NATIONAL BURDEN: A PATRIOTIC THRILLER (CORPS JUSTICE SERIES, BOOK 5) (audiobook) by C.G. Cooper

Published by Tantor Audio in 2017
Read by David Colacci
Duration: 8 hours, 17 minutes
Unabridged

The Corps Justice series continues its tales of SSI (Stokes Security International), a private security firm that sometimes doubles as the President's personal private paramilitary army that acts when he just can't do things politically.

In National Burden, the President is in political trouble. There is a plot to frame the President and a very connected contact of SSI is concerned about strange movements in the stock market. So, he contacts his friends at SSI to give him a hand. And, they soon discover that things are much worse than they had ever imagined...

Politics, as portrayed in this book, are just not realistic. For example, the President appoints a new Vice President (it was a vacant position) and he just goes to work as the VP. No hearings. No fuss. No muss. No Congressional approval (as required by the 25th Amendment). Imagine all of the squabbling and all of the controversy that would be generated if Donald Trump had to replace Mike Pence as Vice President. It would go on and on for weeks, if not months.

I think the idea of a private army that only answers to the President is just really a bad idea (and very illegal), but the book justifies it by making all of the characters in SSI very honorable, upright heroes who depend on their own sense of justice to guide them. That's great, but we don't depend on self-regulation because, in the long run, it's a horrible idea because people can't be trusted. But, hey, that's not just me. Read the thoughts of the guys who wrote the Constitution - it's why they didn't let the President just do whatever he wanted.

For a book series that is mostly about action (terrorists being foiled, explosions, car chases and the like) there was a surprising lack of action in this book. Lots and lots of talking in offices, hardly any action.

Anyway, if you like political fantasy, I suppose this is the book for you. I found it way too cartoonish.

David Colacci read the audiobook. He reads a lot of C.G. Cooper's books and does a stellar job with the accents and the voices but he couldn't save this book all by himself.

Note: I was sent a copy of this audiobook by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this audiobook 1 star out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: National Burden: A Patriotic Thriller (Corps Justice Series, Book 5) by C.G. Cooper.

FALLEN (Daniel Briggs #2) (audiobook) by C.G. Cooper

Published in 2016 by Tantor Audio
Read by David Colacci
Duration: 7 hours, 17 minutes
Unabridged

Fallen features Daniel Briggs, a retired Marine sniper who is struggling with alcohol and his own personal demons, especially an internal drive to fight and kill that he calls "The Beast".

Briggs is a drifter who stumbles into trouble as he wanders the country and often finds himself in the middle of trouble, much like Lee Childs' character Jack Reacher. If you are familiar with the Reacher series, Briggs is more morose and angry than Reacher, but I think that they would find a lot in common.

Briggs is in Maine, drinking at a touristy bar when he encounters some drunks giving the waitress a hard time. He takes them on, wins and then discovers that the police are coming for him. Briggs takes off on foot and encounters a friendly local preacher who is delivering food to members of his church - sort of a rolling food pantry.

The preacher takes in Briggs for the evening and Briggs discovers that he is a single dad caring for a remarkable 15-year-old daughter that is able to get Briggs to open up his hard outer shell for the first time in years and Briggs starts to re-think some of his hermit-like ways. But, Briggs makes a horrible discovery and starts a cascade of events that will re-shape everyone's lives before it all stops...

Photo by Niels Noodhoek

This is my third book by C.G. Cooper and the second book I have listened to in the Daniel Briggs series. I find Cooper to be an up and down author and this one was one of his "up" books. The plot, while full of plot twists, was pretty well-paced and much more believable than the other Daniel Briggs book I listened to (#3 called Broken). This is a pretty solid thriller.

David Colacci read this audiobook and I think he does a very good job of nailing down Briggs' crusty side - gravelly and tough.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Fallen (Daniel Briggs book 2) by C.G. Cooper.

Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

BROKEN (Daniel Briggs #3) (audiobook) by C.G. Cooper

Published by Tantor Audio in February of 2017.
Read by David Colacci.
Duration: 6 hours, 23 minutes.
Unabridged.

Broken features Daniel Briggs, a former sniper and a war veteran who is struggling to incorporate himself back into society. He suffers from PTSD in the form of anger control issues. Until recently, he copes by drinking, although in this book he has put the bottle aside. He also copes by drifting from job to job and place to place, avoiding deep connections.

While in Seattle, working at a fish market, Briggs encounters an elderly woman wandering the streets with an 8x10 photo of her son, a war veteran who disappeared when he returned. Briggs decides to look into the situation and soon discovers that there are a lot of missing veterans and this is part of something much larger then he had ever imagined.

The Daniel Briggs character is reminiscent of Lee Child's Reacher character and fans of Reacher might want to check this series out. I liked the Briggs character but the actual conspiracy that he confronts was too over the top for me. Plus, the plot twists were just too twisty for me as well.

David Colacci's voice was perfect for Briggs - gravelly, but not over the top.

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Broken by C.G. Cooper.

LETHAL MISCONDUCT (CORPS JUSTICE BOOK #6) (audiobook) by C.G. Cooper

Published by Carlos G. Cooper in January of 2015.
Read by DJ Holte
Duration: 4 hours, 57 minutes

Unabridged.

If you like military-type thrillers, C.G. Cooper's "Corps Justice" series may be of interest to you. This is a self-published series - and everyone who has read much by self-published authors is rolling his or her eyes right now. But, if you have read a lot by self-published authors you also know that while some self-published authors are really deluding themselves, some can really deliver the goods. In this case, C.G. Cooper is one of those that can really do the job.

Now, don't get me wrong, Lethal Misconduct a thriller and that means it is fairly formulaic- like westerns and romance novels, military thrillers seem to have just a few standard plot lines. In this case, this book features an all-star team of experts who are working for a gifted leader with a great moral vision who is also independently wealthy. 

Photo by Niels Noodhoek

This book is a great place to start in the series (it's where I started) because the team has just been assembled and it's clear that the series is moving off in a slightly different direction. In this case, this private, elite squadron is working unofficially for the President of the United States to take care of situations that cannot be officially handled on the books.

Now, normally this would be a problem - depending on your politics, imagine either of the last two presidents with access to an off-the-books elite military unit with almost no operational restraints and then shiver. In fact, the bad guy in this book pretty much operates his own version of the good guy's team. But, this is escapist fiction and it is best to not think about things like that and instead just sit back and enjoy the ride.

And, really, it's a pretty smart ride. Yes, this is a high-tech thriller with all of the stock characters (Gentle giant with an oddly "non-macho" skill? Check. Hacker guy? Check. Leader guy who does it all pretty well? Check.) and the stock plot points like stake outs and firefights but it also has a very tight and smart story. A lot happened in the 4 hours and 57 minutes of this audiobook. It didn't feel rushed (until it got to the end it was much too quick) and it didn't waste my time.

DJ Holte is the narrator and he has a great voice for action stories. It is deep and resonating and makes everything sound dramatic. Also, he created distinctive voices for each of the characters. His voice for the evil Colonel was perfect. It sounded world-weary but menacing, just like his character. A great reader can make it easy for the listener to imagine the character based just on his voice and Holte does that.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Lethal Misconduct: Corps Justice, Book 6.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

Note: I received a free digital copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. It really is a fun listen.