Patriot- By Tedd Bell

Intelligence officer Alex Hawke takes on power-hungry Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wielding a terrifying new weapon, in the latest adrenaline-fueled thriller in Ted Bell's New York Times bestselling series, perfect for fans of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and Daniel SilvaOn a beautiful day off the coast of Maine, an esteemed former CIA director and expert sailor is found dead on his sailboat, his head bashed in after what seems like a horrific accident. Half a world away in Paris, another senior CIA officer dies of a heart attack while making love in a posh hotel room. When counterspy Alex Hawke hears the news, and other recent CIA deaths under suspicious circumstances are discovered, he suspects these are more than coincidences. Hawke believes the deaths can be tied to one source: Spider Payne, a rogue intelligence officer whose exploits got him fired by the CIA. Now the former star agent seems to have evolved into a serial killer--and it looks like MI6 officer Alex Hawke is directly in his line of fire. But Spider isn't the only ex-intelligence operative with a grudge. Texan colonel Beau Beauregard founded an inter-national mercenary fighting force that gave him both worldwide prestige and a sizeable fortune. Now he's lost it all as the worldwide press, and soon clients like the U.S., Russia, and China, blame him for amassing an army of hired renegade killers rather than soldiers. Beau sets his sights set on enemy spies who've betrayed him. And he won't stop until they've all been eliminated. In an increasingly corrupt and dangerous Russia, Vladimir Putin is determined to forge his country into a formidable superpower once more. His dream is to redraw the map of Europe to his liking, and he'll stop at nothing to realize his global fantasies--including shooting down a Russian Aeroflot airliner full of men, women, and children. Meanwhile, Putin's Kremlin scientists are developing a radical new weapon that could forever alter modern warfare. NATO knows Putin will not hesitate to use it. But they feel powerless while they're locked in a tense standoff as Russian Army forces are arrayed on Eastern Europe's borders. Only one man can bring the world back from this apocalyptic brink: Alex Hawke. Can he evade stalking assassins while finding a way to neutralize Russia's threat? In the murky world of counterterrorism and high-stakes intrigue, the odds against him--and any hope of success--have never been higher.