David Bruns https://davidbruns.com/ and J.R. Olson are the authors of more than 20 novels. The Pandora Deception was published in 2020 and is the 4th novel in the WMD Files series. This was the 96th book I completed in 2022.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this book/novel as R. Don Riley takes charge of the Emerging Threats team at the CIA. Their mission is to stop foreign efforts before they can become a significant threat. His first recruits are Janet Everett, Michael Goodwin, and Andrea Ramirez. All are recently commissioned US Navy officers.

The first group discovered is a Middle Eastern group calling itself Mahdi. Mahdi is an Islamic mythological messiah, and the group is building a following through their actions. Their long-term goal is to use modern bioweapons instead of terrorist bombings to disrupt the region. So far, they have been targeting efforts by the West to bring development and jobs to the region.

I enjoyed the 8 hours I spent reading this 363-page thriller. I had the opportunity to read one of their earlier novels, Rules of Engagement. Both novels were enjoyable reads. The authors have a strong US Navy and Intelligence background, which is evident in their writing. This novel delves into the politics of the Middle East and is full of action and intrigue. The cover art is plain, but it is eye-catching. I give this novel a rating of 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

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Bearing in mind we amidst a worldwide pandemic of Covid19 this story has a lot of relevance. With the threats facing the world changing day by day, a new agency is set up to identify and proactively dissipate new threats before they become a problem. Good idea but not that simple. David Bruns paints a picture of the worst possible scenario with WMD and Bondesque type villains. He builds the tension to a level where it could go any way and you are left imagining all sorts of awful outcomes and will the heroes of the day resolve it before the box is opened. Recommended.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So this was my first encounter with these authors and although I haven't read previous books in this series I didn't feel as if I was missing a lot of important back story, in saying that I will be making a point to add more titles by these two to my TBR list. This is one of the things I love about NetGalley, the number of new authors that I might never have come across otherwise.
We are introduced to team members of an emerging threat taskforce who are tracking a new terrorist group sabotaging dams. The terrorist activity is just the tip of the iceberg with a far more dangerous outcome planned for the world. The team must ascertain the true motive and stop the plan from being activated before a devastating result occurs.
This is a storyline full of action, great characters and a diabolical plan that will have you reading at a frenetic pace. There are two storylines playing out at the same time that in the beginning that can be a little confusing but they tie in together for a satisfying result in the end. Nonstop action that will have you holding your breathe in anticipation.

After the events in North Korea, as chronicled in the previous novel “Rules of Engagement”, the United States government had a wake-up call. They now recognize that they need to be proactive in looking for the next big terrorist threat in the dark corners of the internet.

Given the prior success of Don Riley’s actions with his talented team of midshipman, he’s asked by the CIA to form the Emerging Threats group, a special operations task force dedicated to seeking out these unique new dangers. Given the power to pull assets from other departments, such as the National Clandestine Service and Special Operations military forces, they can act on any threat across the globe.


Don focuses on recruiting the talented midshipmen who helped him before: Michael Goodwin, Janet Everett, and Andrea Ramirez. Now, they are all commissioned officers and once the Emerging Threats group gets set up, they find a mysterious terrorist group called The Mahdi. Their stated goal is to reject all infidel foreign investors who own the dam being built in the Nile River basin. By disrupting its construction, they hope to maintain the balance of power between portions of the Middle East and northern Africa.

Meanwhile, a secret cabal of rich power brokers across the world team up with a bunch of scientists to create a genetically engineered virus. This virus could be programmed to kill just one specific person. Or it could target specific genetic sequences with its catastrophic death rate in certain regions of the world. In either case, such a weapon could wreak havoc on a large scale. Can the Emerging Threats group stop the deployment of this weapon before it’s too late?

The plot moves swiftly across the globe, following the trail of clues from one person to the next. One small action becomes a domino that affects others and sends more of them toppling. The challenge of finding these clues and making connections from one to the next is what creates the suspense. As each domino falls, the more our heroes begin to see the larger picture.


There are four distinct story arcs here: the power brokers contracting with Recodna Genetics to create a super-virus. The scientific team doing the actual work in a laboratory hidden deep underground in the Sudan. The Mahdi attacking the dam in the Nile River basin. And the Emerging Threats group teaming up with Israel and other allies to uncover these hidden agendas and stop them before people get hurt.

