Thursday, May 31, 2012

Hide and Seek-Major (Ret) Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky

Hide and Seek


Major (Ret) Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky

B&H Books, Jul 1 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9781433671425



In Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, American military Foreign Affairs officer Amelia Lennon and the country’s First Daughter Jildiz Oskonbaeva meet at Blonder Pub to discuss the Manas Transit Center. Jildiz explains that their next door neighbor the Chinese have offered 10 billion and the Russians 2 billion so the American offer of 60 million is not enough. They leave, but the capital explodes into riots while three men try to abduct Jildiz. Amelia uses her car to hit two of the kidnappers. Jildiz get into her car as they flee from the third.



Ranger Master Sergeant J.J. Brantley is excited over seeing the ultrasound picture of his unborn twins. He and his team are in Kyrgyzstan preparing to welcome the two new members. However, before they can train together, Colonel Weidman assigns them to rescue Amelia and Jildiz in the midst of a tinder box that has erupted without bringing attention to American military roaming the streets.



This is a strong military thriller that brings to life the personal cost by those who serve and their family members as well as how volatile the situation in Kyrgyzstan can quickly become with the rivalry between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek populace. The storyline is fast-paced whether the focus is on the two females in peril from an angry pursuer or the team mounting a rescue. Looming in the background is the Bush legacy of our inability to compete with the Chinese monetarily on the world stage while providing an entertaining discerning look at the military operating in a hostile scenario. Hide and Seek is a terrific realistic thriller.



Harriet Klausner



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