Veil of Deception

by Michael Byars Lewis

Overview

What if the company building America's most expensive weapons system was secretly owned by one of our enemies? For years, Air Force Captain Jason Conrad flew and instructed in the supersonic T-38. Despite his decline into a self-destructive lifestyle, he was considered one of the best instructors on the base. Following a terrifying jet crash, Jason finds himself on a very short list of people on their way out the door. It is a surprise to everyone when he is assigned to the home of the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center. Jason should have known that in a 'one mistake Air Force' where you 'do more with less', everything would not be what it appears. Attached to a secret project with a shadowy contractor, Jason is caught between two complications; an overbearing, retired general determined to see him fail; and an aggressive television reporter who wants him in prison. When a ghost from the past shows up and a beautiful, yet mysterious woman enters his life, Jason soon discovers his special project has more secrets than anyone knows about . . . and it could cost him his life.Awards won by VEIL OF DECEPTION2016 National Indie Excellence Awards - WINNER - Military Fiction2016 Pacific Book Awards - WINNER - Best Thriller2016 Readers' Favorite Book Awards - WINNER - Tall Tales2016 Book Excellence Awards - WINNER - Action2016 Beverly Hills Book Awards - WINNER - Military Fiction2016 Military Writer's Society of America - SILVER MEDAL - Thriller2016 International Book Awards - FINALIST - Thriller/Adventure2016 Forward INDIES Book of the Year - FINALIST - War & Military2016 Beverly Hills Book Awards - FINALIST - Thriller2017 Chanticleer International Book Awards - SEMI-FINALIST - Spy & Espionage2016 Hollywood Book Festival - HONORABLE MENTION - All Genres

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780991476428
Publisher:	SATCOM Publishing
Publication date:	11/25/2015
Pages:	452
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.01(d)

Editorial Reviews

2016-06-04
An Air Force instructor pilot's new station at a California base in 2001 is immersed in a conspiracy teeming with espionage, murder, and sabotage in this thriller. Jason Conrad hadn't anticipated his reassignment from Oklahoma to Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. But TRENCOR Industries, working with the Air Force, had an ulterior motive for adding the pilot to its team. Jason's the son of former senator Jonathan Bowman, now vice president of defense contractor Century Aero-Bot. TRENCOR CEO David Ming hopes Bowman will sell his company's technology, or at least provide access, to complete the F-2000, a jet prototype past schedule and well over budget. New York Times investigative reporter Sherri Davis, meanwhile, gets wind of a body in the Mojave, a TRENCOR employee with a bullet hole in her head. Already in the area for a story, Sherri's hooked, especially because her father died years ago operating a TRENCOR-manufactured combine. Events are unfurling at both the company's facility and the base. The shocking reappearance of Jason's love Kathy Delgato, for one, who left suddenly back in 1995, the same year TV reporter Dane Robinson accused Jason of being a Russian spy. Still fixated on Jason, Dane finds something unusual regarding recent land purchases. As others turn up dead, Sherri suspects someone's planning an attack that may prove catastrophic. Lewis (Surly Bonds, 2012) carries over a lot of material from his preceding novel. He uses this to his advantage, diving right into subplots like Jason's sordid history with Kathy. Brisk recaps catch up new readers, but may prove to be spoilers for anyone wanting to peruse the author's earlier book. Lewis drops clever nods to the time period, characters employing an "amazing new device" (a thumb drive) and new search engine Google. Despite Sherri's hackneyed undercover role as a stripper, she's a sublime heroine. She unearths the bulk of the baddies' nefarious scheme and is hardly fazed when people shoot at her, which happens more than once. One thinks that, even without Jason occasionally rescuing her, the able woman will escape potentially lethal predicaments. Lewis forgoes a climactic car chase for a more fitting—and enjoyable—jet chase. An entertainingly dense plot that links flawlessly to its forerunner, with room for more adventures.

Kirkus Reviews