Book picks similar to
Launch Code by Michael Ridpath


thriller
fiction
part-read
military-thriller

Shadow Soldiers


Jim Heskett - 2018
    A quick and clean assassin. But he's burned out and ready to quit.Trained by a government agency with no name, Layne Parrish can snap a neck with one hand. But tea parties and cartoons with his three-year-old daughter is where his priorities are. After retiring to the mountains of Colorado for a simpler life, Layne thought that perilous world was behind him.He was wrong--dead wrong.When his former boss begs for his expertise, Layne knows he has one mission:  Eliminate an assassin to save a life. It's a job he can't refuse. This particular assassin is a ghost from his past--a murky past he wants destroyed.  But when Layne picks up his pistol for the last time, will his plan backfire?

The Mentor


Rebecca Forster - 1998
    This is also her chance to make her mentor, Judge Wilson Caufeld, proud. When Caufeld is murdered, Lauren is trapped in a maze of consipracy, corruption and secrets leading right up to the Supreme Court. Lauren must decide who she can trust before she becomes the next victim of a vicious killer

Someone Knows Something


Christa Weisman - 2019
    It lives in your bones and pulses in your blood, waiting for just the right moment to expose your sins. J.R. Hudson was the golden boy of Timber Falls. Born into privilege as the mayor’s son, he was the envied quarterback on the high school football team with big dreams and aspirations. Along with his teammates and best friends, Ethan Young and Caleb Weston, the trio ruled senior year at Timber Falls High and the small Washington town they lived in. And then one day they vanished. Now the town is in a desperate attempt to solve the mysterious disappearance of these strong, dynamic young men. Searching for answers dredges up dark secrets and haunting revelations, revealing the grim truth—that maybe these boys weren’t as perfect as they seemed. Author note: Set in the mid-1990s, before cellphones and social media was present, this book reminds us that when someone went missing, they left no trace. The boys are high school teens, though due to graphic scenes and mature content, this book is recommended for 18+

Silent Warpath


Dominic Conlon - 2011
    He learns that project Cetus is a state of the art un-manned submarine. Built using stealth technology, it carries a new type of deadly underwater weapon.But during sea trials Natasha, analyst on the project, makes a terrifying discovery: Cetus is no longer under her control. Sean and Natasha are forced to work together to find out who is behind the sabotage.  Sean is being hunted by the very forces he is trying to help, and time is running out.Cetus is on the warpath. And it won't stop until it finds its ultimate prey.Skilfully blending elements of political manoeuvring, naval warfare and high technology, Silent Warpath is a spy thriller at heart. Written by first time author Dominic Conlon, the novel should appeal to followers of Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth and Clive Cussler.

Killing State


Judith O'Reilly - 2017
    She is. Michael North is a hero, with a bullet in the brain to prove it. A bullet which has rewired his neural pathways and heightened his sense of intuition. A bullet which is driving him mad. Working for an extra-governmental agency called The Board, North knows one thing for sure. He is very good at killing very bad guys. But what happens when a hero is ordered to kill a good woman rather than a bad man? Because it turns out that rising political star, Honor Jones, MP, can't stop asking the right questions about the wrong people. He should follow orders. Shouldn't he?

Collapse Depth


Todd Tucker - 2012
    When a madaman tries to stop the ship's vital mission, it's up to Danny and the rest of the heroic crew to stop him.

Carver


Jeffrey E. Seay - 2014
    The culprits initially suspected were members of an Indonesian terrorist group with connections to Al Qaeda. Special Agent Ruben Carver, as the NCIS Case Agent, takes a small, hand picked team to Singapore to begin unraveling the mystery.The story, set in Southeast Asia, is the first book in the Ruben Carver series. A man tolerated by the agency's hierarchy because he's most effective when he lands “in the shit." In truth, a six foot two, two hundred and twenty pound shit magnet, who lives by the maxim: “You can never have too many friends or bullets.”

