Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Code 13 by Don Brown

THE U.S. NAVY’S BILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACT FOR THE SALE OF DRONES LANDS TWO NAVY JAG OFFICERS IN THE GUN SIGHTS OF A KILLER.


 Caroline is just getting her feet wet at the prestigious Code 13, but is thankful for at least one familiar face—her old flame, P.J. MacDonald. He loops her into the assignment he is currently working on—the legality of a proposed drone-sharing contract with Homeland Security that would allow the sale of drones for domestic surveillance. The contractor wants a legal opinion clearing the contract for congressional approval. But the mob wants the proposal dead-on-arrival.

When P.J. is gunned down in cold blood and a second JAG officer is killed, one thing becomes clear: whoever is ordered to write the legal opinion on the drones becomes a target. Which is exactly why Caroline goes to her commanding officer and volunteers to write the legal opinion herself. She is determined to avenge P.J.’s death and trap the killer, even if that means making herself a target.

It is a deadly game of Russian roulette for the sake of justice, but Caroline is determined to see it through, even if it costs her life.

My review:

   Don Brown is one of my favorite authors, and I have enjoyed his fictional naval novels. It took me a while to get into this one though (probably just me). I read a few chapters and let the book sit for a few weeks before I picked it up. However, once I got back into it, it picked up and I got pulled into the story that soon had non-stop action, drama, and suspense. I should have read the back cover a little better so I wouldn't have gotten too attached to one certain character, so I was bummed out about that part.

  Brown does a great job go showing what most likely goes on behind the scenes when a bill is coming up before Congress with the special interest groups, threats, blackmail, deals, and more. Although the people and situations were fictional, it is a bit disconcerting to realize some of that stuff actually goes on behind the scenes.

  I also learned more about the 4th amendment and privacy laws, and how different things affect that amendment and freedom. Brown wrote in such a way that left me wavering between the issue at hand in the book: drones used by the government.

  I liked the characters in the book, and there were a couple of surprises about them that I did not see coming. Once I got into the book, I didn't want to put it down, and finished it in my car before work this morning. It was a great and entertaining read, and educational in addition.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the author:


Don Brown is the author of Thunder in the Morning Calm, The Malacca Conspiracy, The Navy Justice Series, and The Black Sea Affair, a submarine thriller that predicted the 2008 shooting war between Russia and Georgia. Don served five years in the U.S. Navy as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, which gave him an exceptional vantage point into both the Navy and the inner workings "inside-the-beltway" as an action officer assigned to the Pentagon. He left active duty in 1992 to pursue private practice, but remained on inactive status through 1999, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He and his family live in North Carolina, where he pursues his passion for penning novels about the Navy. www.donbrownbooks.com  Facebook: Don-Brown

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