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00:00:15
Hey guys, I'm Chris and I'm Mike.
00:00:20
And welcome back to this week's No Limits.
00:00:23
The Thriller podcast. What's new this week, Mike.
00:00:27
We're doing something a little different this week on the
00:00:29
podcast. It's been nice.
00:00:32
Publishing on the Mitch wrap podcast with the big
00:00:34
announcements in the Vince Flynn Kyle Mills and now Don Bentley
00:00:39
universe but something is nice about going to a first-time
00:00:43
author, a debut book and someone who knocks it out of the park
00:00:46
with Connor Sullivan. What do you think about Sleeping
00:00:48
Bear dude? So I when you suggested this
00:00:56
youth actually like recommend adding this one of this book
00:00:58
came out last year, two years ago, you you dropped it and I
00:01:02
was like, no, I hadn't heard of it, you kind of like give you
00:01:04
should read it and you did say it was like going to be.
00:01:07
I think it's going to be a series.
00:01:08
You're like I'm not sure and I just don't have time.
00:01:11
Like unless we're going to cover for the Pod or like you tell me
00:01:15
you have to absolutely read it which ultimately means we're
00:01:18
probably going to end up covering on the Pod.
00:01:21
Do I you know get to do it. What?
00:01:24
Peek behind the curtain. What?
00:01:25
I like to read more books? Yes, I would.
00:01:27
And I think eventually, I will, once I my kids are older, but
00:01:29
for right now, I'm reading it. Anyways, that's a long-winded
00:01:33
answer to say. I'm so happy that we did this
00:01:36
for the for the Pod because I'm so happy.
00:01:39
I got to write this book. This reminds me of when we did
00:01:45
sa sa Cosby's black top black top waste, Lea black table
00:01:50
Wasteland and like I was like dude you got to you got to pick
00:01:55
it up, I find myself craving these one out like you know real
00:01:59
a really well told story writers that you know, like we're not
00:02:04
worried about setting up a universe we're not worried about
00:02:08
IP you know, we're not worried about 10 books from now I want
00:02:12
to tell the most Kick-Ass story right now and this was it, dude.
00:02:17
Yes. An aging like I just kept on
00:02:21
thinking, like, oh, this is what we wanted from like Mitch rat.
00:02:23
Like we want like an aging, Mitch rap like after the after
00:02:26
the fall like this is Anna either, like, it's not but like
00:02:30
it's an interesting concept, to put, someone who was a pretty
00:02:34
deadly operator is someone who went in and caused bloody
00:02:38
January in Russia, after his wife dies, And now he has a bum
00:02:45
knee and you know, he has his daughters.
00:02:48
I'm imagine like kept going because it said in Montana,
00:02:50
imagine and Kevin Costner and the Yellowstone and like this
00:02:53
kind of thing. But also he has the background
00:02:57
of Jason Bourne in or thinking about, like Jason Bourne, 30
00:02:59
years, like, you know, post from even like a Liam Neeson, like,
00:03:03
think about like the guy from taking, like, he still bad ass
00:03:07
and you could see early on he was even more badass.
00:03:11
Like this book, was it? Hit so hard for me.
00:03:14
Oh totally you're right. I really have elements of all
00:03:18
these other authors. I love being pulled in and I
00:03:22
don't know if Connor did that consciously or not and who his
00:03:25
influences were, we're hoping to have them on the podcast and
00:03:29
just to back up a little part of the reason, we're covering this
00:03:32
book is because next month, he releases Wolf Trap book number
00:03:37
two and I think you're right Chris.
00:03:38
They're both stand-alones. I don't believe Cassie Gail is
00:03:42
in that. I think it's a different story.
00:03:45
Hopefully it will be set in some of the same areas from Alaska to
00:03:48
Russia. Montana I feel like Connor did
00:03:50
that so well but we're hoping to have them on the podcast.
00:03:53
Absolutely would ask where your influence is Vince Flynn and CJ
00:03:57
box you know like you said Yellowstone makes me think of a
00:04:00
Joe Pickett. And he's pulling in a lot of
00:04:04
strains of different types of Storytelling and using them all.
00:04:08
And I think one benefit of that is the plot.
00:04:12
I know you've said a lot of books are propulsive like Chris
00:04:14
howdy there's definitely been some Chris.
00:04:16
Howdy elements in here. Everything is paste out so well.
00:04:22
And one of my favorite scenes in the book.
00:04:25
We're going to kind of just jump right into this, I guess.
00:04:27
But one of my favorite scenes is almost the murder mystery or the
00:04:32
Kidnapping mystery. When we're with the first, it's
00:04:37
the drunkard of a local, sheriff, or whoever he is
00:04:40
community police guy and then later it's a much more competent
00:04:44
detective and they're on the trail and Alaska.
00:04:48
And they're taking the boat and the shotgun, and they find the
00:04:51
shards of the tent, then later, Downstream in a different camp
00:04:55
site. They find the backpack with
00:04:56
Cassie's gun in it, and everything's not adding up.
00:05:00
And then you throw the dog element into it.
00:05:02
That The dog was severely injured later.
00:05:06
The dog definitely sense has a couple of people who are fishy
00:05:09
like that police police captain guy.
00:05:12
And there it's almost a mystery book and then we go from a
00:05:15
mystery to oh man, this is a Russian prison story and it goes
00:05:22
to the highest level and it's really bold.
00:05:24
Putin is a character here. I want a new take on those
00:05:28
interesting. Yes, we're inside.
00:05:30
The, the Russian Elites and these are old like soviet-era
00:05:33
kind of traditions of betting on these criminals and putting them
00:05:37
in and then we got some hunger games going on right with 0.
00:05:41
And then another element element or genre is the science aspect
00:05:46
because I looked it up. And these sure asuka's were real
00:05:49
early, it's soviet-era going back to the 30s science labs.
00:05:53
So they actually did experiments with humans and they published a
00:05:57
lot of this crazy insane stuff. So we've almost got a scientific
00:06:02
psychology aspect going on here. Got Mysteries kidnappings,
00:06:08
soviet-era time, period feel. I just feel like there's so and
00:06:12
then we got a western you know, on the ranches of Montana to.
00:06:15
So I can't believe how many elements.
00:06:17
Connor pulls together and it doesn't become a mess.
00:06:20
It really is a propulsive plot a compelling story that could very
00:06:25
easily get overcrowded and these elements can compete against one
00:06:29
another yet. They don't they kind of
00:06:31
harmoniously sing in the book moves along in a really, really
00:06:35
Fighting way. Yeah, I was going to say that to
00:06:38
that this this book is almost like definitely two different
00:06:43
parts to different, you know, stories but they feel more
00:06:47
connected as one you know, continuation.
00:06:50
And it doesn't get bogged down with some of the, you know, the
00:06:55
technical aspects of it. But it reads it does have like
00:06:59
some of those nuances that you like and, you know, Bits and
00:07:03
pieces that you find in other with other writers in this
00:07:08
genre. But it doesn't like try to, you
00:07:11
know, do everything all at once. Yeah, no.
