Reviewed by Alma Boucher for Readers' Favorite

Bucharest Legacy: The Rise of the Oligarchs is a political thriller by William Maz. CIA agent Bill Hefflin’s mission was to escort a KGB officer out of Romania. The mission went awry when Bill was suspected of being a KGB mole. The mole’s handler was a KGB agent known as Boris, the code name for Bill’s longtime KGB asset. This makes Bill the prime suspect for being the mole. Bill and his wife, a French intelligence agent, join forces to identify the real culprit. Bill was allowed the opportunity to prove his innocence by traveling back to Bucharest in Romania, where he was born. Bill had to find Boris and identify the mole, but Bill had a secret. Boris had been dead for more than a year, and Bill was the only one who knew.

Bucharest Legacy was a roller coaster ride involving the Cold War, spies, action, and betrayal. William Maz created a world of pursuit, deception, suspense, and intrigue. It was fast-paced, and the tension kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a spine-chiller of a read, and I could not put it down. I was intrigued from the outset and I just kept turning the pages, not knowing what to expect next. The twists and turns were captivating and engrossing. The characters were well-developed and authentic. Bill was resourceful and could easily adapt to any situation to carry out his duties. The story is excellently written, with a brief history of the story’s time frame and the prevailing political situation.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Aggressor is a work of fiction in the action-adventure, military, and thriller subgenres. It is the opening work to a new series of the same name and was penned by author FX Holden. Intended for mature adult readers owing to adult references including wartime violence, this intelligent technothriller gives us front-row seats to a terrifying conflict that could spark a war larger than the world has ever seen before. With China and Taiwan at the center of a maelstrom of political and international conflict, this near-future military tale explores the consequences of conflict from multiple viewpoints, from civilians to serving personnel and decision-makers who hold the lives of countless others in their hands.

Author FX Holden always knows how to craft a thrilling read, and this new series starts off with plenty of action, adventure, and thrilling scenes where the stakes could not be higher. Beyond this, there’s also a really intelligent level of plotting that takes a thread of terrifying realities that we currently face and pulls at them to create a nightmarish vision of things that could well come to pass in the future of our planet. It’s these sparks of realism that keep the story grounded, along with the sensitive and well-considered multi-perspective portrayal. I liked that this work didn’t just contain top minds and gung-ho action heroes but really showcased the hard work, dedication, terror, and hope of ordinary people caught up in unimaginable conflict. Overall, fans of the author will surely find Aggressor to be the best novel yet, and newcomers who love action-packed military thrillers are in for a treat.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Cold Peace: Bridge to Tomorrow is a work of fiction in the historical, interpersonal drama, and wartime fiction subgenres. It is best suited to the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Helena P. Schrader. In this highly immersive and engrossing historical tale, we find ourselves transported back to the post-war era following the Second World War. In Berlin, tensions run high as a cast of characters forms an air ambulance company, including female air traffic controllers and former RAF pilots. Carrying the scars of the last war with them, it’s not long before the threat of Stalin brews up trouble once more.

Author Helena P. Schrader has crafted a spellbinding work of historical fiction that brings a unique pocket of history to life with extraordinary detail and heart. I loved the premise and was so intrigued to learn about the Berlin Airlift, particularly through such a naturally told and engaging storyline that gives us all the richness of the period but never has a dull moment in the plot. I was particularly drawn to Kathleen Hart and her journey of self-discovery throughout the tale, but readers will all find different people to relate to as Schrader puts heart and soul into the dialogue and development of everyone from cover to cover. This keen sense of reality adds to the overall attitude of the piece, giving an authentic image of people caught in a very unsettling historical time. Overall, Cold Peace is a deeply engrossing novel that I would recommend to fans of military history, realistic drama, and suspense novels alike.

Reviewed by Saifunnissa Hassam for Readers' Favorite

Gabriel Farago's The Stolen Altarpiece is a psychological and suspense-filled thriller. Connecting ancient and modern times, this is the riveting tale of a quest to find a painting, an amulet, and an artifact, each of great religious and historical significance. The novel takes its inspiration from historical figures, events, and places. I liked the Author's Note, in which Gabriel Farago writes about current events, and how a Russian children's poem inspired him to write The Stolen Altarpiece. Jack Rogan is an acclaimed journalist and novelist who is drawn into a dangerous quest by a powerful adversary from the past. His enemy is a psychopath who will not hesitate to murder and manipulate people for his nefarious ends. Jack follows a trail of cryptic clues from Venice and on to other European cities. He must defeat his archenemy to keep his family and friends safe. The story twists and turns to the very end!

