Book picks similar to
Starhustler by Chris Turner
reviewed
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space-opera
thriller
The Crinkle Crankle Wall: Our First Year in Andalusia
Sabina Ostrowska - 2020
As soon as they drive across Andalusia, they fall in love with its rugged beauty, whitewashed villages, red geraniums, giant aloes, and endless olive trees. After weeks of visiting ruins and dilapidated sheds advertised as homes, they find a little stone cottage in a mountain valley in the middle of nowhere. Equipped with everything that a romantic soul desires: a patio shaded by grape vines, an ancient bay leaf tree, and a formidable oak in front of a long driveway, they fall in love with this property and decide to reform it into a guest house. With little foresight or planning, they exchange cushy expats lives for a life in the sun.Quite quickly, however, they find themselves battling cowboy builders, no electricity, a dry well, torrential rain storms, and a freezing cold winter without a roof over their heads. Through all these adventures, they develop relations with their neighbours who had lived in the valley for many generations. Puzzled by the strangers’ behaviour, the neighbours teach them about olive picking, and the cultivation of local vegetables. But primarily, they offer their endless generosity and insight into life in rural Andalusia.As they begin to settle in, financial problems confront our somewhat naïve couple. Without steady pay checks and construction bills piling up, their idea of the good life starts to fall apart. Written with a wry sense of honest humour, this story is filled with twists and turns that take the reader on a journey from a life where every day was monotonously repetitive to a place where every day presents a new challenge.
Savior/Corruptor (An Allie Krycek Thriller, Book 4)
Sam Sisavath - 2019
__________________________________________ SHE NEEDED A VACATION, BUT SHE WON’T GET ONE. It was supposed to be a much-needed respite for Allie Krycek. She was ready and needed to heal. And that’s exactly what she did in a small nowhere town in the Pacific Northwest. That is, until certain people decided to drag her into their web of murder and lies. When an abused housewife leaves a desperate plea for help, Allie doesn’t—she can’t—turn the other cheek. It’s not in her nature to let an innocent get hurt, if she can help it. But not everything is what it seems, and soon Allie finds herself thrust into a complicated conspiracy that just keeps getting more dangerous. If Allie were any other woman, she would turn and run. But Allie Krycek isn’t any other woman. She’s going to do the right thing, even if it means taking on one of the most powerful families in the country.
The Irish Brigade: A Fallen Empire Novel
J.F. Holmes - 2020
ZAP Agent Mathis
C.R. Daems - 2015
Of course it did fit a pattern of not being able to decide what she wanted to do with her life since grammar school. In college she had tried a variety of subjects, played sports, and partied, excelling at each, but she had graduated as undecided as she had been in grammar school. And the Ad, interview, and current speaker made the training sound like hard work and the job dangerous. But they had dangled two worms in front of her: the chance to see the lives of the rich and powerful up close and to protect important people. And she could quit if she decided it wasn’t what she was looking for—whatever that was. To everyone’s astonishment, can't-make-up-her-mind and party-girl Kate Mathis survives the training, makes agent, enjoys her job, and finds something she loves—outmaneuvering the terrorists.
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.
Kill Order / Vendetta
Jack McSporran - 2017
Beautiful. On the run. When secret agent Maggie Black agrees to protect the Mayor of London, she thinks she’s in for a boring night of babysitting. The simple job gets a lot more complicated when an assassin arrives and takes out the Mayor, framing Maggie as the killer. Unable to explain the evidence against her, Maggie is branded a traitor and hunted by the very people she once fought beside. With no one to turn to, Maggie relies on the one person who has always had her back—herself. From the hidden nightclubs of Madrid, to the dark streets of Moscow, Maggie must delve into the depths of the criminal underworld to unearth the truth, and fast. Because time is running out and the enemy is closer than she thinks… KILL ORDER is the first gripping installment to the Maggie Black thriller series, and the perfect read for fans of Lee Child and James Patterson. Venice. The Mafia. A drug deal gone wrong. When a British covert intelligence agency learns of an impending drug deal between the Venetian mafia and one of the UK’s most notorious importers, agent Maggie Black is sent to stop it. Under the alias of an American drug lord, Maggie must infiltrate the crime family and stop their product from reaching British soil. A feat that gets more complicated when her colleague and old flame Leon is sent along with her. Maggie is soon thrust into the middle of a vicious war that spans generations. As blood is spilled and the scent of death lingers across the lagoons, a failed mission becomes the least of her worries. Because someone has a score to settle and they won't let Maggie stand in their way... Join Maggie Black in VENDETTA, the first heart-pounding novella in the Maggie Black Case Files series. Get your copy of the Starter Library today and discover the action-packed world of Maggie Black.
The Ranger
A.W. Hart - 2021
His father was black, his mother a full-blood member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas. He remembers neither of them. Both disappeared soon after Concho’s birth and his Kickapoo grandmother raised him on the tribal reservation just outside Eagle Pass, Texas.Often bullied as a youth for his differences, Concho soon grew into the promise of his big hands and wide shoulders. Hatred of him remained in some; fear joined that emotion in others. Concho learned to walk a solitary path, which first took him away to college and then to Afghanistan as an Army Ranger.Now, a group of Neo-Nazi terrorists have taken over a mall in Eagle Pass. One hostage is the woman Concho loves. The only path Concho can see is straight ahead and through.