00:07:15
I agree with you with this whole proposal of this and like I was
00:07:17
almost like disoriented reading the first couple chapters you
00:07:20
know like we're with the seal who, you know, gets taken the
00:07:24
you don't I guess, do we find out?
00:07:26
He's a seal right away. Anyways we know he's in the
00:07:27
military and he gets taken and then you cut immediately to this
00:07:32
woman, We don't know like why is she calling the cellphone or
00:07:34
ex-husband or you know I think it's we think is her ex-husband
00:07:37
was actually her dead husband. Like where are we right now?
00:07:40
We're in the Yukon, then we're going to Alaska and then the
00:07:44
description of the scene with the attacks, right?
00:07:46
Both attacks are very disorienting the way they read.
00:07:49
On the page. We were, you know, as I was
00:07:51
doing the audiobook. Wait, they listen to And then
00:07:55
like the picture slowly like comes together.
00:07:57
Yeah. Well with, you know, this murder
00:07:59
mystery, you know, the father tracking down is his missing
00:08:03
daughter and but he cut it does a nice job like weaving in that.
00:08:08
This guy, you know, has a past and there's something about him
00:08:13
that's a little off. So when it's revealed that he
00:08:16
was in the CIA and at all this stuff, it's not like super
00:08:21
drawing. I will say of the, you know,
00:08:23
sort of sign. My sources.
00:08:24
I wasn't I didn't immediately come up with this myself but
00:08:29
upon fighting it on the internet and reading it it does kind of
00:08:32
make sense and I think like you know, a lot of these stories you
00:08:35
have to sort of suspend your disbelief do.
00:08:36
You think it's interesting how you know, she just happens to
00:08:40
stumble upon and get captured in this program by, you know, this
00:08:46
guy who's running it and he was tortured by her father.
00:08:51
And I think it was in a book review.
00:08:54
I was reading who she gave a, I was just trying to find like a
00:08:57
plot in a some notes for the for the Pod and I found some of the
00:09:01
pain this book review, and she said while she enjoyed the story
00:09:04
at all, they that was the one thing that she kept getting hung
00:09:07
up on and she almost would have preferred it to be like he was
00:09:11
vengeful burn extra money for 30 years and that he was setting
00:09:16
this whole elaborate trap up to like bait her to come or like,
00:09:20
you know, to Look, it took advantage of it and knew that
00:09:22
she was, you know, whatever, you know.
00:09:25
Anyways, I'm gonna agree with you the coincidences and that's
00:09:30
not the only one. The fact that her father was
00:09:32
searching for this shurochka. This secret Soviet prison lab
00:09:37
out in the Kamchatka Peninsula, and she just happens to be taken
00:09:41
there one. That's a big coincidence.
00:09:44
And then to the other coincidences, we randomly pull
00:09:49
out that the Test. Who's also a prisoner scientist
00:09:53
at the lab randomly of the asset, right?
00:09:57
Who got killed right. He was the son of the asset who
00:10:00
got killed, that, Robert Gaines, or Gail the main character.
00:10:04
Cassie's, father was trying to get out, right?
00:10:06
And he was one of the children of the family that was our asset
00:10:10
and he was trying to get out and evgeny killed him.
00:10:13
And there was this whole convoluted plot which shows this
00:10:16
kind of works, it kind of checks out, but then that random
00:10:19
coincident comes up that That he wants revenge on sokolov because
00:10:23
so Clause been writing, these forged letters pretending that
00:10:26
it's families really alive to give them a false hope, you
00:10:28
know, to live and complete the mission for the Russians.
00:10:31
So he can maybe one day be reunited with his family.
00:10:34
It's a little for so on surface level, this book bangs it right
00:10:39
out the gates. Like you're reading it.
00:10:41
Incredible, you close it. Oh my God, what a story.
00:10:44
I think the second you dig in under the surface, things like
00:10:48
that, pop up and In the rural over-reliance on these
00:10:52
chemicals. Because one, there's this, like
00:10:56
tear gas, whatever that knocks you out from these canisters,
00:10:59
okay? The devil's breath as they call
00:11:00
it. Yeah.
00:11:01
Well, and then devil's breath is also this other thing.
00:11:04
And then there's the injection, right?
00:11:06
With some level of truth serum, right?
00:11:08
That almost makes you an autonomy otamatone and then a
00:11:11
third layer. It just gets a little silly.
00:11:15
Is these guards with these like lobotomies and so their
00:11:18
brainless like super soldiers. Who just take orders and they're
00:11:22
programmed to do, whatever their programmer asks of them, we're
00:11:26
getting into a whole, a touch of sci-fi with stuff like that.
00:11:30
That wasn't really grounded in reality.
00:11:32
So if it's grounded in reality and in the science backup is
00:11:36
there and that's what you're expecting.
00:11:37
Sure, but once you dig in here, you realize these are just
00:11:41
devices that are there because they need to be there and yeah,
00:11:45
and it wasn't until I read the review and she pointed it out
00:11:50
that I About it right? Like in the moment.
00:11:53
I didn't care that a great. You know, that this is a huge
00:11:56
coincidence. I thought it was interesting.
00:11:58
I thought it was cool, you know, like there's been times where
00:12:00
we've read other things and I don't know maybe it's because
00:12:04
we're looking for it or it's you know in a serialized fashion
00:12:07
you're looking for those tropes and they've been super glaring
00:12:12
but I don't know I just I was enjoying the book too much to
00:12:17
like let me get bogged down by Something that I should be
00:12:21
suspending, my disbelief on site.
00:12:23
I think. And I think the way I'm going to
00:12:25
account for that in the scorecard is the buy-in on a
00:12:30
believability scale, is close to a zero or a one.
00:12:34
Sure, by, in of the story as I'm bought into reading, this thing
00:12:38
is an absolute five. It's a cracker of a story when
00:12:41
you're reading it. So I think I have to take by in
00:12:44
down a little bit because of the believability but by far, the
00:12:48
plot is going to get a high score too.
00:12:50
Make up for that because it's almost okay that it's not
00:12:53
believable. This is fiction after all.
00:12:56
And if the story can have me gripped where I'm willing to
00:12:59
suspend the disbelief as well as this one did, that's going to
00:13:02
have a great plot score. So if the buy-ins a little
00:13:04
lower, the plot will be a bit higher.
00:13:08
I will speak in a plot. What, why don't you go ahead?
00:13:11
And let's talk about a couple of our favorite things.
00:13:14
We liked from the plot where, you know, we're not going to do
00:13:17
a whole super deep breakdown of the entire plot.
00:13:21
But I think would be interesting to pull out certain moments that
00:13:25
we really enjoyed. Yeah, I think we talked about
00:13:29
kind of what I liked in the first third of the book, The
00:13:32
Mystery and Alaska putting the clues together and how these
00:13:36
various detectives are put in Are you know everything's
00:13:39
falling into place and then Gail see something that seems off and
00:13:43
we're tracking down clue so I like that part but my other
00:13:47
shout out would be the bookends I think the opening and the
00:13:50
closing of this book really do exactly what they need to.
