Red Specter

By: Brian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

It’s strike - and counterstrike - as John Dempsey takes the fight to the Russians in a riveting Tier One Thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling authors of American Operator.

When shadow warrior and former Tier One Navy SEAL John Dempsey goes undercover to meet with a Vory arms dealer, he thinks he’s laying the groundwork to penetrate the Russian criminal underground. Instead, he walks into a trap orchestrated by Zeta, the secret Russian task force behind a recent assassination attempt on the US President. For Dempsey and his team, the only way out is to lay waste to the Russians, putting a target on Ember’s back.

With Ember pitted against Zeta, a dangerous game of strike and counterstrike ensues - sanctioned in the halls of the Kremlin and the White House but disavowed to the world. As the line between espionage, counterterrorism, and spec ops blurs, Ember is ordered to eliminate their ultimate adversary, which means taking the fight against Zeta to Russian soil. But like a phoenix risen from the Cold War embers, Zeta is more capable than anyone imagines, and the Russians retaliate with an operation that will find Dempsey and task force Ember battling for survival.

©2019 Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

And the mole in Ember is.... WOW!

This book is wonderful. It’s exciting, action packed and the narration by Ray Porter is stellar. I won’t go into detail about the story as I think the publisher’s summary gives more than enough information.
This book could be listened to as a stand alone but I would suggest listening to the series in order. This book picks up shortly after the last book ends and so on going back to book one where the listener learns how Jack Dempsey loses his previous identity and becomes who he is today.
In this book some of the characters that have been involved since the beginning are lost (or soon will be) and new characters to the Ember team are grudgingly introduced.
There is a cliffhanger at the end that will leave you wanting much more! I know I’m looking forward to the next book... Dempsey will have a new assignment. And shockingly the mole in Ember is exposed.
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.
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Thank You.

22 people found this helpful

Ray Porter at the top of his game!

Red Specter, the fifth in the Tier One series by two decorated veterans and talented authors, Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson. A quick recap, the series started with Tier One (2016). “In a world violated by terror, the old lines have blurred. Meet the next generation of covert ops.” Followed by, War Shadows (2017). “From the deserts of Iraq, through the jungles of Guatemala, to the streets of suburbia, Dempsey and his Ember team race against time to stop a series of horrific and devious attacks against the homeland.” The third in the series, Crusader One (2017). “Racing from Tel Aviv to Tehran, the elite American warrior and his formidable Israeli counterpart must forsake their backup in a capture-or-kill gambit that could turn into a suicide run.” Next, the novel which introduced me to this series, American Operator, (2018). “An explosive, high-stakes thriller of espionage and counterterrorism.” This novel earned itself a Blast Radius of a Dirty Bomb! (9.25/10) on our review scale and turned me into a big fan of these two authors.

Ember, America’s premier black-ops task force, operating in the shadows with an almost unlimited budget, led by former Navy SEAL John Dempsey. ‘Dempsey use to be a tool of the Joint Special Operations Command, fulfilling a role as one of America’s most lethal special operators. Now, he was a tactical spook, an operator playing dress-up and taking on the identity the mission demanded.’ This sounds very cool, what could go wrong in a world where such task force exists and are running around the globe preventing attacks and taking out bad guys.

What if there was another similar entity, nothing like ideological terrorists they’ve hunted majority of their lives, but someone organized, well-funded, led by a tactician, a man living in shadows, hasn’t been heard of in decades or photographed. This individual would be the worlds most dangerous adversary. This man, Arkady Zhukov is the man behind Spetsgruppa Zeta. The evil Ember twin, with matching resources, capabilities, and autonomy. This is the group responsible for the failed attack on the American base in Turkey that targeted the nuclear silo, this group was behind the kidnapping and torture of Amanda Allen, and it was them who attempted to assassinate the President of the United States and the Director of National Intelligence. With a group of highly trained operators, or Zeta’s. Top in their ranks, is Zeta Prime. Valerian Kobak, aka Malik, the legend he was currently occupying.