Rules
Dustin Stevens - 2021
Rules for the rest of us to follow.”Retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Detective Solomon Hill hasn’t heard the name in years. A man he hasn’t thought about since sending him away more than two decades prior for attempted murder. One of the biggest arrests of his entire career, a person the the world is better off without.Or so it was for the last twenty-one years in the time prior to his sudden inclusion on a list of governor’s pardons. A free pass undoing all that occurred, releasing a man with a short fuse and a long list of people he holds responsible for what happened.People that Hill still feels responsible for, even if his current physical condition will no longer allow him to make good on it.Low on time and options, Hill does the only think he can think of, calling in an old marker—a favor owed from his early days on the force, extended from one of the last vestiges of the original Las Vegas. Someone accustomed to handling issues in a way Hill isn’t accustomed to.Three hundred miles to the south, Ham muddles her way through the final months of a slow winter. Endless hours spent training for an unknown opponent, each day without the phone ringing heightening her desire for action. The need to be moving again, unable to feel fully alive without the adrenaline of the job after years spent relegated to the sidelines.A craving that sends her hurtling up out of the desert the instant she hears what happened in Las Vegas...Right into a head-on collision with a deadly opponent.
Interstellar Caveman
Karl Beecher - 2019
Now, he’s being pursued by a homicidal interstellar tourist board, and calculating insurance dividends is as outdated as making stone axes. Sci-fi-hating technophobe Colin embarks on a desperate struggle to find a cure for his illness, as well as a place for himself in this strange new galaxy where toilets talk back, and door handles are a long-forgotten relic. Only by teaming up with his rescuer, hard-boiled, space-traveling archaeologist Tyresa Jak (that’s Doctor Jak to you), can Colin hope to succeed before time runs out. Along the way, this galactic odd-couple must evade the Erd Tourist Board - a powerful mega-corporation which will do anything to ensure the mythical Earth stays mythical - and deal with a crackpot religious cult who not only possess a cure for Colin’s illness, but who also believe there is more to this caveman from Earth than meets the eye.... Don't miss the start of this side-splitting intergalactic adventure that will keep you laughing into the night. It's perfect for fans of Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Space Team. Also available on Audible, narrated by Steve West.
Cradle of Death
Matthew James - 2020
The object, the “Cradle,” isn’t a mythological container filled with the evils of the world as the Greek poet, Hesiod, once described. Pandora’s Box is, in reality, an advanced energy core mightier than any weapon imaginable.Shortly after the Cradle’s unearthing, its discoverer, Special Forces veteran turned archaeologist, Elliot Oxley, is thrust into a centuries-old war that still rages on within the shadows of the world’s governments. He and a small team are forced to survive attacks by murderous zealots and well-armed mercenaries while also preventing the Cradle from falling into the hands of someone who intends to use it to fulfill a terrible prophecy.Matt James’ CRADLE OF DEATH is Indiana Jones, James Bond, and the X-Files rolled into one. This action-packed adventure is an exciting experience for all audiences, especially those that enjoy the “what if” of ancient history.
Selling Out
Zen DiPietro - 2017
He gets to meet interesting people, enjoy all the comforts and safety of the PAC, and also do just a wee bit of shady dealing on the side. It's a nice life.Unfortunately, the alliance is falling apart. When he's tasked with a critical mission that only a trader can pull off, he has no choice but to accept, in order to preserve the PAC and maintain his cushy existence.He'll have to broker a deal with a reptilian species that is notoriously difficult to interact with. To accomplish that, he'll also need to resurrect some of the criminal skills he left behind over a decade ago.Worse, he needs the help of both his former best friend and his worst enemy, who is also his ex-wife.She's the reason he went legit. Well, mostly legit.Nagali is a ruthless, chaotic, pleasure-seeking pirate. As much as she likes lying and cheating, she likes torturing Cabot even more. She's also beautiful, brilliant, and hard to resist.There's a reason he hasn't seen her since his fortune-hunting privateer days. Enjoy a fun adventure with delightful characters, unique species, and lots of heart.Books in the Dragonfire Station universe in written order: Each series stands alone and need not be read in written order. Dragonfire Station Book 1: Translucid Dragonfire Station Book 2: Fragments Dragonfire Station Book 3: Coalescence (series complete) Intersections: Dragonfire Station Short Stories Mercenary Warfare Book 1: Selling Out Mercenary Warfare Book 2: Blood Money Mercenary Warfare Book 3: Hell to Pay Mercenary Warfare Book 4: Calculated Risk Mercenary Warfare Book 5: Going for Broke (series complete) Chains of Command Book 1: New Blood Chains of Command Book 2: Blood and Bone Chains of Command Book 3: Cut to the Bone Chains of Command Book 4: Out for Blood(series complete)
Scavengers
J.D. Dudycha - 2017
The relic: a flintlock pistol. One of two linked to the notorious captain of Scavenger, a pirate ship that sank off the Bahamian coast in 1717.Scavenger went down with all hands, including chests full of gold in the sum of millions, which remained lost . . . until now.Gage, along with his daughter, Niki, and his best friend, Duke Yates, look to reclaim what has been lost for centuries. But a legendary diver, whom Gage trusts implicitly, offers phony advice to preserve a family secret, and a disgruntled and ruthless former sea captain will stop at nothing to find the treasure first.
The Original's Return
David Watkins - 2013
Returning to Britain, he jumps at the chance to lead a small team in Devon. The task sounds more like a holiday; exactly what Knowles and his men need.The mission: watch Jack Stadler. Jack has always led a quiet life, but now he is suffering blackouts and has violent fantasies. When the first dismembered body is found, Knowles begins to realise he has made a terrible mistake…