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The Enigma Rising
The Enigma Rising, written by Charles V. Breakfield and Roxanne E. Burkey, is a modern-day techno thriller that explores a world of cyber crime, kidnappings, and drug cartels. R Group, is a contract team,who provides intel to businesses and is hired to find a missing heiress. Their lives collide with former drug traffickers turned money launderers in an unexpected meeting of fate. Here they must learn whether they can work together to uncover intelligence through the deep underworld of cyber crime.
The Enigma Rising begins with a concerned father Thiago meeting with his head of security team to discuss finding his missing daughter Lara. The novel then turns back to 8 months prior to the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico where two brothers Juan and Carlos and a group called the “On Brothers” are meeting together to collect a mysterious shipment. This is where the novel kick starts the action with missing drugs and carefully curated criminal plans and soon spirals into a world of technology.
Drug rings, drug trafficking, and crafty criminals all band together to make up this technology thriller. At times the story has a James Bond feel except you are following the crooks rather than the authorities. Then the R Group enter the plot line. Their code of conduct is based on “maintaining the balance of power for economic and human conservancy” and throughout history, they have protected businesses and thwarted evil. This unit has been hired to help find Lara and will follow clues and a data trail in hopes of finding the missing heiress. The action is intense, the suspense is high and you will visit a world where cyber crime is at its most elite.
Even though this novel is an action story, you would be mistaken in thinking it was all guns and car chases. Instead, the crime is clever, from people posing as model agents to a couple Petra and Jacob exploring their romance in the midst of digital security investigations. The dialogue is interesting, the crime intelligent and the characters complex.
Breakfield and Burkey’s manipulation of words creates beautiful imagery for the reader. From the first pages, you feel as though you are in a current of words that flow easily and naturally. At no time did the book feel jaded or stuck which meant I found myself glued to the plot line, eager to find out what happens. Breakfield and Burkey do a fantastic job of the novel with their quirky one-liners and clever plot line.
There are surprising romances within the plot line that at times take a front seat to the action chaos. Carlos and Simone become an unlikely duo whose relationship begins with Carlos meeting Simone as she waits to appear in an adult photo shoot. From here it becomes a whirlwind romance and I enjoyed watching the two characters develop and interact with one another.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a clever action novel with a dash of lust, cyber crime, and mystery.
Pages: 324 | ASIN: B00HVCU3JS
The President’s Fixer
Igor Komarov works directly for the Russian President. His job is to take covert action against people the Russian President deems to be enemies of the state. Komarov is tasked to locate and retrieve a piece of software that has the potential to start another cold war. The software was developed using the latest quantum computers and can hijack and destroy any computer around the world. To get the job done Komarov must lose all connection to the Russian government and team up with the Russian mafia. Komarov and his mafia connections come up with a plan to steal the software, but before they can put their plan into action several other government agencies and mafia organizations are onto them. Now Komarov has to steal an advanced computer program off of a dangerous island while the NSA, GCHQ, and an ex-SAS operative tries to stop him.
The President’s Fixer is a fast paced action thriller that rivals Robert Ludlums Bourne series. The President’s fixer gets right into the action in the first dozen pages. The book opens with an assassination and from there it’s a lot of high stakes plot building that is cut up with short violent action scenes. I read this book all in one day because it was short and riveting. What I like about this book was that no one person seemed to be the bad guy; or doing evil things just to be evil. There was a purpose and direction behind everyone’s actions. I thought that Komarov would be the main character in the story, but he shares the spotlight with many other intriguing characters. My favorite character is the ex-SAS agent Tom Traynor. Quiet and calculating; he seems to be one that stands back, watches things unfold, and then acts with deadly precision when ready. I can’t wait to read more about Tom in the next book in the series. Many of the characters that are introduced are well trained deadly professionals and it was interesting to see them confront one another because when they are both after the same thing violence ensues and it’s entertaining to see which highly trained killer will come out on top.
The complex connections between people and places was interesting, but it was also something that was confusing at times. Because the book is so fast paced and condensed, and because there are several characters you have to keep track of, it gets a little difficult to follow along with who is doing what for which reasons. And because it was the thing that all the characters were after, I wish there was more technical description of how the quantum software was developed.
The President’s Fixer is a fast paced espionage thriller that doesn’t disappoint. Be warned, you will definitely want to read the next book in the series after you read this. Action packed, riveting, engaging and I can’t wait to read more.
Pages: 127 | ISBN: 9781310408519
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