Rating: Summary: Strong spy thriller. Review: If you enjoy the black helicopter, conspiracy theory, paranoid thrillers, then Christopher Whitcomb's "Black" is right up your alley.
Mr. Whitcomb writes what he knows. He spent fifteen years in the FBI...as a sniper on Hostage Rescue, an interrogation instructor and director of intelligence for the Critical Incident Response Group.
The plot centers upon telecom billionaire Jordan Mitchell whose latest high-tech cell phone has a new encryption model so advanced it will take the NSA at least a year to map it.
Mitchell's game plan to roll out the phones in the Mideast prompts many in the U.S. government to accuse him of putting profits ahead of patriotism. This phone will compromise the U.S. ability to gather intel on the terrorists.
There are three additional main players.
The HRT connection is Jeremy Waller, a rookie, always at the top of his class.
Senator Elizabeth Beecham who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee has Mitchell squarely in her sights.
The sexy Sirad Malneaux who works for Mitchell in his Atlanta office is a spy...who controls her, and is she perhaps a double or even a triple agent?
These four swirl in an intense eddy, eventually converging in this high stakes game.
To give away more plot points would sabotage your personal theories and predictions.
If you find yourself bewildered, perplexed or disoriented as the plot unfolds...at the resolution you will realize you were meant to feel that way.
So---read, hypothesize and enjoy a genuine electrifying ride.
Rating: Summary: if you are interested, just read FBI's trainning manuals Review: lots of endless blahblahblahs. very tiresome to read along. one dimensional characters trying to be deep but failed miserably and total uniteresting. forget about this one. if you might convinced by those viewers given high ratings, fine, just go to your library to get it for a free read. why taking chances?
Rating: Summary: What the? Review: Major disappointment. Despite all the potential, the book finishes all the open questions in the final two pages - unrealistic and unimaginative. Even the high points of the book lacked detail and interest.
Rating: Summary: Done Hiding Review: O.k. I heard this guy on Imus and thought this book would make a great Father's Day gift. I bought it and 24 hours later, I was so engrossed in this novel, I was hiding all over the house to keep my husband from seeing me read it! You are in the driver's seat with this guy from the get go and it just gets better and faster with each chapter. This book is all about fighting terrorism in today's world with no guidebooks or rules of engagement. It's almost a vigilante effort within our government. As elusive as the terrorists are, so are the agencies' efforts to combat them. I am still asking myself, does this stuff really happen? Whitcomb clearly has personal insight in his ability to navigate this journey. Black takes you into a world that we never think about. Several worlds actually, that Whitcomb brilliantly brings together, in an unimaginable way, leaving you feeling safer as an American and begging for a sequel. A great read for Father's Day.
Rating: Summary: 4 1/2 stars Review: See storyline above.This newcomer to the spy-thriller is a welcome addition. Having the the background in this field, Whitcomb has written a knowledgable and fast-paced novel. It's sure to please even fans of early Ludlum. I look forward to reading the next 'Jeremy Walker' novel. Highly Recommended.
Rating: Summary: Black Review: Technology is a double edged sword; whatever has the potential for great good can destroy just as thoroughly. Such is the case in Black, a thriller that takes readers into the world within the world where only one man knows everything that is going on; that man is Jordan Mitchell, who holds the key to totally safe communication. On the surface that seems good, but in the hands of killers, it's deadly. The trio of his costars must navigate his traps within traps to save not only their lives, but perhaps the world.
*** For fans of Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy, this will be a thrill ride they could easily get hooked on. Multi layed stories parallel each other until they intertwine to bring the journey to an end. Like an Escher painting, you will find nothing is as it seems. ***
Amanda Killgore
Rating: Summary: an exciting, timely thriller Review: This is a very fast moving, thrilling novel that adds a chilling twist to the way America fights terrorism. The reader is quickly immersed into the lives of the three patriotic americans from different walks of life, who are caught up in a grand scheme to defeat a deadly terrorist plot. This is a hard book to put down. I put everything on hold until I finished it. The reader is never really sure who the good guys and bad guys are, and never does know until the startling ending. The plot will keep you guessing right to the last page. I highly recommend this book and hope to see more novels from Mr. Whitcomb.
Rating: Summary: A quick summer read Review: Three and a half stars, really, because his insider's view of the mindset of his military and FBI characters, especially in the context of current events, raises this book above the level of pure cotton candy potboiler. He gives decent dialogue and motivation to characters he's obviously at home with, but his other characters come out flat. And he drops so many names of high-priced luxury items worn or admired by his non-FBI-related characters that it looks like that's how he's tried to develop their characters. I guess it's the nature of the beast that the author sacrifices character development for the sake of the plot. A good beach or hammock read.
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