Reviewed by Natasha Jackson for Readers' Favorite

David Bishop has managed to combine two of my favorite elements, politics and puzzles, into one thrilling read! The First Lady’s Second Man is the story of Linda Darby and how she ends up in the middle of a life or death scandal. You see, Linda has been charged with a pretty awful task, one that she wouldn’t even entertain as a possibility - unless of course a child’s life wasn’t on the line. She desperately needs her on-again, off-again sexy man of mystery Ryan Teslar, but he’s off in some dark and dangerous part of the world. On top of all this, Linda has to deal with an actual proposal from a man who wants her to move to the middle of the country while she’s struggling to give up her life on the coast. And those are just the details I can give you without ruining this incredible thrill ride of a story!

The First Lady’s Second Man is about just what you’d expect; the woman behind the man has a man of her own. That alone was so salacious I knew I had to give David Bishop’s writing a try. It isn’t just the action that unfolds, it’s the writing style that pulls you right into the story and drops you smack in the center of political intrigue, assassinations and secret missions in the Middle East. You get several stories in one and, when they converge, the excitement reaches a fever pitch that will have you gripping your e-reader in anticipation. It’s hard to find good politically based novels, and as a fan of the genre I held my breath and hoped for the best. David Bishop more than met my expectations.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

When Bill and Cheryl Parker are visited by an aggressive reporter who has recognized them from news footage of an earthquake on Molokai, their idyllic, love-filled lives are turned upside down and inside out by more than the earthquake in this riveting political thriller, The Quiet Coup by Rob Lubitz. Imagine, if you will, suddenly beginning to wonder if you really are who you think you are, and finding out after some research, that you aren't Bill and Cheryl Parker. Worse yet, that you might have been a porn star in some life you cannot remember at all. How could such a thing happen? And suddenly, after you've told the rude reporter to get lost, all hell breaks loose. Someone tries to kidnap you both. When you try to get away, you find yourself being charged for trying to escape in restricted areas at an airport. As you frantically rush to solve the riddle of a past you can't remember, you are plunged into a terrifying trip across the mainland where those trying to protect you end up dead and where, to protect yourself, you also murder the assassin sent to "erase" you.

Wow! Talk about an exciting thriller. The Quiet Coup is anything but a quiet read. The tension builds chapter after chapter and the reader is swept along in a tale that seems unbelievable, but is actually based on a very real probability...that of a drug so strong that it can wipe out all memories and leave only those planted by powerful people using the drug for political reasons. Most of the action is set in the US and digs into the deception and intrigue that no doubt does take place in the upper levels of the government and CIA. The drug component is based, as Rob Lubitz tells us in the afterword, on "Project MKUltra," "a secret and illegal CIA program that used drugs and hypnosis to manipulate mental states and brain functions" back in the fifties, but was exposed in 1975. Apparently, information on Project MKUltra is available on the internet if you wish to research it. How does the reader know that the tale Rob Lubitz has woven here and the implications he's made about how things work in the government, Department of Justice and CIA aren't all just the figments of a creative mind? One only has to read his bio: this author has worked for years in those upper levels. He is a criminal justice expert and has been quoted many times in major newspapers.

It's exciting and fulfilling to read fiction like The Quiet Coup that moves at such a fast pace it's impossible to put down, and yet realize that what you're reading is entirely possible, even probable. There were two previous books in this series that will fill readers in on Bill and Cheryl's lives and how they ended up where we find them in the opening to this story. After reading The Quiet Coup, you will want to read those too. One of the most thrilling and fast reads I've ever had. Excellent writing, Rob Lubitz!

Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite

I knew where this story was going when I read the quote from the Quran on page five, right after the dedication. I love New Orleans. I grew up about a three-hour drive from there so I have visited often. Judith Lucci gets the feel of the city right in Viral Intent. Viral Intent starts in an emergency room and ends with a party. As you can imagine, that is one hell of a roller coaster ride. A ride that includes nurses, doctors, terrorist, cops, and politicians. I imagine this scenario has at least been thought about by a lot of nervous Americans concerned with the war on terror. Judith Lucci has created a thrilling suspense novel based on the possibility that the next time terrorists decide to target the United States, they will use something a little subtler than airplanes, guns, or bombs. A great idea.

I liked Viral Intent. I especially liked that Judith Lucci got the setting right. She put us there in a big hospital and the hospital scenes were well written and very tense. Judith also got the police and terrorists right, and having terrorists who are international students studying at an American university is a timely detail with the current public discussion on immigration and one candidate’s idea to ban all Muslim entry into our great country. With a great plot and lots of interesting characters, I found Viral Intent hard to put down. If you love terrorist stories, politics, or medical drama, then this is definitely the book for you.