Sean Drummond, the JAG attorney whose crime-solving skills are almost matched by his ability to tick people off, has a new assignment: working for the Office of Special Projects, a CIA offshoot. Not long after his reassignment, Drummond is called to a murder scene where one of the six victims is the White House Chief of Staff and where a note was found in which the assassin threatens the life of the president. In this kind of thriller, the outcome isn’t much of a mystery; it’s how we get to the outcome that counts, and Haig leads us there through a series of plot twists, shortcuts, and dead ends that never fail to keep us on our toes. Haig is still developing as a novelist, and readers familiar with his previous books will note that Haig’s appeal is no longer purely plot driven. Action is still his calling card, but his supporting characters are becoming more fleshed out, his dialogue smoother.

In Washington DC, CIA agent Todd Van Buren meets his college friend Washington Post reporter Josh Givens at a D.C. restaurant. Josh mentions to Todd he’s investigating an apparent top secret government cell the Friday Club. He insists the group consists of political and military insiders who from the shadows run the government.

Not long after they depart, two snipers assassinate Todd, who ran the CIA training “Farm” with his wife Elizabeth, as he drives on the Interstate near Fredericksburg, Maryland. A few hours later, assassins murder Josh, his wife and their son in their townhouse. Former CIA Director Kirk McGarvey has no time to grieve the death of his son-in-law. Fuming, he vows to find the killers, their handlers, and their leaders as more people are murdered; some even closer to him.

The latest ultra fast-paced McGarvey thriller is an exhilarating action-packed tale with several twists that even the hero never anticipated. Fast-paced throughout, McGarvey struggles with psychological trauma like none he faced before even when he dealt with a best friend mole inside the agency and staying alive as he climbs the pyramid of the Friday Club hierarchy.

Book Review

In Thor’s formulaic ninth Scot Harvath thriller (after The Apostle), the ex–navy SEAL has lost his job with the disbanding under a new presidential administration of the Apex Project, a Department of Homeland Security secret antiterrorist program that didn’t worry about obeying any rules. Fortunately, Harvath lands on his feet with the Carlton Group, funded covertly by the Department of Defense, with an identical mission. After a bus full of Americans is blown up in Rome, Harvath travels to Europe to track down a man known as the Troll, who’s been implicated in the bombing. Meanwhile, John Vaughn, a Chicago cop who somehow moonlights as an attorney for private clients, seeks to identify the Middle Eastern–looking man who ran down a woman with his cab. Predictably, Vaughn uncovers a plot against civilian targets in Chicago. Bumbling CIA agents make members of the secret Carlton Group look even more heroic. Fans of TV’s 24 may enjoy the over-the-top setups, but even they might wish for a little more sophistication.

From Publishers Weekly

Haig’s wisecracking J.A.G. attorney Sean Drummond returns for his fourth caper in three years (after January 2003′s The Kingmaker). Unpopular with his military superiors because of his sharp tongue and his tendency to attract trouble, Major Drummond finds himself loaned out to a private law firm. Culper, Hutch, and Westin represents some of the District of Columbia’s most staid, old-line institutions, and Drummond begins ruffling feathers from the moment he arrives, though he does prove surprisingly popular with some clients. Meanwhile, a serial killer is taking out attractive young professional women. The first victim is Lisa Morrow, Drummond’s sidekick in Haig’s debut thriller, Secret Sanction, and also a military lawyer working for Culper, Hutch, and Westin. In fact, Lisa’s on her way to meet Drummond when she’s murdered. Chapters from the obsessive killer’s dark perspective alternate with Drummond’s cheeky first-person narration. Not happy with police progress on the case, Lisa’s sister Janet, also a lawyer and a dark-haired beauty, steps forward to help Drummond investigate, even as victims pile up. Both Janet and Drummond prove to be entertaining thorns in the side of crusty police detective Spinelli, the officer in charge of the murder investigation. Haig introduces related subplots featuring corporate greed and criminality, but they don’t have the visceral chills or the sexiness of the serial killer story line. In the end, it’s all about Drummond; though the novel is overlong, the hero’s sharp and devilish style should keep reader interest high until the surprising conclusion.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here is the official review:

