The Russian

The Russian is an action-packed espionage novel by Ben Coes, his 9^th novel and the second one reviewed in this blog. East Coast Don reviewed Power Down in 2013. For Coes, that began a several book series about protagonist Dewey Andreas, and this is the opening novel in a new series about Rob Tacoma. Tacoma is a war hero who has become a CIA asset – a magnificent fighter who can speak Russian fluently. In the story, the Russian mafia has thoroughly infiltrated the U.S., and the book opens with the assassination of two important American legislators who have been working hard to limit their influence. Tacoma is called in to deal with an impossible circumstance. As noted, it is rapid paced drama. In response to some of the fights and gun battles that Tacoma survived, I thought the story was too unrealistic, but I also realize that we are living in hard-to-believe times. So, with a little effort at suspending my reality testing, I got into this can’t-put-it-down novel. Coes has provided us with an entertaining read, perhaps not in the same class as some other espionage writers, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Power Down by Ben Coes

Two energy companies merge to become the world's second largest energy conglomerate. On the day of the announcement, the landmark power source for each company, the largest operational off shore oil platform near Columbia and a massive hydroelectric dam in northern Canada, are sabotaged. That night, the two CEO's are relaxing in the glow of the merger at an Aspen chalet, while blissfully ignorant of the day's news, are attacked and one is killed while the  other fends of the attempted murder.

The platform chief, Dewey Andreas, runs a stern worksite, but there are inklings something's about to happen. When terrorists take over the platform, Dewey manages to thwart the attack (but fails to save the platform), saves a large number of his crew, and forces the escape helicopter's pilot to take him to land in Columbia where he hopes to contact the home office and arrange extraction. The usual suspects of alphabet agencies in the Government leap into action trying to find out who, how, and what's next.

The extraction doesn't go as planned so Dewey goes to ground to work his own way back to the US. Was the terror organization that well served or was there a mole back in DC? The surviving CEO takes some matters into his own hands to gain some information about who is behind all this.

Then the port of Long Beach blows up - the whole port, thousands were killed. Next, the Bath Iron Works of Maine, where hi-tech ships are built for the Navy, is also blown up. The interagency team seems paralyzed. Both sides, the Feds and the terrorists, need to learn how much Dewey knows.

Resourceful guys, Dewey and the CEO. Did I forget to mention that Dewey is ex-Delta? That the surviving CEO is a former Ranger? That helps.

Alexander Fortuna is a Muslim-born American educated head of a fairly large hedge fund. Right before the attacks, he makes some shrewd investments and within 24 hours he makes mega billions. He's out for maximum infrastructure damage to make billions to advance Islam.

Months ago, I ‘liked’ Vince Flynn on Facebook and a post by Flynn’s people said this was a terrific thriller.  They were (mostly) right. Coes introduces us to Dewey, the CEOs, the managers of the dam then jumps right into it. Once the dam and the platform have been attacked, the chase goes into light speed gear. The story jumps back and forth from Columbia to NY to Canada to DC to Colorado to Cuba to NYC, to Lebanon and more. The story was leading toward sort of what might happen if the US really did become energy independent and took all that energy money away from OPEC, exploring just what extremes might be acted upon should that happen. If I had a complaint, I thought the final chase sequence through Jersey to Manhattan to the Hamptons during a massive snowstorm was a bit over the top; couldn’t see the need for the snow. But I do like Dewey Andreas.

This was Coes rookie effort and while I think Alex Berenson’s Faithful Spy was a better first thriller, it is good enough to warrant venturing to his next two titles, both Dewey Andreas books, soon to be reviewed here. 

East Coast Don