Thriller Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Back to Serve by CW3 Cesare Giannetti

Author and decorated veteran CW3 Cesare Giannetti U.S. Army (Ret.) draws readers into a fascinating crucible of loyalty, war, family, and self-determination in Back to Serve: Return of a Soldier.

Written as a fictional memoir of the similarly-named Captain Nico Corretti, the novel no doubt reflects the author’s own experience, but it is intriguingly woven together with the elements of a thriller. It is unusual for a military story to begin with the protagonist retiring from service, but Captain Corretti’s respite is short-lived, as his loyalty and willingness to sacrifice are endless. With a mother who died when he […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-16T11:34:04+02:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Military Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Caribbean Counterstrike by Edward M. Hochsmann

The USCG Kauai and its crew are back for another fast-paced thriller in Caribbean Counterstrike by Edward M. Hochsmann, the second installment of his Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures series.

Fresh off their lethal drug ring battle a few months earlier, the cutter has been quietly promoted to perform sensitive missions under the Director of National Intelligence, thanks to its elite crew. Their latest assignment brings them into even more dangerous waters, where they hunt down a murderous drug cartel boasting biochemical weapons, along with an international crime syndicate that knows how to hold a grudge. The rugged crew returns for […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-08T06:49:18+02:00June 7th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Action and Adventure Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Dagger Quest by Edward M. Hochsmann

Submerging readers in the octane-fueled action of America’s coastal military, Dagger Quest by Edward M. Hochsmann is a highly entertaining cross between a seafaring adventure and a high-stakes military drama.

When a suspected drug-running ship is found destroyed in Cuban waters, Ben Wyporek, the Executive Officer of a Coast Guard cutter, is plunged into an international quagmire of missiles, secrets, and organized crime. Though the nuclear premise is exciting enough, the more interesting tension of the novel comes from the richly penned cast, with their interpersonal struggles, romances, bruised egos, and conflicting philosophies of leadership. The relationship between Sam and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-08T06:52:19+02:00June 7th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Action and Adventure Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Myers by Jeff Lee

A gripping mystery that reveals its villain long before the final page, Myers by Jeff Lee is a character-driven thriller that exposes the grim repercussions of trauma and war, showing how the severe residual trauma and haunting memories of survivors can have their own terrible repercussions.

Plunging readers into a wind-blown, easily forgotten part of America, this novel is an exposé of violence, history, and family. The story pits two such souls against each other, the town’s police chief, Karl Myers, and Jerry Peterman – a soldier who never really stopped fighting, and who has forgotten any language but domination. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-15T04:47:13+02:00June 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: What Happens on Outlook by D.F. Nightshade

Examining human nature under a thrilling magnifying glass, D.F. Nightshade has constructed an incisive and powerful read in What Happens on Outlook. Peering into the lives of seven eccentric characters living on Outlook Street, each with a potential bullseye on their back, this slow-burning thriller is both entertaining and far outside the box.

Birdy is a new-age guru with an inexplicably smelly apartment and a lifestyle deemed too “rainbow” by the uptight members of the Committee. Sakamoto is an honest shopkeeper on Outlook Street with a remarkably even temper, despite being forced out of his space by ugly, unfair, and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-17T09:00:49+02:00May 25th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Dead Beckoning by Mike Cobb

Steeped in the charm, pace, and painful realities of a bygone era, Dead Beckoning by Mike Cobb is a stunning peek into late 19th century America, and the lives embroiled in a tragic mystery.

Baker Bass is a Georgia country boy with the heart of a gentleman, who finds himself in small-town high society thanks to the love of his life, Ella. His ambitions take their family to Atlanta, where they shift to being small fish in an ever-growing pond. Running a successful sundry shop in a Southern city is no easy feat, but when he is falsely fingered in […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-15T10:48:58+02:00May 16th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Cathedral by Ray Keating

A stellar depiction of time period and tension, Cathedral by Ray Keating is the bold opening hymn of his new Alliance of Saint Michael series.

During a religious conference at Georgetown University, Pastor Eric Meyer and Father Patrick O’Riley help to avert an assassination attempt by communist agents bent on curing the world of religious devotion. Their bravery doesn’t go unnoticed by powerful observers in the room, and they are soon recruited into service by the Alliance of Saint Michael – a secretive sect operating from within the Institute for Christian Life, History and Arts. Little do they know that […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-02T09:24:39+02:00May 12th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Rush by Cole Poindexter

The second in Cole Poindexter’s Parker Derrick series, Rush is a fast-moving crime thriller with a stellar female lead, which expands and improves on its predecessor.

This installment finds the Little Rock CSI protagonist called to a murder scene in a hotel where a note asks for her by name. When she realizes the murder victim is a private investigator she knew seven years back in Jasper when she was attacked, things get very strange. As Parker delves into the evidence, she finds herself being triggered, remembering details of her own experience that might just help with the current case.[…]

Cate Baum2022-05-05T08:11:08+02:00May 5th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|