Grafton and Carmellini Series by Stephen Coonts
Grafton and Carmellini #1
Liars & Thieves: A Novel
Stephen Coonts
Liars and Thieves is Stephen Coonts as you've never seen him before-a story as chilling as it is unforgettable. Tommy Carmellini, a CIA operative who is unafraid to walk both sides of the law to attain his objective, uncovers a dark conspiracy that leads to the highest levels of the American government-and to a ruthless manipulator who will stop at nothing to keep a decades-old secret.Liars and Thieves opens as Carmellini is sent to post guard duty at a farmhouse in West Virginia's remote Allegheny Mountains, where top government operatives are debriefing a star defector: the ultimate KGB insider, a man with records on every operation and every dirty trick the shadowy intelligence agency has ever run, from Lenin to Putin.Carmellini arrives to find the guards shot dead and a ruthless team of commandos--American commandos--killing everyone in sight, then setting the house on fire. He escapes in a hail of bullets with what seems to be the sole survivor, a stunningly attractive translator who then steals his car, abandoning him, after a deadly mountain car chase.But one other person survived the massacre: The man whose fractured memory holds the KGB's most embarrassing secrets, including something for which someone will kill to keep it quiet. Carmellini teams up with his mentor, Admiral Jake Grafton, and together they track down the amnesiac defector. From there, the hunt is on as they become the target of a lethal squad of killers who can only be taking direction from someone very close to the president. From a bloody ambush at a posh Virginia estate, to assassinations on the decaying streets of inner city Washington, to a makeshift safe house at Grafton's Delaware summer home, no place is outside the ruthless conspiracy's reach. Carmellini and Grafton must learn to tell friend from foe as they fight their way through a poisonous wilderness of intrigue, all the way to a presidential convention in New York City-and to the surprising identity of someone standing on the verge of absolute power who has jeopardized the safety of the entire nation to prevent a dark secret from ever seeing the light of day.From Publishers WeeklyReaders accustomed to having series hero Jake Grafton save the world every year (Liberty; Cuba; etc.) may be disappointed to learn he's retiredâ€"but they won't fret for long. Former Grafton sidekick Tommy Carmellini, ex-burglar and CIA operative, has been promoted to star in what's sure to be another excellent, long-lived series. Tommy is hanging out with partner Willie the Wire when ex-girlfriend Dorsey O'Shea turns up asking favors: will Tommy break into a house and retrieve some sex tapes in which she has unwittingly participated? No problemâ€"he hands the tapes over and dismisses Dorsey from his mind. Several months later, the CIA sends him to a West Virginia safe house where Russian defector Mikhail Goncharov is being debriefedâ€"and there, Tommy stumbles into a full-blown massacre. He kills a couple of attackers, rescues a woman, beats a retreat and quickly finds himself in spy hell: out in the cold, accused, alone, hunted by friend and foe alike. As the plot snowballs, it accumulates characters both good and bad: Goncharov has escaped the safe house but has amnesia; Dorsey returns; deadly assassins try to kill Tommy; and evil politicians scheme. (One of them, a woman, is determined to become president of the United States, no matter what: "Give me four years to line up support and be seen by the public and I could beat Jesus Christ in the next election.") Tommy is smart, brave, skilled and possessed of enough self-deprecating, wisecracking wit to endear him to readers. Jake Grafton makes an appearance to help save the day, but Tommy proves himself more than capable of saving the world on his own. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistReaders first met Tommy Carmellini, an ex-burglar and CIA agent, in the Jake Grafton novel Cuba (1999). He usually works overseas, breaking and entering for Uncle Sam, planting bugs, stealing documents, "that kind of thing." Now in Coonts' nineteenth novel (for those readers who are still counting), Carmellini replaces Grafton as the hero-protagonist who is^B out to save the world. It involves the usual gorgeous woman; this one is being blackmailed and wants Carmellini, her former lover, to get some incriminating videotapes that a later boyfriend had made when they were dating. The plot also involves a massacre at a CIA safe house, an illegal break-in, and secret KGB files. Like other of Coonts' heroes, Carmellini faces all sorts of dangers as he seeks to solve the case. As in the previous books, adroit dialogue abounds (for instance, "I was dripping wet with perspiration. If they didn't hear me coming, they would smell me"). Predictably, the hero outwits the bad guys, and, predictably, this latest Coonts tale will hit the best-seller lists. And, predictably, librarians should purchase multiple copies. George CohenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Grafton and Carmellini #2
The Traitor: A Tommy Carmellini Novel
Stephen Coonts
