Corruption in our Midst: An Adam Darby Thriller

by Kendall Carlton

Global Book Awards - 2025 Silver Medalist (Thrillers - Conspiracy)

A betrayal – A plot rooted in greed – A conspiracy at the highest level . . .

When CIA agent Adam Darby is abducted and left stranded in the wilderness, he never expected it would lead him to a group of retired operatives, a dangerous conspiracy, and the love of his life.

Betrayed by his boss and abducted during a routine stakeout, Adam finds himself lost in the rugged landscape of northern Montana. In his search for civilization, he stumbles upon some unlikely friends.

The shock of betrayal and a new organization of retired operatives give Adam a determination to save his parents from blackmail, but soon finds himself fighting for the safety of all Americans.

As Adam and his team race against time to stop the corrupt officials and their deadly plans, he must also protect himself from assassination attempts and navigate his newfound romance.

If you enjoyed the adrenaline-fueled action and thrilling conspiracies of "The Bourne Identity," you'll love "Corruption in our Midst" by Kendall Carlton.

Note to Don't miss out on this heart-pumping, page-turning adventure. Grab your copy of "Corruption in our Midst" now!

336 pages, Hardcover

Published February 27, 2026

Reviews

[Brigit (Cosy.horror.corner)]

Steadily-paced but concerning action thriller debut. Adam Darby takes matters into his own hands when he’s betrayed by his own government. Together with ex-military and special ops retirees, he bands together an incredibly organised team of avengers. While there is some interesting characters and action, with some wholesome romance, I struggled with most of the plot. The characters all work seamlessly and perfectly in unison, as if the same personality. The dialogue feels scripted and overly procedural/professional. There is an unfortunate lack of nuance and variability in tone and plot throughout. Everything works too perfectly. Every connection is too convenient. A helpful friend happens to know a friend who happens to know a friend, and each of them are uniquely skilled and readily available. The romance felt very oddly forced and sudden. There’s also an uncomfortable theme of conspiracy which directly implicates real-life occurrences, namely COVID and a supposed corrupt presidency working with china. While this seems to be harmless fiction, the choice to create characters that take power over a government that eluded to this particular conspiracy, fosters a heavily conservative and irresponsible belief system. Chinese Americans were killed because of this conspiracy. People were killed because of COVID. If choosing conspiracy for fiction, choose outside the realm of real conspiracies that harm human safety.

I received a free advanced copy of this ebook from Netgalley and the publisher. Opinions expressed are my own.

[Anne]

Corruption in our Midst is a read that has everything I like - good writing, an all to believeable plot line and characters you like and root for. The story flows easily and pulled me in quickly. Adam Darby is betrayed by his employer and finds help from unexpected sources. He, and those alongside him unravel corruption at the highest level and set out to take down those involved. I really enjoyed this book and liked the different settings and locations. The plot is fast paced and thrilling and Darby and his team are in a race against time to ensure their country is safe. I liked the romance element and the ending gives the story perfect closure and sets up the next book nicely.
If you like thrillers with a conspiracy theme I think you'd enjoy this and I'd recommend it.

4 stars

[AR bee]

Betrayal and Resolution

This is a remarkably well written thriller, a first in a series by a new author. It develops in a unique plot line and resolves with great effort by an unexpected team.

Readers of conspiracy and semi-military genres will be enthralled by this novel.

[Mrs.J.C.Mooney]

Not bad

Not a bad read even if it is somewhat farfetched. I don't think I liked it enough to download any more of this particular series.