Pirates & Treasures ~ A Pirate Looks at Forty by Chip Bell ~ Review & Giveaway

Chip Bell is a Jimmy Buffet fan. Did you guess?

I feel like I have met a kindred spirit and can hardly wait to embark on his A Pirate Looks At Forty adventure.

Add me to Goodreads now!

A PIRATE LOOKS AT FORTY by Chip Bell

A Jake Sullivan Novel

MY REVIEW

The publisher offered me an opportunity to read and review this awesome looking novel and there is no way I would turn down that offer. Between the title, the cover and Chip Beck’s love of Jimmy Buffet, I knew I had met a kindred soul (as I rub my hands together in eager anticipation of reading the book).

A beautiful sunset, a ship, a relic, a prophecy….

We start out with Abraham Abulafia and his need to recover the relic in 1260 A D. The Rabbi strives to protect it during the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 A D. In 1702 A D, 13 year old Louis Estabar found the hiding place where the Rabbi had secreted it and vowed to keep it forever.

In 1715 A D, Estebar is now a Captain and sets sail from Havana, heading toward the Florida Straits, which at this time belongs to Spain. A monster storm and rogue wave would end their trip home. The Spanish, pirates and looters salvaged much of the treasure and the wreck was abandoned. Until…

U S Senator Daniel Simmons had read about the loss of the Spanish fleet, so when he retired, he bought a yacht, the Treasure Trove, and went hunting. He listed his findings online and asked for help in identifying a relic of a boy with a pretty stone on a leather thong. He did not anticipate what is to come.

Treasure, pirates, storms, sinkings, Florida…what more can I say for the dreamer? An adventure the likes of Indiana Jones, only underwater and off the Florida coast.

Jake Sullivan is the Chief Prosecuting Attorney in the Justice Department Miami Office. When the Senator and his wife are murdered, he’s called in to solve the crime. Told this would be a slam dunk, he knew it would be anything but an easy mystery to solve.

The repercussions if the relic falls into the wrong hands, could bring on WWIII.

Is it possible for a small group to rule the world? I believe in conspiracies and it would not surprise me at all if there was.

Worldwide economic collapse. International intrigue, political conspiracies.

Perfect for the upcoming beach reading season.

Some characters are good, some bad, with death on both sides. Even when things are obvious, it is that special investigator that has a gut feeling, or is it intuition, that there is more than meets the eye.

I’m wondering, does Lev, a Special Agent with Mossad, suspect, like I do, who the traitor is? Is it a setup? At first I am disappointed he doesn’t suspect who I feel is the culprit.  But…WAIT…As I read along, I  believe I was very wrong about the spy. The way the story was written, Chip fooled me. I was part right and part wrong. Way to go Chip. I love it. Not only did I not figure it out, I figured it out wrong. LOL

Parts of the novel read like current events. I do believe it is in their best interests for Israel, Palestine and all the rest of the countries in that neck of the woods to figure out a way to get along. Will it ever happen?

Chip Bell’s ability to blend the past and the present, treasure hunting, murder and political intrigue, myths and legends, kept me reading from cover to cover. He presented me with so many obstacles to overcome in my search for the answers that I could not quit reading.

I will eagerly be on another adventure with Jake Sullivan in One Particular Harbor.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  4  Stars

SYNOPSIS

When a retired United States Senator’s passion for deep-sea treasure hunting off the coast of Palm Beach leads to murder, Jake Sullivan, Chief Prosecutor for the Justice Department in Miami, thinks he has an open and shut case: the DNA of the man pulled out of the warm waters near the ill-fated yacht, matches blood found on the deck. But life is never so simple for Jake.

In a rush of political maneuvering, Jake’s suspect is whisked away by the State Department under a claim of diplomatic immunity. The mystery man is no simple treasure thief; he is a covert operator for the Mossad, Israel’s elite intelligence agency.

But, Jake and his investigator, Mike Lang, are no less committed to solving the murders of Senator Daniel Simmons and his wife.Their instincts are piqued when information leads them to the writings of an ancient Hebrew mystic and the lore behind an iconic relic of Medieval Spain lost in 1715 when a hurricane wrecked a Spanish treasure fleet off the Florida coast.

But those findings are less bizarre than their uncovering of an Israeli army faction intent on realizing a dream of a “Greater Israel.” Discovering the identity of the mysterious leader of “The Group of 40” becomes more than a quest to solve a murder investigation. Jake and Mike hope to prevent South Florida from becoming a war zone, and the fuse that could light the powder keg that is the Middle East.