Dead Man's Gift: Yesterday


Simon Kernick - 2014
    MP Tim Horton arrives home to find his seven year old son has been abducted by a ruthless gang of kidnappers. All they have left behind is the brutally murdered body of the Horton's nanny. The gang's demands are simple: Tim must sacrifice his own life in order to save his son's. It's the ultimate dead man's gift .

Playing Jenna


Kiersten Modglin - 2017
    This mysterious woman, Jenna, causes Monroe to question everything she thought she knew about her life, her family, and her marriage. Forced to face a life, and a love, full of lies and deceit— Monroe vows to exact revenge on the woman who caused her entire world to crumble around her. As she begins digging into the affair, she finds herself uncovering clues that point to a much more sinister truth than she could have ever imagined. Every belief Monroe had about her marriage, and her seemingly perfect husband, is called into question as she realizes she may not have known the man she married as well as she thought. With all of the odds against her, Monroe sets out on a journey of self-discovery and self-preservation to uncover the truth about her past and the woman who ripped it all away from her.

Natural Selection


Stephen Leather - 2013
    Shepherd is tested to his limits - and is given his nickname. Natural Selection is about 14,000 words, about thirty pages, perfect if you have half an hour to spare. Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers. He was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. Two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were made into movies. You can find out more from his website, www.stephenleather.com.

SEAL Team Six


Chuck Dixon - 2011
    Their missions are classified. They are our best and last hope. Yet they do not exist. Follow SEAL Team Six as they train, hunt and fight an enemy who reaches out from the most remote corners of the world to murder and maim. These highly-trained, military men are the unknown heroes who endure unimaginable hardship and murderous combat to protect our homeland.In SEAL Team Six: The Novel, a mass shooting at a California big box store begins a new round of murder from an unknown source. America is suffering a virus of homegrown terror as one-man cells are inspired by a new kind of terrorist who speaks to them through websites, tweets and emails. These lone wolves get their orders and directions on how to carry them out from a man known only as Young El. His identity and face aren't known. Counter-intelligence agencies in the West have only the voice on his podcasts to identify him. The super-secret group often know as SEAL Team Six is the point of the spear to find, and eliminate, this new source of murder and suffering. Their hunt takes them from their base in the USA to a deadly labyrinth in the Phillipines and, finally, a terror stronghold deep in the jungles of Borneo. You'll train with these men, fight alongside them and share their danger and losses. America's gunfighters take the battle to the home turf of terror no matter where on the planet it hides.

Without Mercy


David Hunt - 2017
    They begin with an attack at Bagram Airfield, America’s largest military base in Afghanistan. A second weapon is detonated in Battery Park in New York City.The blast levels a square mile of Manhattan, including the Financial District. Hundreds of thousands perish. The American economy is in chaos. Banks close their doors. The U.S. supply chain is disrupted. Riots and looting break out while enemies in the Middle East burn U.S. flags in celebration.The stakes skyrocket when Islamabad CIA Station Chief Bill Gorman unearths evidence of a third bomb headed our way. Across two continents the chase is on to find the runaway terrorists led by the ruthless and capable Salma Bahmani, star agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, the dread ISI. She will stop at nothing to deliver what could be the final nail in America’s coffin.

Ice Fortress (A Jack Coulson Thriller Book 1)


Robert B. Williams - 2017
    Williams ** A high-octane, fast-paced, action-packed Jack Coulson thriller with edge-of-your-seat suspense and an ending that will blow you away. For over 70 years Hitler’s most fearsome weapon, Die Glocke (The Bell) has been entombed inside an icy fortress in the most inhospitable and unforgiving place on earth — the Antarctic.When oceanographer Leah Anderson discovers a hidden WWII Nazi submarine base buried deep under the Antarctic ice shelf, she sparks a fierce battle to acquire The Bell.While Russian and American submarines clash deep below the ice pack, on the surface, a sinister force launches a ruthless assault to secure the infamous weapon they have been searching for since its mysterious disappearance in 1945. If they succeed, they will use it to change the course of history forever and ensure a Nazi victory at the end of the Second World War.Enigmatic covert ops soldier Jack Coulson has already been to hell and back for his country, but if he is to stop the resurgence of the Thousand Year Reich, he must enter the gates of hell one more time.What Jack and his team don’t know is that the Allies already used The Bell to change the course of the war and history as we know it — a secret that must remain, like The Bell itself, buried at any cost. For fans of James Rollins, Matthew Reilly, Michael C. Grumley, A.G. Riddle, Rob Jones, Jay J. Falconer, James D. Prescott, Brad Thor, Douglas E. Richards, Clive Cussler and David Baldacci.