00:13:55
And in fact did you catch? I wouldn't have even realized
00:13:58
this even reading the book twice.
00:14:00
The first chapter is Paul Brady, the seal being taken We have a
00:14:07
cold open with the canister being thrown as into his
00:14:10
campsite and we hear that. He's a Navy SEAL.
00:14:14
We kind of forget about that, right?
00:14:15
Because chapter 2 Cassie comes on so strong.
00:14:19
We're loving everything about her and the seal again doesn't
00:14:22
pop up until way, way way later after she's taken to the Russian
00:14:25
prison but I kind of forgot that was a cold open and it's kind of
00:14:30
cool because it's planting seeds.
00:14:31
Of when this thing is happening to her, it's kind of familiar
00:14:35
yet. I didn't remember.
00:14:37
That it happened to Paul Brady in chapter 1, then when she
00:14:41
meets him I'm like, wait a minute, we knew about this and
00:14:44
so I love, it's calling back to those very opening scenes.
00:14:48
And another part that setting up that sequence that draws you
00:14:51
right into Cassandra. Gail is the bar scene.
00:14:55
I think some of the characters in that bar, from NED and
00:14:58
Darlene, who owned it. And then this group of, you
00:15:02
know, rough-and-tumble guys, who eventually they get in the fight
00:15:05
and she breaks his pinky. I really like that bar scene, it
00:15:08
establishes, who Cassandra, is it establishes the setting and
00:15:14
it establishes. We don't know this yet, some
00:15:16
pretty nefarious stuff going on because these very they come off
00:15:21
at first is very homey, caretaking welcoming and
00:15:24
hospitable people running this in and this restaurant and this
00:15:27
bar netting Darlene, we can trust them.
00:15:31
And when it's put, when the, the the carpet is pulled out from
00:15:34
under us, that's like a howdy twist right there.
00:15:37
Chris howdy, and we learned that they're in bed with the Russians
00:15:40
and he's an agent named Kodiak. You could see that as a
00:15:45
coincidence, but I was so bought in.
00:15:46
I saw that as a major jaw-dropping moment that I fully
00:15:50
fully was invested him. Yeah, there's a lot of clues
00:15:54
that I think. If you read it, you can begin to
00:15:57
pick pick up on those subtleties.
00:15:58
And I'm not going to do my own horn here, but I did pick up on
00:16:04
Darlene acting superficie. Like I think he did a very good
00:16:08
job to like Connor. Did to write it where it reads
00:16:14
both, you know, perfectly normal, as well as you know,
00:16:16
cause she's like, oh I wish I had.
00:16:19
Of course, I'm not the quote guy but it she's like oh, you're
00:16:21
alone like What, you know? Yeah, you're like because we've
00:16:24
already seen the one kidnapping, exactly.
00:16:27
So I'm kind of like, primed be looking for, in a murderer
00:16:30
novel, your kind of like and then I guess if it was a full
00:16:35
murder mystery, that would be like a misdirect, right?
00:16:37
That would be a good chance to do a misdirect.
00:16:38
Like have someone seemed suspicious but they're not, but
00:16:41
that's not what ultimately, what this novel is.
00:16:44
But yeah, I kind of picked up it on that, from the very
00:16:46
beginning. And, you know, that that scene
00:16:49
reminds me of have you seen the movie Wind River?
00:16:52
You know, with our Jeremy Runner, no and Elizabeth Olsen,
00:16:59
you got to watch that movie really powerful.
00:17:00
It's about like, Elizabeth Olsen is a FBI agent.
00:17:04
She goes, investigate disappearance, you know, Alaska,
00:17:08
it's in Alaska or in Montana is somewhere where there's snow.
00:17:14
And, you know, in this, in this setting where, you know, it's
00:17:17
super and then Jeremy Renner is a fishing game warden.
00:17:22
Decides to help around this Quest.
00:17:24
And, you know, there's just lawlessness, you have these guys
00:17:26
who are dual rigging, they come in, and they think they own the
00:17:30
town and the lady, the woman is missing is a Native American
00:17:35
really good? Really good movie.
00:17:37
So, I was getting like a win-win River vibes from this, you know,
00:17:40
they have these seemingly nice Canadians who work on the
00:17:43
logging and you have tourists to come in, there's obviously, you
00:17:47
know, disappearance that are going on.
00:17:49
Hey, I won't say now because he's going to, I think I think
00:17:52
he might be my my Wild Card winner really but there's
00:17:57
there's there's one guy who we meet I guess in Alaska who's
00:18:01
really interesting but um yeah I'll save that for later.
00:18:05
But yeah, the first half of this novel, they're both there.
00:18:10
So they're both so good. I it's true.
00:18:14
I can't I feel like I do like a little bit better but yeah.
00:18:19
I don't know. I'll I enjoyed them both.
00:18:22
I think I like the first half, but you also have to appreciate
00:18:26
the last boy what 50 60 Pages. There's a Flynn style race to
00:18:32
the Finish Line. Oh, yes.
00:18:34
With the action sequence breaking out of the prison.
00:18:37
I mean, At first, she tries to sneak out by basically
00:18:40
kidnapping the guards and putting on their donning, their
00:18:43
uniforms and trying to get out. She's caught doing that.
00:18:46
It's like the first Great, Escape Falls flat.
00:18:48
But then the second one is spectacular because this thing's
00:18:51
going to blow and the scientist is on their side and you need,
00:18:56
one of the prisoners who can fly the helicopters, you have to
00:18:58
break out with them but also the seals are coming in because Gail
00:19:04
Papa Gayle went undercover with all.
00:19:07
What do you think of more of this Tech stuff?
00:19:09
The contact lens, which was actually a camera feeding right
00:19:14
back to the Situation Room which is think is a microbot that like
00:19:18
sir Oh yeah, he swallows this like Nano buzzer attached to his
00:19:24
belly and so only he can feel the one-way messages if it
00:19:27
buzzes once, what was it? The seals are on their way and
00:19:30
if a buzz has three rings, he's on his own.
00:19:33
He's on his own. Yeah, that was kind of cool.
00:19:36
We didn't end up needing that. But again, another kind of
00:19:39
genre, pull or thriller pull that some authors lean into
00:19:44
that. Connors tugging on.
00:19:46
And this whole end Escape. So right they try to get out and
00:19:49
the helicopters are getting shot and then they see another team
00:19:52
land and Paul Brady being a seals like, look at their
00:19:55
Maneuvers, look at their Tech, look at their gear, those are
00:19:58
Americans here, like they're saved, but wait, there's a
00:20:01
helicopter chase and the Russian scramble two mig's and we
00:20:04
Scrabble our fighters on and then they sacrifice themselves,
00:20:09
one Chopper goes down while they're floating in the ocean to
00:20:12
distract the Mig. Oh, it's just a A cool finish.
