Rogue Strike

April 1, 2019
CIA agent Jake Keller's drone nearly starts World War III, and he puts his life on the line to prevent it in this nonstop thriller. Let's get this out of the way first: Zac Miller, the hero of Ricciardi's Warning Light (2018), has changed his name to Jake Keller, but he's still a badass. With colleague Curt Roach, they launch a drone called Drifter-72 against an al-Qaida terrorist in Saudi Arabia. But it escapes their control, flies to Mecca, and obliterates 3,000 Muslims on the last day of the Hajj at "the holiest site in all of Islam." Suddenly, the whole world hates the United States. Keller convinces his bosses that the drone had been hijacked, but by whom? Apparently, by someone who wants to drive a permanent wedge between America and Muslims. The backlash is ferocious, with many small groups of terrorists infiltrating the U.S., shooting up civilians and blowing up fuel storage facilities. Bad guys hire an old freighter bound for Texas and load a container holding a nuke. Saudi Arabia's king professes faith in America's innocence, but that may get him killed. America's strong suspicion for the Hajj attack turns to China, the only other country with the technical ability to reprogram someone else's drone in flight. That could well mean a full-blown conflict between two big, angry countries with nukes. If the U.S. believes China "attacked another nation in their name, then there will be war," states China's President Chéng. Obviously, Keller and company had better sort this out PDQ. This yarn has a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean, a nasty sandstorm and a pitched battle in a Roman coliseum in Libya, and of course the proverbial ticking clock. Plenty of bodies fall from high-velocity lead poisoning, and the tension in this well-plotted thriller continues right to the end. Fun fare by a talented storyteller. Let's just hope Ricciardi's hero doesn't change his name again.

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April 8, 2019
Ricciardi’s worthy if flawed sequel to 2018’s Warning Light takes CIA officer Jake Keller (who used to be known as Zac Miller) to Yemen on his first mission as a member of the agency’s Special Activities Center. He and veteran agent Curt Roach are in charge of launching a drone strike on terrorist leader Mullah Muktar. When the drone releases two missiles aimed at Muktar, someone seizes control of the missiles in midair and redirects them to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where pilgrims have arrived for the annual hajj. The world blames America for the thousands who die in Mecca’s Grand Mosque. The chief of Special Activities, Ted Graves, and other government officials try to pin the blame on Keller and Roach, saying the agents have gone rogue. In fact, certain individuals wishing to drive a wedge between Muslims and the U.S. have masterminded the attack. The twisting, complicated plot needs a lot of explaining to maintain coherence, and the otherwise rapid pacing and exciting action suffer as a result. Still, Ricciardi remains a fresh voice in the crowded spy thriller field. Agent: Rick Richter, Aevitas Creative Management.

May 1, 2019
When interrogating someone, mimic the person's body language?it promotes trust. Learn from the approach of Nazi master interrogator Hanns Scharff, who convinced his subjects he was really their friend. Such insider stuff from the dark side is a secondary pleasure in thrillers like this one, and author Ricciardi pours it on. We meet CIA operative Jake Keller in Yemen, there to direct a drone strike against an al-Qaeda nest. At the last moment, the drone goes bonkers and slaughters a peaceable religious group. Someone has learned how to hack the onboard computer that steers the drone, with the intended result: the U.S. is blamed for the horror. At great risk, Keller must find the hacker while outraged populations prepare for war. Readers may wish there was more Keller and his Reacher-like adventures and less of the war-loving politicians jawing, but there's still plenty of action. Now and then the insider terms are mystifying. What's an "existential cyber attack," as opposed to another kind? Still, there's plenty to learn here: cop cars can have an external attachment that reads and researches your license plate as you drive by.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)