Denied Access by Don Bentley (a Mitch Rapp novel)

Before you get too confused, Denied Access adds to Mitch Rapp's backstory. Bentley takes us back to when Rapp was a kinda newly minted spy/assassin shortly after his experiences at the CIA's notorious 'Farm'. The book completes the American Assassin trilogy: American Assassin, Kill Shot, and now Denied Access. And he's got a new girlfriend while still clinging to the memory of his fiance who was killed in the terrorist attack that brought done an airliner that crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland.  The timeline takes place shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Denied Access is a gripping thriller that blends action with complex  questions about loyalty, duty, and the cost of secrecy. Bentley uses his experience as a former Army Apache helicopter pilot and FBI special agent to bring realism to his continuation of books featuring Mitch Rapp and Jack Ryan as well as his standalone novels. You really feel a part of the story. 

The story jumps around from Barcelona to Langley to Zurich, Latvia, Moscow, and various ports of call in the Mediterranean that all figure into a convoluted plot to start an insurrection in Latvia that will require Moscow to intervene and ultimately restart a reunification of former Soviet republics back into the fold. The main players are Rapp, Greta (the girlfriend), her grandfather, Thomas Stansfield (currently acting director of the CIA), Irene Kennedy (Stansfield's associate/confidant/moral compass/sometime handler of Rapp), Stan Hurley (Farm instructor who still tries to keep Rapp on a leash) then a couple old former cold war spooks from East Germany (he's a good guy) and the former KGB (not a good guy). In fact, as the cast of characters develop, Rapp isn't the main character. In fact, there really isn't a 'main character' as most all in my list figure about equally in the story

Bentley's personal history gives this story a high degree of authenticity.  Bentley’s firsthand knowledge of military and covert operations adds precision and credibility that elevates the story beyond typical action fare. The tight pacing and vivid descriptions will keep you hooked from the first chapter to the last. The dialogue feels natural and sharp for the most part (but I know of no 20-something guy who refers to his girlfriend as 'darling') revealing character depth propels the plot forward.

The book does present military jargon throughout that some might find complex, but readers of thrillers shouldn't find the lingo beyond their grasp. Regardless, fans of Tom Clancy or Jack Carr or Vince Flynn, or Brad Thor should agree that Denied Access touches all the right buttons giving us a mix of intricate espionage, moral conflict, and relentless suspense.Denied Access is a sophisticated and expertly crafted thriller that favorable continues the Mitch Rapp storyline. 

Trust me on this: you wont' be disappointed.  

ECD 

 

The Hail Mary Project

 I read The Hail Mary Project the first time in August 2021, and the following review was written then. Rather than write a new review, despite thinking the original review did not capture the enormity and beauty of the story, decided I probably could not do any better. This year in April 2026, it has become a movie with Ryan Gosling playing Ryland Grace and Sandra Huller playing Eva Stratt. As I reread the novel, I got through half of it before attending the movie with my daughter at her suggestion, and the second half of the novel after seeing the movie. I wondered how this very scientific story could be told at all, but as you might expect given the immediate popularity of the movie in it's first week since release, it still makes the most sense to read the book first, and then just sit back and enjoy the marvelous story telling that has been presented.

Review:

While we at Men Reading Books do favor mysteries and thrillers, I tend to wander off-genre from time to time. But, Andy Weir has written a new sci-fi book. He wrote The Martian which was a marvelous story, and I only rarely read sci-fi. Like The Martian, his new book The Hail Mary Project was avidly recommended by my daughter who also does not read much sci-fi. Weir captured me from the beginning.

