In ROGUE STRIKE, by David Riccardi, Jake Keller is in the middle of an unexpected and catastrophic drone attack. Jake was a part of the deadly operation but was not a part of the ensuing death that it produced. Jake is immediately a wanted man and while hiding for his life, he must also discover what really happened so that he can exonerate himself. What Jake finds is bigger than he thought, with worldwide ramifications, and he has to expose the truth before he is found and permanently disposed of.
High stakes espionage and political manipulation is at the core of this book. The book follows not just Jake, but groups from around the world that are all part of the conspiracy. Riccardi bounces quickly between all groups and as the book progresses, the reader is rewarded with how each group ties together. I did find there was a lot of military and political jargon that I got lost in and while understandably politics and war are complicated, sometimes it was a little too much to keep up with if the reader is unfamiliar. The exciting conclusion was fun and I found myself reading faster and faster to see what was going to happen in the end.
ROGUE STIRKE is a good read for any political thriller fans and really any fan of a good action book and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program. ( )

Jake Keller finds himself in a familiar position--on the run for his life and desperate to find the shadowy figures behind a global conspiracy.

CIA agent Jake Keller and his partner, Curt Roach, are in Yemen on an important mission. They've been tipped off to a secret meeting of top al Qaeda leaders. The plan is to interrupt the meeting with a few unexpected visitors--a pair of Hellfire missiles from an orbiting drone.

But the drone stops responding to their signals and soon disappears over the horizon. When next seen, the drone is attacking innocent pilgrims in Mecca.

Jake and Curt are staggered. The U.S. government is desperate to disavow this atrocity. Who better to blame than a couple of rogue CIA agents?

With all the governments of the Middle East looking for them and no help from their own side, they are in a desperate race to stay ahead of the mob and find out who's actually behind the crime.

Thank you Goodreads for a chance to read Rogue Strike #2 in the Jake Keller series!

This was a good book. Good story line. Nice characters. I haven't read any of the other books in the series. Spy thrillers aren't really my thing I just have never been able to get into them. But in the end the book wasn't bad. It took me awhile to read it just because I have a hard time getting into these kinds of book but I will say it was a good story over all. Happy reading everyone!! ( )

The story was very interesting. However, a lot of things were hard to follow for someone not of a military background. Also, I wasn't a fan of how the perspective would switch midpage with no indication.

The story itself seemed very well laid out and I was able to follow what was going on in the multiple different stories. ( )

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. ( )

I read the first book in this series and thought it was fine but I was not really as engaged in the characters despite the good storyline. This time around is way better. Instant nonstop action from the beginning to the end. Fans of military thrillers will be pleased with this book.

Zac Miller now known as Jake Keller is back. This time stronger than ever. As I stated previously, I liked the prior novel but I was struggling to engage with the characters. While, there are many each one played a role in the overall storyline. In addition, it was easy to keep them all straight.

I was taken on a roller coaster ride all over the world. It was like an action packed movie playing in my head while reading this book. Try this book out for yourself. ( )