I greatly enjoyed Gabriel Farago's riveting The Stolen Altarpiece because of its remarkable character Jack Rogan and his extraordinary courage and love for his family and friends. I particularly liked the interweaving of the backstories of Jack and the other major characters into the quests. As I read the evocative and gripping descriptions, the characters sprang to life. I liked how Jack's dilemmas, fears, and hopes emerge throughout the story as he faces challenge after challenge from his malevolent and manipulative adversary. At the same time, Jack is committed to protecting his family and friends. I loved this intriguing multilayered story and how the complexity of human nature emerges through different characters, their actions, settings, and dialogues. Equally, I loved the details as Jack tracks the "journeys" of the historical artifacts, the different owners through time and geography, and of incomplete or lost records. Some of the most powerful and emotional moments were when Jack finds significant pieces of the puzzle. The Stolen Altarpiece is a fascinating, compelling, and thought-provoking historical crime mystery with extraordinary characters!

Reviewed by Grace Masso for Readers' Favorite

Girls, Crimes & the Ruling Body: A Novel by Barry R. Ziman is an engaging story with interesting and well-developed characters. Ryan McNeil works in Albany for Assemblyman Somatos, a powerful politician. He has plans of getting married to the love of his life, but Ryan unwittingly witnesses the abduction of a legislative intern while flirting. Everything about his life unravels in a way he never could have imagined, with Caroline Tierney leaving him so suddenly that he does not even have the time to process what is happening, and his dreams of a political career are dashed against the rocks. After seven years, Ryan, now married to Annie, finds himself in an act of infidelity and witnesses another kidnapping of a woman in Virginia, and this time, he is a prime suspect. Follow him as he deals with a pathologically lying wife with whom he does not feel any emotional connection, and fights to prove his innocence while figuring out where Caroline, the love of his life, fits into the picture.

Girls, Crimes & the Ruling Body is an engaging story that follows characters readers will stick with from beginning to end, especially the protagonist, Ryan McNeil as his life is overturned again and again due to his sexual infidelities. He just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or does he? This novel is an emotional ride with a strong appeal to fans of thrillers, and it explores themes of power and the connection it has to sexual desires, infidelity, and marriage. It is revelatory of the base natures of humans, especially those of the ruling class, and it shows readers how power can be used to manipulate others. Barry R. Ziman has an extraordinarily brilliant talent when it comes to weaving complex plot points and characters that readers can easily identify with.

Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite

We witness a return to Liberia in West Africa as Daniel V Meier’s hero Ken Verrier and his wife Sam take a month’s trip to buy diamonds to finance their future back in the United States. The country is run by the descendants of people of color who had returned to Africa as free people, referred to as Americo-Liberians, who comprised the government and all services – in effect a ruling class. When the Verriers arrive, they are unaware of the tensions boiling below the surface. Since they are familiar with Liberia and the typical way of life in developing countries, Ken agrees to run the local aircraft hire company for an old and valued friend for a couple of months. In the following weeks, the only disruption is coping with Bao, their adopted monkey – the locals are eying up the bushmeat. But then the people rise up against William Tolbert’s government, and the killing begins.

In both books, The Dung Beetles of Liberia and this sequel, Blood Before Dawn, author Daniel V Meier captures the essence of Africa. It’s a continent that is both majestic and undeniably cruel. It’s the battlefield where the clash between foreign influence with western ideals of life and a fair standard of living, tribalism, lack of compassion, minimal sanctity of life, and belief in witchcraft meet and struggle. Meier throws the Americans into this mix, who are worried that either China or Russia is gaining inroads into an area they wish to influence, and this lights the touch paper to the revolution. No one is safe; men’s basest behaviors are unleashed, destroying lives and livelihoods.

The mindsets in developing countries are almost incomprehensible to anyone who has not lived there. I have enormous respect for this author who has drilled down to the truth and presented it as it is. The story itself takes the reader on a page-turning, fast-moving exciting ride, and I found myself holding my breath as I flew through the chapters. I can’t recommend it highly enough. As I wrote in my review for book one in the series, this is another read that will stay with me for years to come.

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

The Accidental Oligarch: A Ukrainian Saga by David Hoffman is a suspense novel revolving around a twenty-eight-year-old male protagonist named Yuri Yavlinsky, a Kyiv Zoo employee who, within moments of being first on the chopping block of the now underfunded zoo, is summoned to the Ukrainian tax court. He's broke, his great-grandmother is infirm, his sister has resorted to taboo money-making, and his stepfather is a violent brute. Meanwhile, an opioid kingpin is living off the fat trimmed from a government his money influences, which has the unfortunate side effect of starving out the other 99%. People like Yuri. But Yuri is about to have his day in court and our new proverbial David kicks off a high-stakes undercover war against an entire political system built by the richest and most powerful Goliaths.

