"Some men just want to watch the world burn."
- Alfred Pennyworth, The Dark Knight
Conspiracy theories are thick in the air these days, like pollen in spring. All are false, but none are harmless; the constant drumbeat of false narratives heats the blood of those who believe them and provides cover for the real conspiracies that do threaten life and peace. A "boy cried wolf" syndrome leads us to believe nothing, so we ignore the boy when the real wolf approaches.
In Lethal Alliance, author Rick E. George has peered into the minds of the real wolves in our current era and with that research has woven a tale of complicated intrigue that makes for a thrilling novel and is all the more frightening for its plausibility.
FBI Agent Russell Boyd and agency interpreter Nawar Abboud are back in this dark and fast-paced thriller, putting their lives and their love on the line to walk into the pack of red-toothed conspiracists and foil their plans. As they sink deeper in this underworld, Boyd going under cover as a government-hating White Supremacist, they discover lines of connection that become ever more complex, powerful, and lethal.
The central question of the story asks what would happen if multiple forces with different ideologies, but the same goals, were to join forces. Carried along in this house fire of a narrative, we see how internal enemies of democracy and external ones could collaborate to destroy what they both despise. More fuel is added to the blaze by those holding powerful positions, sworn to serve our country, who are as complicit in the terrible destruction that waits in the wings with their hatred of democracy, lust for power, and sheer incompetence. Boyd and Abboud are two of many who rush into this conflagration sworn and dedicated to snuffing the fire before it's too late.
... what would happen if multiple forces with different ideologies, but the same goals, were to join forces?
As they risk their lives confronting this darkness, Boyd and Abboud grapple with their growing love, both wounded by their pasts, both uncertain about the future. Their love is palpable; the author brings visceral emotion to their love story, and I felt their struggle as if it were my own. How much peace, romance, or normal life could these two share with the weight of these terrible events on their shoulders, the author asks. How can any of us.?
In the eye of this maelstrom stands little Lely, the Syrian girl our heroes rescued in the first installment, Sinister Refuge. Abboud and her extended Seattle family have fostered the teenager and struggle to give her a normal life. The horror and darkness she witnessed has now tainted her painting, which was her refuge. Feeling that refuge threatened, as it was before, Lely fights her growing anger and struggles with the confusion that all innocents feel in the face of intractable human cruelty. But as the story ends, it is she who stands alone as a living symbol of what can heal a nation divided: a shared belief in the sanctity of civil engagement.
Rick E. George writes powerful thrillers that put us in the middle of real-world threats and show the kind of real-world courage needed to face them. Lethal Alliance is his crowning achievement so far. Anyone who loves seat-edge thrillers but wants flesh-and-blood characters instead of super-naught-spies or brooding warriors will love this book.
But it is much more than a great read; Lethal Alliance is a cautionary tale; one we should heed. Men really do exist who only want to watch the world burn. Who will face the heat to extinguish the flames?
And while you're buying Rick's latest, you'll find
my first novel, Where You Will Die, is available now exclusively on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
"This philosophical mystery will captivate readers thanks to a winning cast and setting."- Kirkus Reviews
"Quirky, engaging whodunit." - Rick George, author of Sinister Refuge
"The story is beautifully written and is compelling and gratifying." - Alma Boucher for Readers' Favorite
