Book picks similar to
Targets of Deception by Jeffrey S. Stephens


fiction
thriller
for-review
spys-politics-religion

Line of Succession


William Tyree - 2010
    As the Pentagon begins retaliating against Islamic radicals abroad, counter-terrorism agent Blake Carver soon realizes that his job isn’t as easy as hunting down a group of foreign extremists. This war isn’t about religion, foreign policy or oil. It’s up to Carver to stop a group of powerful Washington insiders battling over control of the planet’s most precious resource: water.

The Termination Protocol


Brian Drake - 2017
    He will give the enemy a one-way ticket to hell! "...99% pure action fun, no additives. I had to stop reading the book several times just to catch my breath..." — Ian Kharitonov

The Omega Command


Jon Land - 1986
    An intelligence operative with a dark secret is murdered, his car set ablaze, while he is in the middle of fulfilling a depraved fantasy. And a reporter receives a message from a dying man that suggests the organization responsible may be one of the world’s most prestigious corporations. The government knows just one man who can untangle this mystery: a throwaway on the deactivated list. Exiled to a desk job in Paris for stepping on the wrong toes, Blaine McCracken is a killer—a ruthless pursuer of truth who will let no one, friend or enemy, stand in his way when civilian lives are in danger. McCracken gets results, and his country needs him now more than ever. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Jon Land including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Pandora's Succession


Russell Brooks - 2010
    CIA operative, Ridley Fox, never stopped hunting his fiancée's killers—a weapons consortium called The Arms Of Ares. When Fox follows a lead to one of their top-secret bioweapons facilities in Chechnya, he barely escapes alive. However, he's learned that Ares has weaponized a hyper-deadly microbe called Pandora. The trail leads Fox to Tokyo, where he teams up with an old flame and fellow operative, Nita Parris. Aside from Ares, they must contend with rogue agents who'll stop at nothing to get Pandora. This throws Fox and Parris into a deadly game of spy vs spy, as they must rely on each other to locate the microbe. For if it's unleashed, it could mean the end of humanity.

Zeb Carter


Ty Patterson - 2018
    Everyone knew it was a suicide mission. Zeb Carter volunteered The U.S. Army tried to rescue its captured soldiers. Every attempt failed, because they went about it the wrong way. They don't need teams of soldiers. They need just one person. Someone who has the requisite lethal skills. An operative who is at home in the most hostile terrain in the world ; the Hindu Kush Mountains. A man who has experience of battling the some of the most dangerous fighting men; the Taliban of Afghanistan. They need an operative who isn't afraid to die. They select Zeb Carter. Because Zeb has no one who will mourn for him. 'While Reacher is good, Zeb Carter is great' The Zeb Carter series of thrillers are stories from his time in the U.S. Special Forces. Check out the USA Today Bestselling Warriors series for more thrillers featuring Zeb Carter and his Warriors The Warrior The Reluctant Warrior The Warrior Code The Warrior's Debt Flay Behind You Hunting You Zero Death Club Trigger Break Scorched Earth RUN!

Shadow Catcher


James R. Hannibal - 2013
    Now, leading his men—the Triple Seven Chase team—Baron must find the bomber and dispose of it for good before any unfriendly nation can steal the onboard technology for its own purposes. But as the team embarks on its mission, there are greater dangers waiting.When the CIA intercepts a call signal from an operative in China long thought dead, the Triple Seven Chase team is given the perilous task of retrieving the lone soldier from deep within the Chinese wilderness. There is only one plane for such a dangerous mission: the Shadow Catcher, a plane with capabilities beyond anything that has ever flown.What Baron and his men don’t know is that the enemy is already among them—and that the Shadow Catcher itself may be the ultimate prize.

