The God’s Eye View by Barry Eisler

Blurb:

Knowledge is power…and they know everything.

NSA director Theodore Anders has a simple goal: collect every phone call, email, and keystroke tapped on the Internet. He knows unlimited surveillance is the only way to keep America safe.

Evelyn Gallagher doesn’t care much about any of that. She just wants to keep her head down and manage the NSA’s camera network and facial recognition program so she can afford private school for her deaf son, Dash.

But when Evelyn discovers the existence of an NSA program code-named God’s Eye, and connects it with the mysterious deaths of a string of journalists and whistle-blowers, her doubts put her and Dash in the crosshairs of a pair of government assassins: Delgado, a sadistic bomb maker and hacker; and Manus, a damaged giant of a man who until now has cared for nothing beyond protecting the director.

Within an elaborate game of political blackmail, terrorist provocations, and White House scheming, a global war is being fought—a war between those desperate to keep the state’s darkest secrets and those intent on revealing them. A war that Evelyn will need all her espionage training and savvy to survive. A war in which the director has the ultimate informational advantage: The God’s Eye View.

About the Author:

I've been blessed with a variety of interesting jobs: a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations (now called the National Clandestine Service); attorney in an international law firm; in-house counsel at the Osaka headquarters of Panasonic; executive in a Silicon Valley technology startup.

But the best job by far has been novel writing—political thrillers, as it happens—with a lot of realistic action, exotic locations, and steamy sex. My agency training, my time as a lawyer, my experiences in Japan, and a background in martial arts all inform my writing. I get a lot of my material from actual US government craziness (assassinations, torture, indefinite imprisonment, bulk surveillance...you know, everything needed these days to Keep Us Safe). As I like to say, what's bad for America is good for thriller writers.

A lot of what I've speculated about turns out to be true: the kill list, or "International Terrorist Threat Matrix," I introduced in 2004 in Winner Take All, for example, came to light in 2012 and 2013 as the "Disposition Matrix," courtesy of the Obama administration. The safety shortcomings of Japanese nuclear reactors I described in 2003 in A Lonely Resurrection were documented following the 2011 Fukushima catastrophe. And the pacemaker hack that kicked off my first book—A Clean Kill in Tokyo, in 2002—turns out to have been a real concern of Dick Cheney's, as revealed in his memoirs (it also turned up in the second season of Homeland).

The books have won a bunch of awards and made various "Best of" lists, which is nice. My first book—A Clean Kill in Tokyo, which introduced "natural causes" assassin John Rain--was made into a Japanese language movie called Rain Fall a few years back. The whole Rain series is now being developed for television by Cinemax, with Keanu Reeves starring. Hope to have some updates on that reasonably soon.

If you want to follow what I'm up to beyond the books, Twitter's a good bet--@barryeisler. And then there's Facebook; the mailing list you can find on my website; and my blog, The Heart of the Matter.

Review by Rochelle:

The God’s Eye View was another page-burner that kept me from my “real work.” I just thank the Goddess it wasn’t the week I had to do the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter. February is short enough as it is. It also kept me awake. I’m a night person to begin with, and page-burners don’t help. Thanks for a few sleepless nights, Mr. Eisler. I enjoyed every minute of them!

Evelyn would have been just fine if she mentioned to Director Anders that it was such a coincidence certain people happened to die when they did. Unfortunately, she poked a pile of fur without quite realizing it was a bear. Prior to that, her biggest worry had been keeping her nice, secure job. Now she had to worry about keeping her life.

With deeply-drawn characters and a fast-paced plot, make sure you have plenty of time before you pick up The God’s Eye View. Don’t read it when you have to be anywhere or get up early, and be sure you line up enough food for the duration. You won’t be able to put it down. Oh, hi NSA. Have a nice day, guys.

Author Website:  http://barryeisler.blogspot.com

Heat Rating:  R (Sex & Violence

Length:  417 Pages

Prices:

Print:

Hardcover:  $14.95

Paperback:  $10.86

Digital:  $5.99

MP3 CD:  $9.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Eye-View-Barry-Eisler-ebook/dp/B00XT47SOK/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Thanks for visiting.

Global Predator by Jack MacLean

Blurb:

As the CIA’s drones hunt for Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the Al Qaeda leader, in Pakistan’s northwest frontier, a British aid worker is seized by the local Taliban. Sally’s ex-boyfriend, Wilkins, is on the run after scamming his London bank. Now he finds himself reluctantly caught up in an armed raid to rescue Sally as the Taliban takes a school of girls hostage. As the net closes in on Wilkins has to find a way to save himself and the woman he loves.

Review by Rochelle Weber:

First, I feel as though the blurb is misleading.  Wilkins is a greedy, selfish man who uses his ex-girlfriend, Sally, to hide him after he’s ripped off the bank for which he works.  When he decides to go to Pakistan and help her with the charity schools for girls she runs, it’s not because he loves her and has missed her; it’s because he figures he can disappear there and not be extradited, even if someone does manage to find him.

When he gets there, he supports both Sally’s schools and the local war lord who has ties to the Taliban and Al Qaeda—the latter to save his own skin.  He pretends to convert to Islam for the same reason.  Throughout the book, every move Wilkins makes is fueled by one aim—to escape alive with his ill-gotten gains.  It’s only at the very end of the book that he finally decides he cares enough about Sally to save her, and even then he does so by condemning his former co-worker and co-conspirator to death at the hands of Al Qaeda.  I did not like this man and only kept reading because I cared about Sally and the CIA’s quest to take out the Al Qaeda leader responsible for implementing the 9/11 attacks on the USA.

