Rogue Strike by David Ricciardi

David Ricciardi had one of the best thriller debuts last year with Warning Light. His follow up, Rogue Strike, delivers on all the promise of the first novel and makes Ricciardi one of the most exciting thriller authors to watch. Rogue Strike sees the hero of the of last year's novel, Zach Miller, with a new name and a new job. Now known as Jake Keller, he is in Yemen on a mission to take out one of Al-Qaeda's top leaders. Keller and his partner call in a drone missile strike and when it doesn't show up, they suspect a malfunction. It turns out that the drone instead attacked thousands of innocent pilgrims on their way to Mecca.

The United States is desperate to figure out what went wrong and is also anxious to have a scapegoat. Keller and his partner are near the top of the list. Keller gets to work trying to figure out what really happened and what is going on in the Middle East. What he discovers is a false flag operation and a conspiracy between rogue elements in China and Saudi Arabia aimed at changing the balance of power in the Middle East. At the same time, Iranian forces take advantage of the chaos to accelerate the timetable for a series of terror attacks in the United States.

Keller once again finds himself on the run for his life while also trying to get to the bottom of a multinational conspiracy. If Keller is unable to stop it in time the balance of the power in the Middle East could shift permanently and the United States could suffer its most devastating terrorist attacks since 9/11.

Ricciardi already has delivered one of the most entertaining thrillers of the year. In his first novel, he introduced us to an analyst who had more than enough skills to survive and thrive in the field. In Rogue Strike, he takes the action to the next level. Non-stop action from start to finish and a plot that feels frighteningly real. Ricciardi shows great command of the geography and the politics of the Middle East, China and the United States. He has created a cast of outstanding characters with understandable motivations. I was initially a little thrown off by the main character's name change but then I wondered why most characters who are spies don't change their names. In the end, it didn't matter because Keller is a great character and this is the start of a great series. The action is unrivaled and the plot is both sophisticated and believable. Keller combines the analytical skills of a Jack Ryan with the field know-how of a Mitch Rapp.

Ricciardi has delivered with his second novel and put him firmly on the list of writers to whom I look forward to each and every new book. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

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