Ryland Grace was a disgruntled scientist whose predictions about finding life forms that were not based on water were laughed at and discarded by the scientific world. His feelings were hurt so he retreated to being a middle school science teacher where he could be adored and loved by his students. He was one cool teacher. But suddenly, a woman, Eva Stratt, introduced herself to him as the person in charge of the Petrova Taskforce, a group he had never heard of. She had read his thesis paper and insisted that she appreciated his creativity, his ability to think outside the box. Actually, she gave him no choice in the matter and she had the military might behind her to bring him along, willingly or not. It turned out that our sun was losing its power rapidly, and if it got just 10% cooler, life on earth would end. A solution had to be found and Stratt’s powers were being supported by all the most powerful nations.

So, it’s a story about saving the planet, but it’s much more. Grace is sent on an interstellar mission to learn about the creatures that were robbing the sun of its power and adopt that knowledge to saving the sun and the earth. Along the way, he becomes the first human to interact with an alien species, and he teams up with “Rocky” to solve the problems that plagued both of their worlds which were light years apart from one another.

The Reckoning

The Reckoning is the first book reviewed in this blog which was written by Kelli Stanley. She’s written a number of thrillers and mysteries before this novel, and her best seller before now was entitled City of Dragons. She has apparently decided to do a series about her protagonist, Renata Drake. In fact, Ms. Stanley has described one fascinating character in Renata who has fled her home town on the east coast after killing the man who murdered her sister. She is sure the FBI is pursuing her. This story takes place in 1985. Renata ended up in the Humbolt County, California, the town of Garberville which in the midst of the marijuana growing area of the state. She is traveling as incognito as possible, living in off-beat places and working to pay her way. She adopts a new identity, finds a job in the local library, as well as the local town newspaper. 

Upon her arrival in Garberville, she discovers that there has been a serial killer of teenage girls who has been operating in that area for the last several years. Although there has been an unsuccessful hunt for the killer, Renata takes on finding the man in an attempt to redeem herself for the killing of the man who murdered her sister. She befriends local teenage girls as she discovers clues about the possible murderers in the county. The FBI and local police are vigilant because of the predominant illegal drug trade. Ms. Stanley manages to skillfully include themes of the emotional struggle of having been the victim of a major trauma, privacy, and justice.

Now that Ms. Stanley has created such a great character, I’m eager to read more. This was a compelling story that had me hooked from the beginning.

To Darkness and To Death

 To Darkness and To Death is the fourth book in the 10-book series by Julia Spencer-Fleming. As previously reviewed, this is a series of novels about Clare Fergusson, an Episcopal priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, the chief of police in Millers Kill, a town in upstate New York. In this story, the heir of one of the wealthy local families has decided to sell their massive property which has been in the family for 100 years. The property had been supported by the timber industry, but it has grown progressively more expensive to operate the business at the same time it could be sold to developers for millions of dollars, a move that is being protested by some radical nature elements. The author dives into the history of all the families and organizations involved at the same time she continues to develop the relationship between the two protagonists. Both Russ and Clare are persons of high ethics who have found their intense attraction to one another to conflict with their own standards, as well as what they know the public expects of them. It would be a massive scandal if the married police chief and a single priest were discovered to be having an affair. Still, they've done nothing to act on their mutual attraction accept to admit their feelings to one another. The book ends with an intense fire emergency in the property that is scheduled to officially change hands and Russ' decision that he would admit to his wife that he had fallen in love with another woman. It's my plan to read on, and I've already downloaded the next book, All Mortal Flesh.

Mortal Risk

 

Mortal Risk is a debut novel by Lester James Nixon. Nixon had a long history of working in the insurance industry. I was also an expert in the insurance industry although my expertise had to do with being a form of medical examiner in which both sides of a case would hire me to arbitrate psychiatric claims. On the one hand, it was clear that the insurance side tended not to believe anyone who filed a claim, and on the other, nearly everyone I saw over a span of 35 years had a tendency to exaggerate their claims, sometimes even when the claims were quite solid.

