Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe–a department only known as “Other.” When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology, she figures she’ll be back in DC within a few days. But that’s before she knows where the designs are stored–and who’s after them.
With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where criminal minds and unlikely strategies compete for access to the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault that hovers in the mesosphere. But is Tyler actually helping her? Or is he using her for his own dark purposes?
“James Hannibal has crafted a story slam full of mystery, danger, twists, and turns. I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough–or bother to stop to breathe. You don’t want to miss this one!”–Lynette Eason, bestselling, award-winning author of the Blue Justice series
“The Gryphon Heist plunges readers into a world where no one can be trusted, nothing is as it seems, and choosing the wrong side could be catastrophic.”–Lynn H. Blackburn, award-winning and bestselling author of the Dive Team Investigations series
“Leap on board The Gryphon Heist and ride the whirlwind of suspense. Don’t let go!”–DiAnn Mills, bestselling author of Burden of Proof
Who to trust is the name of the game for new spy Talia Inger. Her boss? Her mentor? The civilian contractor? The scientist she’s investigating? Talia even struggles with trusting her own judgement.
“So how is a spy supposed to know what’s right or wrong?”
I’d say experience. And Talia gains that experience over the course of The Gryphon Heist, the first novel in a new series by James Hannibal. Talia and her team are out to steal\keep safe a new weapon from a secret vault in a high-altitude orbit. Not quite space, but space-adjacent.
A lot of spy\adventure books that I’ve read always have a great team of secondary characters. The Gryphon Heist has such a team. An elite one, if I may borrow a phrase from the trailer! From hacker to chemist, wheel-man, cat burglar, and con artist, we meet quite the collection of characters. My favorites are Finn (the high-flying cat burglar), Darcy (the chemist\demolition expert), and of course Eddie, our hacker. Eddie has a very similar sense of humor to my own. (I always gravitate to the nerdy jokes!) Building the team is one section of the novel that I really enjoyed. This team reminds me a bit of the group from the Fox and O’Hare series by Janet Evanovich. Every member of the team has a specialty and they do not always blend together. But they get the job done.
“In the past, I’ve put teams together for onetime operations, disbanding them afterward. But this team is different. … I don’t think any of you can deny that we work well together. You all have unique talents. And last week you used them to save lives.”
I was relieved that there was no forced romance between Talia and Tyler. For me, knowing what I do about how their relationship started, it’s better as mentor\mentee than romantic.
I may not be into action in my own life, but I do love reading a great action scene. Mr. Hannibal captures these scenes well with very visual descriptions. There are some extreme, heart-racing, action scenes in The Gryphon Heist. There is a great chase involving an ekranoplan. (Don’t worry. I looked it up too.) Our first introduction to Finn is a high-altitude jump out of a weather balloon. The whole end of the novel is one giant try not to die action scene. Kudos to Mr. Hannibal on the action writing!
The Gryphon Heist as a lot of spy jargon which I can only infer is correct. I read a number of books like this, or with other military jargon. I don’t know anything about the subjects. I’m here for the car chases! If you are one of those readers who are a stickler for accuracy, this is my heads-up warning for you!
I’d rank The Gryphon Heist up there with some of my favorite spy\thrillers, like the Jack West Jr or Oregon Files novels. Or Covert Affairs or Jack Ryan tv series. Well-written. Fast-paced. Good car\plane chases! And some great plot twists. Very worth checking out if you are looking for some high-speed action (AT HEIGHTS!).
I received The Gryphon Heist free in exchange for my honest review. Thanks to author James Hannibal and Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing this opportunity.
Former stealth pilot James R. Hannibal is a two-time Silver Falchion Award winner for his Section 13 mysteries for kids and a Thriller Award nominee for his Nick Baron covert ops series for adults. James is a rare multi-sense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect. He sees and feels sounds and smells and hears flashes of light. He lives in Houston, Texas.
+ Gryphon Ornament + Clip Bookmarks + $10 Starbucks Gift Card;
SECOND PRIZE: Copy of The Gryphon Heist + $25 Barnes and Noble Gift Card;
THIRD PRIZE: Copy of The Gryphon Heist + $10 Starbucks Gift Card
September 26-October 6, 2019
VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
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9/26/19
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Notable Quotable
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9/26/19
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BONUS Post
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9/27/19
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Review
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9/28/19
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Author Interview
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9/29/19
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Review
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9/30/19
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Excerpt
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10/1/19
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Review
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10/2/19
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Top Ten List
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10/3/19
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Author Interview
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10/4/19
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Review
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10/5/19
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Review
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COMING MARCH, 2020!
Love this review and that the book is ALL about the action instead of going all romance-y! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Kristine! And yes, action galore!