Red Specter picks up about a month after the events of American Operator and nothing new is on task force Ember’s agenda, their sole mission is finding Malik. Grasping at straws and utilizing questionable means to get to him see’s Dempsey and crew get into a jam that almost cost them their lives. Adopting a known legend themselves and meeting with an arms dealer with close ties to Malik has Red Specter opens with a dangerous fire fight. With spectacular action, and movie like action sequence that has you at the edge of your seat. The biggest highlight however is Grimes, call sign God, behind the scope of her Heckler & Koch M110A1 sniper rifle she preferred. This Compact Semi-Auto Sniper System (CSASS) has a 16-inch-long barrel and weighs in at 8.7 pounds, it utilizes a 7.62×51 NATO round and has an effective range of 800 meters and muzzle velocity of 783 meters per second. Grimes utilized her known skills and sends some death down range in this battle.

Next we have Zeta Prime, Valerian. Currently running around as Malik, his adopted legend. He’s described as Dempsey’s twin. Formidable, strong, fast, and just as determined. As Zeta Prime, he’s the best of the best, as this designator isn’t handed out, it’s earned. It took him ten years to ascend to the top of the field operations hierarchy. In this organization, there are others who are yearning for the top spot. Valerian makes it clear he wouldn’t give it up as long as his heart is beating but being Zeta Prime is the top of their food chain and there are always people wanting that crown. What makes Andrews and Wilson stand out among other thriller writers is their perspective on the bad guy. In the Tier One series, you get to know the bad guys just as intimately as the good guys. You know what drives them, what their goal is, what their personal lives are almost as if they were the main character. In Red Specter, Malik is an emotional mess. Having been bested by Dempsey, he’s working under a renewed determination to beat the American Operator that made him come apart, psychologically and emotionally.

The fifth novel in the Tier One series by Andrews and Wilson is their best one yet, earning itself a Blast Radius of a Nuclear Bomb! Red Specter starts with immediate action and it never stops. With fire fights, close quarters combat, hand to hand fights all over the world, including Russia and the U.S. Utilizing new, state of the art gear, suspense, action, surprises and top-notch writing. Red Specter is among the very best thrillers 2019 has to offer, I highly recommend you pre-order this gem and add it to your reading list. While it works just fine as a standalone novel, the series as whole is fantastic and if you haven’t read them yet, you would be in for a treat.

6 people found this helpful

Excellent!

I love this series. Really good plot that was nerve racking with knowing who the mole was so early on. Looking forward to the next one

4 people found this helpful

keeps getting better and better!

This is in my top 5 military thrillers of all time! Each novel in the series gets better and better. With the plots, character development, and military accuracy, Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson are on top of their game! Please, start the Tier 1 series if you haven't already. This novel hit all my emotions and perfectly set up the next one in the series. Ray Porter is outstanding as always!
I CAN'T WAIT for the next one!

4 people found this helpful

Amazing

These books are getting better and better. I can’t wait for the next book to come out

3 people found this helpful

WOW

This is by far the best novel in the series. GREAT work by the both of you!!!!!!

2 people found this helpful

These two can write!!!

By far their best book, and should be considered the thriller to beat this year. Start from the beginning of the series so you can watch the character development, and in the end, I think you’ll agree that #6 can’t come soon enough.

2 people found this helpful

OMG!!!

Loved it. This book will take you on an emotional journey, from laughter to tears. Can't wait for the next installment...

2 people found this helpful

Awesome! Each book is better than the last!

Ray Porter makes any book instantly better. The book is fantastic though, made even better by Ray. The tactics, characters, locations and story make for a fun and suspenseful listen. My favorite series about Tier One Ops, it’s just that good.

2 people found this helpful

Crushed it again

Andrews & Wilson books are now as anticipated as Vince Flynn, Ben Coes, Mark Greaney. For good reasons: Ray Porter is an all star choice for military thrillers wow he is the best, makes even the 40 hr workweek book readable. Plus this book has A+ characters, suspense, writing from different POVs. CANNOT wait for the next in the series WRITE FASTER! - Dave, read/listened to EVERY mil thriller on Audible, 1300 book library.

2 people found this helpful