North Korea has been a thorn in the side of the free world for more than five decades. It has made considerable progress towards the development of nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States but has still fallen short of its goal. Now, a shocking turn of events has come to light: Kim Jong Un has terminal cancer and in order to cement his legacy, plans to attack the United States. The CIA conceives a daring plan to poison one of Kim Jong's lieutenants in order to obtain details about how close North Korea is to building an ICBM which can reach the United States. Veteran CIA Operative Dewey Andreas is the consensus pick to carry out the plan but things go sideways when he accidentally pricks himself with the needle containing the fast-acting poison. Now he's in a race for both his life and the survival of millions of Americans on the West Coast as he must get to the antidote to save himself and prevent a missile launch to save his country.
Bloody Sunday (Dewey Andreas #8) by Ben Coes is a non-stop thrill from start to finish. It is a very timely novel, considering the current machinations between the United States and the two Koreas. Of course, every thriller writer exercises literary license but considering the history of the North Korean regime, I can see the plot of this book becoming reality under the right circumstances. Coes' background as a former Delta Force soldier and in a variety of political support roles makes him uniquely qualified to write a series that feels as real as this one does. I plan to add all the preceding books to my record-setting to-be-read pile and give this book 4/5 stars.
*An ebook copy is the only consideration I received in exchange for this review.*
Bloody Sunday (Dewey Andreas #8) by Ben Coes is a non-stop thrill from start to finish. It is a very timely novel, considering the current machinations between the United States and the two Koreas. Of course, every thriller writer exercises literary license but considering the history of the North Korean regime, I can see the plot of this book becoming reality under the right circumstances. Coes' background as a former Delta Force soldier and in a variety of political support roles makes him uniquely qualified to write a series that feels as real as this one does. I plan to add all the preceding books to my record-setting to-be-read pile and give this book 4/5 stars.
*An ebook copy is the only consideration I received in exchange for this review.*
Ben Coes is generally masterful at creating suspense amidst an international-affairs backdrop that feels genuine. In this time-is-running-out thriller, however, his portrayal of Kim Jong Il is not believable in the slightest. In addition, the atmospherics in North Korea seem wrong, as well. A parking garage in Pyongyang? Someone in the countryside leaving the keys in an old pickup? I don't think so.
