I’ve always enjoyed the authors books,and this was no exception. However, I did not think it was as good as some of the books they have written. I had difficulty in finishing it because of its length. Good action scenes, and good dialogue.I will look forward to their next book

You’d think that the writing duo of Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson would be content with writing the bestselling Tier One and Sons of Valor series, not to mention introducing a new character with Dark Intercept in September. Yet, they have one more card to play before the end of the year, this time navigating uncharted territory for them as they take on the mantle of writing W.E.B. Griffin’s beloved Presidential Agent series with a new novel, ROGUE ASSET. In short, they handed Charley Castillo a new set of orders.

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Andrews & Wilson continue to prove they are among the best writers in the game today. This is a fantastic reinvention of the series and I cannot wait to see where they take it in the future. Keep the great stuff coming!

Rogue Asset kicks off a new era of the Presidential Agent with beautifully crafted action sequences spearheaded by a brand-new protagonist who would easily stack up against John Rambo in terms of badassery and kill count.
When the US secretary of defense is abducted during a brazen kidnapping, the president decides to meet the challenge head-on by resurrecting the Presidential Agent program, bringing back the OG operative, Charley Castillo, with a slight twist; he has to train the next Presidential Agent to take over the reins. This ties into the introduction of US Marine Corps Captain P.K McCoy Jr., who is shortlisted as the most ideal candidate without his knowledge. An uneasy bond forms between mentor and mentee, one that develops gradually and naturally into a more nurturing relationship as the narrative progresses, speaking volumes for the incredible writing duo of Brain Andrews and Jeffery Wilson. The witty and ultimately warm banter between the two leads is one of the best aspects of the story.
As McCoy and Charley get on the hunt for the bad guys, stretching from Egypt to North Africa, the action is dialed up to the maximum setting, with McCoy demonstrating his Ranger training in tactically and aesthetically pleasing shootouts. The violence is not only present for delightful gratuity, but also to subtly demonstrate the asymmetrical change in spycraft and warfare where situations are more likely to go kinetic and as such require a balanced blend of an operator with both the mental acumen and the gunslinger skills to match the modern threats. The POV focuses more on building up McCoy’s character but does not overshadow Charley’s formidable and charming presence as the original Presidential Agent. His immeasurable experience with espionage tradecraft goes a long way in mentoring McCoy to sharpen his spy senses.
Andrews and Wilson bring back a beloved world of espionage characters and stories, all fueled up with enthralling twists, charismatic characters, and balls-to-the-wall action for the foreseeable future. Rogue Asset is one of the best action thrillers to finish the year with, and a must-read for fans of W.E.B Griffin’s work as well as general action thriller aficionados.

Full review with blurb image is posted on: https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain/rogue-asset-by-brian-andrews-and-jeffery-wilson

Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson were asked to carry on W.E.B. Griffin’s Presidential Agent series. With Rogue Agent , the ninth in the series, they bring the suspense and stimulation to action adventure that a reader would expect in a political and military thriller. However, there’s more happening than immediately meets the eyes.

President Natalie Cohen doesn’t have any good options when Secretary of State Frank Malone is kidnapped in Cairo and his security detail killed. Working with her Director of National Intelligence, Marty Fleiss, they decide to resurrect the Presidential Agent program and want Charley Castillo to come out of retirement to recruit, mentor, and manage the next presidential agent. This resource would report to Fleiss and Cohen only. Charley didn’t know they had already selected the candidate, Captain P. K. “Pick” McCoy. With this shaky start, the search for Malone gets underway.

This is a book that grabs your attention and fully hooks a reader before the first chapter ends. The thriller is mainly set in Africa and features Charley and Pick and their team as they learn to work together as they go up against terrorists. It’s exactly what you would expect from a well-written military action thriller with political nuances.

There was more character development than I expected in this novel for both Charley and Pick. They each have depth and some faults that play into the story line. However, each showed a tremendous amount of growth. What a reader doesn’t get is what they are truly like in the down time between missions and what their hopes and dreams are for the future. Likely readers will gain more insight as the series continues.

The authors brought a strong sense of place to the events in the book allowing me to easily visualize the settings. The action somehow managed to seem plausible even though it was definitely extreme. The writing style kept me engaged throughout the novel. The sub-plots tie together well. The story does include some of the weapons and gear discussions that are typical of this type of book, but it is not overdone. For those that need to know, there is a great deal of violence in the book. There is also some discussion of politics in Africa and between intelligence agencies. Other themes focus on teamwork, honor, courage, commitment, integrity, respect, and much more that doesn’t detract from the story, but adds depth.

Overall, this book was an action-filled, heart-pounding thriller that is entertaining, fast-paced, and thought-provoking. The high stakes made it a page turner. It’s the second novel that I have read in the series. If you enjoy military thrillers, action adventure thrillers, this series, or other novels by these authors, then you may enjoy this one as much as I did.

PENGUIN GROUP Putnam – G. P. Putnam’s Sons and the authors provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for December 7, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

I had to think hard about if I would write this review. I finally decided to as a warning to other readers like me. I will explain that comment.
This is the newest book in W.E.B. Griffin's Presidential Agent series. The first few of that series I liked very much and reread at least the first two. At some point (and I am not going to research where that was) I gave up on the series. It became too political for me. Too many of what I felt were gratuitous swipes at Democrats and liberals. Maybe that was me being over sensitive but I stopped reading them. I still read Mr. Griffin's (and son) post WWII CIA stories. They are very good and much more to my taste.
My favorite of Mr. Griffin's series is The Corps. This comment matters. It is what got me to read Rogue Asset.
Rogue Asset introduces the grandson of K. R. "Killer" McCoy from The Corps. Although I was skeptical about again trying a book in the Presidential Agent series I was excited that I might find out about what had happened to the McCoy family in the last 60 odd years. I was also hopeful that the new writers would read more neutral to me on the politics. In that last I was right. The politics is thankfully absent from this book. At least no more than the minimum that will be in any book that has the President as a character. Unfortunately the writing itself was lacking and the killer (allusion very much intended) was nearly no back story given for "Pick" McCoy. A great idea to make this character up but no pay off for me.
That is my warning. If you buy the book for the connection to The Corps there will be very little pay off for you. Buy the book for the actual story and there may be but I could not get past my disappointment compounded by some clunky writing.