the Middle East. At the same time, Iranian forces take advantage of the chaos to accelerate the timetable for a series of terror attacks in the United States.

Keller once again finds himself on the run for his life while also trying to get to the bottom of a multinational conspiracy. If Keller is unable to stop it in time the balance of the power in the Middle East could shift permanently and the United States could suffer its most devastating terrorist attacks since 9/11.

Ricciardi already has delivered one of the most entertaining thrillers of the year. In his first novel, he introduced us to an analyst who had more than enough skills to survive and thrive in the field. In Rogue Strike, he takes the action to the next level. Non-stop action from start to finish and a plot that feels frighteningly real. Ricciardi shows great command of the geography and the politics of the Middle East, China and the United States. He has created a cast of outstanding characters with understandable motivations. I was initially a little thrown off by the main character's name change but then I wondered why most characters who are spies don't change their names. In the end, it didn't matter because Keller is a great character and this is the start of a great series. The action is unrivaled and the plot is both sophisticated and believable. Keller combines the analytical skills of a Jack Ryan with the field know-how of a Mitch Rapp.

Ricciardi has delivered with his second novel and put him firmly on the list of writers to whom I look forward to each and every new book. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. show less

Shadow Target is the next entry in the Jake Keller series, and I enjoyed it tremendously. I find this series is deceptive in its storytelling as it seems simple in its concepts and in its story lines, but there is an underlying depth and deception that has been there since the first book and I am curious as to how it will all play out in the end. If you've read the previous instalments, this one is a bit different, and although I was a bit skeptical at first about where it was headed, it show more soon picked up and I read the rest in one sitting.

I enjoy Jake as a main character and this book really picked up on his character development as we learned a lot more about his past and how it has affected his present as well as his psychological state. There was a lot of introspection about his personal life and how so much was stolen from him because of previous situations and while I wasn't sure how to take all of this, it definitely worked in the end. Seeing this side of Jake made you much more empathetic towards his character and some of the hard choices he has to make while doing his job and the impact those choices have on his psyche. It was rather interesting.

One of the strengths of these books is Jake's willingness to work with other people and I always like it when previous characters show up in these books. I think part of this is the author's way of showing that everyone needs to feel connected to someone else no matter the job they do and I found this kind of intriguing, this exploration of human connection and the toll the lack thereof can have on a human body. Very subtle piece of writing, but it did make me think about a lot of things.

At first I wasn't sure about the plot as it didn't seem the same as in previous novels; it felt much more like a suspense novel with a huge mystery twist to it rather than a full-on thriller. Despite Jake's having to avoid a few attempts on his life, the first half was more contemplative. But then, bang! It picks right back up, with a twist I should have expected but didn't (probably because I was paying too much attention to the relationship issues), and things were right back into what I would expect from this author and a thriller novel. There was also a lot of subtle intrigue, some of it carrying over from previous books, ones that I don't know if a reader new to the series would pick up on unless familiar with the earlier books and the situations that created them, intrigues that will continue in future books.

Verdict
Shadow Target is definitely one of my new favourite thriller series (right up there with the Orphan X books), and while this one started a bit differently than the previous instalments, it was still as strong as previous entries. I like that the author can be versatile in his writing style and still write intricate plot twists and relatable characters. While this could be read on its own, I do recommend reading them all in order to get a good understanding of the relationships and political goings-on that were only lightly explained And while this book does have a satisfactory ending, there are some intrigues that will definitely be continuing in the next book and I can't wait to see how it all plays out. show less

If the rest of the thriller debuts this year are going to be this good, it’s going to be a great year. Warning Light introduces us to CIA analyst Zac Miller. Miller has to step out from behind his desk and go in the field when an op he set up is about to be cancelled. No one else knows enough about it or believes in it enough. All he has to do is take a couple of pictures. Easy, right? Except the pictures are in Iran and the Iranians aren’t buying that the plane Zac was on “just show more happened” to have flight problems near a highly restricted area and that Zac was just snapping photos of the sunset.

Colonel Arzaman of the Revolutionary Guard separates Zac from the rest of the passengers and he’s escorted into a windowless room. Soon the rest of the passengers are back on another plane and Zac is escorted deeper into Iran where Arzaman is determined to find the truth about what Zac is up to. As the beatings and torture begins, Zac realizes that the only way he’s going to survive is by relying on himself. He manages to escape, but that only leaves him alone in the middle of Iran. What follows is a chase across Iran all the way back to England. The chase takes place across desert, mountain, ocean and a slew of friendly and hostile countries in the Middle East and Europe. Arzaman keeps up a relentless pursuit throughout.

Breathless is the best way to describe this novel. The action starts on the opening pages and doesn’t stop until the last one. Intrigue both within the Iranian political establishment as well as the CIA help keep the tension high. I cracked this book open on a Saturday and didn’t stop until I was finished on Sunday. Zac Miller is far from superhuman, but he is clever and resourceful. Others have compared him to Jason Bourne and Jack Ryan and I can’t disagree. David Ricciardi has the goods and they are on full display in Warning Light. Look for a sequel. It’s time to see more of Zac Miller in the field.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. show less

I read the first book in this series and thought it was fine but I was not really as engaged in the characters despite the good storyline. This time around is way better. Instant nonstop action from the beginning to the end. Fans of military thrillers will be pleased with this book.

Zac Miller now known as Jake Keller is back. This time stronger than ever. As I stated previously, I liked the prior novel but I was struggling to engage with the characters. While, there are many each one played show more a role in the overall storyline. In addition, it was easy to keep them all straight.

I was taken on a roller coaster ride all over the world. It was like an action packed movie playing in my head while reading this book. Try this book out for yourself. show less