Sideswiped / The Inca Con / The French Girl


J.C. Ryan - 2019
    Ryan's bestselling Rex Dalton series.SideswipedWhen Rex nearly bumps into someone from his former life, it's time for Rex and Digger to get out of India. Rex goes to Thailand, where he plans to undergo cosmetic surgery to change his looks and hide from people in his past. But then he meets Sunstra. Her name means 'girl with beautiful eyes'. Right from the beginning they become fast friends, and before long there is a romance in the making. But then Sunstra disappears. Her family receives a ransom ultimatum: Sunstra is alive, but if her father doesn't sell his land, she won't stay that way for long. It's a race against the clock for Rex and Digger to save Sunstra's life, and time is running out. The Inca ConRex Dalton and Digger are exploring the remarkable history of Peru when they befriend a retired American couple. The couple invites them to join their expedition to a remote village high up in the Andes Mountains to inspect an archaeological site in which they want to invest. But on arrival in the village, it doesn't take long for Rex to discover that his new friends are victims of a cleverly designed con. This con is run by people who will do anything to make sure Rex and Digger don't interfere.The French GirlRex Dalton and Digger are looking forward to a trouble-free holiday on the idyllic islands of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. Swimming, playing on the beach, fishing, and hikes. Nothing but the laid-back lifestyle for the two of them. Then Digger introduces Rex to a beautiful French girl, not once, but twice. Soon, Rex and the girl become good friends. Then she disappears, and Rex is accused of having something to do with it. Thus, begins a series of dramatic and life-threatening events with international repercussions with Rex, Digger and the French girl in the center of it.

Dragon Storm: China invades Taiwan


T.J. McFadden - 2014
    McFadden. In a story that could be torn from tomorrow's headlines, Xiao Ying Tien, "The Smiling Man" hopes to use the might of modern China to crush the last remnant of the Republic of China and solidify his grip on power. Against him stand two leaders on Taiwan: President Ch'iu Wang Chen, a cynic who rediscovers his lost idealism in Taiwan's darkest hour, and General Sung Chung Tam, "The Chessmaster", a pure soldier dedicated to winning at any cost, against any odds. They lead the free people of Taiwan in a desperate fight against the corrupt "People's" Republic and it's new military power. The latest planes, ships and weapons are used alongside weapons straight out of the history books as armies and fleets clash to determine the future of China. Among the millions caught up in this war there are:Mike Shannon- a reporter covering his first international event, who must fight his own battle between being a detached observer and caring for a people fighting in defense of their freedom.Group Leader Zheng Yiguan, a middle-aged idealist whose dreams of the People's Revolution of his youth run aground on the harsh realities of what China has become.Captain Daniel "Day" O'Reilly, an ex-USAF pilot who volunteers to join a new American Volunteer Group, a reborn "Flying Tigers" flying in defense of the Republic of China. Sgt. Soo Kuo-K'ang, a young ROC tank commander who must become a leader under the most desperate circumstances. Premier Li Wolan, General Secretary of the Communist Party, who feels the power of his party slipping away in the new, modern People's Republic. In the tradition of Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising" this novel tells the story of these and other people, of the strategies, combat and politics of what could be the next great war.Reviews:"a very good mix of characters sketches, a fast pace, and lots of bang bang. Of special merit is the way he deftly handles infowar operations"- Scott Palter, STRATEGY PAGE"T.J. McFadden’s new novel about a PRC invasion of Taiwan is strong on military knowledge and competent on character development"-"a factual, hardboiled thriller"- Bradley Winterton, TAIPEI TIMES