 In this story, the insurance companies had sought help from murderers to knock of claimants whose claims would eventually cost the companies millions of dollars. For example, a young claimant who was healthy enough to live a long life, but who would have astronomical medical expenses along the way. Even a retiree with an enviable benefits package who would die soon from an aggressive form of cancer, but then his estate would receive a huge payout, unless the death was deemed a suicide and not the disease itself. There are other such scenarios. The story was so outrageous and unbelievable that the cops would never believe in the conspiracy, so at great risk, the criminal operators had to be caught in the act if they were ever to be punished.  Those who died had heart wrenching stories. 

 The story was mostly carried by dialogue rather than a narration. I’ve often found that delivering such action by dialogue makes it difficult to sustain the fever of action that makes for a spellbinding story. I thought the author designed a good plot but I found the dialogue often to be lacking, not keeping the energy going in an intense way. I rate this one at 3 ½ out of 5, and it’s in my category of airplane books. I can’t give it a strong recommendation.

All Her Little Secrets

 All Her Little Secrets is a debut novel by Wanda M. Morris. It’s a gripping legal thriller that I saw recommended in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Ellice Littlejohn was born into poverty in rural Georgia, and she grew up with much abuse from multiple sources. However, she was a bright person who excelled academically, and she won scholarships to a boarding school and then college scholarships which led to her completing a degree from the Yale School of Law. Now working at a highly regarding and successful and large law firm in downtown Atlanta, she was the only black lawyer in the firm. However, the firm has gained the attention of racial activists and there are daily protests going outside her building. Meanwhile, she was involved in an affair with her boss, Michael, who happened to be married. She had never been interested in a long-term relationship which might lead to her own marriage.

But suddenly, she came to work early to continue her satisfying relationship with Michael only to find him in his office, dead, shot in the head in an apparent suicide. Ellice was immediately promoted to her boss’s job, a position she did not feel prepared to do. But, the pay raise was significant and she had always dreamt of being in a position of power with the firm. It was because of her own secrets from childhood that she chose not to immediately call the police, a decision she would come to regret. This murder mystery was told with themes poverty, white supremacy, misogyny, infidelity, secrecy, legal ethics, and family matters. Ellice discovered that her boss had probably been killed because he objected to some of the deals the firm was involved in and she suddenly was faced with an ethical dilemma she was not prepared to handle.

 This is an excellent novel and I recommend it highly, with no reservations, rated 5/5. You won’t be disappointed.

Hollywood Hustle by Jon Lindstrom

Winston Greene is a weather worn action movie hero whose star is fading. Only gigs he can get now are B-grade Asian action flicks. And not many of them. Picture, maybe, Nick Nolte. 

Winston is a widower and a cancer survivor. Claire is his addict of a daughter who is married to Zeke, a bigger addict, and a lovely granddaughter. Nothing he'd like better than to get his daugher/granddaughter to drop that loser husband/father and move back in with him.  But the lovely couple has debts they are trying to run away from and the holder of the debts (Rocket) wants to be paid.

Rocket is a low level dealer who operates out of a bowling alley bar. He has two subordinates, Jordy (a large surfer) and Ozzie (a small mouthy hispanic). They work out a foolproof plan: kidnap the daughter and ransom her to Winston for 'all his money' (of course him being a famous, and rich, movie star, he's got to have a ton socked away). Once the kidnap happens and the ransom demand phoned in, Winston convinces a friend, Teddy (former New Orleans detective now LA PI)  plus Grover, his best friend, who is an in-demand stunt man. But no police. Given Greene's former notoriety, it's only a matter of time before some cop calls in a tip to a Hollywood tabloid. 

The book follows two primary plotlines. First, the idiots who dreamed up this scheme and what they try to do to minimize the fallout rapidly heading their way. Second, is the Winston's team tracing leads in an attempt to find Claire. It's imperative they find Claire because they don't know what the kidnappers will do when they learn that Winston is damn near broke. Actors apparently have little or no health insurance so Winston paid for his cancer treatments out of pocket, leaving him with only two tangible assets: his home (whose crumbling foundation means he could only sell it for pennies on the dollar) and a customized hot rod. 

