How did Will Hessler become the Mossad deep cover operative known as Jericho Black? Among Wolves is a tense thriller told from Will’s own perspective. Growing up in 1960’s San Francisco as a young artist, Will finds himself at odds with his Nazi war criminal Grandfather and radical Jihadist mother. When Will’s mother spearheads a terrorist attack in San Francisco, the boy must decide if he is … San Francisco, the boy must decide if he is going to turn a blind eye or take part in an operation that can only result in the destruction of his own family.
As the conflict within the family unit comes to a boil, Nazi hunter and Mossad spymaster Saul Greenbaum steps out of the shadows to recruit Will Hessler, and forge him into the agent that Mossad needs to defend the homeland.
Can Will grow up fast enough to survive a clash with a PLO splinter group that has already buried several seasoned operatives from both the CIA and Mossad?
Follow Will Hessler through his ongoing series in the Jericho Black Universe.
Book One: Among Wolves
Book Two: Education (7/1/2018)
Book Three: Retribution (9/1/2018)
You can also get a free copy of the Jacob Mitzak novella The Hammer of Israel by subscribing at Jordanvezina.com Get to know Will’s future Mossad training officer!
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I got this book as a “freebie” from one of those giveaways we often see and the promo blurb sounded interesting. I took the book and read it and was hooked on the premise that of of someone who would stand up to his non-conventional parents to not hate a friend simply because she was a Jew. Little did I know that this book would propel me into the world of Jakob Mitzak, Saul (can’t immediately remember his last name) and all of the other characters who would willingly do the work of stopping Jew haters from spoiling the world against the Jewish race and nation. The plot was riveting and the fully developed characters were so real to me. The subject matter and actions taken were sometimes hard to to stomach but not unreasonable. I’ve thus read at least 6 more of the books on this premise by this author. I recommend it to any mature reader.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a powerful read about choices a boy must make. His choice can destroy his life and family. Will he do what his family wants or will be turn his back on them? See what will happen
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Like many others, I did not understand what I was preparing to read and was surprised at the depth of this story. I was horrified by some of what was going on and encouraged by the intelligence and wisdom of a young boy. I was gripped in this story from beginning to end. This author is new to me but clearly very talented and I intend to read more by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I have read a number of Jordan Vezina’s works and have loved them all. This newly re edited and revised edition cleaned up some of the issues with the original and helps to make this book a much better read. If you have not read any of Jordan’s work, start with this one and if you enjoy it as much as I did you will want to get the other 5 volumes. For once a story that you can grab onto and not let go for several days. Great book heartily recommend it.
An epic series. Will Hessler is the product of the rape of his German emigrant mother by rough Argentinian thugs.
His grandfather was in some special ops capacity. A high priced, famous painter.
Diane Hessler basically shattered when she was raped and became pregnant. What her father failed to realize was the she was dangerous and lethal, not just to his own happiness and that of her son.
Will is also a talented painter, and becomes fluent in German, Spanish, and later Hebrew.
An ideal candidate for both those hunting the Nazis or neo nazis, as well as for those who though he might be a sympathizer, like his demented mother.
These are the broken shards that shaped a boy into a cobbled together young man on a quest for justice.
No blood red flag. No white charger. But oh so many dead.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout, read it on Kindle Unlimited, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Among Wolves – This is my first read by this author and I liked the story. The well thought out story line follows a young boy through his discoveries about his grandfather’s Nazi SS past and the causes of his mother’s hatred. He’s able to make his own decisions about the right way of life for him, earning him his grandfather’s respect and costing him his mother’s love. The young man contributes to the war of hatred after learning a secret about his father. Along his journey, he is supported by many surprising people.
The characters are interesting and believable, and their dialog realistic. The reader is drawn into the story and the author’s descriptions are clear and interesting. History is a rich character that adds depth and understanding to the story, which begins after WWII. I know a lot of this history and found the author did a great job with his historical presentation. Mr. Vezina did research his subject matter.
This well written story could have been a five star if the author had only edited the story. Missing commas, lower case proper nouns and titles, inconsistencies and various other defects distracted the reader because there were so many. Many affected the meaning of the sentences. 4*
UPDATE: Among Wolves is updated and changed somewhat according to the author. The update hasn’t made it to Amazon as of 01/30/2019.
The Jericho Black Universe: The following well written books are all part of this universe and take place in a timeline from 1910 until 1980, as of January, 2019. The third book Retribution starts in 1980. All the storylines are carried throughout this series of books. The storylines are intriguing, suspense filled and so mesmerizing it’s hard for the reader to put down the book(s). I chain read all but Among Wolves, which I had already read and made me interested in reading the rest of the story. There are plenty of twists, kinks and surprises in all the additions. The pace is steady and fast, no bogging down with trivial fillers. The emotions range across the scale and even the harden reader goes “Oh my gosh.” occasionally. Nothing graphic, you just forget how depraved the human race is, especially in the pack (or herd) formation.
The characters are interesting and believable, and their dialog realistic. The reader is drawn into the stories and the author’s descriptions are clear and interesting. Most of the characters appear in all the stories or are mentioned for themselves or in past events. The characters run the gamut on personalities, frailties, strengths and levels of depravity and goodness. Nothing is graphic but everything is clear so the reader can make the violence as graphic as their imagination needs. History is a rich character that adds depth and understanding to the stories, which begins during WWII. I know a lot of this history and found the author did a great job with his historical presentation. Mr. Vezina did research his subject matter. After Among Wolves, the editing was much better with very few errors outside of comma usage, or lack of, in the others that I read. In a couple of the books, Mr. Vezina offers a PDF timeline for the JBU. There are more books than what I have read so far. Best to read in sequential order; keeps the excitement flowing and no spoilers that way. I purchased all but The Lion of Israel.
Never Forget, Prequel – The beginning of the JBU. Starting in Auschwitz, this introduction of Aleks Rosen, Saul Greenbaum and Jacob Mitzak. Along with some the rest of the characters that will come and go throughout the series. There are a couple of twists and surprises, along with an interesting showing of foresight, determination and survival through a horrible time and place in world history. 5*
The Hammer of Israel – This is my second favorite of this series; Among Wolves remains number one with me. Mainly about Jacob Mitzak and Jane Sutcliff and their metamorphoses from their experiences from WWII until 1952. There is a lot of violence, none graphic, but what their characters, their determination and their instincts for survival place upon them and the jobs they are able to perform. There’s a special lady that will surprise the reader when she’s spotlighted. 5*
Education #2 – A cliffhanger that continues in book #3 Retribution. The story is set in 1979 and picks up with Will and Susan and their future together. Playing heavy parts in this story are many of the characters from Never Forget and Among Wolves. Fast paced and filled with a few twists for everyone. Needs better editing. 5*
Danger Close (Btwn #2 & #3) – A short story set in 1979. More on Will Kessler and his transition from his past to his future. His life changes with the murders of his mother and grandfather and the shooting of his girlfriend. He does a job that gets him a shock of a lifetime and changes his future. 5*
The Lion of Israel (Btwn #2 & #3) – This short story introduction is for Ariel Sutcliffe and her contributions to the JBU. Her story, her strengths and her weaknesses, along with some of her jobs and where she is heading. A good, but flawed character that is tested with a special job. This book I found on Booksprout. 5*
I was lucky enough to have gotten a free copy from the author. Good book drags in places but I think since the author has given the back story the next book should be even better.