Thriller

Title: The Texas Two Card Hold 'em Heist
Author: Karl Boyd
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Reviewer: John Cathcart

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0557541239

Roger Booth, Carl James and their gang of ex-military troops are at it again - this time they're back in Las Vegas, where they plan to steal the first prize of twenty million dollars right off the final table at the Universal Poker Tour.

As usual, Roger's plan is unique, deceitful and amazing in scope. Along with the FBI and law enforcement agencies of Nevada, you'll wonder how they did it and where the money is. You be awed by who actually makes off with the money and how Roger, Carl and the gang retrieve it for themselves. It's a feat of daring-do.

As a bonus, fans of Karl's previous books, especially the two others that make up this trilogy of lighthearted crime tales, learn what one of their previous victims; Richard Murdock wants them to do in repayment for swindling him so many years ago.

Although the pair of con men agrees to do Richard's biding, as always, with Roger, Carl and their nefarious assistants, nothing is as it seems.
Be prepared for more double crosses and a story that keeps you guessing until another unexpected conclusion.

Long time fins of Karl Boyd's novels wonder if this third part of the trilogy is actually the last adventure they'll share with Roger and Carl. But, fear not; there is a fourth episode being written as we speak.

Title: Silent Enemy
Author: Thomas W. Young
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: John Cathcart

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0399157794

Four years after the events of The Mullah's Storm ("an irresistible adventure story"-USA Today), jihadists strike the Afghan National Police training center in Kabul, killing many and wounding others, including Sergeant Major Sophia Gold. The injured are hurriedly loaded onto a C-5 Galaxy bound for Germany, but once airborne, the commander, Major Michael Parson, receives a message. The jihadists have placed bombs on some planes leaving Afghanistan, and the Galaxy is one of them. If Parson tries to descend-the bomb will go off.

Parson, Gold, and everybody else aboard are trapped at altitude, until either they or someone on the ground can figure out what to do. They can refuel in midair, but not indefinitely. The aircraft is deteriorating, the condition of the patients is worsening, the crew is tiring-and their biggest challenges are yet to come.

Title: PIRATES The Midnight Passage
Author: Jim Hannibal
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Young Adult
Reviewer: Frank Evans

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1590957253

The Midnight Passage debuts the chronicles of Jim Thatcher and the intrepid crew of the sloop Adventure. Pirates, puzzles, and peril await the privateer crew as they seek to recover the vast treasure of Morgan's Lost Gold from the mysterious Aztec underworld of the Midnight Passage.

Betrayal! A treaty is signed, and suddenly the British privateers are named pirates by the very Crown they serve. Some embrace the new title and the bloody life that comes with it; others, like Captain Jim Thatcher, are not so eager to turn against the world they love. Exiled from Port Royal, Thatcher and the crew of the Adventure set out on a new mission. They seek to recover a vast fortune in gold and emeralds that disappeared a half-century before, hoping it will be enough to buy their pardons. But Thatcher soon learns that the Adventure is not the only ship on the hunt for the treasure.

An Indiaman pursues them across the Windward Passage; it is the Havoc, captained by Thatcher's long-time nemesis, Edward Teach, the infamous Blackbeard. Fleeing the powerful pirate ship and following a questionable treasure map, the crew takes refuge at the mouth of an underground river system, the ancient Aztec underworld. They are trapped by the Havoc; there is nowhere to go but forward, but there are worse things than pirates in the Caribbean. Deadly puzzles, booby traps, and something even more sinister await the crew in the darkness of the Midnight Passage.

Title: The Lost Priest
Author: Karl Boyd
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Reviewer: Sandra Miller Linhart

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1604520442

Once again, in his longest novel thus far, The Lost Priest, Karl Boyd works his magic and paints vivid pictures with words to bring a diversified cast of characters to life in a two part adventure/thriller/romance tale set in Texas, Bermuda and the steamy jungles of Brazil.

Title: Dragonslayers: Mind Games
Author: Kathy Rowe
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Sandra Miller Linhart

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1453689206

Mind Games, the stand-alone second installment of Project: Dragonslayers follows the Special Forces Team into Al-Qaeda territory, where they uncover the secrets of the terrorists' latest weapons of mass destruction.