d.v. berkom
Review of ‘A Plague of Traitors’
Leine Basso, former government assassin, who left the business to work for S.H.E.N., an organization devoted to ending the trafficking of humans, is approached by the director of national intelligence with a proposal; train a team of Kurdish assassins to travel to Libya and prevent the transfer of a newly-developed Russian bio-weapon to Syria’s strong man.
The team’s training and the potential success of the mission is compromised by one member, Amiri, a Yazidi, who had been a captive and victim of the depredations of the Izz al-Din, a notorious Libyan terrorist group. Leine is faced with a dilemma. Amiri is one of the best, but can she be trusted to keep her anger and hunger for revenge in check? As if this isn’t a big enough problem, she has to work with an American agent, the number two in the operation, who was reassigned to the operation after an assignment in Syria, and he has a real blind spot where Syria’s madman leader is concerned, which could also jeopardize the mission.
D.V. Berkom’s A Plague of Traitors is, in my humble opinion, the best Leine Basso thriller yet. I know I’ve said that about previous books in this series, but it’s just a plain statement of fact, Berkom just keeps getting better with each offering. Like all other Leine Basso stories, this one is fast paced and filled with tension from start to finish. Do yourself a favor and get this book as soon as it’s released. I received an advance review copy of the book and give it five stars.
Review of ‘Shadow of the Jaguar’
Dr. Martin Stokes and his daughter Nancy are in the Amazon basin in Peru, on the verge of finding a lost city mentioned in a conquistadores’ ancient manuscript. When an armed group of narco-traffickers kidnap Nancy and threaten to kill her unless he leads them to the site of the city, Stokes calls on his brother, Lou for aid in rescuing her.
Leine Basso is dispatched to find and rescue Nancy, but is forced to take her own daughter April along on the mission. April, who has worked with the anti-trafficking organization as a counselor, has no experience in the field, and Leine is worried that she will have to take care of her as well as concentrate on the job at hand.
In the jungle, Leine and April find things have gone from bad to worse, and don’t know who to trust. With greed, deceit, and perfidy at every turn, they are challenged just to stay alive.
Shadow of the Jaguar by D. V. Berkom is another offering in the stellar Leine Basso series, and they just keep getting better. If you like your heroines strong, focused, and uncompromising, you’ll love this one, and it it’s your introduction to this character, it’ll whet your appetite to go back to the beginning and read the preceding volumes.
This one will grab you by your attention span and pin you to your chair until, soaked with sweat and panting, you reach the end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, couldn’t put it down until I finished it, and give it five stars. Heck, I’d give it more if I could, but five’s the limit.
Review of ‘Dakota Burn’
Jerked away from sunny L.A. to the bitter cold of North Dakota, Leine Basso, former assassin, and now fighting human trafficking for SHEN, joins Derek van der Haar, former poacher, now also on the hunt for those who traffic in children, in an operation to bring down a notorious child sex trafficker in one of the oil boom towns of the Dakotas. The closer they get to their prey, the more dangerous it becomes, as they learn that high-powered men all over the country are behind the heinous happenings, and they will stop at nothing to continue raking in their dirty dollars.
Dakota Burn by best-selling author D.V. Berkom is without doubt the best, and most gut-wrenching Basso thriller yet. Bodies fall along with criminal empires, as Leine and Derek face almost insurmountable odds in their quest to bring justice—of the final kind—to men who have zero respect for life.
If you’re a Leine Basso fan, as I am, you’ll love this book. A strong, determined female heroine who not only competes in a man’s world, but prevails. This penetrating look at the problem of human trafficking in the United States, where most of the population seems unaware of its existence, will open your eyes and leave you breathless in awe.
I received a complimentary copy of this latest Basso magnum opus, and once I started reading, time stopped, but I didn’t until I’d read every last thrilling word. Do yourself a favor—don’t let this one get away.
Review of ‘Absolution’
Leine Basso, formerly a government assassin, has tried to distance herself from her former profession by applying her skills to aiding SHEN, an organization devoted to fighting human trafficking. But she is also obsessed with finding Salome, a freelance assassin whose skills match her own, but who prefers working on the dark side. When she gets news that Salome has resurfaced and is planning a new deadly operation, Leine once again severs ties, this time with SHEN, her daughter, April, and Santiago Jensen, the love of her life. Operating with former black ops colleagues, Leine moves from London to Los Angeles in an increasingly desperate search for the elusive Salome, both of them leaving a trail of bodies in their wakes.
Absolution by best-selling author D.V. Berkom is yet another spine-tingling thriller featuring one of the genre’s most exciting kick-ass female heroines. Page after page, the author builds the suspense to a fever pitch, as Leine realizes that Salome is manipulating her in an effort to kill her, and that she’s willing to go after those closest to Leine to achieve that goal.
This is a book you won’t be able to put down. I’ve read all of the Leine Basso series, and have to say, without hesitation or reservation, that this is the best of the best. It has everything a reader expects to find in a thriller, and more.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book, and I give it five stars. Read it, and you’ll immediately see why.
Review of ‘The Last Deception’
Former assassin Leine Basso left the world of lies and deception and went to work for the organization, Stop Human Enslavement Now (SHEN). But, when she gets a call from a friend working in a refugee camp in a war zone, she’s plunged into a world that’s even more deadly and devious—she uncovers a plan that could plunge the world into war. When her friend is killed, the mission becomes personal, and she will spare nothing to avenge her, and stop a dastardly plot.
