R. E. McDermott

In the tradition of Clancy, Griffin, and Cussler, newcomer R.E. McDermott delivers a thriller to rival the masters.When consultant and very part-time spook Tom Dugan finds himself becoming collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down. Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear his own name by helping the CIA hook what they consider to be the bigger fish, Dugan's long-time friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex's company, despite doubts about his friend's guilt. Once undercover, Dugan's steadfast refusal to accept Alex's guilt puts him at odds with both his CIA handlers and a beautiful British agent with whom he's working.When a tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in port as Alex lies near death after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan is framed for the attacks. Out of options, and convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan eludes capture to follow his last lead to Russia, only to be shanghaied as an 'advisor' to a Russian Spetsnaz unit on a near-suicidal mission.Deadly Straits is a non-stop thrill ride, transporting the reader from London offices, to the dry docks of Singapore, to the decks of the tankers that slake the world's thirst for oil, with stopovers in Panama, Langley, Virginia, and Teheran. Richly spiced with detail from the author's thirty years sailing, building, and repairing ships around the globe, it is, in the words of one reviewer, "fast-paced, multi-layered and gripping."READER COMMENTS"An awesome book! It has a very Tom Clancy feel. Kudos to Mr. McDermott. Well done, Sir."D. Bosshardt, Amazon - 5 Stars"An absolute cracker of a thriller, quite simply on a par with Clancy et al. When I'd finished I wanted more! A terrific story superbly written. 'Tao", Amazon (UK) - 5 Stars"A little Clancy, a bit of Ludlum, and a lot of Mr. McDermott!"Libby Dunkin, Amazon - 5 Stars"Move over WEB Griffin, Cussler, & Ludlum. Weaving together come-alive characters, McDermott takes us through an all too realistic plot involving oil tankers used to cause havoc to the worlds' shipping … a page turner."Bob Hopfe, Amazon - 5 Stars"International intrigue in expert hands. With breathless pacing and punchy prose, McDermott knots a plot so real it might well be breaking news. Deadly Straits ravages like a cat 5 hurricane: unpredictable, merciless, and fierce.L.C. Fiore, author, Green Gospel "A brilliant thriller. I was quite surprised that this is a first novel. On par with high ranking thrillers. Action non-stop …a great read."Cheryl M-M, Amazon (UK) - 5 Stars"In 1994 Tom Clancy's "Debt of Honor" used a jumbo jet as a suicide missile … it happened for real on 9/11. In 2011 R.E. McDermott published "Deadly Straits" where supertankers are used as terror weapons with deadly results. Let's hope we don't look back and say McDermott predicted that. This is a book of action and suspense, well written with multiple plots woven into one coherent whole. I've read several best-sellers that are legends in the genre and this book is as well done as any of them, if not better." Stephen C. Lovely, Amazon - 5 Stars"Expert plotting … the sheer excitement of the story kept me reading until I finished in two nights. I look forward to the next work by Mr. McDermott."James E. Daman, Amazon - 5 Stars"In a book that takes no prisoners, McDermott tells a tale of high seas terrorism and tells it well. Go get this one, right now!"Nancy, Cheryl's Book Nook - 5 Stars

Deadly Straits (For Tom Clancy and W. E. B. Griffin Fans)

"A different sort of post-apocalyptic series." Imagine you won the lottery the same day everyone else went bankrupt - then had to collect your winnings in the worst part of town. "In cash!" When the lights go out, seemingly for good, Captain Jordan Hughes quickly discovers being stranded far from home on a ship with working generators and a cargo of ten million gallons of irreplaceable fuel isn't exactly a low profile position. Faced with rising crew discontent, and surrounded by worsening violence ashore, things can't get much worse - until FEMA flexes their muscles. As the remains of federal government becomes increasingly corrupt and self-serving, Hughes joins a ragtag band of sailors, farmers, preppers ex-Coast Guardsmen, and dissident soldiers in an effort to re-unite his crew with their families and use remaining resources to rebuild a devastated society. Along the way they face a desperate and starving population, rampant violence from street gangs and escaped convicts, and powerful warlords created as an unintended consequence of the federal government's ill-advised use of mercenaries.

Disruption -

Under a Tell-Tale Sky

Earth reels in the aftermath of a savage solar storm, a global disaster of unprecedented proportion which leaves most of the world without electrical power or the means to restore it. Across the world, the responses of unprepared national governments' are too little, too late. In the U.S., order collapses and opportunistic forces rise to fill the power vacuum, as what remains of a self-serving federal bureaucracy prioritizes the survival of politicians and bureaucrats over that of the general population. As chaos and starvation spread, isolated pockets of survivors unite to survive. In Texas, Captain Jordan Hughes and a ragtag group of seamen and ex-Coastguardsmen gather their families close and resist the depredations of a hoard of escaped convicts. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a similarly determined group of survivors attempts to use salvaged resources, not only to save themselves, but also to feed the hungry. But not everyone is happy about the efforts of the valiant and resourceful few. Secure in his Camp David compound, a corrupt president consolidates power and builds a mercenary force to deal with any possible challenges to his absolute authority and to seize all dwindling resources for 'government use and fair distribution.' Survivors of the natural disaster are thus dealt another blow as they're betrayed by the very government established to protect them. Do they knuckle under to a dictator, or do they PUSH BACK?

PUSH BACK

A phone call. A common enough event, sometimes welcome, sometimes annoying, but seldom life changing. Or so we assume. But assumptions are dangerous things, and the reality is we all live one phone call away from disaster. One cheerful ring away from news of a tragic accident. One muted buzz from learning a lifetime of memories have disappeared in a raging house fire. And so it is for Tom Dugan, rolling though the London night, the woman he loves in the taxi beside him. Life is good by any measure - until his phone rings, alerting him to the arrival of two old Russian friends with a very big problem. Dugan's attempts to help his friends rescue an innocent girl from the Russian mob plunge him into a world he'd scarcely imagined, endangering him and everyone he holds dear. A world of modern day slavery and unspeakable cruelty, from which no one will escape, unless Dugan can weather a Deadly Crossing.

R. E. McDermott

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