Brendan DuBois

Blood Foam by Brendan DuBois is an excellent, very highly recommended addition to the series. Retired Department of Defense analyst Lewis Cole helps his friend, journalist Paula Quinn find her missing fiancé, attorney Mark Spencer.

Still waiting on the insurance payment for his fire-damaged home on Tyler Beach, Lewis Cole agrees to help Paula find Mark who has been missing for several days. He and the police assume an accident sent Mark off the road and his body will be found soon, but he show more still begins searching for Paula's sake. The search quickly becomes complicated and dangerous, requiring some assistance from Felix Tinois, a "security consultant," as they try to evade a truly bad guy.

Another superb well-written Lewis Cole novel features a compelling case, lightning-fast pace, surprising revelations, some good food, and heart-stopping action in the intricate plot. As this series is being re-released, I am enjoying it more and more with each new addition to this action/adventure series. Lewis and Felix are both familiar interesting characters, along with Paula, and other known characters in the series make an appearance. This was an un-put-downable, stay-up-late to finish novel. DuBois is a wonderful writer. Thanks to Severn River Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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Buried Dreams by Brendan DuBois is a very highly recommended mystery/crime thriller and the fifth novel in the Lewis Cole series.

Keep in mind this is a re-release of a novel first published 7/1/2004. That threw me off when I recently reviewed #4, Killer Waves on 9/1/23, but I was prepared this time and it resulted in a greatly enjoyed novel. I was eager to read about what Lewis Cole was up to now and appreciated appearances from recently met and known characters, Felix, Diane, and Paula.

In show more this outing, a friend of Lewis, retiree Jon Ericson, has been murdered. Jon had just called him about a discovery that he had been seeking for years, and just discovered the proof. Jon had spent years looking for evidence of artifacts proving that the Vikings had landed on their coast for years. When young he had found a coin, but sold it. He's regretted that for years. Now he excitedly called Lewis to tell him the good news: he has the evidence. When Lewis arrives at his home, what he finds are the police, crime scene tape up, and Jon has been murdered in his home. There are no sign of the artifacts.

Lewis takes Jon's murder personally and contacts his mobster friend Felix Tinios to help him find the killer, assuming it is Jon's brother, Ray, who is the prime suspect. Lewis's best friend, Detective Diane Woods, had asked him to please stay out of it and leave the investigation alone, but he is unable to do so. Lewis is in for a world of hurt this time out.

Having been introduced to all the characters with the previous Lewis Cole novel, I enjoyed Buried Dreams even more. The characters were still fresh in my mind and I remembered them so the character development was not an issue, as it had been when I read #4. I was actually quit happy to see these characters again. This may be a series where reading the previous novels definitely is helpful for the enjoyment of the current novel being read.

The writing is excellent and the fast-paced plot held my complete attention throughout. Lewis is an intelligent character and completely focused on his goal. With the help of Felix, he uncovers clues to establish Jon's activities and he follows up on what he can, ignoring Diane's plea. Lewis chooses to place his safety on the line and seek the truth. The ending is an unexpected twist and very well done. I'm now anxious to move on to number 6 in the series.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Severn House Publishers via Edelweiss.
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The president is having a passionate affair with a member of his PR staff, but alas, the media catches on and all hell breaks loose. This was a delightful part soap opera, part thriller, part mystery as we see who will come out ahead in our little chess game. The first lady, one of I think only a handful of characters we were supposed to like in this one, is not going to take what happened lying down. But when she goes missing, bad turns to worse… and then MUCH worse. An entertaining show more beach read.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

Sally Grissom, Special Agent in Charge, Presidential Protective Division. She heads the department that is responsible for protecting the President of the US. She is in the middle of a contentious divorce and is doing the single mom gig for her daughter. Life isn’t simple or easy at work or home. And it has just gotten worse.

It seems the President has been caught with his mistress in public. The head of the US who is up for a second term and is also married and has a good, clean image. show more Make that “had.” He now has to get damage control in place and it isn’t going to be easy, as it appears his wife has suddenly gone missing!

Parker Hoyt, the President’s Chief of Staff, has been with the President since the early days of his political career. Hoyt is the man behind the curtain who has the connections and pulls the strings to keep things looking good for the President’s image. Now he is faced with the complications of the missing First Lady.

He calls Sally Grissom to handle finding the First Lady, but to do it covertly with no publicity or leaks, even within the security departments that serve to protect the President. When a ransom note arrives at the White House, along with the tip of a finger, the heat really cranks up. Could this be a good distraction from the President’s indiscretion?

James Patterson and Brendan DuBois have written a tense, fast paced plot. Sally Grissom is a tough cookie who takes her job and her parenthood very seriously. Parker Hoyt is a force to be reckoned with. Strong personalities and a tense situation that may involve life and death make for a good read.

I like that the chapters are short and full of action. Even ifyou only have a short time you can still get a good dose of the plot and action, moving you further along in the book. show less