Blake Barrett thought he was done being someone else's weapon.Operating under a stolen identity for months, the former covert operative has been hunting the shadowy Echo Syndicate—a conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of American power. But when Iranian President Hassan announces nuclear disarmament in Tehran's Azadi Square, Barrett realizes the syndicate's true plan was never about smuggling or assassination. It was about starting World War III. With a nuclear missile locked onto New York City and less than an hour before impact, Barrett and his Mercury team must infiltrate a hidden launch facility in the Iranian desert. But the deeper they dig into Echo's web of betrayal, the more Barrett discovers that some of America's most trusted leaders have been playing a deadlier game than anyone imagined. Racing against a countdown that could reshape the world forever, Barrett faces an impossible maintain his new moral code, or become the killer he swore he'd never be again. Because this time, the price of failure isn't just his life—it's the survival of civilization itself. When patriots become traitors, who can you trust?
Author
*** Signup for my newsletter and receive a free copy of The Warren Omissions, the first book in my James Flynn thriller series, by visiting http://eepurl.com/bZwpdf *** THE FIRST SIGNS that I might like writing—and that I might be slightly competitive—appeared when my year two (or first grade) teacher, Mrs. Holland, asked my class to write and illustrate our day. Mine read like this: “The Red team beat the Blue team, 1 to nil. And I won.” The next 47 entries covered my exploits on the soccer pitch while growing up in Ipswich, England. In South Carolina as a teenager, my dad told me that I could get paid to watch sports provided I could write about it. Sounded easy enough and by the time I was 16, I landed a job at my town’s daily newspaper and had a column on Major League Baseball players from our area. I also covered my first riot there at a sporting event—and it’s safe to say I was smitten with journalism. After graduating from one of the best journalism schools in the country, I took a job as a sports editor in South Georgia and learned firsthand about the passion of high school sports in rural America. I thought I knew before, but I didn’t. This was another world. I also had the opportunity to cover major sporting events like the Olympic Games, the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Final Four. It was a thrill! But nothing was as thrilling to me as uncovering the truth in investigative assignments. I once broke a story about a prominent southern football team’s NCAA violation—and found out the violating coach had committed suicide only a few months earlier. The story won a national writing award and stoked my desire to write about these issues. It made me realize that the sports world was just another fantastic backdrop for drama. After writing non-fiction books with athletes, for athletes, and ghost writing for many others, I decided to enter the world of fiction writing. It had been something I wanted to do but never found the time. So, I made the time—and had a blast in the process. I’m not out to become the next Faulkner or Hemingway—I’m just out to tell a good story. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!
