What would YOU do if they took everything you had, your family, your home, your business, your dignity, even–perhaps–your sanity? Ronald S. Barak’s latest, The Puppet Master, prequel to The Amendment Killer, and the second in the Brooks/Lotello Thriller Series is a gripping story of a political system gone awry–and those who feel compelled to fix it. “Have you ever killed anyone? I have. I’ll … have. I’ll do it again. If I need to.” Three prominent political leaders in Washington, D.C., murdered in as many days.
Not a plausible story premise? What about the real world villain who recently mailed a series of pipe bombs to a number of prominent political figures? Ripped from the headlines? Barak gives new meaning to the word “timely.” The Puppet Master isn’t ripped from the headlines; written first, it forecast the headlines that followed!
The Puppet Master begins with a bang. Literally. Three of them. Not a page wasted. Capitol Hill panics. Who will be next? Others whisper that our political leaders are only getting what they deserve. Anxious to see who will be next. And why.
Crafty D.C. homicide detective Frank Lotello is tasked to find the killer. Cliff Norman, a local businessman with ample motive, is arrested. Politicians breathe a sigh of relief. However, when Lotello discovers a disturbing White House connection, he suspects Norman may not be what he appears to be. Things may not be what they appear to be.
Norman’s trial commences in the courtroom of savvy D.C. trial court judge Cyrus Brooks. An angry nation rallies behind Norman. The jury debates whether Norman’s actions may be legally justified by a rampant abuse of political trust, and threatens to unravel the very fabric of our dysfunctional government.
In an unprecedented and questionable manner that may destroy their respective careers, Lotello quietly approaches Brooks and they form a secret alliance to uncover the truth in this classic whodunnit mystery. Before it’s too late.
Blurring fiction and reality, The Puppet Master will have you dangling from the first page to the very last.
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I discovered a fine new author when I read The Amendment Killer. As I said in my review, “A good novel does not violate the laws of chemistry, physics or logic; the author writes about what he or she knows or finds an expert to vet the work and make sure it is factual; and the story educates the reader. The Amendment Killer meets all of these criteria and is an intriguing well-written story.” Well, Mr. Barak has done it again. He is a master of the legal mystery/thriller genre. Actually, this book is the prequel to the Amendment Killer, establishing the beginning of the relationships of Detective Frank Lotello and Judge Cyrus Brooks, and it is a fascinating story.
Pay attention to the details. Clues are there but skillfully camouflaged. As the story unwinds, you may say, yeah, now I remember that as you ride along with Detective Lotello as he solves the case. The story has lots of twists, turns, and false starts.
Puppet Master is set in the time period after the great real estate meltdown and addresses the failure of our elected government to do its job—protect the people who elected them. Cliff and Paige Norman are two of the thousands of people who were financially wiped out by the collapse, and Cliff decides there has to be retribution for the corruption that allowed Wall Street swindlers to pull off the great real estate pyramid swindle. But whom will Norman’ punish? Elected officials? Wall Street? Individuals? Or institutions? And, of course, there is the “how” to punish in order to deliver the proper message. Thus begins a great “who done it ” mystery thriller.
Norman is arrested and charged with murder and the story is now centered in the pending trial and then the trial.
Detective Lotello and Judge Brooks realize the case is anything but clear-cut. Lotello’s investigation begins to expose possible trails of corruption leading to the Congress and White House. Saying more would ruin the story. The author takes the reader behind the courtroom veil and into the judge’s chambers, providing a real-world look at how trials are conducted and what goes on in the judge’s chamber.
Warning: once you start reading the Puppet Master you will be hooked and probably stay up very late. I did.
Ronald S Barak uses his expertise in the law to create a stunning thriller. First there is the investigation to determine the perpetrator of the crimes, then comes the trial segment. The jury is charged not only with finding a verdict of guilty or not guilty for the perp but also a verdict on the crooked politicians of Washington D.C. This is a novel with a contemporary theme and a book that must be read.
I received this book as an ARC from the author. The story is a powerful political drama. It is engaging and intriguing in a political way. The characters and strong and make you part of the life going on in the book. It was difficult to put the book down. I truly think every American voter should read this book.