00:20:17
So I think you're right. I like the first half more in
00:20:19
terms of the plotting and setting it up and this mystery
00:20:23
were taken on but I really really appreciate the action
00:20:26
sequence at the end. It felt like I felt like
00:20:28
Memorial Day, if I'm being honest.
00:20:30
Right? No, I totally agree with that.
00:20:34
And like what I was saying, like, he doesn't hit you over
00:20:38
the head with the tech specs, the entire novel, but it's like
00:20:41
it's pretty hardcore when he does show up and it's necessary
00:20:45
like it's in, it's cool. Cool.
00:20:46
You know, you can tell Eddie to do his research and he even has
00:20:52
Like a concept. I looked up to the real concept
00:20:55
Lockheed Martin aircraft that the FBI uses to take Gail, you
00:21:00
know, from Alaska, back to DC to get them there and like two
00:21:03
hours like right. Right, right.
00:21:05
You know, it's like a little little things like that that
00:21:07
like make this, you know, the Platz Platz thing.
00:21:10
But, yeah, I would agree with you.
00:21:11
I think the action second half, awesome.
00:21:17
Also, that the scene where he has to land, he has to, like
00:21:20
landed the Crash, Landing Crash Landing.
00:21:24
Yeah, the G, the Gulf, Stream The Gulfstream G650.
00:21:28
Yep, that's right. That was really cool.
00:21:30
And, you know, just the seat, the whole sequence of like, you
00:21:33
know, them him calling the air traffic control and them happen
00:21:37
to like get ahold of military like in it was a lot of like
00:21:41
steps to get there and was very like cinematic and its approach
00:21:44
and I didn't feel like it was bogged down at all kind of just
00:21:48
it read perfectly. Yeah very suspenseful to which
00:21:51
is Surprising. Because He's almost, he's doing
00:21:55
a lot. It could be borderline too much.
00:21:58
You know, this super, this stew could just have far too many
00:22:02
ingredients yet. Somehow the broth is just so
00:22:06
good and so deep that even if it's overstuffed the broth isn't
00:22:10
lost in the you know in the super this do it's a little
00:22:14
imbalanced you know it's a little top-heavy or ingredient
00:22:17
heavy yet. It's so packed with flavor that
00:22:20
it's okay. You know, that it still works.
00:22:23
I'm a little hungry. If you can't tell, I guess one
00:22:29
other line that we're not even getting into as we hinted at it
00:22:32
earlier. There's also a ton of callbacks
00:22:37
that just go deeper and deeper when Gail calls the secret
00:22:42
number of the CIA contacts. Who basically were his handlers
00:22:47
and we get the whole background. Once again, we said one is now
00:22:50
the director, right? Exactly ones.
00:22:52
The director now, I think Susan, Carter, I kept wanting to call
00:22:55
her Peggy Carter but Susan, Carter's the director.
00:22:58
And there's this old timey, spy, Prescott, McGovern, who kind of
00:23:03
sacrificed his career. He could have been a big wig.
00:23:07
But when this project, the striker program, it was called
00:23:10
and when Gail gets shot and his asset is killed and the whole
00:23:15
thing seems to have fallen apart.
00:23:17
He kind of goes to ground and McGovern.
00:23:19
Just takes like a desk job at the CIA somewhere.
00:23:22
But he secretly under Reagan's orders.
00:23:25
Running this Mission and gal, his code name is Pegasus and
00:23:29
Pegasus lives and calls. This guy who's secretly still on
00:23:33
Mission, going back to the 80s or whatever it was that that
00:23:37
Reagan, authorized them to do this, this secret op.
00:23:39
And he copied the files illegally.
00:23:41
So he risked everything to copy the thumb drive to run the
00:23:46
files. Like that's yet again another
00:23:48
element that could see him overdone And overstuffed yet
00:23:51
when you're reading. You're all in and maybe it
00:23:55
doesn't all check out who knows. But it doesn't even matter
00:23:58
because it's so cool. When we're getting all this
00:24:00
revealed, we got Putin on one side Reagan, on the other side,
00:24:05
it's just there's no way you could pull it off yet.
00:24:07
He does. Yeah, and this whole idea of
00:24:13
Gale or gains being this being run by this Ultimate Spy master
00:24:20
and being, you know, a top operative one of the top
00:24:23
operatives and like they flush out his badass career.
00:24:27
You know, like he put in the work on the ground when he was
00:24:31
young, you know, got really close to discovering like this
00:24:37
will be what would be a huge fine you know because At the
00:24:39
time I think they were purchasing or kidnapping
00:24:43
exclusively exclusively other countries military military
00:24:48
personnel to do, you know, tests on it.
00:24:51
And then present day. They're not just military, but
00:24:55
there's anybody that they can get their hands on and Chicken.
00:24:58
Alaska, is Eagle lost got like a all the towns in Alaska.
00:25:01
Just named after Birds. I looked up on a map eagle and
00:25:05
yeah, it's exactly as described you cross the border, Is the
00:25:09
first place you hit, you know, he got imagine it's got the bar,
00:25:13
it's got the post office and that's about it.
00:25:15
And I felt like I was there and I heard one interview.
00:25:18
Connor did with the crew reviews.
00:25:20
Guys, gotta love the crew reviews and he talked about
00:25:24
this, Alaska triangle, and he's from Montana.
00:25:27
So you could tell he really enjoyed writing the parts about
00:25:30
the gal Ranch. But he said he was shocked
00:25:34
reading. All these reports of missing
00:25:35
persons cases up in Alaska, and how there is essentially this
00:25:39
triangle of land just across the border, that has so many
00:25:43
unsolved cases. And he even said, he got to
00:25:46
speak with a bunch of people who had crazy stories, some of them
00:25:52
who were missing cases for long periods of time, and then
00:25:56
reappeared, and he said, a lot of them had connections to
00:26:00
three-letter agencies of various sorts and, I just can't believe
00:26:06
that part of its real out of all the stuff he's making up to tell
00:26:09
a really good story. The part about these missing
00:26:12
persons cases across Alaska and this distinct area of land
00:26:16
that's intertwined with a lot of Espionage stuff.
00:26:19
And you know, it's got to have Russia connections being up in
00:26:22
the Northwest. They're all that was real.
00:26:25
And he talked to people, and he had research people who
00:26:28
disappeared themselves and came back decades later and That's
00:26:32
wild stuff and and to bring that into the Thriller as well as he
00:26:36
did and create a Cassie Gail. Like let's talk for a minute
00:26:41
about how awesome of a character she is.
00:26:44
I don't know if he intends to expand the series because you're
00:26:47
right. Chris is next book Wolf Trap
00:26:49
coming out. I don't believe is like book to.
00:26:52
I don't think it has these characters.
00:26:54
I'd be released from the logline, it doesn't.
00:26:56
Yeah, yeah. I'm down for a Cassie Universe.
00:26:59
Absolutely. Almost like Haley.
