Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Joel C. Rosenberg: The Kremlin Conspiracy



By Kelly Bridgewater

Everything he learned to protect our president, he must use to take out theirs.

With an American president distracted by growing tensions in North Korea and Iran, an ominous new threat is emerging in Moscow. A czar is rising in the Kremlin, a Russian president feverishly consolidating power, silencing his opposition, and plotting a brazen and lightning-fast military strike that could rupture the NATO alliance and bring Washington and Moscow to the brink of nuclear war. But in his blind spot is the former U.S. Secret Service agent, Marcus Ryker, trained to protect but ready to kill to save his country.

From Amazon





My Thoughts:

I have read The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg, so I was familiar with his writing and the style I expected to get when I picked up his newest release The Kermlin Conspiracy. Military thrillers and suspense are not something I usually gravitate toward unless it is Ronie Kendig. She really dives into her characters and their emotions that I have a hard time putting down Kendig's writings. As for Rosenberg, I know he has written a number of stories, which take place in the middle east, but I haven't gotten around to reading them.

I do enjoy how Rosenberg takes his plot ideas for the turmoil effecting our world today. In this story, he focuses on the issues coming out of Russia. This story could actually be true and based on real events. This element made me empathize with the characters more.

The plot for The Kermlin Conspiracy is different. The story is written in a parallel plot lines with two different characters. One character lives and grows in America while the opposite character grows in Russia. For the first seventy percent of the book, I am introduced and follow both characters as they persuade the fathers of the women they love. They both marry and advance in their careers until they reach the top. The climactic moment doesn't occur until about ninety-five percent into the book, and it was well-written with tons of meaning but, in my opinion, felt out of place for the story.

The problem I have with the plot is the ability to actually show me what the threat actually is. I know that Rosenberg is developing the plot to show the characters, but I don't understand what the threat is. It takes until seventy percent of the book to even see how the two characters finally meet and interact. The ending is left in a cliff hanger, which means a second book or a really bad ending for a first book. I still have no idea what the Kermlin Conspiracy was.  A little confused on this.

The characters are interesting, but I believe there is really nothing special about them for me to remember long after I have shut the book. No moment of redemption or transformation for either character. I really didn't care about them enough to feel bad or good at the end of the novel.

Overall, The Kermlin Conspiracy by Joel C. Rosenberg didn't thrill me like a Thriller should do. I felt bored and wanted to know why I was watching these two men lives as they advanced through the years.  The tension was downplayed A LOT. I wanted more action and suspense moving through the character's lives. I highly recommend Ronie Kendig if you're a fan of military suspense with tons of bullets flying. She'll keep you on the edge of your seat.

I received a complimentary copy of Joel C. Rosenberg's The Kermlin Conspiracy from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars




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