McGarvey by David Hagberg

 In my review of Hagberg's lastest Kirk McGarvey book (Traitor), I said that I'd try to get hold of the book where McGarvey and Putin go head to head. Found it. Let's hear it for the public library.

Flashback nearly 30yr ago. McGarvey is a rookie agent still in training with the CIA. Mom and Dad live on a ranch in SW Kansas on most weekends. Their day job has them working on anti-missile satellite systems at the Los Alamos lab in New Mexico. And it looks like they may have made a breakthrough that will allow the US to tracking incoming Soviet missiles  almost at the time of launch. Not there yet, but close. 

They head for the ranch for some R&R and doing what ranch owners do. While at home, they are contacted by someone at the DOE about the possibility of a deep cover Russian agent working at the facility and wants to meet with them.  They drive over to an out of the way restaurant in CO only to get stood up. They leave and on the way home, they are run off the road and both perish in the wreck. 

Back to current day. McGarvey is pleasantly retired, living in a Greek island lighthouse with Pete, his bride. His buddy Otto, the computer nerd of nerds, tells Mac that his programs that scour all the data sources he can find has mentioned that the McGarvey deaths have again popped up. This sends Mac and Pete back to the US to see what can be found about a 30 year old cold case. 

With Otto's help, McGarvey starts peeling away the layers of the onion. Moscow hears that he is looking into his parent's death and wants to make sure he doesn't learn anything, primarily to protect their deep cover agent. Moscow sends one of the original killers and a small team with orders to kill McGarvey and Reneke. But when you target those two, their wives get caught up in the game. As it appears that the orders for the job came from the same unit that Putin commanded 30y ago, McGarvey calls him up and says, 'you want a war? I'll give you a 'bleeping' war. Calls him out by saying he's coming.

With Mac and Otto otherwise occupied, Pete and Lou (Otto's wife) go to meet with a Russian politician living in DC. At this meeting, a member of this small Russian team tracks them to their destination and opens fire through the glass hitting the politician and Lou. Both die.

Not a good idea to piss off Mac, Pete, and especially Otto. He sets loose a digital worm far worse than Stuxnet in the SVR mainframe just waiting for Otto's signal to effectively destroy the entire system. He then goes off the grid headed for Moscow. Meanwhile, most every clue ends up in a gunfight on the streets of Georgetown, rural Kansas, Albuquerque, Zurich restaurants. Each shootout leaves more Russian covert agents DOA.  

Once Mac (by plane) and Otto (by train) arrive in Russia, both are arrested and sent to a Gulag in the middle of nowhere with no weapons, phone, or any way to communicate with Otto's computer system.

On one level, this book is partly some back story in McGarvey's life. And it's pretty interesting. Especially the McGarvey's ranch foreman, Bob Wehr. Even 30y later, he keeps popping up where least expected. 

Bottom line is that Hagberg can spin a yarn with the best of the current crop of espionage/thriller writers. Interesting tidbit is that both Traitor and McGarvey both feature Otto is a starring role. But I'll be back. I still have over a dozen books of his waiting to be read. My main limit will be in how many our county library has on the shelf. 

ECD

Traitor by David Hagberg

At one time, I was an avid reader of Hagberg’s Kirk McGarvey books but for some reason he fell off my radar. Last reviewed book was 2018's Face Off. There’s been four other books since then so I’ve missed a lot. McGarvey is remarried to Pete. She is a CIA interrogation expert who has a good aim. He now has a below-the-knee prosthetic limb. And somewhere along the way, he did a favor for Putin. Otto Reneke’s wife Louise has been killed, he renamed his computer AI (no longer, ‘his darlings’) Lou in memory of his deceased wife. And he too has remarried, to a CIA analyst, Mary. Lots has happened.

Traitor (2022) opens up with a bang. Remember Otto is McGarvey’s long-time friend and computer savant. In some previous books, Otto managed to hack into the intelligence networks of Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea. Those tasks were insanely difficult and to save him from having to retrace his steps, Otto inserted a back door known only to him so he could slip in and out quietly.

