A Deadly Distance by L.T. Ryan

Part 2 in the Jack Noble saga.

Jack now works for a super secret agency buried in the governmental bureaucracy. He and his partner Frank Skinner are watching this almost Hispanic-looking guy waiting at a bus stop when the guy bolts. Jack and Frank run him to ground in an old warehouse and really don't like what they hear (they aren't bound to such idiocy as torture guidelines, so the bad guy ALWAYS talks).

Upon arrival to a non-descript house in the Virginia mass surrounding DC, a child trafficking ring is discovered. Our heros ain't happy either, especially Frank who has kids this age. The scum behind the scheme is pretty bright himself and calls Jack on his ultra-classified cell number giving him a 37 hour window to solve or even worse things will happen. 

If you like slam bang non-stop action, the Jack Noble series is right up your alley. Don't look for character development or inter-relationships. Action you want? Action you'll get.

East Coast Don

Noble Beginnings by L.T. Ryan

It's only months post 9/11 and the US is in full 'get the bad guys' mode. Someone with stars on their shoulders thought it'd be a good idea to pair Marines with CIA teams. If this dry run is successful, the Marines would be welcomed into the CIA and put on the fast track into the clandestine service. Someone forgot to tell the CIA that Marines aren't just bouncers at the door. They can make decisions and act on their own moral code that just may not be on the same level as these CIA spec-ops teams. 

Jack Noble and Bear, his partner since meeting in basic training, challenge Martinez, the asshole head of the 4-man CIA team they've been assigned when Martinez's interrogation of an Iraqi family turns south. Noble and Martinez go toe to toe on a back street in Baghdad. Upon returning to their base and getting some food, beer, and sleep, both Noble and Bear are arrested and sent back to the US. They are charged with murdering that family.

But Marines stick together and one up the command chain breaks them out of the CIA's grasp. Now it's a chase with those who want Noble and Bear gone and others who want to find out who is behind the accusations, what's to be gained, and who benefits. Noble and Bear run up and down the I-95 corridor between Camp Lejeune and DC and numerous stops along the route.

This is book #1 of the Jack Noble series by Ryan, which is up to 8 and counting so Ryan is selling some books to get that far. As presented, this has all the trappings of a series favored by the MRB boys:
alpha male?                                                           check
Big dude-quick to swing/shoot buddy?                check
smart-ass dialogue?                                              check
clues leading to a convoluted plot?                      check
Heroes caught in a plot not of their own doing?  check
femme fatale?                                                       check
double crossing bosses?                                       check
body count?                                                          check
Washington, DC flavor?                                       check (OK, that's just me)
really-could-happen plot?                                     jury's out - I'll let you know after reading more

I'll start moving through Ryan's catalogue and see how far I want to go. Noble is an interesting enough character to give him a shot. Not ready to give him my full recommendation just yet, but I will say that L.T. Ryan and Jack Noble are very promising.  Stay tuned.

East Coast Don