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Since June of 2011, Jake Sullivan has taken readers on adventures from Miami to Key West, from Havana to the Middle East, and most recently, sailing through the Virgin Islands…

Dealing with corrupt politicians, criminal masterminds, assassins, the old and new Havana Mob, rogue military factions, and revenge-seeking tycoons, Jake and his best friend, Mike Lang, have encountered twists, turn, tricks and plots… always keeping their readers guessing and providing endings that surprise and satisfy.

His latest releases for the series, books four and five, are  A Pirate Looks at 40 andOne Particular Harbor. A Son of a Son of a Sailor is coming in Spring 2015.

And to catch up on the series author Chip Bell has released an eBook titled The Trilogy,  a chance for new readers to obtain the first three adventures in this series for only $3.99, to meet Jake Sullivan, Mike Lang, and a great cast of ever-changing characters… and to become part of the legion of fans who find thrills, suspense, humor, and the tropics an unbeatable combination.

The Jake Sullivan Series is must-read for fans of political thrillers and quick and dirty action novels.

Find out more about both novels at:  http://www.chipbellauthor.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chip BellCharles L. “Chip” Bell, Jr., lives in the City of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Linda, is the father of two daughters, Jennifer and Jessica, and is a practicing attorney specializing in personal injury litigation, with his main office in Arnold, Pennsylvania.

Born on February 23, 1950, in Harrison Township, Pennsylvania, he grew up in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Tarentum High School in 1968, attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, from 1968 to 1972, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. He served in the United States Army from 1972 to 1974, attended Duquesne University School of Law from 1975 to 1979, and graduated Cum Laude. He practiced law as a personal injury trial attorney with the law firm of Rosenberg, Sewak, Pizzi and Bell from 1979 to 2002, and thereafter as a sole practitioner up to and including the present date.

He is a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association) and has served on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association from 1988 to 1990. He is also a member of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and served on the Board of Governors in 1988. He is a founder and past president of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

He is the author of the Jake Sullivan series of novels, the first of which, Come Monday, was published in June of 2011, and the second, Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season, in October 2011. His third novel, Havana Daydreamin’, was released in April 2012. His fourth novel, A Pirate Looks at Forty has just been published as of June 2, 2014.

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GIVEAWAY

I have 1 (one) ecopy of A Pirate Looks at Forty by Chip Bell for the giveaway. International. Entry is easy peasy. Simple leave your email and answer the question:

Do you have a favorite Jimmy Buffett song, or exotic island locale?

Giveaway runs March 24 – April 3, 2015.

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Teaser Tuesday #28 – End of Enemies by Grant Blackwood

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page.

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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END OF ENEMIES by Grant Blackwood

I saw the tag line from Clive Cussler and knew I had to read this.

I love conspiracies and intrigue.

Throw in an adventure that could rival the likes of Clive Cussler and I have to find out for myself.

End of Enemies (Briggs Tanner, #1)

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Kindle Edition, 612 pages
Published May 27th 2014 by Diversion Books
(first published May 1st 2001 by Berkley)
Original title -The End of Enemies
ASIN -B00K5HMYL6
4.2 out of 5 stars – 131 reviews on Amazon

MY TEASE

(11% on Kindle)

It could have been much worse.

If the plane had been at altitude, that much explosive would have been overkill.

The pilot had done a hell of a job.

SYNOPSIS

Veteran covert agent Briggs Tanner leaps into action when a man is brutally assassinated in front of him. His search will lead him from the depths of the Pacific Ocean, through the bullet-riddled back alleys of Beirut, to a deadly secret buried since World War II-and only Tanner can keep it from falling into the wrong hands…

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Click on the covers below to get your Amazon copy of a Grant Blackwood novel.

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

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BOO_2

Cover Reveal for Eternal Light by Nelly B Jones – A Fellow Blogger

Fellow Blogger, Bieke at Istyria would like to share the cover for Eternal Light, A Tales of Istyria novel.

A young adult fantasy adventure in the

…Search for the One with the Eternal Light …

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Title: Eternal Light

Author: Nelly B. Jones

Series: Tales of Istyria #1

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Expected release: 16 May 2016

BLURB

My name is Arya. I’ve lived in Istyria my whole life. My world has been peaceful … until now.

When Darkness starts to take over the land of Istyria. Arya is send on a mission by the King and Queen to retrieve the one who holds the Power of Light within him. According to the Prophecy they need him if they want to defeat the Evil that threatens to pull Istyria into total darkness. Finding him is easy enough, but is she prepared to deal with the dangers that lurk around the corner? And what role does she play in all of this?

