Blog Archives
Avenue for an Assassin
Avenue for an Assassin is a political thriller set in the tense years after World War II. It follows Jonas Shaw, an ex-detective and former protector of Winston Churchill, as he is pulled into a shadowy plot that begins with a mysterious shooting on a rural French road. From that moment, the story widens into a web of money couriers, Soviet operatives, Resistance veterans, and a looming operation that threatens to destabilize nations. The book blends espionage, murder, and international maneuvering, and it moves with all the confidence of a classic suspense novel.
Author Steve Haberman writes with a steady hand. His pacing is unhurried in a way that works well because the world he builds is thick with history and personal ghosts. Jonas, especially, carries that weight. I found myself liking him for his rough honesty and the way he constantly wrestles with past mistakes. Sometimes the plot dips into long explanations, but I didn’t mind because it is intriguing and immersive from the first few chapters.
What struck me most was the author’s choice to weave major historical power players into a thriller that still feels intimate. The Soviet angle, the old Resistance networks, the sense that Europe is still picking up its broken pieces, these textures give the book more depth than I first expected. Natasha, the operative driven by the shadow of her father, is unsettling and fascinating all at once. Haberman doesn’t romanticize espionage; he shows it as shabby apartments, bad meals, coded newspaper ads, and people who are just trying to survive the next move on a dangerous chessboard. Sometimes the scenes feel almost cinematic; other times they feel like the quiet hum of a city at midnight, when the wrong knock on the door can derail everything.
By the end, I felt Avenue for an Assassin more than delivered everything a good thriller should: tension, atmosphere, flawed people trying their best, and a mystery that slowly sharpens into something frighteningly believable. If you enjoy historical thrillers, Cold War setups, or stories where everyday streets hide dangerous secrets, this one will be right up your alley. It’s a great pick for readers who like their suspense grounded and their characters complicated, and who don’t mind taking the long way around as the story unfolds.
Pages: 221 | ASIN : B0GF9C3454
Be Aware, Be Ready
To Slaughter a Camel follows a nurse practitioner whose loyalty is tested when she is suddenly pulled into the shadow world of US Intelligence. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’ll try to give you the short version.
Erika, my protagonist, was featured in my first novel, Topeka ma’shuge, a dark coming of age story. She survived her journey to adulthood, the novel concludes open-ended, but by that time I think I was a little in love with her; she hung around in the back of my mind, always asking me, “What about the rest of my life?”
I’ve known many military personnel in my life, and a handful from the clandestine services. I was aware of the role of being a medical provider embedded with clandestine operators, and the risks they faced, lacking the necessary warrior training to deal with the casualties when a mission goes terribly wrong.
Erika is isolated and looking for a sense of family; her decision to join the CIA is impulsive after the death of her best friend, but she already has unwittingly qualified for the position. It was only natural at that point, as in may thrillers and mysteries, to plop her in a catastrophe she wasn’t prepared for.
What were some challenges you felt were important to defining your characters in this story?
Wellesley is a bit of a cliché, the paternal supervisor with best intentions for his staff. Or is he? He is a bit insular, with a past we suspect. Why is he single? Who is the young woman in the frame by his desk? He understands the real horrors that can occur in his trade, but he tries to protect his young recruit. Was this the best decision? He isn’t sure and asks himself this as she walks away. Adding depth, ambivalence, vices and virtues to a character make them far more credible, but it does require work to do so.
Defining Erika was far easier, her character developing in the first novel. I knew her like a sister. Even when a crisis appeared that I’d only just created, I already knew how she would react. Until she was raped. As a former ER doc I understood a little bit of this, but some extensive research into the psychology of being a survivor of such an event was required. And her ability to kill, instinctively, prudently, slowly grows as the story progresses. Pacing that progress was a challenge. Pacing her evolution from a transparent medical provider devoted to the truth, to understanding how essential lies and deception are to survival in the clandestine theatre, was also a challenge.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
“There are people in the world who will kill you for a pack of cigarettes,” Wellesley tells Erika; the warning intended for the reader as well. Don’t be paranoid, but be aware, be ready.
