“Little Maya suddenly lifted her curly locks … to look up at him with a scared look on her angelic face.  She said, “Papa” …, trembled as though possessed, and then she died.”  The next on their target list was Leo’s son.  With anguish over the sudden death of his daughter, he gave them what they wanted – the passcode to vital top secret information.  But how did they get to his children?  Vasily Karpov, Russia’s KGB Head of Security, had the power to turn around Russia’s failed economy, save the country, and gain power for himself.  The plan involved forcing key people to convey valuable secrets and then use the acquired information to both steal and sabotage Western technology.  Who would choose to protect their country’s secrets when their family’s lives were on the line?

Alex Ferris, former CIA Operative and now an international PI, had recently lost his brother.  It was said that Frank committed suicide, but Alex knew his twin brother better than that.  Finding Frank’s killer involved traveling deep into Siberia and encountering what will surely be a most challenging and dangerous opposition.

What is real?  While some books demand that the reader suspend belief, this one will actually make you feel like you’re reading tomorrow’s headlines.  You will probably not like the antagonist, but you will feel like his character is real – real enough to hate.  It’s an intense novel and the reader never forgets this is personal for Alex.  On the other hand, toward the mid to end, the story relied a bit too much on ‘coincidence’.  Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Tim Tigner, author of Coercion, on tour August/September 2015

Tim Tigner has done it again with Betrayal, another of his three recent publications! He has provided a tale full of treachery, unexpected technological and chemical weaponry—and suspense. Three tales from Tim Tigner; three cheers for Tim Tigner!

When Special Agent Odysseus Carr (Odi) is given orders for a Special Forces operation, he and his team set off for Tafriz, Iran. But, something goes terribly wrong. By virtue of a fluke, a minor happenstance, Odi is the sole survivor of the mission. He is rescued by Dr. Ayden Archer. After the two discover the weapon used to take out Odi’s team members, they arrange for Odi to leave Iran clandestinely and to return to the U.S. Once there, Odi will bring justice to those responsible. Meanwhile, back home, Odi’s twin sister, Cassi, goes through the motions of a funeral service for her brother. When she discovers Odi is actually alive, the two team up to bring a satisfying conclusion to the story. It seems both Odi and Cassie may have trusted others too quickly and too thoroughly, others who had agendas of their own. . . .

Tigner has introduced complete and likeable—or despicable, as the case may be—characters, a carefully woven plot and, as in each of his other stories, the concept of an unusual pharmacological or chemical agent that may be used as a weapon. The existence of this agent adds intrigue to the story and makes the reader wonder what the world would be like if such a weapon actually existed. Often thrillers deal with the world as we know it; Tigner deals with the world as it could be if those who seek such weaponry are successful in their endeavors. 

While the story missed just a half beat for me in light of some of Odi’s actions that I thought could have brought harm to unintended innocent persons, I found Betrayal to be a fast-paced, fully satisfying read that ought to be on every thriller lover’s bookshelf. Tigner has a bright future as readers (including this one) are already clamoring for—more please!

Also posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, at www.Oathtaker.com  and on GoodReads. Review added on Facebook and to two Google+ review groups. Cover pinned.

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite at www.ReadersFavorite.com

The year 2013 was one fraught with mourning for fans of spy/espionage thrillers, with the loss of Vince Flynn in June and of Tom Clancy in October. While these great storytellers will continue to be missed long into the future, thriller fans will be pleased to learn that there is a new man in town. His name is Tim Tigner and just this fall, he published three works, including Coercion. If Tigner’s works are not on your “to be read” list as yet, wait no longer, for soon every thriller fan will be talking about them! 

Coercion is the second of Tim Tigner’s works that I have read (in as many days). Just as with the first, I was spellbound from the outset. In Coercion, one from amongst the communist party ranks, Vasily Karpov, seeks the ultimate power for himself. To reach his goal, Karpov is willing to make use of a weapon that may be detonated from any distance once inserted into the body of another. Under threat that the weapon will be activated, Karpov is then able to coerce the assistance of a person who can provide Karpov with industrial secrets and help to sabotage the efforts of American industries. When Alex Ferris discovers Karpov’s means of coercing others, he seeks to save a little girl whose life is at risk. To do so, he must discover Karpov’s identity. Ferris’s mission takes him to the heart of Siberia in the days of the Soviets.

Tim Tigner has delivered in Coercion, a tale that is sure to rank amongst the best of today’s thrillers. In the figure of Alex Ferris, a man’s man, readers will experience the rough and tumble life of falling from a plane with a parachute that does not open, trekking across the Siberian waste during a winter storm and, ultimately, vanquishing the enemy. Along the way, Ferris meets the lovely Anna Zaitseva. Though he fears he cannot be all he ought for Anna, Alex will steal a bit of every woman’s heart when he goes to extreme lengths to insure her safety. So, take heart thriller readers—men and women alike—your favorite genre has been saved. . . .

Find out more about Tim Tigner on GoodReads here and on his website here. Coercion is available on Amazon here.

Review also posted on GoodReads and BookLikes. Review noted on Google+, Tweeted and cover pinned.

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite at www.ReadersFavorite.com.

Every once in awhile, a story comes along that captures a reader’s imagination from the opening pages and refuses to let go until the very last scene plays out.  Flash, by Tim Tigner, is just such a read!  When Troy awakens in the trunk of a car, accompanied by a dead body, his former military training kicks in and he, somehow, maintains his cool.  Upon hearing sounds from outside, he shouts for help.  The trunk is opened by a “pixie-like “ woman, Emmy.  Together, the two blood-covered strangers surmise that they have been set up to take the fall for the grisly murder of the man whose body remains in the trunk.  But, there is more, for the two have determined that they are missing years of their lives.  How could they both be in the same unexpected and unfamiliar place at the same time, suffering from the same condition—amnesia? Recognizing they must run quickly so as to discover the real murderer before they end up in prison themselves, the action begins, taking one or both of the team from the Cayman Islands, to Florida, to Washington D.C., and elsewhere.  All the while, Troy and Emmy are pursued by the law on one side and by the real culprits and masterminds behind the crimes on the other.

Tim Tigner has delivered, in Flash, an extraordinary thriller that has everything a reader could desire:  a well laid plot, unexpected twists and turns, eventual answers to all the mini-mysteries that are set forth along the way, great character development, sincerely genuine and likeable protagonists and fully believable and despicable villains.  When you reach for Flash, prepare to take the next few hours off, as you will be doing (or at least wanting to do) nothing but turning pages until you find yourself at the satisfying conclusion! 

Review also posted at www.Oathtaker.com and on GoodReads.  Review noted on Google+, Tweeted and cover pinned.