Publisher : Beaufort Books (June 22, 2021)
Publication date : June 22, 2021
Language : English
Praise for RED DECEPTION
“Forget ‘ripped from the headlines,’ because RED DECEPTION threatens to write its own! RED DECEPTION is everything a great thriller is supposed to be! High stakes, incredible action scenes, a deadly plot, and a dynamic hero in Dan Reilly. Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller have crafted a relentlessly riveting tale that hones in on our greatest fears and takes us right to the brink in breathless fashion.” —Jon Land, USA Today best-selling author
“RED DECEPTION provides an in-depth and realistic ground level view of the type of asymmetric Nation-state sponsored threats faced by the Agencies tasked with protecting the United States both domestically and abroad. Thoroughly researched with thrilling pacing, it follows a worst case scenario with the resulting fallout and a complex investigation that unfolds all over the Globe.” —Edward Bradstreet, Special Agent, Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
“Besides keeping us on the edge of our seats, RED DECEPTION is so prescient, filled with deep insights into the real worlds of espionage and politics, while giving us a window that sheds light onto the darkest aspects of political intrigue and human nature.” —Barry Kibrick, Host of national PBS series, Between the Lines
Intelligence experts and thriller authors concur: Red Deception is “A page-turner by authors who might as well sit on the National Security Council.”
When terrorists bomb bridges across the country and threaten the Hoover Dam, the vulnerability of America’s infrastructure becomes a matter of national security. But Dan Reilly, a former Army intelligence officer, predicted the attacks in a secret State Department report written years earlier—a virtual blueprint for disaster, somehow leaked and now in the hands of foreign operatives.
EXCERPT
With Washington distracted by domestic crises, Russian President Nicolai Gorshkov sends troops to the borders of Ukraine and Latvia, ready to reclaim what he feels is Russia’s rightful territory. Tensions in Europe threaten to boil over as a besieged American president balances multiple crises that threaten to upend the geopolitical order.
This is the chaos into which Reilly leaps headfirst. Reilly’s position as Global Head of Security for the Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation means he must keep his customers and staff safe as the crisis envelopes countries across three continents. His past as a State Department analyst means he recognizes the connections behind the seemingly disparate terror attacks, assassination plots, and authoritarian power plays that dominate the headlines. But it’s the very knowledge that makes him good at his job that also makes him a target—to the press, to the government, and to the forces gathering for another assault on America.
Follow Reilly as he travels the world to safeguard both his company’s assets and his country’s secrets. With the US at the mercy of an egomaniacal leader, and reporters and covert agents on his tail, he may be the one man who can connect the dots before an even bigger catastrophe unfolds.
RED DECEPTION is the second book in the RED Hotel series.
RED DECEPTION BY GARY GROSSMAN AND ED FULLER EXCERPT
(FOR READERS: SEEDS OF THE PLOT)
Vladivostok, Russia
The Man Gyong Bong, a four-story, 9700-ton cargo/passenger ferry chugged though the night, hugging the coast of the Sea of Japan. It had sailed quietly from the port of Rajin-guyok in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to Vladivostok, Russia. A normal route—though not a normal night.
The ship had berths for 193, but through the nine-hour voyage only eight paying passengers were aboard. Seven had jobs as high-rise construction workers; they were all legitimate and going no further than Vladivostok. Those seven would send more than half their income back home. But not actually to their homes—to the government. The North Korean government. Their salaries, along with those of the tens of thousands of other North Koreans working in and around Vladivostok, went to government coffers, for decades helping to offset crippling Western sanctions.
Seven of the eight. The eighth was different. He was a bright and talented 29-year-old with tremendous potential—potential developed by North Korea’s National Intelligence Service. Potential recognized by Russia’s SVR, Sluzhba vneshney razvedki, the foreign intelligence service. Unlike the other seven onboard, with whom he had nothing in common, this young man was going to get special training that would take years. He was a spy.
He was committed, an officer of few words and many special skills. In school he had excelled in math and science, which earned him an engineering degree. On the soccer field he distinguished himself as a never-give-up scoring champion. In the army, he proved himself smart and fearless. He had the highest marks in sharpshooting and little regard for people who didn’t measure up to the job. That attitude and natural ability brought him to the attention of North Korea’s intelligence service, and in turn the Kremlin, which had a special long-term mission planned.
The man would train in a secret city with second- and third-generation Koreans whose families had lived in Russia since the Korean War. It would take years and tremendous coordination, but ultimately they would be serving the cause of the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea against the West’s imperialism. In other words, NATO expansion.
At 0625 Pak Yoon-hoi stepped off the gangplank. Two men in business suits and trench coats approached. They were intelligence operatives of the Russian SVR.
“Pak Yoon-hoi?” the taller of the two men asked in Russian.
“Yes,” the North Korean replied in their language. Another one of his skills.
No identification was required.
“Come with us.”
That was the extent of the conversation. Yoon-hoi didn’t need to talk to them anymore than he had. They were just his transporters.
Pak Yoon-hoi looked around. The first light of the morning illuminated the Vladivostok skyline. He was in Russia, but he had also just taken the first step towards becoming an American.
Copyright © 2021 by Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller
ED FULLER is CEO of Laguna Strategic Advisors, a global consortium providing business consulting services worldwide. He has served on both business and charitable boards during his forty-year career with Marriott International where he was chief marketing officer followed by 22 years as president and managing director of Marriott International.
Under his management the international division grew from 16 to 550 hotels in 73 countries with 80,000 associates and sales of 8 billion dollars. Upon retirement, Ed repurposed his career in several arenas. He has served on five university boards as well as adjunct professor for both MBA and undergraduate students. For over four years he was a blogger for Forbes and other tourism and lodging industry media.
As author Ed published ‘You Can’t Lead with Your Feet on the Desk’ in English, Japanese and Chinese distributed throughout the world. In 2018 he and co-author Gary Grossman released their high energy thriller Red Hotel and in 2021 will release Red Deception, followed by Red Chaos as part of the Red Hotel series. Ed served as an Army captain in both Germany and Vietnam, receiving the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation medals. He and his wife Michela reside in Orange County, California.
GARY GROSSMAN’s first novel, Executive Actions, propelled him into the world of geopolitical thrillers. Executive Treason, Executive Command, and Executive Force further tapped Grossman’s experience as a journalist, newspaper columnist, documentary television producer, reporter, and media historian.
In addition to the bestselling Executive series, Grossman wrote the international award-winning Old Earth, a geological thriller that spans all of time. With Red Hotel and Red Deception, his collaborations with Ed Fuller, Grossman entered a new realm of globe-hopping thriller writing.
Grossman has contributed to the New York Times and the Boston Globe, and was a columnist for the Boston Herald American. He covered presidential campaigns for WBZ-TV in Boston. A multiple Emmy series and specials for networks including NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox, History Channel, Discovery and National Geographic Channel. He served as chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors, and is a member of the International Thriller Writers Association and Military Writers Society of America. He is a trustee at Emerson College and serves on the Boston University Metropolitan College Advisory Board. Grossman has taught at Emerson College, Boston University, USC, and currently teaches at Loyola Marymount University.
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The cover looks good. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like a great book.
This sounds interesting