Lindstrom has a 20+ year career working in Hollywood having acting, producing, directing, and writing credits on his IMDB.com page. By coincidence, while reading this, a commercial came on with Lindstom as the subject. He had a long-running role in General Hospital (491 episodes) and a few other standalone books. My partner in crime here at MRB would've called this 'An airport read' meaning a fund read that will distract you from the drudgery of travel. I'd read another.  

Exit Strategy by Lee Child and Andrew Child

The wanderings of Jack Reacher make its 30th stop, this time in Baltimore, MD. Reacher is sitting in his usual haunt - a coffee shop - and scoping out the customers. Only thing kinda unusual is a 4-top with two couples, one elderly.  As he exits the shop, a customer coming in brushes up against Reacher (who then checks his pockets to make sure his passport and some cash are intact). They are. On the street is a 2nd hand store he stops in to buy a warmer coat giving the upcoming change in seasons. While transferring his meager existence to the new coat, he notices a note has been inserted into a pocket. A desperate plea for help. Could only have come from that brushpass at the door.  

But first, that older couple. Reacher recognized the shakedown as soon as he saw it. Con artists trying to scam the elderly for all their savings. He tells the couple they been taken and to sit tight while he confronts the scammers, gently tells them of the err of their ways, and returns the money to the couple (standard opening scene for most Reacher books is for him to help out someone getting scammed). 

What Reacher wants to do is find out who's behind the scam. What takes over, however, is the note he received. The note asks him to return the cash or the the man delivering the note will be killed. Obviously the note was given to him in error. This guy was told to deliver the note to the biggest guy in the coffee shop. Yeah, that was Reacher. But it was still the wrong guy. Another (bigger) guy was on the way to the shop when he was killed in a freak accident (we are led to believe) a block or two away.

Now it gets complicated and heavily layered involving a Blackwater-ish paramilitary contractor, fraudulent contracts, any number of thugs that unfortunately get in Reacher's way, Armenian separatists, CIA operatives, tunnels and caves used to train military dropouts, lots of coffee, and little sleep. 

This was a first for me . . . a Reacher story that didn't grab or hold my interest. I finished, but the further I got into the book, the more outrageous the plotline became. Upon closing the book, I breathed a sigh of relief. Done. A friend of mine saw I was reading the book to which he said, 'First Reacher book I ever quit reading.' I stuck with it, but if this was my first Reacher book, I doubt I'd be looking forward to reading another. As Amazon Prime continues to produce in the Reacher series (season 4 starts back up the end of March or April), think I'm safe in saying that this story is unlikely to be greenlit. 

ECD 

Force of Nature

Force of Nature is the 12th book in the series by C. J. Box about his protagonist Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden. I did not remember this story which I previously reviewed in 2012, and I totally enjoyed this important part of the Joe Pickett saga. 

 

In this story, the main player was the infamous Nate Romanowski. Nate had been off the grid for an extended period of time following the murder of the woman he loved. Nate was a skilled falconist which Box explains in clear language, and he had been trained in that art by John Nemecek who had originally recruited him into a secret and exclusive special ops team. Nate had gone around the world doing unspeakable cruel acts on behalf of Nemecek who he thought was being directed by someone much higher in the military/covert hierarchy. 

 

But now, Nemecek had gone rogue, and as the result of past actions, found it necessary to eliminate Nate This story was about Nemecek and Joe trying to locate each other, and of course, Joe Pickett got involved. On the one hand Joe was tested because his lethal skills were not in the same level as the other two main characters, and his long friendship with Nate (as described in earlier books) put him in a precarious role with his fellow law enforcement officers. Nemecek had no limits on the mayhem he was will to inflict on those around him, and even Joe’s family was in danger.

 

This story reveals Box at his finest. Perhaps it is his masterpiece, but then again, I’ve felt that way after reading every book in this series. The conclusion is a page-turner, and I stayed up late and got up early to continue reading this story. You’ll be hooked on this story within the first couple pages. (While this could be a standalone book, it’s best to read these novels in the order in which they were published.)