The Last Deception by D V Berkom is a different Leine Basso thriller. Leine is not called upon to find and eliminate individual enemies, but is up against a cabal of powerful people for whom no act is too low, and who will do anything to advance their plans. If you’ve ever read Berkom’s Leine Basso books, this one will come as a surprise, but a pleasant one, as it shows our heroine in a decidedly more humane light as she goes to war to protect the innocent. If this is your first one, you’ll be hooked for life on the toughest main character in thriller fiction today. Everything from dialogue to descriptions works to move a compelling story at a breakneck pace that will leave you breathless.
I received an advance reader copy of this book. I give the author five stars for this one – no surprise there, because it’s all good.
Review of ‘A Killing Truth’
An assassin for a super-secret government organization known only as the Agency, Leine is convinced that she’s doing what she’s good at, and is ridding the world of evil at the same time. Then, a supposedly routine job goes south and she’s ambushed and almost killed. She chalks it up to a glitch, but her partner/lover, Carlos, is convinced that their boss, Eric, is setting her up. She’s not convinced until Carlos goes missing and a bomb almost kills her on the next assignment Eric gives her.
A Killing Truth is the chilling prequel to D.V. Berkom’s Leine Basso thriller series. It introduces one of modern fiction’s deadliest heroes, filling in some of the blank spaces in Leine’s murky background, and at the same time, offering readers a generous helping of Berkom’s talent in weaving a fantastically twisted tale that will keep you perched on the edge of your seat.
As Shaft would say, “Leine Basso is one bad mother—” Get it today. You won’t regret it. I received an advanced review copy of this book from the author, but I also purchased it – talk about being an over-the-top fan. Oh yeah, and just so you know, I give it five stars.
Review of ‘Cargo’
Former assassin Leine Basso travels to Bangkok in an attempt to rescue the daughter of a friend who has been taken by human trafficker Victor Wang. Leine is betrayed and falls into Wang’s clutches herself. Stuffed into a container on a ship bound for Africa, Leine encounters Derek, a poacher who has also run afoul of Wang, and is being taken to slavery or death himself. If Leine is to survive and rescue the kidnapped girl, she will have to form a partnership with a man who represents the very evils she is determined to fight.
Cargo is another Leine Basso thriller by author D.V. Berkom, and it has all the elements of past books in this series, with the added dimension of human and animal trafficking. You’ll be literally on the edge of your seat as Leine and Derek face not just Wang and the triad, but a murderous band of local guerillas who put no value on human life. If you’ve enjoyed Leine’s adventures in the past, you’ll absolutely love this one. Berkom shows her amazing skill as an adventure writer in this book. Don’t miss it! I only have one criticism. Leine is supposed to know how to speak Thai, but in an encounter in Bangkok, she says, sawadi kap, which is wrong, A gender-based language, women say, sawadi ka. Other than that one little cultural/linguistic slip, though, I have nothing but praise for this book.
I received a free copy of Cargo in exchange for my review. I forgive the one linguistic gaffe and give this book a resounding five stars!
Review of ‘The Body Market’
When the daughter of a high powered Beverly Hills couple goes missing after a party in Tijuana, the family hires former assassin Leine Basso to find her. When the girl’s boyfriend is find murdered and mutilated in his car, and a local cartel threatens Leine if she doesn’t back off the investigation, she realizes that she’s dealing with more than a simple carjacking gone awry.
In The Body Market, D.V. Berkom takes Leine and the reader into the dark, dangerous world of human trafficking. I’ve read several of the Leine Basso thrillers, but this one sets the standard for adventure thrillers, and is in my humble view, the best yet. Biting dialogue and gritty descriptions are hallmarks of Berkom’s fiction, and she writes action scenes that are as brilliant as freshly spilt blood.
Leine Basso is one tough cookie, capable of inflicting pain or withstanding it, but in The Body Market, the psychic pain she has to endure as she rescues a young girl from a fate worse than death is almost unbearable. This story deals with a subject that is not for the squeamish or faint of heart, in Berkom’s inimitable style. It’s a definite keeper. I was privileged to get an advanced review copy of the book.
Writing Process Blog Hop
Writing Process Blog Hop. Get a look at DV Berkom’s writing process – you’ll find it enlightening.
A One Way Ticket to Dead
A One Way Ticket to Dead. Soon to be released thriller by D.V. Berkom.
Review: “Bad Traffick” by D. V. Berkom
Leine Basso is a former government assassin who is being framed by her former boss for murders she didn’t commit. LAPD detective Santiago Jensen, her lover, is determined to prove her innocence. When Leine is hired by a movie star to be his bodyguard when he suspects someone is trying to kidnap him, she finds herself immersed in the world of human trafficking and facing a greater threat than a frame-up.
This tightly woven, suspenseful novel is full of action, twists, and gritty human emotion that will keep you sitting on the edge of your chair as you root for Leine as she tries to rescue 12-year-old Mara, who has escaped the clutches of the traffickers who plan to sell her to a rich pedophile, and who will stop at nothing – including murder – to achieve their dastardly ends.
Author D.V. Berkom’s Bad Traffick, takes us into a world that might seem hard to fathom for the average person, but a world that is all too real. Tight dialogue and nonstop action marks a novel that establishes new benchmarks for action thrillers. This is a solid five-star novel that you won’t want to miss.
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