Perseverance in the face of adversity.
The value of patience, occasionally compassion, when one’s instincts tell you to act boldly.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
A love story set in the first few months after 9-11. Jack Welsley, GS-13 at Langley, is 42, recently divorced, depressed, facing alcoholism, when he falls in love with the 23 year-old daughter of his best friend. She is a medic, has finished a year of Linguistics, and is slated to deploy in Afghanistan as a first Lieutenant. I hope to have a rough draft by the end of 2026, but the research is going to be exhausting, to review every day in the first year of that war, and get all of the technicalities and logistics believably correct.
Erika will reappear in the next work after that, another espionage thriller.
Author Links: GoodReads
To Slaughter a Camel masterfully charts the journey of Erika Harder from a routine existence in Oregon to a perilous life filled with uncertainty and trepidation in Madrid. Bereaved and lonely, Erika finds solace in her work as a multi-lingual nurse practitioner. Her normalcy is shattered when her proficiency in Farsi piques the interest of the State Department’s Jack Wellesley, who persuades her to serve as a civilian contractor for the CIA.
Erika’s initial excitement at the prospect of a new chapter in her life quickly morphs into a nightmare when a mission in Madrid goes awry, resulting in the death of seven of her colleagues. The explosion at the CIA station leaves her stranded with Guneet Jodal, a hapless translator whose loyalties are suspect. Erika is caught in a maelstrom of danger, with no way out and no one to trust.
Hutson’s narrative is a riveting exploration of the human spirit’s ability to endure and overcome even the most devastating tragedies. Erika, the novel’s protagonist, is a compelling character. Despite her raw wounds, both emotional and physical, she demonstrates an impressive strength and resourcefulness that will inspire readers.
To Slaughter a Camel is a unique blend of suspense and emotional depth. Hutson skillfully intertwines Erika’s personal journey with the broader narrative of international intrigue, creating a story that is as thought-provoking as it is action-packed. With a plot that keeps readers on the edge of their seats and a heroine whose resilience is nothing short of inspiring, this novel is a must-read for those seeking a thrilling, yet emotionally resonant tale.
To Slaughter a Camel
The book follows Erika Harder, a nurse practitioner in Portland whose already-fractured life is blown open by violence, loss, and an unexpected pull into the shadow world of U.S. intelligence. What begins as a grounded portrait of hospital life and grief slowly widens into a story about recruitment, moral compromise, and what it costs to belong to something larger than yourself. The plot moves from commuter trains and emergency rooms into secret offices, covert stations, and overseas assignments, tracking Erika as she’s tested not just for skill, but for resilience and loyalty.
What struck me first was how tactile the writing feels. The author lingers on details that matter. The rhythm of a train over a bridge. The chaos of a trauma bay. The weight of a shoulder bag that carries memories. These moments give the book a lived-in quality that many thrillers skip over in favor of speed. Here, the pacing is deliberate at the start, and I appreciated that patience. It lets the emotional stakes settle before the story turns sharper and more dangerous. Erika’s grief isn’t rushed or dramatized. It just sits there, heavy and unresolved.
I also found the author’s choices around power and authority compelling, if sometimes unsettling. The intelligence apparatus is not romanticized. Recruiters are intrusive. Procedures are dehumanizing. Even the promise of purpose feels conditional. There’s an ongoing tension between being chosen and being consumed, and the book doesn’t pretend those are different things. The dialogue leans into cynicism, but it fits the world being built. This is an espionage novel that understands control as something exercised quietly, through access to records, language, and fear rather than heroics.
This isn’t a slick, globe-trotting spy fantasy. It’s slower, heavier, and more reflective than that. Readers who enjoy espionage thrillers with strong character work, especially those interested in the psychological cost of service and secrecy, will appreciate this book most. If you like your thrillers grounded in realism, morally gray, and shaped by interior struggle as much as external threat, To Slaughter a Camel is worth your time.
