Rope On Fire

John Crane is an elite secret agent…until his agency suddenly closes. But if the government doesn’t want Crane’s talents, Internet billionaire Josh Sulenski does. Someone’s going to a lot of trouble to sabotage a harmless project he funds. Josh wants to know who and why.

When Crane investigates, he quickly turns up a lot more trouble than he bargained for. On his own and under attack from all sides, Crane makes up new rules for the spy game. His only assets: a talent for improvisation and Josh’s very deep pockets.

From the beaches of Puerto Rico to the gritty alleys of Eastern Europe, Crane works his way back to the man pulling the strings—a ruthless gangster out for global power. With his back against the wall and innocent lives at stake, John Crane charges into a war he may not be able to win.

Rope On Fire (Men’s Action Novel)

By Mark Parragh

Waterhaven Media LLC

ISBN #978-1733975605

Price $14.95 (Paperback)

Price #4.99 (Kindle)

324 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Smooth Reading, Plenty of Action”

John Crane worked for a secret government agency, the Hurricane Group, where he was a field agent until funds shut down the group and left him out of a job. Then young billionaire, Joshua Sulenski offers him a job. One of his projects he is funding is being harassed in Puerto Rico, and Josh wants him to find out who and why, and put a stop to the destruction of valuable equipment.

The first half of the book takes place in Puerto Rico where scientists are discovering microorganisms in the mud on the riverbanks. When men attack the lab wearing all black, Crane kills one of them and discovers they are cops. But they appear to be working for a Russian. He eventually stops the rogue police officers and Russian, but learns that someone else was heading the attack from the Czech Republic. The second half of the book takes place there, as Crane discovers a Russian crime boss behind the scenes.

This was a smooth read, with plenty of action. Well written, and fun. Thankfully, there are no sex scenes to slow the story, and the use of profanity does not clutter the narrative, though there is some language. This was all about plot and characterization. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

Gun Kiss

When the Deringer pistol that shot Abraham Lincoln is stolen and ends up in the hands of a Russian military general, covert agent Blake Deco is tasked by the FBI to head to the Balkans to recover the historical weapon. Meanwhile, the United States media is abuzz with news of the mysterious disappearance of Hollywood movie star, Goldie St. Helen. 

After Blake’s return from overseas, he receives a tip from a Mexican friend that a drug lord, obsessed with the beautiful actress, is holding her captive in Tijuana. With the help of a reluctant army friend, Blake mounts a daring rescue. What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for Goldie—or that a killer is hunting them.

Gun Kiss (Romantic/Men’s Action/Thriller)

By Khaled Talib

Imajin Books

ISBN #978-1772233490

231 Pages

Price $16.99 (Paperback)

Price $5.99 (Kindle)

Rating 4-Stars

“A Fun Story”

The author gave me a copy of the book for an honest review. Blake Deco, is an ex Delta Force member who now owns a small café, Mama Tacos, and also does some side work for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), especially retrieving stolen historical objects. We see him retrieve the gun used by John Wilkes Booth to kill Abe Lincoln at the beginning of the story, then upon return to California he’s contacted by a friend in Mexico with an important message: A recently kidnapped movie star is being held in the compound of a Mexican drug lord. With his partner, Jack Rowan, he drives to Mexico and in a daring night raid rescues Goldie St. Helen; then with the help of the Mexican police they make it back to the U.S. with the actress. But now the drug lord is after him and wants the actress back, plus there may be someone else after him.

The story starts off with some really nice action, but bogs down fairly quick with a lot of dead space and nothing happening. The story didn’t know if it wanted to be a men’s action novel or a lady’s love story. There are plenty of romantic scenes between Blake and Goldie, and some humor as well. In fact, the first quarter of the book gave me the impression that Blake Deco and Jack Royan, were doing a good imitation of Jake Speed and Desmond Floyd. Anyone remember them? A men’s action adventure that made it to film, but never made it to novels that I am aware of. Jake Speed was a parody of the men’s action novels, and this romp reminded me of that parody. The book also needs a good editing. Now don’t get me wrong, the story is fun, and I enjoyed it. I was just expecting a men’s action novel and got a romance novel instead. Heck, I still watch Jake Speed at least once a year. Give GUN KISS a try. I think you’ll like it. I know I did. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

Blood & Tacos

Blood & Tacos hearkens back to a simpler time, when men were men, albinos were albinos, and mustaches were mustaches.

Within these virtual pages, we’ll bring you fiction, reviews, artwork, even a recipe or two, all centering around those halcyon days when most questions could be answered by a pistol-whipping.

Every issue of Blood & Tacos will live here, for free, for your reading enjoyment, and new issues will appear quarterly. As well, we’ll be offering the magazine on Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and all the usual ebook outlets for those of you who prefer to read on your kindles, pads, phones, and other devices, for the low, low 70′s price of $0.99 (or its equivalent worldwide).

Live today are all-original, '70s & '80s era vigilante pulp short stories in the vein of the Executioner, the Destroyer, et al., featuring stories by yours truly Gary Phillips ("The Silencer Strikes," a nod to Holloway House), Matthew C. Funk, Johnny Shaw, Cameron Ashley and other talented writers. Read 'em online for free or download to yer Kindle for a mere .99. Can you dig it? http://www.bloodandtacos.com/