Black Ops
New York, N.Y. Jove Books, 2010. Jove Premium Edition [stated]. First printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. [12], 784, [4] pages. Maps. This is one of the Presidential Agent Novels. First time in paperback. William Edmund Butterworth III (November 10, 1929 – February 12, 2019), better known by his pen name W. E. B. Griffin, was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name. 21 of those books were co-written with his son, William E Butterworth IV. He also published under 11 other pseudonyms and three versions of his real name (W. E. Butterworth, William E. Butterworth, and William E. Butterworth III). He joined the United States Army in 1946. His military occupation was counterintelligence and in this capacity he served in the Constabulary in Germany, thus earning the Army of Occupation Medal. One of Griffin's duties was delivering food to German general officers, and their families, including the widow of would-be Hitler assassin Claus von Stauffenberg. His exposure to German military and civilian aristocracy supplied much of the inspiration for such Griffin creations as Oberst Graf von Greiffenberg, who appears in several of the Brotherhood of War novels. In 1951 when he was recalled to serve in the Korean War. In Korea he first served as an official Army war correspondent with the 223rd Infantry Regiment, then as public information officer for U.S. X Corps, which included the 1st Marine Division. Griffin received the Combat Infantryman Badge for service at the front lines. His knowledge of combat and garrison life and his friendships with military personnel from different services would well serve his writing. All over the globe, covert United States Personnel are being eliminated. Delta Force Lieutenant Colonel Charley Castillo expects it's only a matter of time before the commander in chief assigns him and his group of troubleshooters to look into the deaths as other intelligence agencies scramble to put the pieces together. But then Castillo receives word from a notorious Russian mobster and arms dealer that the deaths are just the beginning. The Russian bear is stirring and it's hungry in the #1 "New York Times" bestselling series thrilling fifth novel. The first disturbing reports reached Delta Force Lieutenant Colonel Charley Castillo in the form of backchannel messages concerning covert U.S. intelligence assets working for a variety of agencies suddenly gone missing and then, suddenly, inexplicably, found dying. Or dead. One in Budapest, Hungary. One in Kiev, Ukraine. One in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, mere klicks from the Iran border. And then one in Virginia, along the Potomac River, practically in the shadow of CIA headquarters. Castillo finds the information both infuriating and fascinating, particularly after a recent experience with two CIA traitors whose own deaths were swift and suspicious. Despite there being some similarities, though, he thinks there's something different with these new cases, something he can't quite put his finger on. At first, it's idle thought, but Castillo expects it's only a matter of time before the commander in chief assigns him and his group of troubleshooters in the innocuously named Office of Organizational Analysis to look into the deaths while all those intelligence agencies fight among themselves trying to put the pieces together. Meanwhile, Castillo has problems of his own, fallout from recent missions involving a clandestine rescue of a DEA agent from South American drug runners, and the confiscation of some fifty million dollars from thieves in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. He's made more than a few enemies, he knows, both foreign and domestic. And then comes another back-channel message, this one delivered personally by his lethal friend, the Russian mobster arms dealer. All that has happened so far, he says, is just a warm-up for what's about to come out of the Kremlin. Could sabers be rattling for a new Cold War? Or worse? Presidential Agent C. G. Castillo is about to find out. . . . Filled with Griffin's trademark rich characters and cutting-edge drama, this is another exceptional novel in an exceptional series. Condition: Good.
Keywords: William Edmund Butterworth, Presidential Agency, Charley Castillo, Mobster, Arms Dealer, Delta Force, DEA, Drug Trafficking, Covert Operations, Intelligence Operations, Back-channel
ISBN: 9780515147391
[Book #80184]
Price: $17.50