After several devastating attacks on United States soil, the American president refuses to turn up the heat against the Islamic State, prompting J.B. Collins, a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, to take matters into his own hands.
Following The Third Target and The First Hostage (both of which were released in 2015), Rosenberg opens his latest political thriller with Collins still gravely concerned with America’s stance against ISIS. That concern deepens after he tries appealing to President Taylor, whom he has a personal history with, to change the weak language in his upcoming State of the Union address.
Over the past year, Collins has been the point man on all coverage pertaining to ISIS. In fact, he’s the only westerner to have met with the terror group’s leader, Abu Kahlif, in person.
It was Collins who broke the news to the world that ISIS had captured and smuggled chemical weapons out of Syria. And he sat across the table from Kahlif when he vowed to destroy America. He also accurately reported the likelihood of another planned attack ISIS was coordinating, which was ignored by the president and various U.S. intelligence agencies, only to turn out to be devastatingly true.
All of that has led to Collins having a deep understanding of the Islamic State, their leader, and what it is, exactly, they are trying to accomplish. So when he drops the formalities and appeals to the president in person, asking him to stop telling American citizens that ISIS is “on the run,” and that America is “winning” the fight against them, it comes both from the heart and from first-hand knowledge.
Rather than listen to Collins, though, Taylor–who after the unfortunate events that took place in The First Hostage is enjoying a sky-high approval rating–doubles down on his claim. Referring to the terror group as ISIL, he proceeds to tell Congress and the American people that America is, in fact, winning the fight against them. He also cautions everyone to refrain from judging practicing members of Islam because, contrary to what some will have you believe, the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam.
Collins, hearing the president’s speech live, fears the current state of political correctness isn’t just wrong, but dangerous. Little did he know just how right on the money he was…
With the Capitol Building suddenly under siege, the State of the Union address turns into a live viewing of ISIS’s latest attack. Collins escapes, only to hear the president retain the same talking points when addressing the nation later that evening.
Fed up, J.B. decides to take action himself.
Knowing that the best way to kill a snake is to cut off its head, Collins vows to go after Abu Kahlif, who is still hiding out and avoiding detection from foreign intelligence agencies around the world. To do this, he teams up with unlikely partners who share similar goals, forming an unprecedented alliance to track down the terrorist mastermind.
As the tone of the book shifts into a Robert Ludlum-like spy adventure following a surprise twist, Collins quickly finds himself in over his head and running out of options. Just when it looks like things couldn’t possibly get any worse, they do, kicking off a final act that is impossible to put down.
When it comes to building suspense and tension, Rosenberg is merciless. With an unflinching plot that moves at blazing speeds, Rosenberg has packed more twists and turns into this novel than ever before as he continues to examine the threat ISIS poses to the rest of the world. The jaw-dropping ending alone is worth the price of admission, and will leave readers speechless.
Joel C. Rosenberg has made a career out of beating headlines with his political thrillers, none of which have been as timely as Without Warning, the stunning conclusion to his bestselling J.B. Collins trilogy.
Book Details
Author: Joel C. Rosenberg
Series: J.B. Collins #3
Pages: 480 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1496406168
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Release Date: March 14, 2017 (Order Now!)
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.