In a funny, whip-smart memoir sure to be a sensation among Vogue and W devotees, erstwhile hair and makeup artist Tonello (now a columnist for HuffingtonPost.com) chronicles a surprising (even to him!) trans-Atlantic move from Provincetown, R.I. to a city he’d fallen in love with on a short trip: Barcelona, where he knows no one and doesn’t speak the language. Tonello’s initial euphoria dissolves when his new job fails to materialize. To stay afloat, Tonello starts selling items on Ebay with startling results: his first, heart-racing success, a year-old $99 Polo scarf he sold for $430 to a Midwesterner (“I guess he really liked plaid”) makes Tonello an instant believer in the resale capabilities of high-end luxury items. Thus his new trade, and his quest for the Birkin, the “it bag” of all time, famous for its impenetrable waiting list (“What do you mean the waiting list is closed? It’s a waiting list. So I can’t wait?”). After many failed attempts, Tonello plans a weekend drive to Madrid in search of the haute couture holy grail; the result is a both a hilarious raid on fashion’s strongholds and a memoir that satisfies like a novel. Fashion die-hards, and many others, will be delighted from beginning to end.

Military lawyer Sean Drummond, the wiseass hero of Haig’s promising new series, ventures into the ’90s aftermath of the Cold War this time out. The rollicking, free-swinging attorney is assigned to defend U.S. Army Gen. William Morrison, a Russian specialist accused of being a Soviet spy for 10 years. Drummond doesn’t particularly want the job. On a professional level, he dislikes traitors. Personally, he resents the pompous Morrison. Complicating matters further, Drummond still carries a torch for Morrison’s sexy wife, who had her pick of the two men years earlier and opted for the one with the higher rank. Despite all the distractions, Drummond hurls himself into the case. The action bounces back and forth in dramatic fashion between Washington, D.C., and Moscow, with Drummond finding nothing but discouragement in both capitals. It is only after two attempts on his life that he begins to suspect that Morrison was framed. Drummond’s tireless investigations eventually put him face to face with a man who has been the driving force behind every Russian ruler in the past 30 years: the so-called Kingmaker. Haig’s third Drummond adventure (after Mortal Allies) rolls along in high spirits, mixing clever cloak-and-dagger tricks, gutsy heroics and edgy, often humorous dialogue. Drummond at times borders on comic caricature-he personally kills five villains, stabbing one fatally in the eye with a ballpoint pen-yet he is easy to root for and fun to watch in action. Remarkably, his smart-alecky personality, expressed in one wisenheimer comment after another, remains fresh from start to finish.

(Gary Vaynerchuk’s Favorite) 

Price: $45 

Region: Franklin County, Ky. 

Notes: Smooth as butter, with a long, engaging finish. A tad more oak than the Woodford, but not as much heat comes through.

Laphroaig Malt 15 Year

(Gary Vaynerchuk’s Favorite) 

Price: $60 

Region: Islay (Scotland’s western and northern coasts, including Islay, Orkneys Mull, Skye; heavy and smokey) 

Notes: Peaty but picks up some smokiness as well. Very complex with a long

Glenkinchie Distillers Edition

Price: $70 

Region: Lowland (low areas in southern Scotland; light and dry) 

Notes: This is very different — a lighter style of Scotch. A little caramel. If you’ve been drinking American whiskeys and want to try a Single Malt, this could be a good crossover play.

Tomintoul 16 Year Speyside

Price: $70 

Region: Speyside Notes: I like the way this strikes my tongue; there’s almost a little saline component on the back end. Well balanced.

The staff is very attentive and the cuisine was wonderful.  The restaurant was so good that ate at least once per day in the hotel restaurant.

The location is about 5 minutes walk from the center.  It is located in a residential area  which is nice an quiet.  I preferred the location then being at one of the touristy hotels located near the Center.

An Iranian-born physicist living the American dream, Dr. Ross Shaheen is at the top of his game. Between his internationally-recognized nuclear weapons research career at the prestigious Berkeley Lab and his picture-perfect family in the San Francisco suburbs, it’s a good life that can only get better – until he is lured into lecturing before an elite group of scientists in his home country. The 7000-mile trip takes Shaheen back to the land of the lion and the sun, yet it also delivers to Iran’s very doorstep an important American citizen with Top Secret security clearance. Taken captive in a subterranean plant by Amir Meshkin, head of Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program, will Shaheen be forced to provide him with the access needed to successfully advance the Iranian nuclear agenda? The answer lies in the twisting plot of espionage and survival, putting to the test not only Shaheen’s secret knowledge but also the very core of his allegiance. If he lives, he could walk away a hero for his country. The question is – which one?

In this book, the main character Dan Gordon goes undercover to infiltrate and destroy an international Hezbollah funding plot. But when his cover is blown he wonders if he-s been a sacrificial lamb for the CIA all along.  The book takes you to Paraguay, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Italy, and Romania.  It is fast paced and a great read.