Pages: 360 | ASIN : B0DPLJ73MN
Community Resilience
Beneath the Rings follows a veteran journalist who finds herself in the middle of an international incident when twelve athletes vanish from the Olympic Village. The premise feels disturbingly plausible. How close did you want this world to feel to our present reality?
My goal in crafting the story arc was to root it somewhat realistically. The kidnapping of the twelve athletes harkens back to the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, where the Palestinian militant group Black September carried out a terrorist attack on the Israeli team, resulting in the deaths of 11 athletes and coaches. While the premise of this recurring seems disturbingly plausible, the level of security at the Olympic Games now versus 54 years ago does require the reader to somewhat suspend disbelief. The likelihood of an attack like the one carried out in Beneath The Rings happening today is pretty slim. But, I guess you never really know, which is what builds the suspense.
Nova is a journalist rather than a spy or soldier, making her an intriguing choice for this role. What was your inspiration for this character?
Nova’s character weaves personal echoes, real-world colleagues, and legacies of trailblazing women who’ve redefined journalism. Drawing from my roots, industry friendships, and historical figures who turned adversity into ammunition, here’s what fueled her creation.
Nova’s foundation is deeply personal, honoring my Newark, New Jersey upbringing. While I grew up in the North Ward of the Brick City, Nova hails from the Weequahic neighborhood—a vibrant, middle-class Jewish enclave where family and community resilience shaped her. Running Newark’s streets became her ritual, mirroring my own experiences in that gritty city, instilling quiet fortitude. Her solitary runs defy an unmoored world.
Her parents—Judith, a sharp-witted public-school teacher, and David, a steady accountant—echo my nurturing yet expectation-filled home. My mother, Fran, was also a teacher; my father, Ted, an entrepreneur. They raised me and my sister, Jessica, with education as key. Nova attends Solomon Schechter Day School near Seton Hall Prep, which I attended. She heads to Syracuse—where my father grew up after emigrating from Italy—for journalism, but detours to law at Seton Hall, like my sister’s JD.
This pivot reflects practical pressures, but for Nova, it’s a cage. Her return to journalism after Manhattan practice draws from my friend Alan Abrahamson, who graduated from Northwestern’s Medill School before earning his law degree at UC Hastings. He spent 17 years at the Los Angeles Times. Alan sparked Nova as an independent Olympic journalist. As founder of 3 Wire Sports, he’s a beacon in Olympic coverage, blending analysis with honesty. We collaborated at NBC Olympics from 2008-2014, where I saw him peel back the Games’ layers—politics, ethics, human stories. Nova’s platform, OlymPulse, mirrors Alan’s independent voice: probing storylines mainstream outlets overlook. His influence makes her a veteran of 14 Olympics by 2040, her reporting a rebellion against gloss.
Nova’s grit—navigating harassment in Beirut or personal loss—draws from Lara Logan, the former CBS correspondent known for fearless war reporting. Logan’s 2011 assault in Egypt embodies resilience that refuses silence. Nova channels this: surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, shifting from runner to reporter amid chaos, and enduring the 2017 crash that kills her parents. Logan’s confrontation of danger sharpens Nova’s hyper-vigilance, turning trauma into journalistic fuel.
Historical figures add tenacity. Nellie Bly, the 19th-century pioneer who feigned insanity to expose asylums and circled the globe in 72 days, lends Nova audacious truth-seeking. Bly’s undercover work mirrors Nova’s infiltration of Olympic shadows, risking all for revelation.
Ida Tarbell’s muckraking exposés on Standard Oil—methodical takedowns of corruption—inspire Nova’s IOC probes, showing one woman’s research can topple empires.
In sports, Helene Elliott, the veteran LA Times writer who covered the Olympics for decades, layers Nova’s ethos. Elliott’s trailblazing—including the “Miracle on Ice” plus being the first female Hockey Hall of Fame honoree—fuels Nova’s focus on the voiceless. Her moral clarity cuts through hype.