00:27:00
Chill. I would love to see three four,
00:27:03
five books with her and Paul Brady, they have to go to
00:27:06
Montana. You know, that was the Eva log.
00:27:08
So I would love is that was that was interesting like the all
00:27:12
three of them like get the seals, let them go capture Ned
00:27:15
that you know I guess it was cute.
00:27:18
But you know she is like the third female to graduate from
00:27:22
from Ranger school and like obviously can hold her own.
00:27:26
We see that throughout the entire novel, I'm totally down
00:27:31
to that Universe. I'm also down to learn more
00:27:33
about about Gail. Like sure who knows, the
00:27:38
protagonist, who was the main character, was it him?
00:27:41
I think, I think I'm gains a gale.
00:27:43
Yeah, you don't think was Cassie.
00:27:47
Or they're both that you. It's kind of like a, you know, a
00:27:49
split family. You know, the family.
00:27:51
Yeah. True.
00:27:53
Well, while we're on her, let me give you a description.
00:27:56
I don't have too many quotes. I think it was I was so caught
00:27:59
up in this book. I didn't even want to stop to
00:28:01
take notes or write anything down.
00:28:04
I knew I was absorbing it and and I wanted to stay in the
00:28:06
story. So it's almost a good thing for
00:28:08
a book when I don't have too many quotes.
00:28:11
Although the opposite, the Gate of the inverse is true when I
00:28:13
have a lot of quotes, I means I love the writing so much as
00:28:15
well. So yeah, sometimes when you
00:28:17
don't have a lot of quotes here, not vibing.
00:28:19
So it's true, but sometimes it's because I'm just into the story
00:28:22
so much Much. Yeah, you're busy reading.
00:28:24
Yeah, our but here's this one quote Cassie was in her early.
00:28:27
30s 5 foot 5, and very fit with short ash, blond hair and dark
00:28:32
sapphire eyes. She wore little makeup and her
00:28:34
skin was deeply. Tanned and Son, spotted do too
00:28:37
many years out in the extreme elements as a result, choose
00:28:39
more handsome than beautiful. And at this stage in her life,
00:28:42
that suited her just fine. I take an origin story seeing
00:28:47
someone like that. Go through Ranger school, the
00:28:49
super cool. Yeah, definitely.
00:28:52
Someone has been she's been through so much.
00:28:56
All of all these characters have been through so much.
00:28:58
It's it's a lot in the book when you actually like, sit down and
00:29:01
think about it, but like, much do like, like that packs do.
00:29:06
But there's, there's a lot left on the bone that he could easily
00:29:10
turn this into, you know, something.
00:29:14
Yeah, this could absolutely be Universe.
00:29:16
Yeah, I'm also fine. If we never go back there, you
00:29:19
know, like it's such a nice stand alone, piece of, you know,
00:29:24
art piece of literature that just leave it there, you know?
00:29:28
Yeah, that's true. Let's I'm kind of digging these.
00:29:31
You know, if we could someone who's willing to tackle a new
00:29:36
thing, you know, get me to buy in because I was bought in to
00:29:43
investigate It in almost every single one of these characters
00:29:46
like her, I cared about when, when the French Billy French
00:29:51
deily French. Yeah, we spent maybe three
00:29:55
chapter four chapters with him. Like, yep.
00:29:59
I despise Ned and and those boys like I was bought in for Gail,
00:30:04
you know? And his Montana crew and Cassie
00:30:07
and the dog. Oh my gosh, the dog just so sad.
00:30:10
Oh yeah, heater Trask. I think is someone we can
00:30:12
identify With right? He's not in the family, but he's
00:30:15
married into the family, right? A kind of has a different
00:30:19
Persona than all these Ranch hands tough guys.
00:30:24
Yeah, I feel like everybody played a role so well, and was
00:30:28
crafted with really delicate care to either be larger than
00:30:32
life or life size in a way that we can identify, with every
00:30:36
character was both Larger than Life and human at the same time.
00:30:40
Yep, it was great. So speaking of you said doing
00:30:43
something new, you're going to feel that way when you read deep
00:30:47
fake, the ward Larson book, we're going to have them on next
00:30:51
week and I see a lot of parallels here.
00:30:53
It's a completely different story, but Ward wrote a one-off
00:30:59
a book, not religious. Yeah, yeah, no, no, I we have a
00:31:02
copy. We got an early copy, we're
00:31:04
going to have him next week because I think the release date
00:31:07
is early March. I think first week of March So
00:31:10
by the time you guys hear this book, should definitely be
00:31:13
available deep fake. He's doing something different
00:31:17
not in the universe of David Slayton, his Assassin series
00:31:21
yet. Every character he creates you
00:31:25
either love hate or can really identify with the story is way
00:31:29
different. The way this whole Alaska
00:31:32
missing persons Russian shurochka has not really been
00:31:35
done before I feel Ward. Find something that has never
00:31:38
been done before. And just like Connor gives you a
00:31:41
lot of head fakes, who's the bad guy, which side are they on?
00:31:44
Who took Cassie? You get a big head fake inwards
00:31:50
book deep fake. So, it's a really, really
00:31:54
interesting twist. So, I think this movement for
00:31:58
the podcast covering some slightly outside of big series
00:32:02
books. I think is something I like to
00:32:04
do and we should try to do more yeah, because it's also like
00:32:08
just I wasn't, and I didn't feel as daunted like getting into
00:32:14
this and being like, Oh, now now we're going to have to do five
00:32:18
books. You know, like right in 10
00:32:20
books, 2023 books, it's nice to know.
00:32:23
One this, I like covering some of these newer authors that are
00:32:26
getting, like, a lot of this Buzz because they tend to only
00:32:28
have one. Two, three novels, I mean in two
00:32:31
months we could cover all pretty much all of Don Bentley's books
00:32:35
because he's only done, I think three of his own and the metric
00:32:38
Jack, run the metric that through them.
00:32:40
Metric. But Matt Drake books and three
00:32:42
of the Jack Ryan jr. Books.
00:32:44
So, yeah. II like it.
00:32:46
No, I'm not trying to say that. I don't like these long series.
00:32:50
It's just refreshing at times something different.
00:32:53
Yeah. And we're going to do that also
00:32:54
covering Kyle Mills fade because we know part of him, stepping
00:32:58
back from Mitch rap is to write book to of the fade character
00:33:02
that he loves. Let's cover that one.
00:33:04
I'd be really excited to go. Back to his earlier works and
00:33:07
something we know is very proud of and cover that I guess that
00:33:10
On the Metropolitan but we got a lot of work to do Chris, you
00:33:15
know, and also I would like to go about you.
00:33:17
Have you read any of the mark be mansouri?
00:33:19
I'm surprised he reference fade and not he wants to give back in
00:33:22
the markby markby, man. Yeah.
00:33:24
I wonder if Marjorie Rising Phoenix.
00:33:27
Yeah, we read Rising Phoenix. I don't know if he's in storming
00:33:30
Heaven. I have a copy of storming
00:33:32
Heaven. I was going to read I think that
00:33:35
is a mark Beeman book. Yeah.
