Monday, October 14, 2024

Death Stake

Death Stake by Andrew Mayne
10/29/24; 315 pages
Thomas & Mercer
Trasker #2

Death Stake by Andrew Mayne is a very highly recommended action-packed thriller and the second novel in the Brad Trasker series following Night Owl in 2023. This is a great addition to the series!

Retired intelligence operative Brad Trasker is head of security at Wind Aerospace for CEO Kylie Connor when he learns about a security breach. A photo of their top-secret AI-designed hydrogen engine has surfaced online. Trasker's investigation points to Josiah Levenstein, a young man who is clearly not a criminal mastermind and later is found dead. This leads to the start-up company xQuadrant started by three young software developers. Kylie invested in it and now the young men have disappeared along with nearly a million dollars in investment money.

Trasker begins to follow the trail of the missing young men. It leads him to Bangkok, Thailand, where the HQ of xQuadrant is a padlocked crime scene. The complex investigation in to what happened enters the sophisticated high-tech world of cryptocurrency, the international underworld,  cyber-crime, digital espionage, spies and double agents, and internal betrayal.

Death Stake follows Trasker's investigation in this compelling, high octane, action-packed, complicated thriller. There are so many intricate twists and turns in the plot you will be unable to set the fast-paced novel down. I enjoyed every minute of following Trasker as he pieces together clues and makes numerous plans on the fly in order to escape death multiple times.

Trasker is an interesting, full-realized, savvy character with a keen intelligence, a world of experience, and a smart mouth. Even though this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading Night Owl first because it is another very highly recommended novel and it is a great initial introduction to the characters.

Death Stake is an exceptional, dynamic, satisfying thriller and I'm looking forward to a third installment featuring Brad Trasker! Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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