Lucian refuses to believe in magic, but when a girl suddenly appears in his room and talks of a magical land and a Prophecy, he gets sucked into an adventure he isn’t even sure he wants to be part of.

…Search for the One with the Eternal Light …

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

1a1Nelly B. Jones is the author of the upcoming novels Eternal Light, the first book in the Tales of Istyria series, and (In)Visible. She was born and raised in Neerpelt, Belgium with the name Bieke. After her parent’s divorce Nelly moved around a lot and experienced heavy bullying during her school years, writing became her way to escape the world around her and loose herself into her own.

Her writing was heavily encouraged by her grandmother, who holds a very special place in Nelly’s heart and was her rock during tough times. She first began with writing poems but gradually made her way into short stories until the day came when she found the inspiration to start writing Eternal Light and made it the first book in a series. (In)Visible is a Young Adult Contemporary novel based on her own life. Nelly is a fanatic book lover and blogger on Istyria book blog.

Goodreads  /  Website  /  Facebook  /  Twitter

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

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I am going Through The Door with Jodi McIsaac and Cedar McLeod on a Celtic adventure

BBT_ThinVeilSeries_BannerI love the covers for The Thin Veil series, so I felt I had to share them with them.

What do you think of the covers?

The excerpt for Through The Door is such a great tease, there was not doubt in my mind that it was the one I would share. What the heck is going on?

Read on to see for yourself and be sure to enter the Giveaway at the end of the post.

BLURBS

THROUGH THE DOOR (Book #1)

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It’s been seven years since the love of Cedar McLeod’s life left with no forwarding address. All she has left of him are heart-wrenching memories of happier times and a beautiful six-year-old daughter, Eden. Then, one day, Eden opens her bedroom door and unwittingly creates a portal that leads to anywhere she imagines.

But they’re not the only ones who know of Eden’s gift, and soon the child mysteriously vanishes.

Desperate for answers, Cedar digs into the past and finds herself thrust into a magical world of Celtic myths, fantastical creatures, and bloody rivalries. Teaming up with the unlikeliest of allies, Cedar must bridge the gap between two worlds and hold tight to the love in her heart…or lose everything to an ancient evil.

The first in the Thin Veil series, Through the Door is a pulse-pounding adventure that takes readers across the globe and deep into the hidden realms of Celtic lore.

INTO THE FIRE (Book #2)

Cover_IntoTheFire(1)

1771e-addtogoodreadsblackCedar McLeod would like nothing more than to return to Tír na nÓg, help rebuild the mythical kingdom, and start a new life for herself and her daughter, Eden. But peace isn’t what Cedar finds after being reunited with her little girl.

Nuala—who kidnapped and terrorized Eden in her previous bid for power—has returned and is making a persuasive claim for the vacant throne. The devastation such a ruler would bring upon both the kingdom and the human world is unthinkable. With no one else to stake a convincing counter-claim, Cedar steps forward…but first she ust prove her worth beyond a doubt.

Her opportunity comes when she is charged with finding an ancient treasure, the Stone of Destiny, and returning it to its rightful home. It is a quest that will lead her to question her beliefs, and push her loyalties to their limits. If she succeeds, Cedar could grant her new world and her new family a chance to flourish again. If not…destruction may be the only path ahead.

Into the Fire, the second book in the Thin Veil series, is a captivating blend of Celtic myth, mystery, and adventure that delves deeper into the ancient world first explored in Through the Door.

AMONG THE UNSEEN (Book #3)

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Life just keeps getting more complicated for Cedar McLeod. As the recently crowned queen of Tír na nÓg, she’s trying to understand her magical new kingdom, even as she misses her life back on Earth. It doesn’t help that a dear friend has just betrayed her—a betrayal that almost cost Cedar and her family their lives. And things aren’t easy at home, either, as Cedar’s seven-year-old daughter, Eden, lost and lonely in Tír na nÓg despite her special powers, has become painfully distant.

Cedar vows to do whatever it takes to protect her family once and for all, and starts rounding up those who plotted against her. But then a new disaster breaks out: a mysterious sickness is plaguing the Unseen, Ireland’s magical creatures, including those Cedar knows and loves. With enemies still on the loose and not knowing whom she can trust, Cedar must race against time to reverse an ancient curse, in a journey that will take her from Tír na nÓg to Earth…and beyond.

Brimming with page-turning adventure, Among the Unseen—the exciting conclusion to Jodi McIsaac’s Thin Veil trilogy—weaves an enchanting, captivating spell.

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EXCERPT

THROUGH THE DOOR (BOOK 1) EXCERPT

 “Shh, it’s okay,” Cedar said, rubbing Eden’s back. Tears were pricking at her own eyes, but she tried to hold them back. “Your father was a really good person.”