00:33:36
I wonder if he ran his course of Mark beam, and I'm not sure how
00:33:39
he ended with that. Character dude the thrill of
00:33:42
verse it's just too big. It's a greater than the end
00:33:45
scene. I know I know.
00:33:49
All right. Let's get into the scorecard.
00:33:50
Dude. Let's do it.
00:33:51
Yeah back back to Sleeping Bear action plot.
00:33:55
What do you think in here? The actions got to be like a
00:34:00
like a 99.5 so good. It's I don't really have.
00:34:08
I don't know why I would I don't give it a 10 like I'm like you
00:34:12
just give it a 10. Yeah, I don't know it's closed.
00:34:16
I think it's flirting with it. So tell me why it shouldn't be a
00:34:19
10 then I guess make your case for the night.
00:34:23
Okay, that's a good point. Cuz it's there's a decent amount
00:34:28
of it and it's all pretty good. The helicopter seen all the
00:34:32
ambushes and attacks even like the, you know, the the various
00:34:38
attacks we get with the law enforcement when when Gail gets
00:34:42
kidnapped by the Rogue state trooper and you get all these it
00:34:48
really bothered me as a side note, listen to the audiobook.
00:34:53
I didn't mind the narrator. I forget her name, she thought
00:34:56
she was a good. I thought she was very, very
00:34:58
good except for how she said dimple.
00:35:00
Or like, I don't like, I don't like the word dimple, I guess.
00:35:04
I'm cuz I'm here. That's the pronunciation them.
00:35:07
I assume. That's the accurate
00:35:08
pronunciation. Oh, I'm almost positive.
00:35:11
It is because, you know, the, the the vwy, that's what it
00:35:14
would sound like. It just drove me nuts.
00:35:17
Every time she said, vample, yeah, I hear you columns fats,
00:35:20
knocks that. That's what they are.
00:35:22
They're Spencer. That's like, you know like yeah.
00:35:25
Anyways I think overall though she was really good.
00:35:28
There was no, she was she was very good.
00:35:30
She just the Russian like pretty good.
00:35:32
She did The Russian Lady, really, really good.
00:35:34
And I think the old man Sokolov really, really good.
00:35:37
There was one or two like minor characters that and obviously,
00:35:42
you can't fault anybody for this.
00:35:44
They sounded so similar. I kind of lost track of because
00:35:46
we had so many pills detectives coming in and then going out.
00:35:50
And then we also had so many minor characters because there
00:35:53
was the bar fight crew. But then there was also Gales
00:35:55
crew of his like, assistance back from his Ranch.
00:35:58
And so I don't think that's a fault of the narrator because
00:36:03
there's no way you can have 20 30 different voices, clearly
00:36:07
diving with anyone. They have trouble, like, trying
00:36:09
to distinguish exactly, but I do think that's maybe one area
00:36:13
where Connor can clean up a little bit, you know, strain The
00:36:15
Strain, the soup a bit, just because that might be one area
00:36:20
where there's too many cooks in the kitchen, from all the
00:36:22
different police detectives we rotate through.
00:36:24
And I know they each had a different role to play to all
00:36:27
the different farmhands who are coming in and helping out, and
00:36:29
lending a hand to all of his family members.
00:36:32
Because there's Emily and there's Trask, and there's the
00:36:34
dog and there's Cassie. Maybe just a little overloaded
00:36:37
on the cast of characters but I digress because that's not
00:36:40
action. I think I'm going to stay at
00:36:43
9:00 on action. I think you could make the case
00:36:45
for ten, I don't know what's missing but I'm like I just
00:36:50
think that extra Edge that makes it like the hit on the jctc in
00:36:56
Extreme Measures or that final helicopter sequence in Memorial
00:37:00
Day. It's close the action throughout
00:37:03
this book but I'm not sure it's there.
00:37:05
So I'm going to stick with. Yeah, that I just keep thinking
00:37:08
of that that final helicopter scene with the migs and the F-22
00:37:11
Raptors. So proud was, it was pretty
00:37:14
cool, honey. Tell them to put on the wetsuit
00:37:15
and they hop out. Yep.
00:37:17
And then also the the crash landing.
00:37:19
NG of the right. You know, the plane like and
00:37:22
he's on with the controller. Our yeah, I'm going 9 .5 + 1.
00:37:27
.5. You got me.
00:37:28
You got me compromise, 9.5? What about the plot?
00:37:35
High Praise for the plot. I think it really is paced.
00:37:40
Very well. I think it's amazing.
00:37:42
It had me grip the whole time. I'm going to give it a 9.
00:37:46
I'm just not going to go to that 10 because of the believability.
00:37:50
Of course, that's going to bring down my body in score, but I
00:37:53
could see a few times people rolling their eyes because some
00:37:57
things are just so coincidental. So I'm gonna say nine, great
00:38:01
score, just going to take off that point because of sometimes
00:38:05
Dances were added to the plot, just because they needed to be
00:38:09
or we wanted them to be, and not because it naturally could have
00:38:12
happened or should have happened that way.
00:38:15
Yeah, I think mine's a similar argument and even though like I
00:38:19
didn't mind the over stuff - I think it could have been trimmed
00:38:23
up, you know, a little bit and then so that's why I can't I
00:38:26
can't give it a perfect 10 because we'll save that for rare
00:38:31
cases where everything is needed necessary and it's Wears Like
00:38:38
This hits but you know it was an asterisk.
00:38:42
Yeah, exactly. So Then by in, it's like a
00:38:47
three. It could even be lower if I
00:38:50
could go to take a good way to because it's, it's a pretty
00:38:53
crazy ass story. You know?
00:38:55
It has elements. He's pulling like elements of
00:38:57
like things when you put everything together.
00:39:01
It's as like a pretty unbelievable story.
00:39:03
It's almost as bad as like a rock, like, Hannibal having a
00:39:06
virus that can only take out Muslims.
00:39:08
You know, like what were verging on that territory yet?
00:39:12
Blowback territory. Again, yeah, 100%.
00:39:16
I'm gonna go with that too because I think the book made up
00:39:20
ground getting my 9 and 9, and a half on action and plot that
00:39:24
I've got a ding it somewhere for this complete.
00:39:27
I cannot imagine any part of this actually happening this
00:39:30
way, it's too coincidental. It's too over the top.
00:39:35
So, I have the two points I'm giving them by, in are purely,
00:39:37
because I was so bought into the actual story and hence the nine
00:39:41
on plot and the nine and a half an action.
00:39:43
So, I'm gonna leave it at that too.
00:39:45
Two. Good Guys, bad guys.
00:39:48
We talked about a lot of characters here.
00:39:50
What do you think of the cast of Good Guys?
00:39:52
And bad guys? The good guys.