There's so much to love about The Accidental Oligarch that it's hard to know where to start. It's undeniable kismet that David Hoffman's fast-paced underdog thriller landed in my lap the day after video footage was released incriminating a real person named in this fictional book. Somewhere out there Oscar Wilde is clapping enthusiastically. Yuri is a likable character in a hierarchy of unlikeable people. We get to know both good and bad intimately with Hoffman swapping points of view between characters and allowing us into rooms we have no business being in. The writing is tidy and the tension is thick, but the best part is how Hoffman structures the uprising of everyday people against a backdrop of escalating conflict with a hostile Russia, on a worldwide stage, culminating with the invasion of Crimea. Spectacular. Truly.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

In the center of a well-executed blend of modern politics, media power, self-serving motivations, coverups, murder, and gun violence, author Mikael Carlson has placed a couple of female protagonists; journalist Tierra Campos and FBI Special Agent Victoria Larsen. Tierra's and Victoria’s paths intersect when they realize they are both looking for the same thing: the motivation behind a mass murder, something neither law enforcement nor the FBI ever established. Was the truth covered up? If so, by whom and why? And then there’s the media darling, gun-control activist and speaker, Ethan Harrington. How did he, covered in blood but unscathed, manage to escape the gunman’s killing spree? Why are there no video recordings of the event? And why is he now the spokesperson for a powerful female senator, Alicia Standish, who hopes to win the presidency with her gun-control bill? As Tierra and Victoria dig deeper for information and begin discovering startling truths, their individual careers are threatened but, worse yet, their own lives are in danger. When a state governor who is pro gun control, is gunned down during a rally, all hell breaks loose. The events, the people involved and the suspected coverups trigger a media frenzy, catapulting Justifiable Deceit to its brilliant, hoped-for ending.

I’m not all that sure if the word “unputdownable” has made it into the dictionary yet, but honestly, it’s the best word to describe my reaction to Justifiable Deceit by Mikael Carlson. What a riveting and unique read this is. From its heart-stopping introductory chapter in which a crazed high school student goes on a shooting spree leaving 66 people dead to its most satisfying last pages, this book kept me so enthralled I read it in just over 48 hours. Unputdownable! Carlson’s stylistic approach to this novel is intriguing: in short chapters with lots of dialogue, he skips around between the characters so readers can see more closely into their minds and motivations, but always giving us just enough to keep us reading...and do we ever. He slows the pace every so often to give us an Edward R Morrow look into what’s happening. By doing so, Justifiable Deceit reflects what is probably a daily activity for most of us: catching up with the latest news and insights, shaking our heads at what we read and hear, and always wondering just how much of it should we believe. There are many words to describe Justifiable Deceit: high-speed, riveting, realistic, and thought-provoking. But the best word is still “unputdownable”!

Reviewed by Jennie More for Readers' Favorite

Final Table: A Novel by Dan Schorr is an international political crime novel told from the perspectives of the Canadian Ambassador Jacques Bouchard, a former White House official, Maggie Raster, activist Priya Varma, and a broke divorcee and gambler, Kyler Dawson. Upon the death of investigative journalist Emily Kinum, these people’s lives unexpectedly connect, subtly unraveling the issue of sexual harassment. The novel explores how sexual harassment plays out daily in most interactions, with the perpetrators and even the victims unaware of the imminent violation of boundaries. Schorr explores issues related to sexual harassment, including reputation, financial stability, public obliteration via social media, and its impacts on the mental and even physical wellbeing of the recipients of these attacks. This is a subtle portrayal of these pressing issues of our time, yet the message is clear, direct, and unavoidable.

Reading Final Table was like watching a movie about the White House. I could vividly see every character in front of me throughout the novel, and I felt their misery and joy. The characters whom Dan Schorr chose to focus on came alive in the novel, especially Maggie Raster and Kyler Dawson. I could relate to many real-life scenarios in this novel where successful women are often sexualized by both successful and unsuccessful men. The book portrays instances where women refuse to believe other women’s claims of sexual harassment. In some cases, men assume that because they like a woman, the woman should naturally be interested, and thus don’t request permission to pursue further contact. Schorr delves deeply into the many nuanced ways sexual harassment plays out in society and its devastating consequences for both men and women.

Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite

What if there was a conspiracy to rig the next national elections in the United States and elect a man who was prepared, even eager, to use nuclear weapons to regain America’s dominant place in the world? This is the basis of Don Helin’s book Missing. Zack Kelly returns to his hometown for a class reunion. One of his old schoolfriends dies in his arms before the event even starts. All too soon, the FBI, the local police, and the CIA are all involved in the case, which appears to reach the very highest levels. A break-in at a professor’s house in Fairfax is at first unconnected with a company owning and running five old age homes where the dementia wards are off-limits to everyone. A series of kidnappings, all of the personnel involved in the vote-counting procedures, and suspicions run high. Zack meets up with several old colleagues with whom he’s worked before, one of them going undercover, and together, they begin to peel back the levels of conspiracy and corruption.

Missing by Don Helin is a fast-moving, page-turning thriller set in the halls of power in the United States. There is a large cast of characters working together in teams which is refreshing and more realistic than one hero who accomplished everything by himself. There are several threads to the story as different teams investigate diverse aspects of the high-level conspiracy, but that did not detract from me thoroughly enjoying the story. The pace was excellent, it was almost believable, and I loved the way the teams all worked together to unravel the corruption crisscrossing locations and events. The dialogue flowed naturally and matched the speakers. There was a strong characterization of the villains as well, not that any of them had many redeeming features. I thought the idea of twins providing alibis for each other was clever, and then there was an extra twist to that as well. A tissue might be recommended for the last couple of pages. A good, satisfying read.