“But why isn’t he here?” Eden sniffed.

Cedar took a deep breath to steady her voice. “I don’t know, to be honest. I wish I did. He went away before he knew I was pregnant. He didn’t leave because of you, Eden. That’s really important for you to understand. When you came along, I tried to find him. But I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

Eden pulled away, her face twisted. “It’s not fair!” Cedar tried to hug her again, but Eden yanked herself free and stormed down the hall. Cedar stood and watched her disappear around the corner. She’d give her a few minutes of alone time, and then go talk to her again. She listened for the inevitable slamming of Eden’s door. It didn’t come. Instead, Eden’s screams died off as suddenly as if she had run out of air. The apartment fell silent, a sharp contrast to the storm of six-year-old anger that had been raging only moments before.

“Eden?” Cedar called out. Nothing. “Eden?” she tried again, starting to walk down the hall.

“Mummy? Mummy!” came Eden’s voice.

Cedar quickly rounded the corner and saw Eden standing in the hallway outside her bedroom, staring open-mouthed through the gaping doorway. There was some sort of light reflecting on her face. It glimmered and shifted and created strange shapes and lines on her skin, casting her in an otherworldly glow. A slight breeze was lifting the edges of her sundress, brushing it against her legs. A small trail of fine sand crept through the doorway and was starting to collect around her feet.

“What is it, Eden?” Cedar asked as she moved to stand beside her daughter. Then her jaw dropped. “What the…?”

The two of them stood in shocked silence, looking into the room. The air in the open doorway was sparkling with a thousand points of light, like the surface of a pond catching the mid-afternoon sun. They could still see what was on the other side, but through a film. In this case, the film glittered and moved. Even more remarkable than the way the air had changed in the doorway was what was on the other side.

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Jodi Martens Headshots for WritingAUTHOR BIO AND LINKS

 Jodi McIsaac grew up in New Brunswick, Canada. After stints as a short-track speed skater, a speechwriter, and fundraising and marketing executive in the nonprofit sector, she started a boutique copywriting agency and began writing novels in the wee hours of the morning. She currently lives with her husband and children in Calgary.

 Website  /   Facebook  /   Twitter  /   Goodreads  /  Google+

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To get your copy of The Thin Veil Series or to learn more about Jodi McIsaac, click on the covers below.

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GIVEAWAY

taiwan flag smiley animated gif Pictures, Images and Photos

Jodi will award signed print copies of all three books in the Thin Veil series to one randomly selected winner, and one set to one randomly selected host (International Giveaway).

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found by clicking on the image below.

Goddess Fish Partner

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

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Book Blast Giveaway for King’s and King for a Day by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

 

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

The author will give away one of four autographed paperbacks to four winners randomly chosen through Rafflecopter, so be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the post.

Now, let’s find out what The King Trilogy is all about.
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KING’S (Book I) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

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“I am the man who can find anything or anyone. For a price. And my price is you.”
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When Mia Turner’s brother goes missing while on an archaeological dig, she believes that life couldn’t get much worse. But when she’s blocked at every turn by both local and U.S. authorities from finding answers, she must turn to a man she swears is the devil.

Others might be fooled by his private jet, fine tailored suits, and disarming smile, but Mia knows something dark, something sinister lurks behind those penetrating, pale gray eyes. And the more she learns, the more she realizes she may never be free again.

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KING FOR A DAY (Book II) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

KING FOR A DAY (The King Trilogy)

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Better the devil you don’t know?

When Mia Turner’s life becomes tethered to a mysterious billionaire who she swears is the devil himself, she knows she must find a way to break free. It doesn’t matter if everything about him—those sinful lips, those steel-gray eyes, that perfect male body—keeps her awake at night, restless for him. She has to get away.

But when this man, known simply as King, disappears without a trace, Mia will discover she’s not home free. Because the only thing keeping her safe from King’s ruthless, depraved, power-hungry social circle had been him.

If Mia wants to survive, not only must she find King, but she will have to conceal his absence and walk a mile in the evil man’s twisted, cruel shoes. What she discovers in the process, however, will leave her more terrified and her heart more conflicted than she ever imagined.

