Rogue Strike

A Jake Keller Thriller, Book 2

By: David Ricciardi

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jake Keller finds himself in a familiar position - on the run for his life and desperate to find the shadowy figures behind a global conspiracy.

CIA agent Jake Keller and his partner, Curt Roach, are in Yemen on an important mission. They've been tipped off to a secret meeting of top al Qaeda leaders. The plan is to interrupt the meeting with a few unexpected visitors - a pair of Hellfire missiles from an orbiting drone. But the drone stops responding to their signals and soon disappears over the horizon. When next seen, the drone is attacking innocent pilgrims in Mecca. 

Jake and Curt are staggered. The US government is desperate to disavow this atrocity. Who better to blame than a couple of rogue CIA agents? With all the governments of the Middle East looking for them and no help from their own side, they are in a desperate race to stay ahead of the mob and find out who's actually behind the crime.

©2019 David Ricciardi (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“Rogue Strike doesn’t let up for a moment. There’s no time to sit back and catch your breath, because each chapter explodes with action.” (New York Journal of Books)

“Zac Miller, the hero of Ricciardi's Warning Light (2018), has changed his name to Jake Keller, but he's still a badass.... Fun fare by a talented storyteller.” (Kirkus Reviews) 

“Thriller fans who have not yet discovered David Ricciardi are in for a wonderful new treat. This extraordinarily imaginative, very talented thriller writer is well on his way to becoming a giant in the field.” (Washington Times) 

Phenomenal follow up

I love book 1 in the Jake Keller series, and book 2 was even better. I think that David Ricciardi is cementing himself as one of the newest and best authors in the thriller genre. This book was fast-paced, had great action scenes, and had a plot line that was all too believable. Let me put it this way, it dealt with Iran. He couldn't have predicted it better. I was floored by how good this book was, and I will indulge in it over and over again.

Jonathan Davis is one of the best in the business. I am used to his first-person narrations, but this was incredible. I can't recommend this book/series enough. Keep it up, David. Please don't quit this series. It's amazing!

Very, very creative plot!

Author David Ricciardi's first novel was Warning Light was an outstanding espionage thriller. It also began the Jake Keller series. ROGUE STRIKE, the second novel in the Jake Keller series is even better. If you like the work of Jack Carr, Brad Thor, Mark Greaney, Ben Coes, Vince Flynn, etc., you will enjoy this series. Jonathan Davis narrates superbly.

Realistic? Hmmmm. Exciting and engaging? YES!

Rogue Strike is that must-have second book you buy even before finishing the first book. The author has some good characters and great plot twists. Lots of Jake leaving rescue or safety to head back into the fray to do the right thing. Very satisfying.

Okay, I will suspend all belief for this kind of characterization and action! The more we learn of actual government and military behavior, the more believable this all gets. Sad but very possible.

The author needs a researcher (many authors have them) to get cultural details correct. The Chinese general and his wife call each other Honey and Darling. Not gonna happen, just ask any Chinese person over 40. His use of General Wu Ding's name is inconsistent, confusing, and probably incorrect. Most of the way through the general is called Wu Ding by all his government cronies until about chapter 92 where he is suddenly, and only once, called Wu Ding Yang. I'm assuming that Ricciardi thinks Yang is the family name, in which case only the closest of friends and family would call him Wu Ding. But if the author is being true to Chinese ways, Wu is the surname, and Ding Yang is the given name and calling him Wu Ding is just impossible. Anyway totally confusing if you know how it is supposed to work. Then Wu Ding shows up somewhere in a long Chinese coat called a cheongsam. No. Women wear the cheongsam (that slinky dress slit up to there), men wear a chang ao.

These errors will slip painlessly past everyone not in the know, but slap those in. It's not easy to get it all right, that's why the researcher.

Jonathan Davis is a highly respected narrator with a great voice. His accents are quite good. He lost a star for me for unnatural sentence emphasis, and some mispronounced or inconsistently-pronounced words like Makarov.

I'm a detail listener so I pick, pick, pick. I don't go in looking to pick, things just stand out for me. If they jump in my face, I comment. I loved the story and the characters Ricciardi has created, and I anxiously await the next one!

Fantastic!

I loved it! The book reminded me of Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney, lots of different moving parts all over the globe, intricate plots and twists that all come together in a big bang!
I loved every minute of it and was very sorry when it was finished.
I went looking for more of David Ricciardi's books, only to realise this was his 2nd book!
This new author has got a fantastic career ahead of him!

Lots of Fun

Jonathan Davis is awesome, and the story is great also. Good action and with a creative plot. Ricciardi is now going on my list of must read thriller authors.

C.I.A. And the Delta Boys

As a huge fan of narrator Jonathan Davis, but not of SciFi, I tried to get as many of his narrations as possible as he makes the story come to life. My fave, Sandra Browns, Mean Streak. I do use 1.25x speed to match the adventure. Give it a try.
A reviewer I follow loved this book, and as reviewers said this story was better than the first, I started with book 2.
As one reviewer, stated, story was a bit too long. In my humble opinion, it was long and needed better editing as the drama didn’t increase with the length, just more scenarios, meaning the tension did not increase.
While the opening was very fast paced, and the mystery unfolded very quickly, the length of this story, does not compel me to buy book 1. For I all know, that was the better story to try out this author. If I run out of good selections for Mr. Davis, then I may give it a try,
Were my comments of help?

Great series

As indicated the story is great; hope the author continues the series. Love Keller character

Reminds me of Tom Clancy at his best

Good writing, character development and international intrigue. Maybe not the scope of a Tom Clancy Jack Ryan Universe book but a great start.

Disappointing

I really enjoyed Warning Light, but was disappointed by this book. I felt the first book had some character development and levity, but that Jake and everyone else was devoid of character in this second book. It seemed rather formulaic, even Jonathan Davis couldn't hold my attention.

Volume varies too much.

Listening with headphones, the voices of some characters would be very soft and then another character would blast your ears. Everything else was great.