00:39:55
I think I got to go five. I really enjoy it, especially if
00:39:59
we're going to characterize the two protagonists, mainly as
00:40:04
Cassie and Gail, I really enjoyed them and then all of
00:40:07
the, you know, their family. The the stuff that came with
00:40:14
them and I really enjoyed those characters.
00:40:17
Also like she was kind of like Anna being minor.
00:40:20
I thought she was going to be more important with the pregnant
00:40:22
like Law enforcement officer, who wasn't getting up the right
00:40:28
investigation in the beginning like I thought she was a cool
00:40:31
character. I was interested to see where
00:40:32
she goes, ultimately as she leaves and I thought, I thought
00:40:35
at first, I thought they were going to kill her off.
00:40:37
Once said, you know said, oh, Vance can fly you, you know, to
00:40:41
then I realized he was actually Gonna Fly Gail down to whatever
00:40:44
but right? Yeah, I don't know, I'm gonna go
00:40:48
down to five. I'm really bad with them.
00:40:50
All right, I'm going to give the good guys, a 5-4, everything he
00:40:53
said, and I'm going to hold off on.
00:40:54
On my last character who pushes it up to a five until my free
00:40:58
space. So, class analysis, Dana.
00:41:01
There's one. I also, I also held off on a
00:41:04
good guy. I wonder if we have the same
00:41:06
good guy. No, we don't.
00:41:07
We don't because I know who yours is.
00:41:09
I have a sinking suspicion and mine is slightly different
00:41:13
while. I'll agree with yours, I have a
00:41:15
slightly different one, so I'm going to hold off on that.
00:41:17
But let's talk that, guys. Let's talk villains there.
00:41:20
Okay, the bad guys, they were bad.
00:41:23
They weren't like a maze. You know, like Darth Vader has
00:41:28
architect on Rafiq Aziz, Rafiq Aziz, you know, but they're not
00:41:32
bad. So I think you go, I do want to
00:41:35
say a 3, but with a 3.5 for its verging on for yet verging on,
00:41:40
for, I thought three was a little low.
00:41:42
So I made up ground with that three and a half, you know?
00:41:45
So yeah, close to being great. I think the woman was Great
00:41:49
Yarmouth, Nova, soaked along. And she was probably the best
00:41:52
villain, right, right. Right Sokka.
00:41:54
I'll have almost was like the least impactful villain.
00:41:58
Yeah. Like one dimension and I think
00:42:01
31 Dimension. I think.
00:42:02
I think he wanted him to be. He was supposed to be the big
00:42:06
bad. Yeah.
00:42:08
But, you know, like I said, like I think if he had actually been,
00:42:13
you know, conniving and manipulative and searching for
00:42:17
Gail for 30 years. I mean, I guess, he thought he
00:42:19
was dead. But he knew he didn't get his
00:42:22
daughters, you know. So searching for those
00:42:25
daughters, you know, in whatever means possible weaving that in
00:42:31
somehow would have made it more interesting.
00:42:33
Yeah, but yeah, I like like when you throw in Yemen covid-19,
00:42:51
Here also reference Reagan and I didn't mind that as much.
00:42:54
I don't know. That was much more of a
00:42:56
highlight touch though that was a much more just say it in
00:42:59
passing filling in some backstory to actually have words
00:43:02
in Putin's, mouth and scenes with him.
00:43:06
It took me out of it a little bit.
00:43:08
It's one of the rare times I probably would have just wanted
00:43:10
a fictional made up president in his post-coital state in a
00:43:16
rogue. Yeah, it got a little weird kind
00:43:20
of Took me like, whoa, we're doing this.
00:43:22
Okay. I think when you write about
00:43:25
real world leaders, it's kind of like what Kyle said right when
00:43:29
he wrote characters whether it was Christine, Barnett of lethal
00:43:32
agent or Anthony cook or Catherine Cook.
00:43:34
It's like you want an equal amount of people to scream at
00:43:37
you. Why did you make that Trump?
00:43:38
Or why did you make that Hillary?
00:43:40
You know, why did you make that Bernie?
00:43:42
Like you wanted to come from all sides which shows you that
00:43:45
you've made a character? That is not a one-to-one, but
00:43:48
pulls elements of All angles and by putting Putin there you're
00:43:53
just a little too on the nose. You know about who this
00:43:56
character is and I'd rather see some creativity to make somebody
00:43:59
up or you don't even need one. Right?
00:44:00
What why do you even need a president or Russian?
00:44:03
Prime Minister leader involved to scramble the makes it the end
00:44:07
you could have just had some general pull weight with some
00:44:10
general and make him do it kind of thing but yeah.
00:44:13
Now you're right. He could have been thrown out
00:44:15
and then the stories perfectly fine.
00:44:17
So all right but that's why we ding the bad.
00:44:20
Yes, yes. Yes.
00:44:21
I think there's only one thing you can do for the setting and
00:44:24
it's to hit that five, hit that percent sign on your keyboard.
00:44:27
Imagine that I'm right there. I have to Yeah he does a really
00:44:32
good job of, you know, we go from, get a light touch of
00:44:38
Montana, not not that much but like a lot of the Yukon
00:44:41
Territory Alaska, you know, really like trying to understand
00:44:47
when we're moving from one place to the next you know like
00:44:51
physically. How much distance that is.
00:44:54
And then also like the description of of Russia and
00:44:58
like you know I think one of the key things is when she First
00:45:01
because he first wakes up in the forest, like she notices that it
00:45:06
was different for different. Falana like I am not in Montana.
00:45:11
I'm not in Alaska anymore and it's like those little touches,
00:45:14
you know, to set that setting that, you know, I think Elevate
00:45:19
is not when you can tell like he cares about you cares about
00:45:22
nature. Cares about the location and it
00:45:24
definitely shined in the novel. So it's so haunting the scenes
00:45:29
when they're on the river, will go into the Campsite got the
00:45:32
shotgun, you know, scare off that bear, find the tenth
00:45:37
scratched open, send it to a forensic lab and then even the
00:45:41
dog, right? They find the dog outside the
00:45:42
camp site, picking up little bits of evidence.
00:45:46
You were, I was right there. I was in the store, I was in
00:45:48
Alaska, I felt cold. I can hear the Rushing River
00:45:52
stream, nearby 5 out of 5 and then the Russia stuff was good
00:45:56
not as good but also enough to carry that five.
00:46:00
So I'm doing it. When do the cover the free
00:46:05
space. What do you think?
00:46:07
Let's do the cover. You didn't post me to covers
00:46:09
though. I can't I can't see him.
00:46:11
Well, there's only two. So, Google it up.
00:46:12
I mean, it's a newer book. It was actually two years agos
00:46:15
2021, it was published, but got the original hardback original.
00:46:21
Hardback was the one you saw all over social media when it was
00:46:25
dropped and in the lead up to the launch.