But somehow, one of those back doors was penetrated, but not closed. Whomever on the other side now had access to the CIA’s deepest secrets. When it’s known that Otto’s back doors are a 2-way street, the CIA assumes that Otto left the return access on purpose. Ergo, Otto must be a traitor for ‘the other side’. Otto is arrested and put into confinement for interrogation.

All this happens while Kirk and Pete are in Japan looking for a place to call home (after their Florida and Greek island homes became unsafe and unlivable. More back story I’ve missed). Mary calls, tells McGarvey what’s happening, and they rush back to DC.

No one in the know thinks Otto is a traitor. For one reason, the evidence against him is just too overwhelming to be true. Even Aldrich Ames left a trail. There must be a mole trying to set Otto up for a fall. And over the years, Otto's digital abilities at meddling in other countries affairs has resulted in not only a level of respect, but also quite a few enemies.

The rest of the book is about the mole hunt. And the hunt takes McGarvey and Pete into deep dives into what they can find connected to the Russian Embassy, the FBI, Moscow, the SVU and GRU, Pakistan, and North Korea. While he is challenging his ability to handle jet lag, attempts on his and Pete’s life, Mary’s life, not to mention the murders of dang near everyone who crosses McGarvey path, most of which were killed by someone not named McGarvey.

Still puzzled why I lost track of Hagberg. His books are taut thrillers full of interesting characters, some of which (Otto in particular) can be a bit over the top when it comes to their genius ranking. Otto's eccentricities can be quite amusing, too. For example, his favorite snack is Twinkies washed down with a Heineken. He preferred 'uniform' at the CIA headquarters is a CCCP ball cap over a KGB sweatshirt. While McGarvey’s leg keeps him from physically chasing down the opposition, his mind wasn’t affected, and he can assemble a puzzle faster than anyone else involved.

How does Kirk McGarvey stack up to Brad Thor’s Scot Harvath? Each are the super-spy hero for an author. If I had to come down to one trait, I might say that McGarvey is more of a thinker and Harvath is quicker to pull the trigger. Maybe after reading the next book about each, I might be humming a different tune. I’m sure some enterprising reader out there has penned a ‘compare and contrast’ essay on these two.

I looked up Hagberg’s books in order. Traitor is #29 in the Kirk McGarvey series (he has two earlier series for a total of 39 titles in print). Many are familiar and pre-date this blog. Not sure which titles I might go back to read. Two in particular and tripped my trigger. The first, of course (Without Honor, 1989) and whichever book puts McGarvey and Putin in the same room. How these guys keep dreaming up so many stories for a character is beyond me. That’s why I’m a reader and not a writer.

Face Off by David Hagberg

Hagberg’s alpha male Kirk McGarvey is vacationing with his main squeeze 'Pete' Boylan in Paris. The French don’t like him all that much cuz every time he visits, bodies just seem to pile up. They are lunching at the Jules Verne Restaurant on the first level of the Eiffel Tower.

Situational awareness is the mantra of a field agent, even when planning a proposal. An unlikely couple seated near a stairway. Far too young delivery boys. A casual challenge. Hugely fat suicide vests. Delivery bins filled to the brim with C-4. McGarvey and Boylan shift from romantics to spoilers. The bombers are taken out, but the unlikely couple walk away.

Walk away with Pete Boylan, that is. This sets McGarvey off and will not rest until he frees Pete, whom he was set to propose to, and make the culprits behind this most audacious act pay. Who could even think that bringing down the Eiffel Tower would work in anyone's favor?

McGarvey tracks Pete’s captors to a small chapel where he lays waste to about a half dozen hired thugs. Then follows her wounded body to Istanbul, offering himself as trade bait. All while taking out another bunch of militants. His offer  is accepted. Now his captors offer him to the Russians to buy their favor. Who wouldn’t want the former DCI?

Not Russia. Nothing good can come from keeping or killing him. Putin wants to see him and, of all things, wants McGarvey’s help.

You see, this attack on the Eiffel Tower was planned as a distraction because it looks like the Russians have lost a suitcase nuke. The problem is, no one really knows who is behind the theft or the attack on the Tower, but more and more clues lead to either a couple Americans (with a political motive) or the Saudis (with a geopolitical motive).