I didn’t forget there’s a second.  I suspect this book was self-published.  When I saw all of the editing errors, I gave the author the benefit of the doubt since I was reading what I was fairly certain was an Advanced Review Copy.  But then when I transferred the blurb, I noticed grammar errors there and wondered.  So, I went to Amazon and compared the “Look Inside” sample and found the same errors.  The book is rife with them.  They are glaring and distracting.  It’s not just a matter of British usage versus US usage.  I’m a Britophile.  I watch as much British TV on PBS and BBC America as I do US TV, and at a car show I asked the owner of a classic car whether it had a rumble seat or a boot.  I also know the difference between US and British spelling.

And…I know when the number or tense of a subject and verb should agree, and when extra words should have been removed in the rewrite.  And I could tell Mr. MacLean a thing or two about the overuse of the phrase “began to.”  Don’t just “begin to.”  DO it!  Use an active verb, and shoot the guy; don’t begin to shoot!  It’s weak and wordy.

Yeah, I’m a tough audience.  But really; if you’re self-publishing, hire an editor.  And if you’re editing, buy a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style and read it.  And then find some books on strong writing versus weak and wordy writing and read them.  Do your authors a favor and edit their books.  Thanks for letting me vent.

Length:  269 Pages

Kindle Price:  2.51

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Global%20Predator%20%2B%20Jack%20MacLean

Thanks for visiting. Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle

K9 Blue: Ground Zero by Matt McCredie

Blurb:

Police dog handler Mike Winters and his furry partner Falcon love a good chase. They’ll do anything to protect the streets of Sydney, whether it’s tracking a murderer through the woods or breaking up a bar brawl. It’s all fun and games until the bad guy gets hurt. And then it’s just fun.

Lately though, it seems that violent incidents are on the rise. When Mike and Falcon’s beloved commander is killed in action, Mike is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice, but he has no idea just how deep this malevolent plot runs. A terrorist organisation has devised a plan to attack the city from all sides, and they have taken over a refueling ship in Sydney Harbour.

Mike and Falcon must use all of their wit and courage to battle the killers, expose police corruption, and, if they’re lucky, save a city from obliteration.

Review:

I love animals as long as they have legs, but I especially love furry ones. And I deeply respect Service Animals, especially the ones who put their lives on the line along with their partners—Police and War Dogs. So how could I resist a book about a K-9 Officer and his four-legged partner? With Australia on my bucket list, what could be better than a book about an Aussie K-9 team?

The time during which this book takes place, however, would not be the best time to visit Sydney. Try as they might, Mike and Falcon are unable to stop the entire terrorist attack on their beloved city. There are only two of them and they can’t be everywhere at once stopping a multi-pronged attack. But, they’re in the thick of it, and between Mike’s quick thinking and Falcon’s iron jaws they give a pretty good account of themselves.

Mr. McCredie, the dog on your book cover caught my attention. Your excellent writing kept it. The only reason I did not give you five stars is that your editor needs to go back to school and learn a bit more basic grammar. I would have expected better from a major publisher like HarperCollins. I received this book from NetGalley. Was it a proof copy? Were some of the glitches I noticed caught and fixed before the actual release? I fervently hope so.

Length:  241 Pages

Digital Price:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/K9-Blue-Ground-Matt-McCredie-ebook/dp/B00HTTGAJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405544387&sr=8-1&keywords=k9+blue+ground+zero

Thanks for visiting. Rose, Julie & Rochelle

A Saint’s Salvation by Beverly Ovalle

Blurb:

Corporal Nicholas “Saint” Santiago needs to go home to reclaim the man he used to be—the man he was before Operation Enduring Freedom hardened his heart. He needs to reconnect to the values and the reasons he does what he does. Saint also needs to try to forget the courageous woman he knows was meant to be his.

Petty Officer Angelina Jones' life changed the moment Saint saved it. She survived the blast, but now has to deal with the fact she’ll never be whole. Knowing Saint received a “Dear John” letter, Angelina has no intention to be his rebound romance. She needs to be loved for herself. She needs to forget about the one man she knows was meant to be hers.

They each try to find someone to help them forget.

But what does fate have planned for them?

Review:

Okay, prejudice rears its head here again.  I confess, a book about a Marine and the Hospital Corpsman in his unit would have to be pretty bad for me not to like it.  After all, I was a Hospital Corpsman who fell in love with a sailor.  But, Ms. Ovalle not only gave us a pair of courageous service people to admire, a romance to cry over, and a bit of steamy sex to spice up the pages, she did so in a way that grabbed me on the first page and held my attention right through the last tear.  She didn’t even distract me with any glaring grammar errors.

Ms. Ovalle—we apparently don’t live too terribly far apart.  If you ever find yourself at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Illinois next to Great Lakes on a Monday or Thursday, please stop by the My Health eVet kiosk in the pharmacy area and say hi.  That’s where I volunteer twice a week to give back what I can to those who served in combat while I enjoyed my duty in Oakland, California and at Pearl Harbor, Hawai’i.

Length: 61 Pages

Price:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=824&zenid=0273b80c166317bb654c8145d5a109c2

You’ll notice I always include the publisher’s buy link.  That’s because authors usually receive 40% of the book price from the publisher.  Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%.  When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left.  So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40.  If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.

Downloading the file from your computer to your Kindle is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive.  Plug the USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from your “Downloads” box to your Kindle/Documents/Books directory.  I actually download my books using “Save As” to a “Books” file I created on my computer that’s sorted by my publisher, friends, and books “to review,” and then transfer them to my Kindle from there.  That way, if there’s a glitch with my Kindle, the books are on my computer.  Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Rose & Rochelle