Lesley Visser, the broadcasting pioneer first to cover Super Bowl sidelines and Olympics, embodies barrier-breaking. Visser’s poise and elevation of women’s voices shape Nova’s solitary ascent in a male-dominated field, turning isolation into a superpower.
Blending these created Nova and forged her into a truth sentinel. In Beneath the Rings, she navigates terrorism and conspiracy, a testament to how personal and historical forces birth unbreakable resolve.
If Nova resonates, it’s from real warriors who’ve shaped our world—and my path.
Beneath the action, the book raises questions about vengeance, historical grievance, and moral reckoning. How conscious were you of those themes while writing?
I was quite conscious of these themes in crafting The Obsidian Hand and the group’s motivation. I did weeks of research on conflicts in the Middle East and wanted to make sure that I was rooting the group as a whole and each individual to historically accurate discords so that their disenfranchisement felt real. Some of those details are spelled out in the book, but for more in-depth backstories on the characters themselves, you can read blog posts on each on my website, booksbybattaglia.com.
I greatly enjoyed following Nova, and it feels like she has more stories to tell. Do you see this as the beginning of a series?
Most definitely!
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Engineering the Puzzle
The Asset Within follows a CIA case officer who receives life-altering intelligence from an Iranian defector during a routine debrief, resulting in her alignment with a team that includes the man who once broke her heart. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’m a Black woman and a former CIA officer, and I wanted to write a thriller that felt emotionally true to that world. The seed of the story came from what it felt like to be the only Black graduate in my training class. I carried both pride and pressure at the same time, and constantly navigated the unspoken dynamics that come with being “the only.”
From there, I wanted to explore a kind of love story I don’t see often enough: the complicated patriotism many Black Americans live with—serving a country you believe in, even when you’ve also been asked to endure its blind spots. The Iranian defector and the intelligence drop are the spark, but the heart of the setup is what happens when duty collides with history…and Andy is forced back into close orbit with the man who once broke her heart.
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing a thriller? The most rewarding?
The hardest part is engineering the puzzle aspect of a thriller. I’m not a natural outliner, so I draft by instinct first, and then I have to go back and make sure every twist is earned, the clues are seeded, and the pacing stays tight without cheating the reader. Continuity is the invisible work in thrillers.
The most rewarding part is immersing myself in the story. When it’s clicking, I feel like I’m inside the scene with the characters. My heart races, I feel what it’s like to make impossible decisions, and when readers tell me they couldn’t put it down or were shocked about twists and turns they didn’t see coming – that is the best feeling.
What was the inspiration for the love story and the connection the characters have?
The love story came from watching what this kind of work does to people. Espionage isn’t just dangerous—it’s isolating. It demands secrecy, long absences, and a level of emotional compartmentalization that can strain even the strongest relationships. And yet I’ve seen couples make it, but the bond has to be more than chemistry. It has to be trust under pressure.
Andy and Cameron’s connection is rooted in history and in shared understanding: they both know what it costs to serve, and they both carry scars from how that service shaped them. Their story is also personal for me. It’s inspired by a relationship from my own life—one that didn’t last—but I used that emotional truth to write the version of the love story that could survive in this world.
I find a problem in well-written stories, in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?
Absolutely. Book Two in the Global Security Series is planned for Spring 2026, and it takes Andy and Cameron into an even bigger operation—higher stakes, deeper consequences, and a relationship that has to hold under real pressure. They’ll get one more book to complete their arc, and then Theo gets his moment. His story kicks off with a teaser at the end of Book Two, and I can’t wait for readers to meet him in a bigger way.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
CIA Officer Andy Lynam returns home after an intelligence operation goes horribly wrong. When she becomes the target of the insidious international terrorist network Solaris, one with the power to manipulate fractures within her own agency, she realizes her badge alone can’t protect her.
To survive, Andy aligns herself with a covert team of global security officers to expose corruption at the highest levels and bring the terrorist organization down.