00:46:29
Pretty nice, white background with these red splotches, one of
00:46:33
them in the middle. The center turns into a mountain
00:46:35
range. So very Alaska feel, but it's
00:46:38
almost a bloody Alaska. So there's something dark
00:46:41
happening here. And you do get that not supposed
00:46:45
to be like bear calls, right? That's supposed to be the bear
00:46:47
claws. Like the four Stripes is like
00:46:53
the because they Dimension that like there's kind of three to
00:46:55
four. Like that's like the bear
00:46:57
ripping the the cover it's sick. It's a sick-ass cover dude.
00:47:00
You're right. Oh I love that and the font is
00:47:03
pretty cool. Font is very different.
00:47:06
I like I like the different font and it works.
00:47:08
Yeah, very blocky. Oh dude, the bear claws, like
00:47:11
ripping the 10th open. Well, it was fake.
00:47:14
It was simulated claws, ripping the 10.
00:47:16
It was actually a knife. I love that.
00:47:18
Yeah, so that's a great cover. And then the Kindle edition.
00:47:23
What do you think about this one?
00:47:24
Because there are some cool things going on here.
00:47:26
I kind of like the Kindle edition a little guy.
00:47:28
I like the original cover but I kind of like the Kindle edition
00:47:31
a little bit better. It's think so too.
00:47:32
It's cool there in the forest there's a clearing in the
00:47:36
clearings in the shape of a hammer and sickle and there's
00:47:38
someone walking. And then there's footsteps.
00:47:42
Is it footsteps as a bare? Steppes are tracks?
00:47:44
Yeah, Bear Tracks. Like what are we doing here?
00:47:47
I it's intriguing. It makes me want to, gives me
00:47:50
that sense of Loneliness that is does that.
00:47:53
I think Connor doesn't really good job of explaining the
00:47:56
desolate you know I so there's a lot of beauty.
00:48:00
There's a lot of isolation out there and this covered in one
00:48:04
page you know. Tens is able to convey that to
00:48:07
me. Yeah dude I agree that's great.
00:48:12
I'm going to solid for, you know.
00:48:13
It's not like I guess like I'm giving an award because I like
00:48:17
the Kindle one better than the original like that's the only
00:48:20
reason why I think I can get ending it from a 3:55.
00:48:23
But yeah. I think I'm going to a for its
00:48:27
pushing on four and a half five territory more.
00:48:29
I think about it. I just think there's something
00:48:32
to be said if you ask me some of my favorite book, cover 4.5 and
00:48:36
I yeah I think it's more forward and a half because I like it
00:48:38
better than It's new. It's different you know there's
00:48:43
not a running man in Russia you know are there any chance that
00:48:47
are their power lines? Let's zoom in here.
00:48:49
Do we see power lines running across the the some Siberian
00:48:52
Forest that hardback takes a chance with like different kind
00:48:57
of blocking and neither right? You know, I'm gonna so I'm going
00:49:01
four and a half, I just don't think I can give it the perfect
00:49:04
five because if you ask me my favorite cover of all time, I
00:49:09
wouldn't come to this. I think it has a chance to push
00:49:12
into the top of the list, 510 maybe but I really wouldn't
00:49:17
consider it in the upper echelon.
00:49:18
So yeah, I think I think four and a half is the right move
00:49:21
here we have the exact same score here.
00:49:24
My 20 do we really? Wow yeah agreeing with
00:49:28
everything. We're on the same page here, 43
00:49:31
and a half and that assumes five points for the free space are
00:49:36
can I take a guess? You go ahead, you loved are all
00:49:40
that dude in the office with all of the maps and the the pins in
00:49:44
the map of every missing person Case.
00:49:47
Color-coded by decade, that's the point.
00:49:49
I think you love the color coded by decade so he could track
00:49:53
where people go missing across the Wilderness for the last 40
00:49:56
years. Earl.
00:49:59
You gotta is Earl. I also like the fact that he,
00:50:04
it's like, he's used to be FBI, he's retired, he's still working
00:50:07
this case. He True Believer, you know, has
00:50:11
all this information. Yeah like I don't know he was a
00:50:15
real quirky character that in the end was super beneficial
00:50:19
Gail needed him you know to make his case to the president to be
00:50:24
even allowed to go over to and you know he's there he's the
00:50:29
reason because the he mentions that oh, there's a missing seal,
00:50:32
yep, and easy. He knows that he's attracted
00:50:34
that the co stayed at the same place that Ned own.
00:50:39
So it's most likely, he was also traffic, so it's definitely him.
00:50:44
And without that tidbit of information, the president may
00:50:47
not have authorized the mission. Because right, they needed to
00:50:50
know American Military were captured and held here as
00:50:53
prisoners. Gives them a little more cover
00:50:55
like justify his actions. Yeah, you know, another cool.
00:50:58
It was when Gail flies him and says you come with me to
00:51:02
Washington, where I'm going to pitch my case on this and they
00:51:05
meet Prescott McGavin. Basically Gales Handler and this
00:51:08
old timey spy and he knows, Earl Earl, and him have communicated
00:51:12
and work together. That would have made sense, you
00:51:15
know, these two Old-Timers. Yeah.
00:51:19
All right, a little one that when she comes up is awesome, we
00:51:22
kind of move on from it gets forgotten but the indigenous
00:51:28
native woman. I think Eve was son.
00:51:31
She's cool. She's a cool character.
00:51:33
The way she staring at Toby, look, the drunkard police chief
00:51:36
because he basically ruined their town, and he breaks ships
00:51:39
in the booze and he's making money off of it.
00:51:41
He's breaking the law. He basically ruined these native
00:51:45
peoples lives and then she has this look in her eye.
00:51:49
She can spot evil. I think it was really smart for
00:51:52
Connor to tap into the native indigenous element of this
00:51:55
because any time you're up in that territory, you know, Yukon
00:51:59
Territory, Canada, and up there, really smart to bring that
00:52:04
perspective because it's so important to the Heritage, the
00:52:06
people, the lifestyle, these are not Western American settlements
00:52:11
throughout most of History, that's very reasonable.
00:52:13
And and so I think having her really provide that extra
00:52:17
Insight that almost Supernatural vibe that sometimes these cases
00:52:21
need was a really smart play and to tap into that was a lot of
00:52:25
fun when she had that missing piece of information.
00:52:30
Yeah, definitely. Now that's a good pick.
00:52:32
Good pig. Do good stuff.
00:52:35
Great book. I hope we get to talk to Connor
00:52:37
Sullivan real soon as we lead up to book to Wolf Trap.
00:52:41
Go ahead and pre-order that Chris and I got our Advance
00:52:44
copies. I know your dad's reading it you
00:52:46
and I will hopefully read it before next month when when
00:52:49
Connor comes on the pod Yep, you all right we need to thank our
00:52:55
patrons are special operator. Sherry f are special agents.
00:52:59
Kevin Darrell George Matt Dawn Dennis piggy, Catherine Ray
00:53:03
Bridget Jeff and Mark Please Subscribe rate and review using
00:53:07
a podcast or Spotify. You can find this online in
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Thriller pod.com or on Twitter Instagram at Thriller podcast
00:53:16
and as always just like Gail Abigail.