Four compact contemporary thrillers that offer different aspects of one terrifying conspiracy.
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Veteran journalist Joe Lombardo thought he was done with wars and terror campaigns. After winning a Pulitzer for his articles on the ethnic cleansings in Kosovo, after years spent covering wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, after sacrificing his marriage to his globe-hopping career, he’s quit the foreign desk of the New York Times in favor of writing about local politics for the Daily News. He prefers the quieter lifestyle local coverage affords him.
Or at least that’s what he believes right up until an old CIA source gets in touch with him for the first time in years with the story of a lifetime: the Agency is subverting humanitarian immunization programs to hunt for terrorists. But even as visions of a second Pulitzer dance in Joe’s head, a CIA-hired team of assassins go after his source—and their next target is Joe…
ANOMALY
Doctor Felix Koehler oversees the vaccination program in Dadaab, Kenya. When the world’s largest refugee camp is plagued with cholera outbreaks, Koehler discovers a murderous conspiracy. Corrupt CIA agents plan to destabilise the African Union by distributing a live virus to certain ethnic groups.
His amateur investigation is noted by those on the take, and hired guns come for him. Koehler is rescued by Hank Strait, a US Marshal investigating the corrupt company men. With no backup and hundreds of people hunting them, the pair must cross Kenya, and try to bring the truth to the world…but will they save lives, or doom millions?
MARTYRS
When newly discovered intel places the world’s most wanted terrorist far from the mountain caves where he’s reputed to be hiding, the CIA decides to enlist the help of local doctor Sahir Ahmed to run an inoculation campaign designed to isolate DNA that can be linked to a sister in Boston. A relationship soon develops between the doctor and his nurse/handler, Pakistani-American Nadira, that has him questioning everything he knows about the bond between the nation he calls home and the superpower across the sea.
Initially reluctant, Sahir braves gunfights with local thugs, conflicts with corrupt medical authorities, torture at the hands of overzealous law enforcement and, ultimately, the storming of a fortified Abbottabad bunker in order to deliver vital inoculations to the poor of Pakistan.
THE CALL
Iron-willed veteran CIA case officer Nikolas Koteas confronts a series of increasingly ugly choices as he hunts for a notorious Taliban commander while under deep cover in Pakistan. When it becomes clear that his ruthless enemy has acquired a horrific weapon of mass destruction, Koteas must ask himself how far he will go and whether or not he will make the call to use the very vaccination ruse that he condemned in order to complete his mission.
PRAISE:
"Powerfully compact contemporary thrillers, well researched trek through a minefield of concussive ideas and edge of your seat action. Viral will leave you breathlessly looking over your shoulder… And ahead for what these talented writers will do next next" -- David Sakmyster, author of The Pharos Objective and Crescent Lake
"Masters of plot who handle action with deft hands while drawing out characterization with a craftsman’s skill. This is an excellent book on every level.” -- Nathan Meyer, author of Shadow War, Volatile Agent and Aldwyns Academy
“Viral pull the reader into the action from the first page and doesn’t let go until the last.” -- Jeffrey S. Stephens, Author of Targets of Opportunity and Targets of Deception
These stories were inspired by the CIA's fake vaccine sting used to draw out Osama bin Laden and look at the ethical dilemmas involved in such an operation.
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