But when that team includes her ex-boyfriend, GSO Cameron Landry, old flames reignite. This romantic spy thriller is packed with second chances, forced proximity, workplace tension, and soul-deep romance.
Thank God For The Sinners
Thank God for the Sinners follows Rick Price through a chaotic life shaped by violence, lust, trauma, and the constant pull of self-destruction. The book opens with Rick in a seedy Chinese hotel, where a sexual encounter spirals into a death that sets the tone for everything that follows. His past and present crash into each other as he traces the roots of his darkness through childhood injuries, family dysfunction, rage, and addiction. The narrative swings between his time abroad, entangled with corrupt businessmen, and his early life on Long Island, where pain and fear molded him into someone who can’t decide if he’s cursed or simply wired wrong.
The writing hits hard without trying to be fancy. It’s blunt, messy, and weirdly charming in parts because Rick is both awful and strangely human. I felt uncomfortable many times. I also laughed a little because the voice is so honest that even the worst moments feel like confessions from a guy who knows he’s a walking disaster. The early scenes, like the baby nurse incident and the diaper accident with his brother, stuck with me. They’re told with this eerie calm that made me feel like I was sitting across from Rick while he casually unpacked a lifetime of bruises.
I also found myself reacting emotionally to how the book explores shame. The scenes in China are wild and reckless, yet the real punch comes from how Rick narrates his loneliness and fear right underneath all the bravado. The book doesn’t soften him or try to redeem him. Instead, it lets him expose his scars in his own voice. I caught myself rooting for him even though he’s digging himself deeper into chaos. The whole thing feels like reading someone’s secret diary that was never meant to be found.
I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy dark, confessional stories that don’t pull any punches. If you like memoir-style fiction that feels like a whirlwind of bad choices, trauma, humor, and raw honesty, this book is worth your time. This book reads like a harsher, more chaotic cousin to Fight Club, trading sleek rebellion for something messier and more personal. It also carries the bruised honesty of A Million Little Pieces, only with fewer apologies and a lot more bite.
Pages: 348 | ASIN : B0F9BQMF9Z
The Cost of Competence
Stealing Stealth follows a CIA officer tasked with protecting a new stealth technology who must enlist the help of a brilliant thief to stop it from falling into the wrong hands. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I wrote the initial draft of this story when I was deployed in Afghanistan. I was constantly in this battle with what is said and what is left unsaid, in an intriguing chess match with men who were both my ally and not at the same time. To capture this specific paranoia, I thought of the mid-1970s. We often look at the Cold War through the lens of the 80s. That was the end. But just before that, everything was messy. The Church Committee was exposing CIA secrets, Vietnam had just ended, and trust in institutions was crumbling. I wanted to drop a “Boy Scout” character like John Olson into that moral grey zone and force him to work with someone like Gabrielle Hyde, who represents pure, chaotic individualism. The stealth technology itself was the perfect catalyst because it represented a revolution in warfare that terrified everyone. The idea that a plane could be invisible to radar felt like magic in 1977.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
Competence. Nothing kills a thriller faster than characters who make stupid decisions just for the sake of the plot. I wanted Olson and Hyde to be masters of their respective crafts. When they fail, it’s because they were outmaneuvered by a smarter opponent, not because they were making bad choices. I also wanted to explore the cost of competence. For Olson, his dedication to the CIA cost him his personal life. For Hyde, her tragic youth led to brilliance as a thief, but it also left her isolated. The most important factor was ensuring that even when they were enemies, they respected each other’s skills. That mutual respect is the engine of the book.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
My background in special operations taught me that real action is rarely a continuous two-hour firefight. It’s hours of tension followed by seconds of chaos. I tried to replicate that rhythm, but with a better balance. Also, it is important that the reader cares. 1970s politics and game-changing aircraft technology are complicated enough, but I needed the reader to feel that pressure. Then, as the tension built through briefing room politics, the surveillance, and the planning, the reader finally felt the stakes. The pacing comes from the pressure cooker effect; the clock is ticking, and the walls are closing in. Then I added the guns.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
The next book is Arctic Fire, releasing in April 2026. It is a tonal shift from the spy world of Stealing Stealth. It’s a Neo-Western Noir set in the Alaskan wilderness, following a female Marine veteran who uncovers a conspiracy in a small, frozen town. Think Wind River meets Sicario. After that comes Eye of the Caldera. It’s a high-octane disaster thriller inspired by incredible true events and a declassified CIA operation. It drops in the Fall of 2026.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
At the height of the Cold War, America’s revolutionary stealth technology could tip the balance of power. Now the race to control it threatens to derail a critical nuclear treaty between the world’s two superpowers.