Each arc features a variety of characters with different specialties, from cybersecurity to terrorism, to scientific expertise to spycraft and undercover work. As all these different story threads were presented, I started to see how they tenuously these loose threads were all related. and then meticulously all brought together.

Each scene relates to the plot in some way. No matter how much I thought I knew, I couldn’t see how they were related to one another until each of these threads was tightened and the larger picture became more apparent. It also pulled me into the novel emotionally, as the trepidation rose with each chapter.


For example, when the bio-weapon is deployed in a small village in the middle of nowhere to gauge the efficiency of the virus. In these scenes, I felt the sense of raw terror and visceral fear of what it must be like to slowly deteriorate as the virus liquefied my insides and slowly tore my body apart. It’s scenes like this and the way the entire novel is written that gave me that distinct “you are there” perspective and really immersed me in the novel.

The latter third of the novel brings all these storylines together and puts the pedal to the metal, accelerating the plot as everything comes to light and everyone’s true motives are revealed. The action is swift and merciless, the masterful pacing quickened my heartbeat and the pages held one surprise after another. There’s a couple of major twists to the plot as well as some true jaw-dropping surprises that just smacked me upside the head with their revelations. Frankly, I was wowed.

The cast of characters here is vast but each one was distinct both in personalities and the different roles they play in the story. There is a list of characters at the beginning of the novel, but the authors did such a nice job with the characterization of each one, I found I didn’t need it.


Don Riley and his Emerging Threats team all are fleshed out nicely. I keenly felt the heavy impact of what happened to them during the crisis in North Korea and the grief that they all felt. Their pride at graduation, their camaraderie, and their duty to their nation all were stirring. In particular, Andrea is haunted by what happened in North Korea and she gets her own subplot as well with a nice payoff.

The series also brings back other characters from the “WMD Files” series. Rachel Jaeger with Mossad gets a larger role here. First seen in “Jihadi Apprentice”, the second novel in the “The WMD Files” series, goes on an infiltration mission. But this also brings her deep into the dark nest of the terrorist’s compound. Even with her lethal skill set, this will be one of her toughest challenges yet.

Special Agent Elizabeth Soroush also has a crucial role to play in this novel and especially in the finale. Recovering from the events of “Rules of Engagement”, she nevertheless steps up to do her part to save thousands of people. Her friendship with some of the younger characters is also nice to see, as the experience of one generation is passed on to the next.


Then there is Jean-Pierre Manzul, CEO of Recodna Genetics, and his lover, Dr. Talia Tahir. He used to be a part of the DGSE, the French equivalent of the CIA. She currently works as a microbiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO) who wants revenge. Each has their own dark pasts and provide them with the motivation and the drive to implement this plan.

Each member of the research group is personified based on their scientific specialty. Their drive to help create a genetically engineered virus is disturbing but also sincere. All the rich money men are developed as well, with their own medical issues and points of view about world politics. But a shared vision of the future makes for strange bedfellows when they are all united in a common cause.

Thankfully, there stand people trained to find such menaces and eliminate them. We have a heroic group of CIA analysts who use their cyber skills to look for these world-changing threats and the courage to take risks to safeguard lives, no matter what. We also have a deadly Mossad operative who’s damaged but is very experienced in undercover work. Together, they work with their governments, other allies, and build alliances to thwart a plot that is years in the making.


The characterization of all the individuals involved on both sides of this novel, both noble and immoral, is first-class. The novel gives them all depth and personality. I understood their motivations, their background, and the strengths of their character. I also felt their emotions impeccably and realistically. While not fearless, they all realistically knew how to channel it in their own ways to do the job, focus on the greater good, and do it well. Their tireless dedication and determination to help others cannot be emphasized enough.

The intelligence and teamwork needed to foil this deadly plot are admirable and I was rooting for them to win with each clue they uncovered. Their hard work leads to some big breakthroughs and ultimately, discovering the dangerous, worldwide risk that these terrorists represent.

In the case of these antagonists, I also came to comprehend their complicated agenda, why it existed, and how they felt they were superior to others. I grudgingly appreciated their duplicity and their ability to manipulate others to do their bidding. Their cunning makes them wily adversaries and difficult to beat, putting the Emerging Threats group through their paces and adding to the tension.


These authors have an uncanny knack for predicting the near future and observing how the world might change as a result. This storyline is eerily prescient and makes the current world we live in that much more frightening to know that these things can happen.