When he is assigned to Paris, CIA officer Tommy Carmellini joins his old boss Jake Grafton on a bold mission: To locate a French intelligence agent who has secret investments in the Bank of Palestine. Together they work to unravel a tangle of espionage, deception, and murder…and develop an elaborate strategy to infiltrate the highest levels of Al Queda. Meanwhile, the leaders of the G-8 industrialized nations will soon meet in Paris--an event that would make a tempting terrorist target. Throw into the mix the beautiful, clever daughter of the French ambassador to Washington and an Israeli spy or two, and the stage is set for a tour de force of deception and drama. Soon Carmellini and Grafton unearth a horrifying plan to shake the West as never before. But can they stop the conspiracy without compromising the intelligence source that could bring down Al Queda once and for all? From Publishers WeeklyIn bestseller Coonts's assured new international thriller, Tommy Carmellini, the sardonic, laid-back CIA agent who became a star in 2004's Liars & Thieves, gets a shot at the big time in his second featured outing when he's asked to drop his routine work and help find out why the director of French intelligence is making large, secret investments in the Bank of Palestine. Tommy wonders if he's the right man for the job; his own espionage experience in France is limited to being "assistant passport officer at the embassy." When his controller tells him that the new head of European Ops asked for Tommy by name, it turns out to be the unretired Jake Grafton (the longtime star of his own Coonts series), described by Carmellini as "the toughest son of a bitch wearing shoe leather." With support from Grafton; an enigmatic, seductive CIA agent, Sarah Houston; and a nifty little electronic weapon that Coonts says is really being tested, Tommy zeroes in on the high-level traitor who could do him—and the world—a lot of damage. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Coonts knows how to write and build suspense… a natural storyteller."--The New York Times Book Review "An assured international thriller."--Publishers Weekly"The prevailing spook mode shifts from cloak to dagger, and suddenly the guys they thought were watching their backs are aiming at them."--Kirkus Reviews "The Traitor contains layer upon layer of deceit and deception…plenty of fistfights and explosions…. Coonts's trademark excitement keep[s] the pages turning to the book's ultimate conclusion."--Bookreporter.com"Vintage Coonts...plenty of action and intrigue."--Dallas Morning News on Liars & Thieves
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Grafton and Carmellini #6
The Art of War: A Novel
Stephen Coonts
The Chinese dragon is flexing its muscles. As its military begins to prey on neighbors in the South China Sea, attacking fishing vessels and scheming to seize natural resources, the US goes on high alert. But a far more ominous danger lurks closer to home: a Chinese sleeper cell has planted a nuclear weapon in the harbor at Norfolk, Virginia, the biggest naval base on the planet. The target: a secret rendezvous of the Atlantic Fleet aircraft carriers and their battle groups. When the CIA director is assassinated and Jake Grafton is appointed to take his place, he gets wind of the conspiracy, but has no idea when or where the attack will occur. In the meantime, a series of assassinations, including an attempt on the life of the President, shake the country and deliberately mask a far more sinister objective. Can Jake Grafton and his right hand man, Tommy Carmellini, stop the plot to destroy the US Navy?
**Review
“Stephen Coonts proves once again, he is the master of the ship. This time in the terrorist infested high seas where Grafton and Carmellini, are fully-kitted, synched, and on target. Pirate Alley is full-steam-ahead, action-packed, chaotic, and final--but with black cladded Navy SEALs in the mix, the fight is anything but fair.” ―Dalton Fury, New York Times bestselling author of Kill Bin Laden
“Pirate Alley is fast-moving, scary, and realistic. Starting with a bang, it then gets even better. Steve gives us real pirates, not Johnny Depp with eye shadow.” ―Larry Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Exit Plan
“The one-sit read champion of the season, Stephen Coonts's Pirate Alley races though a maritime terrorist attack in the Red Sea, creating a vivid cast of heroes, victims and villains. It has the feel of a documentary but the soul of an intimate drama, a trick that's extremely hard to pull off.” ―Stephen Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of I, Sniper, Point of Impact and The Third Bullet
“Steve Coonts is a masterful storyteller--and PIRATE ALLEY his most chilling thriller yet. Never will you see the duplicity of world politics--let alone cruise ships and Somali bandits--in the same light again.” ―W.E.B. Griffin & William E. Butterworth IV, bestselling authors of EMPIRE AND HONOR and THE LAST WITNESS
“Start with a band of ruthless Somali pirates in a story that has too often shown up on the front pages of the New York Times, add Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini, plus a heavy dose of SEALs on the hunt, and Stephen Coonts's new novel PRIATE ALLEY is one hell of a read! A tale of modern day swashbucklers whose leader is the most ruthless pirate since Blackbeard makes for a book you simply cannot put down. Hats off to Steve for another rip roaring story.” ―David Hagberg, author of Abyss
“A great, realistic read that could mirror current events. Coonts details this ship high-jacking and take-down as if he has first hand experience WITH the SEAL Teams. After reading this, you will want to postpone that cruise that goes anywhere near the Horn of Africa.” ―Howard Wadsin, author of Seal Team Six
“Stephen Coonts takes another master turn with Pirate Alley. . . . Coonts weaves a realistic and frightening multi-layered story. . . . The buildup and final denouement will cost more than a few readers a good night's sleep--and change the way you view pirates, cruise ships and Washington forever.” ―Jim DeFelice, best-selling author of American Sniper and The Helios Conspiracy
“Start Pirate Alley at your peril and then plan for a long night. You won't be able to put it down....Filled with the courage and smarts of Stephen Coonts' SEAL Team heroes.” ―Former Defense Secretary William Cohen
About the Author
Stephen Coonts is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels that have been translated and published around the world. A former naval aviator and Vietnam combat veteran, he is a graduate of West Virginia University and the University of Colorado School of Law. He lives in Colorado.
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