Kirk Russell

FBI bomb expert Paul Grale is one his way to his sister and brother-in-law's Fourth of July party when the unthinkable happens. A bomb goes off using stolen C-4 and killing his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. It also leaves his sixteen-year-old niece grieving and fighting for her life.

Paul is immediately immersed in the investigation while grieving himself and worrying about his niece. The case gets complicated very quickly when agents from a variety of Federal agencies get involved. show more Paul feels that they are following a false trail when they target his friend Jeremy Beatty who used to be an Air Force drone pilot until he was medically discharged with PTSD. Beatty got on the DoD's radar when he was hired to teach pilots to fly drones in the Far East.

Now, Paul is trying to exonerate his friend and track down the elusive bomber before he uses the rest of the C-4 and destroys another target in Las Vegas.

This was a fast-paced thriller with a plot ripped from the headlines. Sleeper terrorist cells, Latin American drug cartels, and the whole rise in popularity of drones both in the military and as weapons for terrorists keep this story moving.

I liked Paul who had a dogged determination to find and stop the bomber. I liked that he had connections with a number of law enforcement organizations. I liked that he was at odds with his supervisor in the FBI but found ways to work around him.

Fans of thrillers will find much to enjoy in this one. show less

This book, as fresh and prophetic as the day it was published sixty years ago, is a reminder that no one can match Russell Kirk in engaging people’s minds and imaginations—an indispensable task in reviving our civilization.

FBI Bomb Tech Paul Grale is on his way to his sister's annual 4th of July party for drone pilots, but stops to visit an old friend, suffering from guilt over his role in killing an innocent American as an Air Force drone pilot himself. Grale arrives just after the venue blows up, killing most of Grale's family and their guests. Grale insists on being part of the investigation, but is relegated by his loser FBI boss to pursue secondary leads while trying to protect his friend, who is deemed show more unstable and a possible suspect. I found the book a little boring, but it picked up at the end as Grale makes some remarkable breakthroughs in his relentless pursuit of the bomber. show less

What a thrilling novel! And a great introduction to what I hope is a long series featuring Paul Grale. I haven't read anything by Kirk Russell before but now I want to run out and get the rest of his works. I hadn't realized this book was offered as a kindle first the month before. I passed on it for another book so I'm glad I got the chance from netgalley to read this book now.

People use phrasing like "High octane" to describe fast paced, heart pumping, page turning pieces of work and I show more would say this qualifies.

Within the first few chapters, there is a bomb, an explosion, a possible, terrorist attack. This is something that will always be high on American's minds following 9/11 and that is more than the case here given that the victims were military, drone pilots.

Drones are also big now so this book provides some insight into that world for those who may only go by the snipits they hear in the news.

The book never seems to stop. I would recommend trying to read it in one sitting (I had surgery during my reading so I had to break it up and I felt that messed with the flow a bit). I'm looking forward to more works from Russell and more about Paul Grale. show less