Either way, bad guys (and girls) will be going down. Not all by McGarvey’s hand.

I wonder if anyone has tried to add up the body counts in the McGarvey series?

I’ve been out of Kirk McGarvey’s orbit for a while. Think I’ve missed 4-6 books. In the interim, his romance with CIA interrogator ‘Pete’ Boylan has really heated up. He was the DCI of the CIA for a couple years (I knew he got that position, just didn’t know how well he did it, and hated it). He’s had something to do with Julian Assange and Wikileaks. And for goodness sake, he’s got a prosthetic leg from a below the knee amputation. When did all this happen?

In the espionage thriller field, you have McGarvey, Scot Harvath (Brad Thor), Mitch Rapp (Vince Flynn), and a few others. All are worthy bearers of the torch for good ol’ USA. But I’ve found that I missed McGarvey. Will I go back to pick up where I’ve left off? Maybe not all, but I thought the Wikileaks thing sounded intriguing.Great thing about his books is that they are a very fast read. Very fast.

ECD

Castro's Daughter by David Hagberg

It seems like it's been a while since we saw Kirk McGarvey. In The Cabal, his wife, daughter and son-in-law were killed. The Abyss occurred shortly afterward. Now, McGarvey is still licking his wounds on some Greek Island. Only his bud Otto Renke, CIA computer jock extraordinaire, knows his whereabouts. But a  Deputy Director is waiting for McGarvey at his island villa (why are all sort of retired spys rich as sin?). Could only be bad news.

Otto's wife, Louise, has been kidnapped. To gain her release, Otto has boarded a State Department jet headed for Cuba with the official US delegation that'll attend Castro's funeral. Seems the last person to see Castro before he died was the head of the Directorate of Intelligence . . . his illegitimate daughter. Castro has a deathbed request, and Castro told her that trusted help is one Kirk McGarvey. She figures the way to get to McGarvey is through Otto and to get to Otto, she snatches Louise . . . and it works.

Castro's secret? Something about 16th and 17th century gold that passed through Cuba headed for the Vatican thought to be buried somewhere in southern New Mexico. From here, it's a case of massive amounts of manipulation and deception from McGarvey, the CIA, the President, the Cuban DI, Castro's daughter, Raul Castrol, and dozens of minor functionaries. Almost hard to keep it all straight.

The first half of the book was terrific, but once the scene shifts to New Mexico, the plot sort of ground to a crawl and when the last page arrived and the hook for the next book was set, I said to myself, "Seriously?' We shall see. Hagberg can really write. I'm just thinking his plotting struggled a bit in the last third-ish of this tale.

East Coast Don

Abyss by David Hagberg

Kirk McGarvey is 18 months post assassination of his wife, daughter, and son-in-law and now trains newbies for the nuclear emergency response team. On a routine day of training in Miami, a nuclear power plant in Florida is hit by a highly trained operative, with inside help, who is attempting to start a meltdown. McGarvey and the local security manage to minimize the damage, but lives are lost nonetheless.

Eve Larson, a Princeton climatologist, has an idea. Sort of turn a windmill upside down, sink it in the Gulf Stream and let the currents spin the turbine and generate electricity. Can't miss - free energy with zero emissions that might even stabilize ocean temps thereby minimizing violent storms. She was there the day the terrorist tried to destroy the power station. If the damn thing works, oil, and all the people who speculate on future prices, are in for a big surprise. So the Saudis and the Venezuelans quietly back, through a number of back doors, a contract to make sure Dr. Larson's project never works out.

The US gov't can't overtly support her lest OPEC screw 'em, but they lean on an oil company who just happens to have an oil platform, due to be mothballed, to donate it to Dr. Larsen, tow it from the Gulf of Mexico around to the NE coast of Florida, rig it up to accept her impellers so that she can replace the power lost when the nuke plant went down. The terrorist prepares his team with plans to send the rig to the bottom of the gulf.

All the while a evangelical nutcase, who fancies himself running for President, takes on Big Nuclear Power as his calling, getting his flock to demonstrate against Dr. Larson and her project. Claims she is messing with God's plan. Multiple attempts are made on Dr. Larson, she has a mole on her staff, and McGarvey is there each time to keep the bad guys at bay.

