All Out War

July 22, 2019
Early in bestseller Parnell’s rousing second Eric Steele novel (after 2018’s Man of War), Steele, a clandestine operative in a secret U.S. unit known as the Program, has dinner with his widowed mother, Susan, at his home near Pittsburgh, Pa. After dinner, an RPG hits the front gate of the fortified house. Two teams of assailants get through the breach made by the rocket blast. Steele and Susan manage to escape, but in the ensuing chase his mother is badly hurt. Steele resolves to go after the perpetrators with a vengeance. Meanwhile, Gabriel, a rogue Saudi, has sprung Aleksandr Zakayev from Russia’s infamous Black Dolphin prison and tasked him with getting a friend of his, terrorist Hassan Sitta, out of an American black site prison ship known as Cold Storage. As Steele pursues his attackers, he gets involved in the effort to identify the target of Gabriel’s plot that requires Sitta. Not all the investigative work makes sense, but the vivid, unrelenting action scenes more than compensate. A lingering mystery will leave readers eager for Steele’s next adventure. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group.

September 1, 2019
An elite American soldier who is out for vengeance uncovers a menacing terrorist plot. Retired U.S. Army captain and combat veteran Parnell (Man of War, 2018) delivers the second installment of the adventures of special operative Eric Steele. On the mend from a showdown with a rogue agent, Steele is preparing for a quiet dinner at home with his mother. The wine is quickly forgotten and the steaks start burning when Russian assailants bring the war to his doorstep. Using RPGs, C-4 explosives, and a SAW machine gun, the Russians are after a mysterious package sent from someone deeply connected to Steele's past. Steele narrowly escapes the attack with his life, but his mother ends up in intensive care. Shoulders heavy with guilt, Steele must use his connections and skills as an Alpha--an elite operator who answers only to the president--to find those responsible for the attack. Pumped up with prescription steroids and with his "keeper" and close friend, Demo, at his side, he takes off for Europe to follow the only clue offered by a former president, who cryptically refers to some off-the-books operation called Cold Storage. The mission becomes increasingly complex, dangerous, and engaging once Steele learns that the attack on his home is tied to assassination plans for some of the world's most prominent leaders. A well-written and well-researched page-turner.

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Starred review from September 15, 2019
Parnell's follow-up to Man of War (2018) is a fast-paced, all-out action-fest. A Russian terrorist named Zakayev has been released from a maximum-security prison and has joined forces with another ruthless killer named Hassan Sitta, who has hidden a bomb somewhere in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Eric Steele, an elite member of a secret U.S. government group known as Alpha, has been recovering from injuries sustained in the previous book. Somehow the enemy has tracked him down, and attacked him and his mother at their home. She ends up barely alive, with Steele tracking those responsible for the attack. The trail, perhaps inevitably, leads to Zakayev and Sitta, forcing Steele to save the world one more time. Steele is the kind of adventure hero whom everyone will want to see succeed, and here's he up against antagonists who define sheer villainy. With just two books, Parnell has jumped to the top of the military-thriller class, right up there with Brad Thor and Vince Flynn.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)