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Khaybar, Minnesota
Terrorism comes to the rural Midwest heartland—can one ordinary man stop it? Islamist terrorists frame small town Minnesotan Nat “Hack” Wilder for the murder of his friend Amir Mohammad. Hack must survive a January blizzard, elude the police and F.B.I., track down the real killers, infiltrate a terrorist gathering, and stop a terrorist attack on his nine-year-old daughter’s school. This is a suspenseful fast-paced action thriller that is often disturbing, sometimes surprisingly funny, and always PC-indifferent. Some sample reviews from real people (who are not Max's friends):- "The most realistic thriller ever"- "Buy this book!...Loved this book!! The characters were so real, I felt like I knew them. It was a total page turner and I couldn’t set it down!!"- "A frighteningly possible story, well told."- "Couldn't' stop reading!"- "Great read!"- "Speaks to us 'little people'!..."- "Yes!"- "If you like thrillers, you will love this." - "Couldn't put it down...Very entertaining...Very entertaining. The story unfolds at a good pace, believable and with never a dull moment. Also, subtle humor when you least expect it! Keeps the mood from getting too intense and suspenseful. Addresses tensions in today's world without resorting to the stereotypes popular with too many authors."- "Fast-paced murder case, reminiscent of 'Fargo', but without stupid people."- "What a ride!"- "Terrific characters."- "A real page-turner, believable, topical, engaging, action-packed."(See these and more reviews on this page.)
216 pages, Paperback
Published September 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 15, 2020
Max Cossack ( what a great name for a writer) has delivered a a greatly entertaining novel in “ Khaybar, Minnesota.” In about 200 written pages he gives the reader a great character in Hack, an up to the moment story line, and a plot that speeds in a straight line to an exciting climax.
Synopsis : Nathanael (Hack) Wilder recently fired from his job programming code for a Google-wannabe company for falling afoul of its PC diversity admin. He spends in his basement refurbishing old computers, and repairing computers for friends . He has been divorced by his wife for , basically, being feckless and moping around their house. Hack has moved to a small college town not far from Minneapolis- St. Paul.
One day, while cleaning up the hard drives on a bunch of obsolete computers scavenged from the dumpster of the local college, Hack comes across a file on the hard drive, one whose title is in a strange “ squiggly” , looping script. When he uses an online translating app, it says the language is a form of Arabic. Then, when Hack asks a chess-playing immigrant from Iraq friend what the document says, Hack Learns that it is a verse from the Koran , entitled Khaybar, which directs jihad against Jews everywhere.
The next day Hack gets two pieces of bad news, one in a packet of mail with the final Decree of Divorce and orders from his wife to sign, and two, later that day, that he is being sought by the police for the murder of his Arab friend. Within hours, Hack is branded In the tv news(aptly named ZNN) by the FBI as an anti-Muslin hate killer, an anti feminist white wacko fitting the “ profile” of a mad-dog serial killer. Hack is another Richard Jewell whom the FBI intends to package and deliver to court in chains of manufactured guilt.
With a hero who finds a reserve of resolve not to be a patsy, a diversely interesting group of friends and an ascerbic view of current cultural mind laundering Internet scolds, Mr. Cossack book is one that stands out from the usual crop of mysteries. The plot is fast off the mark. It moves quickly but with no false moves or cheap tricks . The author manages to be both socially and culturally relevant and entertaining while delivering an exciting climactic finish. What more could a reader ask.
Five full stars and highly recommended.
Culturally woke warning: not at all politically correct, though he does feed The local wildlife, and help the homeless. Contains a romantic love scene. No cursing or demeaning except for “ ZNN” and the FBI.
Synopsis : Nathanael (Hack) Wilder recently fired from his job programming code for a Google-wannabe company for falling afoul of its PC diversity admin. He spends in his basement refurbishing old computers, and repairing computers for friends . He has been divorced by his wife for , basically, being feckless and moping around their house. Hack has moved to a small college town not far from Minneapolis- St. Paul.
