Interview With The Author: Dana Ridenour by John Dwaine McKenna The MBR is honored to speak today with author, and retired FBI agent, Dana Ridenour, who spent the majority of her 20 year law enforcement career as an undercover operative. It is some of the most dangerous work in the world . . . and a testament to her dedication, courage and bravery. Here then, is Ms. Ridenour,
Below The Radar Mysterious Book Report No. 385 by John Dwaine McKenna A deep undercover mission infiltrating a violent extremist organization in a foreign country, by a female FBI agent with psychological issues rooted in a too-recent-to-be-recovered-from operation, with zero planning time beforehand, an inexperienced, unsophisticated partner and poorly-constructed legend—spies cover story—made up on the fly. What could possibly go wrong? That’s the exciting premise underlying retired FBI agent
Below The Line Mysterious Book Report No. 384 by John Dwaine McKenna If the unconventional and quirky kind of character is your cup of tea, this week’s MBR No. 384 will put a smile on your face that can’t be knocked off with a fire ax, because author Howard Michael Gould is about to release his second Charlie Waldo novel. Below The Line, (Dutton, $26.00, 304 pages, ISBN 978-1524744861)
Bones of the Earth Mysterious Book Report No. 383 by John Dwaine McKenna Inspector Shan Tao Yun was a senior detective on the Beijing Police Department until, “I investigated the wrong people and they sent me to prison in Lhadrung,” (Western Tibet the notorious work camp number 404), “because the death rate is so high there. But the governor had a problem. I helped him, unofficially, and to show
Rogue Strike Mysterious Book Report No. 382 by John Dwaine McKenna There are moments that come along so infrequently, when all the elements line up for someone in such a way that they’re considered fortuitous . . . lucky beyond belief . . . because somehow, that person has managed to get the right pieces in the right places at just the right time to command success. Such is
This Storm Mysterious Book Report No. 381 by John Dwaine McKenna The writer James Ellroy is a genius, and a living legend who follows no rules but his own. He cuts, slashes and burns the English language however he sees fit, then reassembles it at will in his own inimical style to bring forth what can only be called masterpieces of American literature. He writes fiction; he writes about
99 Ways To Die Mysterious Book Report No. 380 by John Dwaine McKenna After the end of World War II in 1945, China was in total disarray; weakened for decades by the lack of a functioning central government, the vast areas controlled by individual warlords, and devastated by years of savage mistreatment by the occupation of Imperial Japanese armed forces in the 1920s, ‘30, and ‘40s. After WWII the
Red Metal Mysterious Book Report No. 379 by John Dwaine McKenna Europe has lived in the shadow, first of the Soviet Union, and more recently, of the Rodina . . . Mother Russia herself . . . since the end of World War II. It’s the reason the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was formed by the US, Canada and several European nations for the purpose of joint
The Bouncer Mysterious Book Report No. 378 by John Dwaine McKenna We’re kicking the summer reading season into high gear with an entertaining, bright and fast-paced crime caper in which nothing is as it appears to be. The novel came out in late summer-early fall of 2018 when the MBR calendar was full, and wasn’t reviewed, but has just been reissued in trade paperback and should be easy to
American Spy Mysterious Book Report No. 377 by John Dwaine McKenna Near the end of the Cold War in the mid-1980s, the African continent was busy rediscovering itself. Having thrown off the restraints of colonialism, countries large and small were struggling to determine what form of self-governance best suited them . . . a struggle that promoted much bloodshed. Civil wars, coups and military takeovers were common, as was