The authors utilize a classic form of storytelling style with their techno-thrillers, reminiscent of the age of Tom Clancy novels. The difference here is that these are told with a modern sensibility, futuristic technology, and swifter pacing. This style and these authors kept me turning pages to learn more about what’s going on, the different clues dropped, what will happen next, and how quickly they can thwart this nefarious plot.

Having read all four novels and almost all the novellas in “The WMD Files” series, these authors have written another winner here. I admired and appreciated the recurrence of characters from their other stories and the impressive continuity from one to the next that build out the universe these two authors have created. While each one stands alone, together, they form a much more cohesive tapestry.


I would wholeheartedly recommend reading “Assassin’s Vow”, the companion novella to this book. It features the origin story of Rachel Jaeger, who’s featured prominently in this novel. While reading this novella is not necessary to understand her role, it does detail her origin and the traumas she has endured. Her growth from a probationary officer to the super-skilled Mossad agent she is now is a fascinating one. The Indie Athenaeum review for this novella can be found here.

If you liked this novel, I would also recommend the previous three “WMD Files” novels and novellas in this series. The first novel in the series is “Weapons of Mass Deception”, the second is “Jihadi Apprentice” and “Rules of Engagement” is the third.

There are also three other novellas that fit into the timeline of the first three full-length books. “Death of a Pawn” and “Battle Djinni” complement the first two novels. And “The Athens Job” perfectly connects the dots between the second and the third novels.

This is a compulsively readable novel that has everything you could want in an adventure that spans the globe. There’s an unpredictable storyline with some great twists and lots of suspenseful machinations. There is a genetically engineered super-virus that can wipe out entire populations in an extremely short amount of time.

There’s also a group of highly motivated people who have the money and skills to change the world as they see fit and shape it to their own selfish ends. Their ideology is both terrifying and highly plausible.

Overall, this is a cutting-edge, exhilarating thriller with a fast-paced plot, multifaceted characters, unpredictable intrigue, and a new threat that is so virulent, it makes the coronavirus look like the common cold.

I was immersed in this story.

This author duo did a great job of keeping me guessing and on edge. Their descriptions had me feeling almost as though I was watching in real time.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys thriller books that mix in international intrigue, terrorism, military members, and intelligence communities.

A new team within the CIA’s Operations Directorate known as Emerging Threats is being form to anticipate rather than react to threats against the US. Three naval officers - Janet Everett, Michael Goodwin, and Andrea - are recruited to the team, who sort through multiple sources looking for trouble before it is trouble. A terrorist group known as the Mahdi, an Islamic mythological messiah, claims responsibility for multiple attacks in the Nile River basin, where water is the most precious commodity. Simultaneously, a single financial transaction alerts the team to a possible terrorist connection, but finding the ultimate source of the money proves most difficult. What ensues is a fast-paced narrative involving the many players in the region, as it apparent that the Mahdi’s goals are much more sinister that just a series of terrorist attacks. When the prelude to this book listed the cast of characters, and it was 2 1/2 pages long, I thought I might be in for a difficult read. Not to be as the authors did a great job of letting you know who was who as the story moved along. David Bruns and J.R. Olson are also know as the Two Navy Guys writing team as they both graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as naval officers, Bruns on submarines and Olson in naval intelligence. It is clear that their real life experience contributed the writing of this book, and the classification noted above is their description of this type of thriller since today’s environment goes well beyond just military threats. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for my review.

This is my second story from this author duo and I hope they keep putting out books on a regular basis. Terrorism is striking Northern Africa and the main character group thinks there is more there than than meets the eye. The Emerging Threats group takes a look at these attacks and finds a strangling discovery. These authors definitely put in their time developing a great story that is complex and takes time to get through. I miss these type of stories. This book is worth your effort if you like Clancy type thrillers.
Thank you Netgalley, St Martin’s press and Bruns and Olson for the ARC for my review.

I feel fortunate that I was given an advance copy of this book because I feel like I won the literary lottery. I am surprised that I have not come across the earlier titles by these authors, but I plan to remedy that omission very soon. This is the sort of book that is becoming harder and harder to find.: Well-written, well-researched, a very intricate plot, characters with depth and emotion and a realistic premise. OK, the latter is a stretch in the thriller space, but the end of the world Armageddon by crazed terrorists scenario was well thought out and the requisite suspension of disbelief was no effort at all. Another important element that was present in spades was lots of local detail about exotic locations I will never see. Do yourself a favor and read this book!