One day, while cleaning up the hard drives on a bunch of obsolete computers scavenged from the dumpster of the local college, Hack comes across a file on the hard drive, one whose title is in a strange “ squiggly” , looping script. When he uses an online translating app, it says the language is a form of Arabic. Then, when Hack asks a chess-playing immigrant from Iraq friend what the document says, Hack Learns that it is a verse from the Koran , entitled Khaybar, which directs jihad against Jews everywhere.
The next day Hack gets two pieces of bad news, one in a packet of mail with the final Decree of Divorce and orders from his wife to sign, and two, later that day, that he is being sought by the police for the murder of his Arab friend. Within hours, Hack is branded In the tv news(aptly named ZNN) by the FBI as an anti-Muslin hate killer, an anti feminist white wacko fitting the “ profile” of a mad-dog serial killer. Hack is another Richard Jewell whom the FBI intends to package and deliver to court in chains of manufactured guilt.
With a hero who finds a reserve of resolve not to be a patsy, a diversely interesting group of friends and an ascerbic view of current cultural mind laundering Internet scolds, Mr. Cossack book is one that stands out from the usual crop of mysteries. The plot is fast off the mark. It moves quickly but with no false moves or cheap tricks . The author manages to be both socially and culturally relevant and entertaining while delivering an exciting climactic finish. What more could a reader ask.
Five full stars and highly recommended.
Culturally woke warning: not at all politically correct, though he does feed The local wildlife, and help the homeless. Contains a romantic love scene. No cursing or demeaning except for “ ZNN” and the FBI.
February 3, 2021
This is the first in a series (a series of four at the time I write this review). I read the third and fourth books before reading this one. The books can be read independently and independently enjoyed. They are all good stories. Still, it is nice to have the "background" on the characters. It is hard not to like the quirky main characters who strive to do the right thing. This, combined with a captivating plot makes this an enjoyable read. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series and hope there will be a book five.
October 3, 2019
Enjoyable adventure!
Really enjoyed the character Hack as well as his friend Gus. Hacks new girl friend Mattie is a real hoot! I really hope this will be an on going series. My one problem is at the very end Hacks daughter ask him to find his murdered friend Amir’s daughter. But I was left hanging!! What’s up with that?
Really enjoyed the character Hack as well as his friend Gus. Hacks new girl friend Mattie is a real hoot! I really hope this will be an on going series. My one problem is at the very end Hacks daughter ask him to find his murdered friend Amir’s daughter. But I was left hanging!! What’s up with that?
October 17, 2018
A good read
Protagonist very appealing. Good narrative flow. Took just a little suspension of disbelief to see how one man could manage what he did. Depiction of college painfully hilarious, as was that of C, uh, ZNN. Good secondary characters: Gus, LG, and Mattie.
Protagonist very appealing. Good narrative flow. Took just a little suspension of disbelief to see how one man could manage what he did. Depiction of college painfully hilarious, as was that of C, uh, ZNN. Good secondary characters: Gus, LG, and Mattie.
November 18, 2018
Good thriller
This is a well written story with an appealing main character. A man discovers a terrorist plot and is forced to solve it on his own as the police mistakenly target him. Good read.
This is a well written story with an appealing main character. A man discovers a terrorist plot and is forced to solve it on his own as the police mistakenly target him. Good read.
September 11, 2024
Really enjoyable book. One of the very few I have read it one day. I couldn’t put it down. Great characters, believable plot and writing that is beautiful at times and never gets in the way of the flow.
November 18, 2024
Thank you Powerlineblog.com
I found this book in a weekly column by the woman who is the column’s author — AmmoGirrl whose husband is Max Cossack so to sort of support Powerline I purchased the first two books in the series and enjoyed the first
I found this book in a weekly column by the woman who is the column’s author — AmmoGirrl whose husband is Max Cossack so to sort of support Powerline I purchased the first two books in the series and enjoyed the first
January 12, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyable.
June 27, 2019
Good book
This was an easy enjoyable read. The story was well thought out and moved at a fast pace. I liked the characters and the way they worked together.
This was an easy enjoyable read. The story was well thought out and moved at a fast pace. I liked the characters and the way they worked together.
December 26, 2019
Fast paced short action novel, peopled with down to earth characters, and a quick read!
May 23, 2020
A thriller with a clear view of terrorism’s threats and enablers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews