William S. Cohen

I was in the book store last week and this book caught my eye as it was written by William S. Cohen who was the Secretary of Defense in President Clinton's Cabinet (that, and the vibrant mushroom cloud on the cover).

It's an interesting and realistic (albeit fiction realism)look behind the curtain of government bureaucracy during a crisis.

The story itself is original and for once it's nice that the terrorists aren't keffiyeh wearing nutjobs with an all to familiar zeal, although such does figure into the storyline to a degree.

I did feel let down by the ending however, after such destruction and lengthy investigation it just seemed to wind up to a close rather blandly.… (more)

"Fresh Meat" by Leigh Neely for Criminal Element

Please fasten your seat belt while reading this book because it is a wild ride. All I can say is it begins with a bang and by the end all the fires are smoldering, but what happens in between will blow you away.

President Blake Oxley is headed to Texas to campaign for his reelection. All eyes are glued to GNN, the worldwide news network that’s broadcasting from Iraq where the last of the troops are leaving and boarding the USS Elkton to head home. Officially dubbed “Goodbye Day,” the big send off was the brain child of Secretary of State William Bloom, who wanted to take the military edge off of it. All of pomp and splendor is literally blown away when a small boat manned by two mysterious bearded men blows a hole in the Elkton. Now Blake and his National Security Advisor, Sean Falcone, have to decide what comes next. Add to the mix an opposing political candidate who thinks the president is soft on terrorism and you’ve got a recipe for a great political thriller.

(Read the rest at http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/11/fresh-meat-william-s-cohens-blink-o... )… (more)