Dave Edlund's Blog

Masterful High-Stakes Thriller!

The Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It’s said that when he’s reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them. But he’s not merely a legend.

Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He’s also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as an Orphan, an off-the-books black box program designed to create the per...

A desperate Kremlin takes advantage of a military crisis ...

A desperate Kremlin takes advantage of a military crisis in Asia to simultaneously strike into Western Europe and invade east Africa in a bid to occupy three Rare Earth mineral mines that will give Russia unprecedented control for generations over the world’s hi-tech sector.

Pitted against the Russians are a Marine lieutenant colonel pulled out of a cushy job at the Pentagon and thrown into the fray in Africa, a French Special Forces captain and his intelligence operative father, a young Poli...

Arguably the best yet from Brad Thor!

[image error]In ancient texts, there are stories about men who struck from the shadows, seemingly beyond the reach of death itself. These men were considered part angel, part demon. Their loyalty was to their families, their friends, and their kings. You crossed these men at your peril. And once crossed, there was no crossing back.

They were fearless; men of honor who have been known throughout history by different names: Spartan, Viking, Samurai.

Today, men like these still strike from the shadows. They...

Learning from a classic.

Author David Morrell is often credited with creating the modern thriller genre with his novel First Blood, based on the iconic protagonist, John Rambo. I doubt that there is a single fan of thrillers who is not familiar with Rambo, either through the film adaptations of the novels. Having watched all the Rambo movies (many times, I admit), it was both entertaining and instructive to read First Blood. Suffice it to say the book and movie diverge on several plot elements, although they share mo...

Strong writing, weak plot.

[image error]In the future, two scientists are accompanied by a team of Navy SEALs to position critical tectonic equipment on a deserted island in the Galapagos and find themselves immersed in a brutal war for survival that could determine the fate of the world.

Not much of a back-cover blurb, but enough to entice my interest. That and I’ve wanted to read something from Mr. Hurwitz—this is my first reading of his work.

First, the writing is fantastic, with words painting wonderfully rich and detailed imag...

An outstanding mystery / thriller!

Thea Paris, one of only twenty-five elite kidnap and ransom specialists in the world–and the only one who is a woman–is the best in the business. And she’s facing the most urgent and challenging rescue mission of her life: her own father’s.

As a child, Thea was forced to watch, paralyzed with fear, while her younger brother was abducted in the middle of the night by masked intruders. This life-changing experience drove her to become what she is today: a world-class freedom broker.

When Thea’s...

Would make Tom Clancy envious!

A U.S. aircraft carrier patrolling the Western Pacific Ocean is severely damaged by a surprise salvo of cruise missiles. While the Russian government officially apologizes, claiming it was the result of fire control accident during a training exercise, it was instead a calculated provocation. With the U.S. Pacific fleet already severely under strength, the Russian President decides that the US response is a clear indication of their weakness, militarily and politically, and initiates a bold p...

Jon Land delivers an absolute gem!

1994: Texas Ranger Jim Strong investigates a mass murder on a dusty freight train linked to a mysterious, missing cargo for which no record exists.

The Present: His daughter, fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong, finds herself on the trail of that same cargo when skeletal remains are found near an excavation site in the Texas desert. She’s also dealing with the aftermath of a massacre that claimed the lives of all the workers at a private intelligence company on her watch.

These two c...

Edge-of-your seat action and memorable characters.

It was to be a simple mission. Nothing more than assessing whether a merchant in the fabled Israeli Diamond Exchange was involved in a scheme that could potentially embarrass the state of Israel. But nothing is ever simple in the world of intelligence, as Aaron Bergman—a former leader of an elite direct action team under the Mossad—should have known. Executing the operation as a contractor, a cutout that gave the State of Israel plausible deniability, he disappears without a trace.

Pike Logan...

Blend of thriller and horror, with some intriguing twists

[image error]In 1906, a crew of workers at the Panama Canal unearthed something that could not be identified or explained. Something sinister. And very much alive . . .

One hundred years later, a team of scientists gather at an underground facility in New Mexico to determine what this being is–the most amazing discovery in the history of mankind–and how it has managed to survive. A biologist will analyze its structure. A veterinarian will study its behavior. A linguist will translate its language. But eve...