I am wondering if I'm cooling on Hagberg and McGarvey. This was a long book, nearly 500 pages and there just seemed to be one too many implausible leaps of logic, at least to me. I think I'll have to really rethink whether I return.

This may be a first . . . an author dropping off my power rotation. Guess it was bound to happen sometime.

The Cabal by David Hagberg

In Hagberg's previous outing, The Expediter, an unseen force was behind the potentially catastrophic NKorea-China war. In The Cabel, Hagberg brings us and Kirk McGarvey face-to-face with the shadow group that makes the Corleone family look like refugees from Romper Room.

A Washington Post investigative reporter has uncovered information that an influential and ultra right wing group, The Friday Club, has been acting as a shadow government attempting to strengthen America's international position despite all attempts by the new ruling party in Washington to lesson the international position of the US. The reporter reaches out to a college buddy, Todd Van Buren who runs the infamous training 'Farm' for the CIA. Todd is married to CIA agent Liz who just happens to be Kirk McGarvey's daughter. After the meeting, Todd is gunned down south of Fredricksburg, VA on his way back to the farm and the reporter and family are murdered in their suburban DC townhouse that night.

McGarvey and wife are trying to live the quiet life of the recently retired on the Gulf Coast of Florida, but the loss of Todd brings them both to DC for the coming funeral. As one of the most decorated, successful, and efficient (meaning he kills quickly and effortlessly without remorse) operatives in the CIA's history, he rose to be the DCI for a time before getting out. The new 'progressive' President doesn't like McGarvey or his kind and based on the outcome of the adventure in The Expediter, has the AG investigate McGarvey for treason. McGarvey is being questioned when it's time for the funeral.

The assassins place an IED to kill McGarvey, but it goes off 1 car too soon. The outcome of that attempt sets McGarvey off on a trail of revenge and blind hatred starting with the security company hired by The Friday Club, Administrative Solutions. Knowing, without hard evidence, that Admin was behind the killings, McGarvey jets around and gets under the skin of the Admin founder and CEO. While virtually everyone has been told that they don't know what they are messing with in McGarvey, they go ahead and try to kill him a number of times, but as they really can't believe just how good McGarvey is, they continue to lose employees.

The final confrontation with the ridiculously right wing head of The Friday Club ends with McGarvey being arrested for treason, but all that has come out means that someone has to take out the trash.

As stated before, the McGarvey series by Hagberg is one terrific roller coaster ride. Hagberg brings all his political/techno thrillers along at the pace of a runaway train, never letting the plot slow down for the reader to catch a breath. This is what Tom Clancy used to be, but got caught up in excess research verbiage that resulted in bloated story lines and countless speaking parts. This is a bare bones thriller. McGarvey could have been the DCI for Clancy's Jack Ryan when he ended up as president. Or McGarvey could have been Mitch Rapp's teacher on the Farm, and he definitely has more moxie up his sleeve than Jack Bauer ever had. Don't plan on reading this 5-10 pages at a time. Once you start, better free up some time as there aren't logical stopping points until the last page . . . where of course, the first clue to the next book pops up. And, after all is said and done and the treason charges have been dropped, the President offers McGarvey his old DCI job back, to which he tells the President to stick his offer where the sun don't shine. Nice . . . vintage McGarvery . . . vintage Hagberg.

