Chris Kuzneski

Chris Kuzneski in his own words:

I grew up in Indiana, PA, with my parents and three siblings. As a fourth-grader, I wrote my first book, The Monster Cookbook, a work of fiction that detailed the culinary and nutritional needs of a dozen creatures that I’d created. The school’s librarian was so impressed that she had it hardbound and placed in the school’s library with all the books that my classmates enjoyed. Unbeknownst to her, a career in writing was born.

I attended Indiana High School where I was voted Class Clown of my senior class and anchored the offensive line on a team that won back-to-back CENPAC championships. I continued my football career at the University of Pittsburgh ― playing with future NFL stars Tony Siragusa, Jeff Christy, Mark Stepnoski, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, and many others. Unfortunately, a freak foot injury ended my athletic career. (That, and a severe lack of athletic ability.)

While studying at Pitt, I wrote for The Pitt News, the Indiana Gazette, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, eventually earning my B.A. in writing and my M.A. in teaching. From 1992 until 1998, I taught English and coached football in two western Pennsylvania school districts and was selected to Who's Who Among America's Teachers. But in my mind, I still wasn’t doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a writer. So I quit my job and took a leap of faith . . .

My first novel, The Plantation, was praised by James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, James Rollins, and several of the top writers in my genre. My next thriller, Sign of the Cross, was released in 2006 and became an international bestseller, translated into more than fifteen languages. Sword of God climbed even higher on the charts, hitting the New York Times and London Times bestseller lists. My fourth book, The Lost Throne, debuted in the UK Top-5 and stayed on the charts for several weeks. It was also my first American hardcover. The paperback version hit the New York Times list. My fifth book, The Prophecy, reached #4 on the UK charts and was released in America on July 8, 2010. My latest book, The Secret Crown, is currently available in the UK, but won’t be released in America until January 2012. 

I currently live on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When I’m not enjoying the sun, surf, and hurricanes, I’m working on my next novel, which will be the seventh book in the Payne & Jones series.

www.chriskuzneski.com/

The Ghost War

I just got acquainted with Alex Berenson's novels. I am a huge Robert Ludlum fan and over the years I grew to love Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn and Daniel Silva. These names are masters of espionage thrillers. They actually set the bar so high that when I set them as standards for a really good espionage thrillers, no other writer satisfies me, until i picked up a Berenson book. 

In The Ghost War, Berenson took a drive in the slick espionage sedan, floored the pedal and never pulled back. This is a great novel in a genre where disappointment has been the trend for years. Alex Berenson was a whiff of fresh air.

Summary:

In The Faithful Spy, John Wells became the only American CIA agent ever to penetrate al-Qaeda, but his handlers became distrustful of him, and he of them. He had to stop a devastating terrorist attack nearly alone.

Now Wells is back in Washington. HIs wounds have healed, but his mind is far from clear. He is restless, uneasy in his skin, and careless with his safety. When the CIA finds evidence of a surge in Taliban activity, backed by an unknown foreign power, it takes little to convince Wells to return to Afghanistan to investigate. But what he discovers there is far from what he expected.

Real-world threats, authentic details, a scenario as dramatic as it is plausible — The Ghost War is another “timely reminder of the extremely precarious way we live now” (The Washington Post).

“A tautly paced, credible, and gripping scenario guaranteed to buttress Berenson’s niche as one of the stars in the suspense firmament.” 

The Camel Club

When I first picked up a David Baldacci novel I never knew what to expect. When I was just starting to fall inlove with novels, I was into John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Mario Puzo and the likes, in short – the old masters, so you can forgive me if I tell you I was a little doubtful about David Baldacci. I got my first copy of a Baldacci novel mid 2010, a novel called Simple Genius. I read the novel from cover to cover and, to tell you the truth, I was not impressed. I promised myself not to read any Baldacci novel again.

After a few months, while I was on a book hunting expedition in National Bookstore, I saw this book called The Camel Club, I read through the summary and got curious about the story. So right then and there I broke my promise not to read a Baldacci again, and boy was I delighted. The Camel Club is a must read. I got all four Camel Club novels after that.

Publisher's Summary

It exists at the fringes of Washington, D.C., has no power, and consists solely of four eccentric and downtrodden members whom society has forgotten. Their simple goal is to find the “truth” behind their country’s actions.

One man leads this aging, ragtag crew. He has no known past and has taken on the name "Oliver Stone." Day and night, Stone and his friends study wild conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government hoping to discover some truth that will hold America’s leaders accountable to its citizens. But never in Stone’s wildest nightmares could he imagine the conspiracy the Camel Club is about to uncover...

After witnessing a shocking murder, the Club is slammed head first into a plot that threatens the very security of the nation, full of stunning twists, high-stakes intrigue and global gamesmanship rocketing to the Oval Office and beyond. Soon the Club must join forces with veteran Secret Service agent Alex Ford, who becomes an unwilling participant in one of the most chilling spectacles to ever take place on American soil. It’s an event that may well be the catalyst for the long-threatened Armageddon between two different worlds, and all that stands in the way of this apocalypse is five unexpected heroes.

In The Camel Club, bestselling author David Baldacci goes beyond the traditional boundaries of fiction, painting a frighteningly vivid portrait of a world that could be our own very soon, and the few people who have a chance to stop the last war the world may ever fight...

