Hometown Vendetta ~ Review

Hometown Vendetta
Luke Steele #1
By Traci Hunter Abrahamson

Luke Steele left Pine Falls, Virginia, and its memories behind when he joined the Marines. He never planned to return, ever, but when a domestic terrorist attack is linked to his hometown, everything changed. Luke's past and present are about to meet, and he's caught in the middle.

Amberlyn McDowell is one of several FBI Special Agents seeking to stop a domestic terrorist group before they strike again. When Luke Stelle, military aide to the president, identifies a ring on one of the suspected bombers, he is pulled into the investigation. Luke's upcoming high school reunion is the perfect cover story, allowing Amberlyn to pose as Luke's girlfriend. 

With the former champion football team about to be honored, Luke would rather be anywhere but Pine Falls. His high school tormentors are all on the suspect list, and helping Amberlyn get an "in" with them is not going to be pleasant. And the banes of his high school existence aren't about to let him forget the hierarchy established all those years ago.

Hometown Vendetta is the first book in the Luke Steele series. It is an excellent read, high in intensity, and definitely builds until the climax. Different issues are touched on, including bullying, grief, loss, and betrayal. I really liked Luke's character and watched how Amberlyn's interactions with Luke changed as she got to know and understand him. I look forward to additional books featuring these characters. 

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Marine Captain Luke Steele and FBI Special Agent Amberlyn McDowell must work together to unravel a deadly conspiracy before times runs out while also navigating their undercover fake relationship that is becoming all too real.

When a terrorist attack grips the nation, Luke Steele, a military aide to the president of the United States, is reassigned to track down the suspect because the alleged bomber was spotted wearing a state championship ring from Luke’s hometown. Luke has desperately tried to forget his high school years, but he can’t run from them now. Instead, he must face his most formidable assignment yet: leave his post by the president’s side, return to Pine Falls, Virginia, and face every demon from his childhood—including every person and every thought that told him he wasn’t worth anything.

FBI Special Agent Amberlyn Reiner has spent years tracking domestic terrorism. When she catches a break that could pinpoint the key player in the antigovernment group responsible for dozens of needless deaths, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the information she seeks—even if it means going undercover as Luke Steele’s plus-one at his high school reunion. Though Amberlyn found Luke arrogant and aloof during their time together at Quantico, it doesn’t take long for her to discover that there’s much more to him than she realized. But even as the line between fact and fiction in their relationship blurs, the countdown to danger accelerates. Time is running out, and with the threat of another terrorist attack looming, the stakes are higher than ever.

The Kremlin Conspiracy ~ Review

The Kremlin Conspiracy
By Joel C. Rosenberg

In 1999 a series of attacks on civilian apartments left Russia and her citizens in a panic. From this crisis, Aleksandr Luganov arose as the champion of the people taking leadership against these attacks and smoothing his path to leadership of the nation. It was during this time that Oleg Kraskin began his own rise within the Russian government because of his engagement with Luganov's daughter Marina.

Meanwhile in the United States Marcus Ryker was moving up in his own life after a few life-changing incidents. Military service, Secret Service, marriage to his childhood sweetheart Elena Garcia. When an attack by terrorist comes to the White House Marcus makes a name for himself that gains him national and international attention.

As the years pass the respective jobs both men have takes a toll on them both. As tensions mount, choices will have to be made - ones that could have far-ranging ramifications both personally, nationally, and globally.

As one of the characters says, quoting Solzhenitsyn, "In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousandfold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations." This is a bold statement that quite aptly describes the entirety of this book.

Can a good man or woman stand by when evil is being done and take no action to stop or right what is being done? This is the question that both Oleg and Marcus must decide for themselves. And what they decide will change everything for them both.

I really enjoyed this book once I was able to get into it. The early pages of the story just seemed to drag for me. But getting past the character introductions the action and the story seemed to read quicker. The author takes creative liberties with current events and creates a believable and entirely plausible story. 

I was provided a complimentary review copy of this book by Tyndale House Publishers with no expectations of a positive review ~ All opinions expressed are my own.


About the Book:

Everything he learned to protect our president, he must use to take out theirs.

With an American president distracted by growing tensions in North Korea and Iran, an ominous new threat is emerging in Moscow. A czar is rising in the Kremlin, a Russian president feverishly consolidating power, silencing his opposition, and plotting a brazen and lightning-fast military strike that could rupture the NATO alliance and bring Washington and Moscow to the brink of nuclear war. But in his blind spot is the former U.S. Secret Service agent, Marcus Ryker, trained to protect but ready to kill to save his country.

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