"Signs of War", by Gerard de Marigny

Signs of War - Gerard de Marigny
Book 2 in the Cris de Niro series

Cris de Niro, the protagonist, realises his greatest challenge after a tragic incident is to find the will to go on and to make the decisions that will not only change the course of his life but also those around him. After years protecting Americans from enemies at home and abroad, Cris is starting to have second thoughts about his mandate to do so at any cost. At the end of “The Watchman of Ephraim” (book1) we witnessed some of Cris’s close colleagues sacrificing their lives in order to save the city of Las Vegas, a price that has taken a heavy toll on Cris’s conscience. “Signs of War” picks up at the funeral of one of these men and this political thriller follows in the same tradition as the 1st with nonstop action cover to cover.

This time we follow Cris and his team from the “Watchman Agency” on three fronts: 

1st dealing with Somali pirates
2nd addressing an imminent threat from an Iranian/Venezuelan alliance
3rd attacking head on the infiltration of a Mexican drug cartel into a border Native reservation.

Mr. Marigny definitely knows how to put together an action packed thriller. This time he has outdone himself with complex multiple plotting that comes to life and incorporates all the technical jargon you can imagine, to some this may be a plus to others an overload of info. I was completely caught up in the web of suspense as I eagerly flipped through the pages, at times my attention span was put to the test with the abundance of the fast moving details. It is easy to relate to each character, they are patriotic and very devoted to their cause. Being a woman I was a little disappointed that Cris’s romantic side was not exploited further. Oh well maybe the sequel will address that side of him.

To sum things up, this is an interesting story that is quite captivating and very exciting. On the negative side, I found the repetitiveness of the reports passed between levels of management and the in-depth description of weapons somewhat overdone