Three books this time; all involving three different departments of our government; and all involved to some point with the security of our government and our country.

Michael Lawson is a new author on our shelves and one I certainly hope does not remain a stranger. His first book, THE INSIDE RING was a donation from one of our many friends, and I’m looking to find his next, THE SECOND PERIMETER. But the first book deals with Washington D.C. and the involvement of the Secret Service in the care of the President. Also suggests much of the power behind the scenes with the machinations of the Speaker of the House, a longtime member of Congress.

The plot begins with the scary premise of the killing of a member of the Secret Service guarding the President on a short vacation, and continues with the questions: who was the assassin really aiming for.

Another new author to our shelves is Mark Henshaw, the author of RED CELL that features in too much detail another portion of our government, the CIA. And what an eye-opening this book is! The Red Cell is a highly secretive department of analysts in the CIA, and these analysts are trained to spot any change in the actions of various world governments. The plot depicts the constant tension between the governments of Beijing and that of Taiwan; one being Communist-controlled and the second being Free. And with the sudden contretemps of the Red Chinese forces aimed at Taiwan with the second underlying force to involve America in this military action, it became extremely difficult to put the book down.

The plot is more than a little scary, but the characters ring true; description of the unmitigated and relentless force of the Chinese Intelligence Service is terrifying. The question is: Does the Red Cell exist?

The third book, REIGN IN HELL by William Diehl, the author of several previous books features various cabinet officers as well as the President of the United States as the main characters along with a fanatic, hell-and-brimstone preacher who also handles snakes and officers of an ultra-right wing militia. But the main character is repeating his appearance from other books, Martin Vail, a not-by-the-rules prosecuting attorney from Illinois. Vail has been hired by the Attorney-General of the US to prosecute these members of the militia on RICO charges; his role is to be the Assistant Attorney-General with the heads of other Intelligence Departments reporting to him. And then terror begins with the right-wing militia, the Sanctuary opposing directives from Vail and the AG and turning to military action.

The frightening matter of this book is the memories of Ruby Ridge and Oklahoma City; situations that few wish to remember and all hope not to repeat.

DON’T FORGET: We have several shelves of books for sale; hardcover for $1.00 and softcover for $0.25. These books are great to take along when traveling; this means, you never have to worry about a due date! Come check us out; you just might find your favorite author with a book you missed! And the funds derived from these sales go to provide a few needed extras for our Library.

“When an old person dies, a Library burns down!”
Karin Gillespie