Deadly Straits


R.E. McDermott - 2011
    Griffin, R.E. McDermott delivers a thriller to rival the masters.When marine engineer and very part-time spook Tom Dugan becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down.Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear himself by helping the CIA snare their real prey, Dugan's best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex's company, despite doubts about his friend's guilt. Once undercover, Dugan's steadfast refusal to accept Alex's guilt puts him at odds not only with his CIA superiors, but also with a beautiful British agent with whom he's romantically involved.When a tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in Panama as Alex lies near death after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan is framed for the attacks. Out of options, and convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan eludes capture to follow his last lead to Russia, only to be shanghaied as an 'advisor' to a Russian Spetsnaz unit on a suicide mission.Deadly Straits is a non-stop thrill ride, from London streets, to the dry docks of Singapore, to the decks of the tankers that slake the world's thirst for oil, with stops along the way in Panama, Langley, Virginia, and Teheran. Richly spiced with detail from the author's 30 years sailing, building, and repairing ships worldwide, it is, in the words of one reviewer, "fast-paced, multilayered and gripping."

Corps Justice Boxed Set


C.G. Cooper - 2013
    Never one to back down, the Navy Cross winner is forced to use the skills honed in the Marines along with the assets of his deceased father's company, Stokes Security International (S.S.I.), to track down his enemy and penetrate the world of his enemy.He must seek his own brand of justice...Corps Justice.--Council of Patriots-- A beautiful woman butchered…A Congressman blackmailed…A secret cabal of Japanese imperialists…A small group of retired politicians form to protect America. The Council of Patriots is born. Former Marine Cal Stokes, and his team at SSI, head to Las Vegas, to uncover an invisible enemy that threatens to infiltrate the Democratic National Convention. What is their endgame, and more importantly: Who is the American politician pulling the strings?With assassins around every corner, and a supposed ally manipulating both sides, Stokes must carefully utilize his team and the Council to stop the rise of a new empire. --Prime Asset--An old enemy resurfaces…An employee kidnapped…A new weapon created…Cal Stokes’s good friend, Neil Patel, has disappeared. Following the trail to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Stokes and his men must find the culprit and rescue their colleague before it’s too late. The only problem is that the enemy lies in wait, hoping for a final showdown.With an outside group of aggressors making a play for dominance, the former Marine must lead his team through the hazardous snow-filled mountains to eliminate their adversary.How many bodies will be left when the snow melts?Like USMC books, American Patriotism, brotherhood and Marine Corps motivation? This series is for you.

Ratcatcher


Tim Stevens - 2012
    British Intelligence has John Purkiss, the Ratcatcher.Purkiss's job is straightforward. Track down agents of the intelligence services who are taking kickbacks, committing crimes, or otherwise abusing their positions. And bring them to justice.Straightforward doesn't mean easy...After a renegade British former spymaster, Fallon, is sighted in the Baltic city of Tallinn on the eve of a historic summit meeting between the Russian and Estonian presidents, Purkiss is despatched to investigate, and uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to tear Europe - and the world - apart. But Purkiss has personal reasons for going after Fallon. Four years ago, Fallon was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Purkiss's fiancée, a murder Purkiss himself witnessed.Now, in an atmosphere of treachery and sudden violence, as the countdown begins towards a potentially catastrophic conflict between Russia and the West, Purkiss must keep his desire for revenge under control for the sake of the world's - and his own - survival.Described in Amazon reviews as a "cracker of a spy thriller" with "superbly choreographed action scenes" that "leave you feeling almost dizzy", RATCATCHER is both an adrenaline fuelled action adventure novel and a hardboiled mystery story which exposes the world of the spy, in which few motives and actions are purely black or white.

The Good Soldier: Jack Noble Early Years Bundle


L.T. Ryan - 2014
    A Marine in name only, Jack is on-loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq. Jack and his partner Bear have a run-in with four CIA special agents over the treatment of an Iraqi family. Within hours Jack and Bear are detained. All Jack wanted was to finish his enlistment and move on with his life. All he did was intervene and save a family from unwarranted violence at the hands of four CIA agents. But he soon discovers that he did far more than intervene. He has placed himself dead square in the middle of a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government. This Jack Noble political thriller is not for the faint of heart! A DEADLY DISTANCE (JACK NOBLE #2) - Washington, D.C. Midday. A man waits at a bus stop, his intentions unknown. Two government operatives have been stalking him for days, waiting for him to make his move. Unexpectedly, the man takes off running and heads for a deserted warehouse. Jack Noble and his partner, Frank Skinner, believe the man to be part of a terrorist organization that is involved in smuggling drugs and guns and men into the country. But it turns out their plan involves far more export than import, and hits a lot closer to home. As the case in this explosive action thriller unfolds, the man behind it all reaches out to Jack with a simple message... 37 hours.