King is not who she thought. She wasn’t even close.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When San Francisco native, Mimi Jean, went on an adventure as an exchange student to Mexico City, she never imagined the journey would lead to writing Romance. But one Mexican MBA, one sexy Mexican husband, and two rowdy kids later, Mimi would trade in corporate life for vampires, deities, and snarky humor. She continues to hope that her books will inspire a leather pants comeback (for men) and that she might make you laugh when you need it most. She also enjoys interacting with her fans (especially if they’re batshit crazy). You can always find her chatting away on Facebook, Twitter, or saying many naughty words on her show MAN CANDY on Radioslot.com

New York Times and USA Today Best Selling Author, Host of The Man Candy Show

www.mimijean.net  /  http://radioslot.com/ https://twitter.com/MimiJeanRomance

https://www.facebook.com/MimiJeanPamfiloff

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taiwan flag smiley animated gif Pictures, Images and Photos

GIVEAWAY

The author will be awarding autographed books to four winners during the tour through a Rafflecopter giveaway.

 ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found by clicking on the link below.

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/super-book-blast-king-series-by-mimi.html

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Get your copy or learn more about Mimi Jean Pamfiloff by clicking on the cover below.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

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A wonderful blend of the past and the present – The Tenth Circle by Jon Land Tour Giveaway

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 I am happy to be a part of The Tenth Circle tour.
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Jon Land is a prolific thriller writer and I have checked out many a book of his from my local library. I have never failed to be enthralled. I hope you enjoy the journey into A Blaine McCracken Novel.
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SYNOPSIS

1590: An entire colony of British settlers vanishes from their settlement on Roanoke Island, seemingly into thin air.

1872: The freighter Marie Celeste is found drifting at sea off Gibraltar, its entire crew and passengers gone missing without a trace.

But what if there’s a connection between two of the greatest historical mysteries ever? And what if the roots of that connection lie in a crazed plot to destroy the United States as we know it today?

Those are the questions confronting Blaine McCracken as he takes up the trail of small time preacher Jeremiah Rule whose hateful rhetoric has done big time damage by inflaming an entire people half a world away, resulting in a series of devastating terrorist attacks stateside. Rule, though, isn’t acting alone. A shadowy cabal is pulling his strings, unaware they are creating a monster soon to spin free of their control.

McCracken has just returned from pulling off the impossible in Iran, ridding the world of one terrible threat only to return home to face another. Isolated in a way he’s never been before and now hunted himself, he’ll have to rely on skills and allies both old and new to get to the heart of a plan aimed at unleashing no less than the Tenth Circle of Hell. This as he contends with a failed congressman intent on changing the country to fit his own vision and an Iranian assassin bent on revenge.

Blaine’s desperate path across country and continent takes him into the past where the answers he needs lie among the missing Roanoke colonists and the contents of the Marie Celeste’s cargo holds. Those secrets alone hold the means to stop the Tenth Circle from closing. And as the bodies tumble in his wake, as the clock ticks down to an unthinkable maelstrom, McCracken and Johnny Wareagle fight to save the United States from a war the country didn’t even know it was fighting, but might well lose.

Book Details:

Genre: Thriller
Published by: Open Road Integrated Media
Publication Date: December 24, 2013
Number of Pages: 420
ISBN: 978-1480414792
Purchase Links:

Read an excerpt:

CHAPTER 1
The Negev Desert, Israel; the present

“We have incoming, General! Anti-missile batteries are responding!”

General Yitzak Berman focused his gaze on the desperate scenario unfolding in amazingly realistic animation on the huge screen before him. Eight missiles fired from Iran sped toward all major population centers of Israel in a perfect geometric pattern, about to give the nation’s Arrow anti-missile system its greatest test yet.
“Sir,” reported the head of the analysts squeezed into the underground bunker from which Israel maintained command and control, “initial specs indicate the size, weight and sourcing of the missiles . . .”

“Proceed,” the general said when the analyst stopped to swallow hard.

“They’re nuclear, sir, in the fifty kiloton range.”

“Targets?”

Another young man picked up from there. “Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Mediterranean coast, the Sinai, our primary airfields . . .” He looked back toward Sherman. “And here, sir.”

“Anti-missile batteries are launching!” a new voice blared through the strangely dim lighting that seemed to flutter as the missiles drew closer.

And Sherman watched the animated simulation of dozens and dozens of Israeli Arrow rockets, along with larger American Patriots, shooting upward in line with the incoming missiles. Four hits were scored in the maelstrom of animated smoke bursts, more rockets launched to chase down the remaining four nukes that had survived the fist salvo.

“We have two more confirmed downed!” yet another young voice rang out.

But the bunker fell silent as the sophisticated animation continued to follow two surviving Iranian missiles as they streaked toward Tel Aviv and Haifa.

“Schmai Israel, hallileh hoseh,” one of the young voices began, reciting the prayer softly as the missiles’ arc turned downward, on a direct course to their targets with nothing left to stop their flight.

“Order our fighters holding at their failsafe positions to launch their attacks,” instructed Berman. “Destroy Iran.”

He’d barely finished when two flashes burst out from the animated screen, bright enough to force several squeezed into the bunker to shield their eyes. As those flashes faded amid the stunned silence and odor of stale perspiration hanging in the air, the bunker’s regular lighting snapped back on.

“This concludes the simulation,” a mechanical voice droned. “Repeat, this concludes the simulation.”

With that, a bevy of Israeli officials, both civilian and military, emerged from the rear-most corner of the bunker, all wearing dour expressions.

Israel’s female defense minister stepped forward ahead of the others. “Your point is made, General,” she said to Berman. “Not that we needed any further convincing.”

“I’m glad we all agree that the Iranian nuclear threat can no longer be tolerated,” Berman, the highest-ranking member of the Israeli military left alive who’d fought in the Six-Day War, told them. “We’ve been over all this before. The difference is we’re now certain our defenses cannot withstand an Iranian attack, leaving us with casualty estimates of up to a million dead and two million wounded, many of them gravely. Fifty simulations, all with results similar to the ones you have just witnessed.” He hesitated, eyes hardened through two generations of war boring into the defense minister’s. “I want your formal authorization.”

“For what?”

“To destroy the Iranian nuclear complex at Natanz.”

Israel’s defense minister started to smile, then simply shook her head. “We’ve been over this before, a hundred times. Our army can’t do it, our air force can’t do it, our commandos can’t do it, and the Americans are saying the very same thing from their end. You want my authorization to do the impossible? You’ve got it. Just don’t expect any backup, extraction, or political cover.”

Yitzak Berman returned his gaze to the wall-sized screen where animated versions of Tel Aviv and Haifa had turned dark. “The man I have in mind won’t need of any of that.”

“Did you say man?”

CHAPTER 2

Netanz, Iran

“We are descending through a million tons of solid rock,” the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Minister of Energy, Ali Akbar Hosseini, told the filmmaker squeezed in the elevator by both his equipment and the trio of Revolutionary Guardsmen. “A technological achievement in its own right. You understand the great task you’ve been entrusted to perform.”

“Just as you must understand I’m the best at my job, just like your scientists are at theirs,” said the bearded, award winning filmmaker Hosseini knew as Najjar. Najjar’s appearance was exactly as depicted in photographs, save for the scar through his left eyebrow the minister did not recall. He was dressed casually in dark cargo pants and long-sleeve cotton shirt rolled up at the sleeves, bulky clothing that hid what was clearly a V-shaped, well-muscled frame beneath. “I was told I’d be given total access to the facility.”

“And you will, at least those parts deemed appropriate by me.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal. It never is with my work.”

“This is a different kind of opportunity.”

The elevator started to slow.

“Then you should have gotten a filmmaker more adept at wedding videos,” Najjar snapped. “Perhaps we’ve both made a mistake.”

“You are about to see what few men ever have,” Hosseini continued, wearing a fashionable suit instead of a military uniform. “And it will be your blessed privilege to chronicle it for the world to see when the time is right. You call that a mistake?”

“You chose me because I’m the best. I ask only that you treat me that way.”

“I could have retained a simple videographer for this assignment,” Hosseini said, his shoulders stiffening. “I chose you because I wanted something that would stand the test of history. This will be my legacy, my contribution to our glorious Republic, and I want it to be celebrated, not just appreciated, a century from now. I want anyone who watches to see not just a place, but a point in history that changed the world forever. An awesome responsibility I’m entrusting you with.”

“I look forward to exceeding your expectations.”

Hosseini’s eyes fell on the bulky equipment lying at the filmmaker’s feet; a camera, portable lights, and a quartet of shoebox-sized rechargeable batteries to supply power. “Others I’ve worked with have turned to much smaller cameras for video, even ones that look like they only take pictures.”

“And how did their work turn out?” asked the filmmaker, his tone still biting.

“Acceptable, but not impressive. This assignment clearly required something more, a case I had to make to the Council’s finance board to justify your fee.”

“If you aren’t satisfied with what I produce for you, you owe nothing. I’ll return my fee to the Council personally.”

“Both of us know that will not be necessary. Both of us know you will produce something that will stand the test of time through the ages and serve both of us well,” Hosseini said to the man he’d personally selected for the job.

“I value your regard and the confidence you have in me,” Najjar said more humbly in Farsi.
Then he slung the camera over his shoulder and scooped up the batteries and portable lights in his grasp, beckoning the minister to exit ahead of him.

“After you,” said Blaine McCracken.

CHAPTER 3
Washington, DC; two months earlier

“You’re kidding, right?” Blaine McCracken said after the Israeli he knew only as “David” finished.

“You come highly recommended, Mr. McCracken. Back home you’re considered a legend.”

“Another word for dinosaur.”

“But far from extinct. And my American friends tell me you’re the only one they believe can get this done.”
“Meaning I’d have to succeed where two governments have failed.”

David shrugged, the gesture further exaggerating the size of his neck that seemed a stubby extension of his shoulders and trapezious muscles. He wasn’t a tall man but unnaturally broad through the upper body. McCracken couldn’t make out his eyes well in the darkness, but imagined them to be furtive and noncommittal.
They’d met at the Observation Deck of the Washington Monument. Closed to the public for repairs indefinitely, but still accessible by workmen, though not at night, always McCracken’s favorite time to view Washington. He liked imagining what was going on in offices where lights still burned, plans were being hatched and fates determined. There was so much about the city he hated but plenty from which he couldn’t detach himself. In the vast majority of those offices, officials were trying to do good; at least, they believed they were.
McCracken found himself wondering which of those offices David had come here from; it would be State or Defense in the old days, across the river in Langley just as often. These days it was Homeland Security, the catch-all and watch word that got people nodding in silence, Homeland’s offices spread out all over the city proper and thus responsible for an untold number of the lights that still burned.

A few work lamps provided the only illumination inside the gutted Observation Deck, riddled with a musty basement-like smell of old, stale concrete and wood rot mixed with fresh lumber and sawdust which covered the exposed floor like a floating rug. David had sneezed a few times upon first entering, passing it off as allergies.

“It’s not that we’ve failed,” David told him, “it’s that all the plans we’ve considered have been rejected out of hand. We’ve come to you for something non-traditional that no one expects.”

“You’ve got a lot of faith in me.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to try something that is doomed to fail and perhaps even make things worse. But our hands our tied. With Iran so close to getting their bomb, the choice is gone.”

“Your name’s not really David, is it?” McCracken asked the Israeli.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because the last few times I’ve worked with your country, my contacts were named David too. A reference to David and Goliath maybe?”

A flicker of a smile crossed the Israeli’s lips. “I’m told you had a plan.”

“No, what I’ve got is an idea. It’s risky, dangerous, and I haven’t even broached it to the powers at be here.”

“Because you don’t think they’d be interested?”

“Because they haven’t asked.” McCracken looked out through the window at the twinkling office lights again, already fewer of them than just a few minutes before, imagining the kind of things being discussed after office hours had concluded. “The only time my phone rings these days is when the SEALS or Delta have already passed on the mission, with good reason this time.”

“We’re asking,” said David. “You, not them. And we’ll provide you with the right resources, any resources you require.”

McCracken gave David a longer look, the younger man’s thick nest of curly hair making him seem vulnerable and innocent at the same time when neither was true. “Tell me you’re ready to fight fire with fire. Tell me that’s what you meant about making the right resources available.”
David seemed to grasp his meaning immediately. “And if we are?”
Blaine smiled.

CHAPTER 4
Netanz, Iran; the present

McCracken lugged the equipment from the elevator, careful to show strain and exertion on his features to avoid raising any suspicions in Hosseini. The hall before them was brightly lit, as clean and sterile as a hospital’s. The air smelled of nothing; not antiseptic, not solvent, not fresh tile. Nothing. The lighting looked unbalanced, harsh in some places and dull in others.

The new Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s successor, had made no secret of his desire to chronicle Iran’s greatest technological achievement ever. When the time was right, he wanted the world to see the true scope of his country’s accomplishment, so long hidden behind innuendo and subterfuge. Like the mullahs themselves, he was at heart a braggart obsessed with cementing his own legacy in a way history could not deny.
Najjar, the award winning Iranian filmmaker chosen for that task, was virtually the same height and weight as McCracken and the two men bore more than a passing resemblance to each other right up to the scruffiness of their tightly trimmed beards. Of course, the plan was not without its flaws. Most notably, McCracken had no idea when Najjar would be summoned to capture the Natanz facility in all its glory. Based on the current timetable for the Iranians’ ability to generate enough fissionable material from the refuse of their vast centrifuges, though, he guessed no more than six months.

It turned out to be only two.