The Camel Club: Hard Cover

Price: 200 php + shipping

Package deal: Complete Camel Club Collection: 400 php + shipping

email: flyt17@gmail.com

The Kill Artist

I found this novel in a 2nd hand bookshop in Recto way back 2001. It was Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon novel.  I have never heard of Daniel Silva before that so I was not quite sure if buying the book is worth it, but after a few minutes, I bought the book anyway. And boy was I so happy that I actually bought the book. The story is great and Silva paints the picture in vivid colors. I could say that Daniel Silva is the Rembrandt of Israeli Spy fiction. No one does it better.

At first I though that The Kill Artist is dead end; that Gabriel Allon is a one time only offering, but boy was I wrong. gabriel Allon became such a franchise that the string of #1 New York Times Bestseller followed. 

This is how Gabriel Allon started...

Description 

Once a key operative in secret Israeli-intelligence missions, Gabriel Allon is on the run from his past, assuming a quiet life as a meticulous restorer of priceless works of art. But now he is being called back into the game. The agent with whom he is teamed hides behind her own beautiful mask-as a French fashion model. Their target: a cunning terrorist on one last killing spree, a Palestinian zealot named Tariq who played a dark part in Gabriel's past. What begins as a manhunt turns into a globe-spanning duel fueled by political intrigue and deep personal passions. In a world where secrecy and duplicity are absolute, revenge is a luxury no man can afford-and the greatest masterpiece of all. danielsilvabooks

Get this second hand book for only 120 php + shipping

Jeffery Deaver

A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times of London, Italy's Corriere della Serra, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. The author of twenty-seven novels, two collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, he's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world. His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window was also nominated for that prize. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. The Cold Moon was recently named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded the book their annual Grand Prix award.

    

Deaver has been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author.

     His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin. His novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His thriller, The Devil's Teardrop, was made into a TV movie by the Lifetime network, starring Natasha Henstridge, Tom Everett Scott, and Rena Sofer.

     His most recent books are Edge, The Burning Wire, Roadside Crosses, The Bodies Left Behind, The Broken Window, The Sleeping Doll and More Twisted: Collected Stories, Volume II. And, yes, the rumors are true, he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns.

    Deaver is presently alternating his series featuring Kathryn Dance, who will make her appearances in odd-number years, with that starring Lincoln Rhyme, who will appear in even.

     In addition to that writing schedule, Ian Fleming Publications LTD chose Jeff to write the latest James Bond book, Carte Blanche (2011).

     He was born outside Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.

     Learn more about Jeffery Deaver by reading the Q & A with the most frequently asked questions. Jeff's sister, Julie Reece Deaver, is also an author, focusing on young adult novels. Her titles include The Night I Disappeared and Say Goodnight, Gracie.

Brad Thor

Brad Thor  is born 1969 is a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist and author of The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, State of the Union, Blowback, Takedown, The First Commandment, The Last Patriot, The Apostle, Foreign Influence, and The Athena Project. His novels have been published in countries around the world. He also contributed a short story entitled "The Athens Solution" to the James Patterson-edited anthology, Thriller.

The Last Patriot was nominated for Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association.[2] His novel Blowback was voted by National Public Radio listeners as one of the "100 Best Ever" Killer Thrillers.

Thor is a graduate of the Sacred Heart Schools, the Francis W. Parker School (Chicago), and the University of Southern California (cum laude), where he studied creative writing under author T.C. Boyle.

Prior to becoming a novelist, he was the award-winning creator, producer, writer, and host of the national public television series Traveling Lite.

Thor is a member of The Heritage Foundation and has spoken at their national headquarters on the need for robust missile defense.[7] Thor has served as a member of the United States Department of Homeland Security's Analytic Red Cell Unit,  is a Fellow of the Alexandrian Defense Group, and is a frequent television and cable news commentator.

Thor has said in interviews that he shadowed a Black ops team in Afghanistan in 2008 to conduct research for his thriller, The Apostle.

Because of the content of Thor's thriller The Last Patriot, Beck predicted he might be assassinated by Muslim extremists.[18] Thor has been referred to by WorldNetDaily as "the new Salman Rushdie.

Robert D. Crane, a Muslim convert and one-time aide to Richard Nixon, called the novel, "Islamophobia," "a subliminal mimetic," and an "emotional demonization of Islam and Muslims." In response, Robert Spencer criticized Crane's article.

The novel is said to have been banned in Saudi Arabia.

Source: wikipedia

Alex Berenson

Alex Berenson was born in New York in 1973 and grew up in Englewood, N.J.  After graduating from Yale University in 1994 with degrees in history and economics, he joined the Denver Post as a reporter. In 1996, he became one of the first employees at TheStreet.com, the groundbreaking financial news Website.

In 1999, he joined The New York Times.   At the Times, he  covered everything from the drug industry to Hurricane Katrina; in 2003 and 2004, he served two stints as a correspondent in Iraq, an experience that led him to write The Faithful Spy, his debut novel, which won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel.

He has now written five John Wells novels and one work of non-fiction, The Number.  He left the Times in 2010 to devote himself to writing fiction, though he still contributes occasionally to the Times.

Alex lives in New York City with his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Berenson, and their badly behaved dog Maggie.

 Source: www.alexberenson.com