 

Out of the Dark I Cry

I’ve already reviewed three books in this 10-book series about the protagonists episcopal priest Clare Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne, so this review is my forth novel in the series. I was introduced to these characters in the 10^th book, the one that is about to be released, At Midnight Comes the Cry. I liked that 10^th book enough to choose to dive in from the start, so I began reading them in the order of publication so I would get the character development that the author chose. Once again, I was hooked by the characters, the plots, and the writing itself by both books one and two. Please review my writings about the first books. The third book in the series is Out of the Deep I Cry.

These are not your typical murder mysteries. Russ is married to a woman the reader does not meet before this book, and it occurs when there is a brief encounter between Clare and Linda van Alstyne. They meet at the hospital where Russ is staying as the result of a series of injuries. It is clear that Linda has no idea of the relationship that has been building between her husband and Clare. By this time, the protagonists have expressed their love for one another, which is a challenge for these highly ethical people.

 

The plot itself was a bit complicated as it addressed the issue of childhood vaccines, bootlegging in upstate New York during Prohibition, the depression, marital fidelity, and “black diptheria” that was a very real problem in the 1930’s but which has been eradicated by the use of childhood vaccinations. In this story, there was a man missing from the 1930’s, but until the end of the story, it was not known to the reader whether this was a matter of murder or a matter of a missing person, perhaps someone who had intentionally fled the town of Millers Kill.

 

For the most part, I was less enamored with this novel than the other three. It just seemed like the author had made things complicated enough that it took a long time and a lot of pages to bring it all together. Even the escape from an impossible situation which resulted in the heightened connection between Clare and Russ took too long to tell. Overall, it just seemed like “too much” characterized the story. I also found myself getting a bit tired of the references to Clare’s religious role in Millers Kill. But, my appetite for more of these characters has not been killed off. Rather, I will now acquire the fourth book, To Darkness and to Death. I’m eager to see the next murder that catches their attention and how they manage their attraction for each other.

 

Midnight Patriots

Paul Levine is a prolific author, and in Midnight Patriots he began with the reality of the friendship of Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein. This is the second book in the Einstein-Chaplin series. I previously favorably reviewed the first novel Midnight Burning.In Midnight Patriots,  Levine included nearly every famous person I could think of from the 1930’s and 40’s including President Roosevelt, gangster Mickey Cohen, singer Lena Horne, scientist Robert Oppenheimer, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, aviator Charles Lindbergh, various Nazi agents, newspaperman William Randolph Hearst, and many, many more were mentioned.

There was a light-hearted quality to the interactions between Chaplin and Einstein who were probably the most famous people in the world at the time. Both men were involved in various sexual escapades. Chaplin had just debuted his film, The Great Dictator, which ridiculed Hitler. The film was a smashing success in the U.S., and Levine made Chaplin the target of an assassination attempt Nazis because Hitler had been enraged by the content of the movie. Meanwhile Einstein was struggling with the idea of helping Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project develop the atom bomb. Einstein was a pacifist, but he was troubled both by the idea of developing the atom bomb, but also the forces that Hitler was putting into play. However, the idea of staying silent and allowing Hitler to develop the bomb was even more dangerous, so he agreed to help Oppenheimer with questions about theoretical physics, but he agonized over the loss of his pacifist values. At the same time Chaplin was the target of assassination by Nazis, Einstein was the target of Levine’s kidnapping scheme that would force Einstein to help the Nazis get the bomb first.

The chase Nazis and the two protagonists took place across the U.S. as many of these same celebrities traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast on the most luxurious of railroad accommodations. Levine did a great job putting all the famous personalities together while addressing the most troubling issues of the day, war versus isolation, nuclear energy, and racism. I loved the first book and this sequel was equally well done. 

Her Cold Justice