The filmmaker Najjar was already under twenty-four-hour surveillance by Israeli Mossad agents long entrenched within Iranian society. Barely an hour after the filmmaker was contacted by Minister Hosseini’s office on extremely short notice, McCracken boarded a private jet with a make-up specialist on board to finish the job of matching his appearance as closely as possible to Najjar’s. The result, after a laborious process that took much of the flight, exceeded even his expectations. The lone oversight had been not to disguise the scar through McCracken’s left eyebrow from a wayward bullet decades before. Although Minister Hosseini had clearly noticed it, he seemed unbothered by its presence.

While Najjar waited in his apartment for his government car to arrive, a fresh Mossad team just in country entered his apartment by using a key fit to the specifications of his lock based on the serial number. The filmmaker, who was still packing, was unconscious in seconds with McCracken ready in his stead, equipment in hand, as soon as the car arrived for the first leg of his journey.

Once out of the elevator, he knew he was about to encounter plenty not mentioned in David’s reports on the structure and its schematics. Israel’s intelligence on the Natanz facility was an amalgamation of satellite reconnaissance, prisoner and defector interrogations, and four separate brilliantly crafted infiltrations. Each of these had revealed the particulars of at least a section of the facility, but even taken in sum they didn’t offer a thorough rendering of all of it.

The assembled intelligence did reveal a sprawling single-level underground facility. The original plans had called for multiple levels but this had proven too onerous from both a construction and security standpoint. Natanz had been chosen for the site of the plant specifically because of the heavy layers of limestone and shale beneath which it would be contained, along with an under layer of nearly impenetrable volcanic rock formed in prehistoric times. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the nuclear generating plant that sat at ground level was not positioned directly over the underground facility at all; rather, it served as effective camouflage for the vast tunneling efforts that had forged Natanz from the side instead of from above. The facility was laid out roughly in a square, the size of six football fields laid next to each other, and featured the sophisticated technology required to enrich uranium along with the centrifuges responsible for generating it, a process that undoubtedly included the massive pumps and water systems required for cooling.
But the very features that made Natanz impenetrable to an attack from above made it vulnerable to what McCracken was planning from within.

David versus Goliath indeed.

“One more thing before we get started,” Hosseini said, opening a door McCracken hadn’t noticed before. “If you’d join me inside here. . . .”

* * *

It was a locker room, more or less, each open cubicle featuring an orange radiation suit and wrist monitor hanging from a hook inside.

“Standard procedure,” the minister explained. “The lightest weight suit manufactured anywhere. You slip it on right over your clothes,” he continued, starting to do just that himself.

McCracken followed in step. Modern, sophisticated nuclear plants like this were hardly prone to leaks, so the donning of such protective material could only mean Hosseini meant what he said about assembling a complete picture of one of the world’s most secret facilities. And something else was obvious as well:
That after hearing and seeing so much, there was no way McCracken was getting out of here alive.

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My Review OF The Tenth Circle by Jon Land

De Opresso Liber – Then, now, always.

A hero is no braver than an ordianry man, but he is braver five minutes longer.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The Tenth Circle is another Blaine McCracken adventure that takes you around the globe. A riveting and action packed novel, beginning to end.

The US is under siege from coast to coast. A fantastic unsolved mystery.

I love the blend of the past with current events. So many familiar things and places were mentioned – a Roll Tide hat, Sherman and Mr. Peabody, a Croatian Indian boy that reminded me of Jacob in Twilight, Boston and Faneuil Hall, the Crazy Horse Sculpture, a ghost ship, a vanished settlement, the Mary Celeste….

I love and hate the characters. I find it so hard to fathom some people’s hatred, especially when they call on religion to explain it.

I like humor with my terrorists and murderers.

Blaine McCracken has several nicknames – McNuts and McCrackenballs had me laughing.

“… I realized…that the craven heathens…have a circle of Hell all to themselves…”

“The Tenth Circle”

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos   5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)

I received an ARC paperback copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jon Land is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of 36 books, including the bestselling Caitlin Strong Texas Ranger series that includes Strong Enough to Die, Strong Justice, Strong at the Break, Strong Vengeance and, most recently, Strong Rain Falling. The Tenth Circle marks the second return engagement of his longtime series hero Blaine McCracken on the heels of last year’s Pandora’s Temple which was nominated for a Thriller Award and received the 2013 International Book Award for Best Adventure Thriller. Jon’s first nonfiction book, Betrayal, meanwhile, was named Best True Crime Book of 2012 by Suspense Magazine and won a 2012 International Book Award for Best True Crime Book. He is currently working on Strong Darkness, the next entry in the Caitlin Strong to be published in September of 2014. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Brown University, where he continues to maintain a strong volunteer presence, in 1979 and can be found on the Web at www.jonlandbooks.com.

Catch Up With the Author:

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Ends February 28, 2014.

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