Putin’s Gambit by Lou Dobbs & James O. Born
Genre: Thriller
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Forge Books (June 20, 2017)
Authors Information: Lou Dobbs’ Twitter | Facebook
James O. Born’s Website
Length: 320 pages
Putin’s Gambit is the best kind of thriller: intricate conspiracies, pulse-pounding action, and a twisting plot which is grounded in real world facts. But while readers might pick up this collaboration between Lou Dobbs and James O. Born for those reasons, what they will stay around for are the engaging characters and the friendships at the story’s heart.
Set somewhere during the second term of President Obama, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has hatched an intricate scheme to restore his country to its Soviet Era glory. Joining (or rather using) radical Islamists, Russia capitalizes on terrorist attacks, violent elements picketing Wall Street, and a $200 million unauthorized transfer destabilizing financial markets to mass Russian troops on the Estonian border. Putin sure that the U.S. President will be slow to respond when the invasion begin.
Caught up in this geopolitical mess is a former U.S. Marine named Derek Walsh. Having served in the Afghan war, Walsh is now employed in the currency transaction section of a Wall Street financial group, and when his computer is used to conduct the $200 million unauthorized transfer which ignites financial panic, he finds his whole life destroyed: the FBI after him, even as Russian agents attempt to silence him before he can exonerate himself.
With things looking bleak indeed, Walsh turns to the remaining members of his old Marine squad to help him survive and, maybe, clear his name. But while he is doing this, the whole world looks like it is going to go up in flames!
What Putin’s Gambit excels at is telling an exciting, action-packed thriller where geopolitical themes and individual stories not only intersect but mesh together. Walsh’s desperate fight for survival wonderfully complementing the tense story of Russian troops about to begin World War III in Europe. Dobbs and Born’s use of real world facts and trends adding to the immersive experiencing by grounding the thrills in realism; the authors’ expertise in these matters clear to see from the flawlessly presentation.
The only deficit in the narrative was a tendency to bounce from one scene to another. While this did allow the authors to show all aspects of the story, it was a bit annoying when these bounces occurred too frequently and, many times, during the height of the action.
Overall, lovers of modern day thrillers will love Putin’s Gambit. From its realistic portrayal of the world to its conspiracies to its up close action involving Derek Walsh, this story keeps the surprises and action coming fast and furious from the first page to the last. Definitely a book fans of the genre will enjoy.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.
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