Review of The Russian Endgame by Allan Topol

The Russian Endgame is the third and last book in the Craig Page trilogy. Craig Paige is the Director of EU Counterterrorism who is out to get revenge on Chinese General Zhou. He is also trying to stop a former KGB agent by the name of Dmitri Orlov who is trying to assassinate the President of the United States.  

Orlov is a man with connections and good fortunate and among his connections are General Zhou and Russian President Kuznov.  He wants Kuznov and Zhou to assist his efforts in an alliance against America between Russian and China.

At the beginning of the novel, Craig Page is trying to extradite General Zhou to Spain to stand trial. In the second book of the Craig Paige trilogy, Zhou tried to overthrow Spain’s government.   Unfortunately, there is no extradition treaty to back up Paige so he gets a team together and they work to kidnap Zhou and bring him back to Spain.    General Zhou is able to elude Paige and Paige decides that now is the time to get revenge on Zhou for murdering Paige’s daughter, Francesca.  In the process of trying to do so, he finds himself dealing with a threat on the U.S. President’s life and trying to prevent Orlov from gaining advanced military technology.

The Russian Endgame concludes the Craig Paige trilogy.  Allan Topol has pulled together a roller coaster of a thriller just for the occasion which I swear will keep you at the edge of your seat.  The story takes place in several parts of the world: Washington, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Bali and Indonesia.

If you love political thrillers filled with espionage, The Russian Endgame is the perfect book for you.  You can enjoy it even if you have not read the first two Craig Paige novels: The China Gambit and The Spanish Revenge.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allan Topol is a national bestselling author whose novels have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Hebrew.  He is a graduate of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and has a degree in law from Yale.  He also works as an attorney for a Washington law firm.  For more about Allan Topol, please visit is website at www.allantopol.com. 

I did not receive any compensation for this review. I did, however, receive a free copy for my review from Tracy at Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc.

Review of Saving Paradise by Mike Bond

Special Forces veteran, Pono Hawkins, now known surfer and writer for surfing magazines, finds a mysteriously drowned journalist on the beach of Waikiki, Hawaii. Sylvia Gordon’s murder intrigues him and he is head strong on finding out how she died.   Pono is also haunted by his memories in Afghanistan and is determined to keep dirty politics out of the place he now calls home.

What Pono finds out is very disturbing. The reporter was on her way to exposing a billion dollar taxpayer funded scam that includes powerful corporations, corrupt politicians, and foreign killers.  Pono feels like he is in Afghanistan all over again but instead of drug lords, he is fighting dirty politics and crooked corporations.

Saving Paradise paints a beautiful picture of what Pono calls the seamy side of paradise with an exciting page turner of lies, murder and corrupt politics.  

Mike Bond is a bestselling author and an adviser to the US and foreign governments.  He is also a human rights and war correspondence, an award winning poet and internal energy expert. His books are often based on his own experiences in dangerous regions of the world. You can find more about Mike Bond at his website.

Saving Paradise is available at your local bookstore and online at:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

I did not receive any compensation for this review. I did, however, receive a free copy for my review from Alissa at Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc.

Review of Accused (Rosato & Associates #12) by Lisa Scottoline

Accused: A Rosato & Associates Novel 

by Lisa Scottoline

Publication Date: October 29, 2013

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

ISBN-10: 1250027659

ISBN-13: 9781250027658

I received this superb audiobook from Macmillan Audio. It is Lisa Scottline’s newest Rosato & Associates mystery.

The Novel

Accused is about Attorney Mary DiNunzio, who is now a partner at Rosato and Associates, a law firm with a cast of other pleasant ladies who are not only her colleagues but her also her friends.  Mary is hired by 13 year old Allegra Gardner to find out who really killed her sister, Fiona. Allegra believes the wrong man is in prison for her sister’s murder.

I absolutely loved Mary’s character.  She is quiet, down to earth, and wears her heart on her sleeve. She also carries guilt like she does her brief case or purse. She has the stereotypical Italian parents – a loud father and a mother who thinks the world can be cured with food and prayer. Mary also has three surrogate uncles who are her family’s closest friends. The three Tonys are delightful group of old men. Pigeon Tony, Tony from down the block and Tony Two Feet are constantly getting into all kinds of good natured trouble but Mary couldn’t imagine her life without them.

The story starts with a congratulatory party being held for Mary for her promotion by Bennie Rosato, the firm’s lead partner.   At her party are her co-workers, including her best friend, Judy, her parents, the Tonys and her boyfriend, Anthony. The party is cut short when they receive a phone call that a member of the Gardner family, a wealthy and prestigious Philadelphia family, wants to hire them.

Thirteen year old Allegra may be young but she is a genius who is dead set on solving her sister’s murder and is adamant that the man in prison is innocent. Her parents, Jane and John, will try to stand in her way.  Their intentions are pure as they do not want to open up any old wounds. They want their daughter to move on but don’t yet realize they, too, have not moved on.

Mary believes Allegra despite overwhelming evidence that Allegra may have mental health issues.  The case and her personal concern for her client create a wedge between Judy and her. The case also brings back some bad memories for Mary and when Anthony asks her to marry him, she finds herself even more overwhelmed. Like the Gardeners, Mary has not moved on from the murder of her first husband.

Mary fights zealously for her client but she soon finds this may cost her life.  Mary thinks she may know who actually killed Fiona but that miscalculation nearly sways her away from the real killer.  Figuring out the killer is will leave the reader at the edge of their seat until the very end.  And the killer is right under Mary’s nose and that discovery will shake the entire Gardner family.  

The Author

Lisa Scottoline is a New york Times bestselling author of 21 novels, including Accused.  She has 30 million copies of her books in print and they have been published in over 35 countries.  She lives in Philadelphia and was once a practicing lawyer, and a single mother.  You can read more about Lisa at her website.  

Purchasing Accused

You can purchase Accused through Amazon and other online retailers and book stores.

I did not receive compensation for this review.  I did, however, receive a free audiobook for my review.