The Stranger


Simon Conway - 2020
    Jude Lyon of MI6 remembers the captured terrorist bomb-maker. He watched him being flown off to Syria, back when Syria was 'friendly'. No-one expected him to survive interrogation there.Yet the man is alive and someone has broken him out of jail.Bad news for the former foreign secretary who authorised his rendition. And Jude's boss Queen Bee who knew he wasn't a terrorist at all, but an innocent bystander. Now she calls Jude back from a dangerously enjoyable mission involving a Russian diplomat's wife.He has a new job: close down this embarrassment. Fast.But embarrassment is only the beginning. Someone is using the former prisoner to front a new and unspeakably terrifying campaign. Someone not even ISIS can control.He is like a rumour, a myth, a whisper on the desert wind. But he is real and he is coming for us ...He is the genius known only as ...The Stranger.From the corridors of Westminster to the refugee camps of Jordan, the back streets of East London to the badlands of Iraq, The Stranger is a nerve-shredding journey of suspense as Jude Lyon pieces together the shape of an implacable horror coming towards him - and a conspiracy of lies behind him.

Rotten Gods


Greg Barron - 2012
    A new wave of terror threatens a world torn by inequality, conflict, economic disaster and environmental chaos. Heads of state gather in Dubai in an attempt to bring society back from the brink of global catastrophe. But when extremists hijack the conference centre, the clock starts ticking: seven days until certain death for presidents and prime ministers alike, unless the terrorists' radical demands are met. A treasonous British diplomat, an Australian intelligence officer, an airline pilot searching for his missing daughters, a mysterious Somali agent, and a disillusioned UN official are all forced to examine their motives, faith and beliefs as they attempt to stave off disaster, hurtling towards the deadline and a shattering climax. Rotten Gods is both an imaginative tour de force and a dire warning, holding the reader spellbound until the last breathtaking page.

The Caliban Program


Richard Fox
    A war Ritter isn't ready for. Al-Qaeda holds an American hostage, and Ritter's history with the kidnapper is the only hope to rescue the American before it's too late. While Ritter is a key player in the search, the CIA considers him an expendable asset. Contains an excerpt from the full length novel, Into Darkness.

Chasing Ivan


Tim Tigner - 2016
    The CIA calls him Ivan the Ghost because he’s operated for years without leaving a trail or revealing his face.Until now.For the first time in history, Ivan appears to have slipped. The CIA’s new director sets Agent Kyle Achilles on an intercept course, surveilling the daughter of a British politician. Then Ivan pulls off a masterful con, and Emily vanishes.With Emily’s life, his career, and America’s reputation at stake, Achilles partners with an unlikely new agent he meets in France. Together they attempt to get one step ahead of the legendary Russian, while rubbing elbows with the ultra-rich in a high-tech international chase.___________________________________________PLEASE NOTE: WITH 28 CHAPTERS, THIS NOVELLA IS ABOUT 1/3 THE SIZE OF THE AUTHOR'S OTHER THRILLERS___________________________________________"I loved this novella. It started out fast and never stopped." – Margaret Lovett"Fast paced and action packed, this was a quick and fun read." – Nick Babbitz“Fans of Ludlum and Lee Child will delight at the magical web Tim Tigner weaves." – Leslie O"Brien"A lot of twists, great characters, and an ending that leaves you begging for more!" – Bodo Pfundl"Easy to read, and hard to put down." – Todd Simpson

Any Means Necessary


Jack Mars - 2015
    Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours. A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined—leading all the way to the President of the United States. With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them—using any means necessary. Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax. A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, Any Means Necessary marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.