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RING OF FIRE  by Brad Taylor

RING OF FIRE

by Brad Taylor

Pub Date: Jan. 10th, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-98476-5
Publisher: Dutton

An elite task force works frantically to prevent the next wave of terrorist attacks.

After more than two decades in the military, including a period in the Special Forces, Taylor (Ghosts of War, 2016, etc.) returns with the latest thriller featuring Nephilim “Pike” Logan. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Dexter Trippler, the owner of a minor airplane maintenance firm, secures his first government contract by using a shell company to bribe the son of an influential Saudi financier. By the end of the day, Trippler is shocked to learn that his Saudi contact is connected to the terrorist attack. This information does not prevent Trippler from building his business and acquiring more government contracts until 15 years later when an illegal data dump (larger than WikiLeaks) threatens to connect Trippler with the Saudi financing of Islamic extremism. To prevent this exposure, Trippler enlists the help of his head of security, Johan van Rensburg, a former Special Forces operator with South Africa’s Reconnaissance Commandos. A competent professional with a strict moral code, van Rensburg travels to North Africa and uncovers an international terrorist plot. Pike and his teammates from the Taskforce, an elite off-the-books paramilitary unit, also find their way to North Africa and into the midst of a Saudi-backed Moroccan terrorist cell. Those looking only for action-filled suspense won't be disappointed, but Taylor does expand his story with brief and intriguing discourses on the role of women in combat and whether violence is an intrinsic element of the Islamic faith.

A page-turner that’s enriched by the author’s obvious familiarity with the intricacies of combating 21st-century terrorism.