Soviet operatives are close to acquiring this game-changing military secret. CIA Officer Olson has just seven days to protect America’s biggest technological advantage from falling into the wrong hands. His only hope lies with the brilliant thief he couldn’t catch: Gabrielle Hyde.
Inside the secretive Skunk Works facility, nothing is what it seems. Hyde and Olson discover Moscow isn’t the only enemy. A traitor from within is thwarting their every move. With both the FBI and KGB closing in and bodies piling up, Olson faces an impossible choice: follow orders from an agency that no longer trusts him or follow Hyde into an elaborate con against his own government.
From a decorated Air Force Colonel with 26 years in special operations and field command comes an authentic Cold War thriller where the greatest threats wear familiar faces.
Trust no one. Question everything. And never underestimate Gabrielle Hyde.
For fans of David McCloskey’s Damascus Station, John le Carré, and Daniel Silva, Stealing Stealth is a high-stakes heist where the only way to protect freedom is to steal its deepest secret.
The Asset Within: A Romantic Spy Thriller
The Asset Within drops us straight into danger and never lets up. The story follows Andy, a CIA case officer whose routine debrief spirals into a life-altering nightmare after an Iranian defector hands her intelligence that could shift global power. The opening chapters move fast and hard, packed with fear, chaos, and heart, and they lay the foundation for a novel that blends espionage, romance, and trauma recovery into one intense ride. The plot moves between Andy and Cameron, the special operations officer who once broke her heart, and the book builds both the thriller and the love story with equal weight. It is a spy novel that centers emotion as much as action, giving it a very human core.
I enjoyed how raw the writing felt. The scenes hit with real force, especially the early sequence in the apartment that left Andy stabbed, injected with a mysterious substance, and scrambling to save a terrified family. I could almost feel her panic and her stubborn grit as she tried to keep moving. The prose has a conversational pulse, like someone telling you a story while their adrenaline is still high, and I found that surprisingly effective. It pulled me right into her head, even when her thoughts were messy or jagged. Some moments felt rough around the edges, but that added to the charm. The emotional stakes felt real because the writing never tried to polish them too much.
Cameron’s chapters gave me a different kind of tension. His anger, regret, and determination mixed together in a way that made me want to shake him one moment and root for him the next. His memories of Andy, along with the guilt buried under all that swagger, made him feel layered. The book treats their history with sensitivity, showing how unresolved pain can sit right under the skin and flare the second two people share the same room again. I also liked how the author wove themes of Black patriotism, marginalization, and institutional bias straight into the spycraft. It made the story feel grounded. The romance did not float above the plot. It grew from the pressure, the fear, and the simple fact that these two people were shaped by the same kind of hurt.
By the time I turned the final pages, I felt like I had been through something with these characters. The book mixes high-stakes action with heart, keeping the tension sharp while never forgetting the people at the center of the chaos. I would recommend The Asset Within to readers who love spy thrillers but want them with real emotional depth. It is perfect for fans of character-driven thrillers, readers who appreciate stories about Black excellence in spaces that try to erase it, and anyone who wants a book that hits hard but still leaves you rooting for love.
Pages: 296 | ASIN : B0FLVQQNKK
LITERARY TITAN 