East Coast Don

Mutiny by Boris Gindin and David Hagberg

The Mutiny by Boris Gindin and David Hagberg

This was a novelized non-fiction work, the story that inspired Tom Clancy to write his first novel, The Hunt for Red October. I thought EC Don had written about this, but when I searched the blog, the book did not come up. I think I got this one because it was associated with Hagberg. As much as Dan Quail was not John Kennedy, this is no Hunt for Red October. The real story involved a surface ship, not a submarine, and the intent of the guy who led the mutiny, the ship’s political officer, was not to defect. Rather, he had the harebrained idea that he could use the ship to broadcast to the Russian people. He believed that his message against the current leadership, Brezhnef, would lead to a new revolution and a return to the true values of Karl Marx. When he seized the vessel, he actually did get to deliver his message, but it was in the middle of the night. Also, the radioman was clever enough to send it as an encrypted message, so only the military people could understand what he was saying. There were some interesting interchanges in the chain of command, from the mutineers to Brezhnef. But, there was a lot of extraneous stuff, like too much info and comparisons to the events with Bligh and the H.S.S. Bounty, and too much info on the history of the Russian Navy and what was going on in the gulags. Since you won’t be reading this, I’ll tell you the ending was fast. The ship did get out of port and into the open Baltic Sea. They almost made it to Swedish waters, which was not where they wanted to go. They were attacked by the Russian air force about the same time the real captain escaped from his temporary prison, seized a gun, shot the political prisoner in the leg, and took back control of the ship. All participants, those that went along with the mutiny and those that were not were either run out of the Navy (a cushy job for officers) or demoted. The political officer was apparently killed, as in he got his 9 ounces (of lead). Clancy was pretty clever to have gone from this minor incident to the great story he wrote. This book is not worth your energy.

West Coast Don

The Expediter by David Hagberg

David Hagberg is one of my power rotation authors, when it comes out, I get it...political thrillers surrounding his main characters Kirk McGarvey, former shooter and now retired ex-Director of the CIA with a penchant for Voltaire, and his computer whiz buddy, Otto.

Very deep into the night, 2 assassins dressed as North Korean police, step out of the darkness so they are seen on security cameras, kill a high ranking Chinese diplomat, his driver and 2 security guards as he was leaving for a clandestine meeting with the North Korea's Kim Jong Il to discuss nuclear disarmament. The assassins make it onto their departure plane only to have one, the husband of this married killer-for-hire pair, arrested and taken into custody. Obviously, the Chinese think the North Koreans are behind the murder and both armies go on alert with the very real threat of a nuclear confrontation that could lead the world to the brink of world war III.

A North Korean internal security director investigating the crime realizes that North Korea is being set up and must find a way to prove their innocence to China and the world. Problem is, who can he turn to? No one will believe him. In the shadowy world of black ops and spies, Kirk McGarvey has a reputation as a ruthless killer, a cunning strategist, and most importantly, as a man of integrity. Problem is Kirk is retired and teaching Voltaire at a small Florida college. Our intrepid cop smuggles himself out of NKorea and into the US, then walks right up to McGarvey's front door asking for help. McGarvey thinks this guy's hutzpah is proof enough that he might actually be telling the truth and sets out to find out who is behind the killing.

The answer must lie in who has the most to gain (or lose) by a China-NKorea war. Unfortunately, the answer to both questions is the US. The captured assassin, under the influence of brain frying drugs, reveals his contact, a Russian known only as Alexander. This former KGB and Russian mafia honcho is a middleman who hires assassins for unknown 3rd parties; he is an Expediter. The chase is now on to find the wife/killer who got away, sneak in and out of NKorea to question the husband before he becomes a vegetable, find Alexander in order to find out who hired him. Needless to say, there is much hopping back and forth between the US and the far east, borrowing navy assets to get in and out of Japan (which if the Japanese knew about would not be happy campers), shoot outs galore, serious body count, and an ending that leaves open a sequel to continue the search for the real power broker unseen in this book (that may sound like a spoiler, but it really isn't, you can see it coming a mile away).

McGarvey isn't an alpha male, he isn't even an Alpha Male. McGarvey is THE ALPHA MALE. He is one seriously bad dude with an attitude and the inability to stay retired and out of the game. He makes all the right decisions, shoots straight, and is a ruthless killer without remorse. to have a bad guy by his throat and put a bullet in his forehead is nothing for McGarvey....just the guy you'd want as a neighbor. Nothing I read this week will have me moving Hagberg off my power rotation. I just have to wait a year or two to see who is pulling the strings..Hagberg continues his string of novels that move along at a most rapid pace, even if a certain suspension of reality is necessary. I'm not complaining.

Hagberg has another novel due out later in June, although not a Kirk McGarvey story. It's called Burned. I'm number 14 on the queue.