Brad Taylor meets The Stand in a riveting novel of suspense kicking off a brand new series perfect for fans of the page-turning novels of A.G. Riddle, Mark Greaney, and Matthew Mather. “One of the most singular and compelling heroines to come along in years.” —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author “Snaps with action from the very first page.” —Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling … action from the very first page.”
—Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Stone Cross and of Tom Clancy’s Code of Honor
From John Gilstrap, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Jonathan Grave novels, comes Crimson Phoenix—first in the new Victoria Emerson Thriller series. With America brought to the brink of destruction, one woman becomes the last hope of a nation and its people . . .
Victoria Emerson is a congressional member of the U. S. House of Representatives for the state of West Virginia. Her aspirations have always been to help her community and to avoid the ambitious power plays of her peers in Washington D. C. Then Major Joseph McCrea appears on her doorstep and uses the code phrase Crimson Phoenix, meaning this is not a drill. The United States is on the verge of nuclear war. Victoria must accompany McCrea to a secure bunker. She cannot bring her family.
A single mother, Victoria refuses to abandon her three teenage sons. Denied entry to the bunker, they nonetheless survive the nuclear onslaught that devastates the country. The land is nearly uninhabitable. Electronics have been rendered useless. Food is scarce. Millions of scared and ailing people await aid from a government that is unable to regroup, much less organize a rescue from the chaos.
Victoria devotes herself to reestablishing order—only to encounter the harsh realities required of a leader dealing with desperate people . . .
“Just the thing for readers who feel oppressed by the pandemic lockdown.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A gripping page-turner.”
—Taylor Stevens, New York Times bestselling author
“An explosive story that keeps your mind churning and pulse racing . . . Don’t miss this powerful new series from a master thriller writer.”
—Jamie Freveletti, international bestselling and award-winning author
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Loved it. Can’t wait for a sequel.
It’s exciting and realistically! There were valuable safety, fire and emergency preparedness tips. The philosophical aspects were well written.
Crimson Phoenix by John Gilstrap
Victoria Emerson #1
I started reading and could not stop and after reading the first few pages I contacted my sister by email telling her to look for this book in her lending library, sent her the book description, and since it was not listed, she requested they purchase it. I read her email response and kept reading until the wee hours of the morning and then tried to sleep although I first looked to see how soon book two in the series might be coming out. I never did find that information but know I will be reading it when it is published.
What I liked:
* Victoria “Vicky” Emerson: strong, independent, resourceful, tough, leader, intelligent, mother, and more. I am eager to see what she will do in book two.
* Vicky’s sons: Adam, Caleb, and Luke. Need to know more about this trio of intriguing young men.
* Major Joe McCrae: professional, dedicated, loyal, strong, capable, interesting.
* 1st Lieutenant Paul Copley
* The three threads of the story: The political group in the bunker, Adam and his girlfriend, and Vicky with her two younger sons and the two military men.
* The dystopian world created by a scenario I hope never occurs in real time.
* The plot and writing
* The pace and action.
* The character development
* That I felt I was there, and all senses were engaged.
* Thinking about what I would do if in a similar situation.
* Being reminded of books by Wyndham, Shute, and others borrowed long ago from my father’s library.
* The gritty feel of it – no sugar coating – tough decisions made.
* The concentric circles theory and how it applied to the situation.
* The Vicky had prepared her sons so well.
* All of it really except…
What I didn’t like:
* The Grubbs Gang
* More than one of the politicians
* The group overseeing the bunker
* Having to wait for the next book.
Did I like this book? Definitely!
Would I read more in this series? As soon as possible!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Eh. Lots of action and a very dystopian view of life post nuclear holocaust.
One of my favorite authors. Mr Gilstrap never fails to entertain with great plots and gets you invested in his characters and wanting more. Looking forward to the next books in this series
I’m not happy that the story is nowhere complete by the end of the book. It is not a cliffhanger but clearly, the story is intended to go on for innumerably more books. That is not what I signed on for. This does not even begin to line up with the Jonathon Graves series. Bring Jonathon back for more adventures!
Oh my gosh…a new series by John Gilstrap. I was enthralled from the first page!
A widowed mother of three teen boys, Congresswoman Victoria Emerson hears the words she never thought she would, Crimson Phoenix. On the verge of nuclear war, the congresswoman is taken to a bunker but her boys are not allowed entrance. She resigns and heads out with two of her boys to pick up the third. What was is not important anymore. What is, is what’s important now.
The Emerson family have hunting, scavaging, and some prepper skills. They’ve made a plan for a place to meet if something happens. Everyone should have a plan. With no communication, police, and pretty much an everyone for themselves mentality, Vicky and her family, along with the military men who came to take her to the bunker, work together with others for the benfit of them all.
This can be a very dark read, but I can’t wait for more in this series. It was a ‘can’t put it down’ book for me.
Crimson Phoenix by John Gilstrap is shocking, disturbing at times, suspenseful, and definitely heart-pounding. I’ve seen it classified as dystopian and post-apocalyptic and it has aspects of both.
Victoria (Vicky) Emerson is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the state of West Virginia. When Major Joseph McCrea and First Sergeant Paul Copley Show up at her doorstep and uses the code phrase ‘Crimson Phoenix’, Vicky knows that the United States is on the verge of a nuclear war. She yells at her sons Caleb and Luke to get dressed and get their go-bags. They’ve prepped for this all of their lives. McCrea and Copley are to take her to a secure bunker in West Virginia. When they get there and she finds out her sons can’t come in, she resigns. They head west towards the military academy where her third son is attending school.
Vicky’s goal of protecting her family is clear. She certainly isn’t perfect and that adds realism to the story. The secondary characters have varying degrees of depth, but Caleb seems to have grown the most during the course of the book. We also get insights into other characters as the points of view occasionally shift to Vicky’s third son, Adam, to the Congressional bunker, and to Caleb.
This book is exactly what one would expect from a well-written post-apocalyptic thriller with lots of concern over how to survive and protect one’s family, but it is so much more than that. It raises a lot of questions about justice, cooperation, leadership, desperation, political infighting, having to deal with the loss of all of the electronics we rely upon, and much more.
The author brought a strong sense of time and place to the events in the book. I felt as though I had been transplanted to West Virginia and was living through the events. Additionally, the triggers for this book felt all too real. Two phrases have stuck with me: concentric circles and actions have consequences. Are you intrigued? Then, I recommend that you read the novel.
Overall, this book was riveting, fast-paced, action-oriented, and scary to think about. This is the first book that I have read by this author and the first in this series. I can’t wait to find out what is next for Vicky and her sons as well as Joe and Paul. I also want to read his Jonathan Grave series.
Kensington Books and John Gilstrap 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 February 23, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.