The Puppet Master, Prequel – This author is wordy, but his stories are great. I had read The Amendment Killer and thoroughly enjoyed it especially since it’s my genre of choice. The Puppet Master is just as interesting and truthfully, I can’t recommend the reading order of these two novels.
The storylines run the gamut and steady have sticks thrown in between the spokes. The intrigue is neck deep and keeps the pace moving, the reader’s mind is working and involved with the characters and plots. The characters run the gamut from good to immoral to insane. I do like that the killer is removing the bought whores that infest our government; although in real life that’s not the way to handle removing the corruption. To borrow a phrase out of the story, this is like an onion, each layer peeled reveals more twists and turns or a larger stick.
Well written, but in need of minor editing, mainly concerning the lowercase usage of some titles and a couple of minor issues; I’m glad the author doesn’t follow the new AP guidelines that other authors follow, which is incorrect in so many areas; he still writes “old-style?”, in other words correctly so for those of us who use and remember the correct way to write, this will be an enjoyable read. I contacted the author to review his books and I’m glad to have found a suitable replacement for my favorite author Ludlum. 5*
The Amendment Killer – There’s pages of advanced previews before the reader even gets to the table of contents, not something I care about reading. I was glad to see the Epigraphs, which I have always found these interesting. The author takes care to introduce history of The Constitution and The Amendments, which I’m not even sure is being taught in our schools anymore. Mr. Barak shares information, not only to make the story flow smoothly, on a variety of subjects that helps the uninformed reader understand what they are reading.
This is a well written, intriguing, fast paced, substantial book. It keeps the reader’s attention until the end, making it hard to put the book down, even for another cup of coffee. This is my type of book, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable, mesmerizing and truthful. The characters run the gamut on characteristic traits, some more developed than others; and their actions and emotions involves the reader, provoking a gamut of responses to the story. The twisting plot never loses the reader’s attention. If you remember the first time you saw Die Hard in the theater and how you verbally reacted throughout the movie, you understand what I’m trying to explain. Or for the younger crowd, The Shooter or The Accountant. The author’s writing style and presentation makes him an author of future interest. If you like Grisham, De Mille, Baldacci and company, you’ll like this author just as much as I do. I recommend this book and author highly. 5*
This is a must-read. If you think there are strange things going on in our nation’s capital, The Puppet Master will convince you that Washington is a dangerous place.
The political thriller “The puppet Master” by Ronald Barak gives readers a plot filled with tension , political intrigue and interesting characters.
Barak’s legal expertise has clearly enabled him to craft a realistic courtroom novel. The political machinations of Washington D.C. that he describes are particularly fascinating and timely. A read you will enjoy!
What I liked most was the plausibility of The Puppet Master. “Have you ever killed anyone?” Well, no, not me, but the idea of an angry, lost, person who takes ‘justice’ into his own hands because he believes a corrupt political system stole everything from him is not too far fetched which is why The Puppet Master was such an engaging read. It could happen, and it might not be too difficult sympathize with the accused…which is a bit scary.
After 3 murders of Washington’s political elite, there are whispers of a vigilante serial killer targeting politicians. D.C. homicide detective Frank Lotello is tasked to find the killer. A local suspect is arrested. Politicians breathe a sigh of relief. However, when Lotello discovers a disturbing White House connection, he fears authorities may have the wrong man.
Trial commences in savvy judge Cyrus Brooks’s courtroom. An angry nation rallies behind the accused. The jury debates whether the defendant’s actions may be legally justified by rampant abuse of public trust. With considerable jeopardy to their respective careers, Brooks and Lotello join forces to unravel the truth before the jury unravels U.S. history.
history.
Barak writes a quick moving, riveting story which kept me turning the page while wondering, what would I do…?
My problem is, I’m a retired lawyer and adjudicator. This story is so far out even non-lawyers who have watched movie and television legal dramas would question the reality. Every major character commits unethical and illegal activities from the outset. I struggled to finish it.
The Puppet Master is a deft legal and political thriller that taps into growing public dissatisfaction with those who govern us. Ronald S Barak uses his two engaging leads, Trial Court Judge Cyrus Brooks and Homicide Detective Frank Lotello, to explore a complex host of moral and political issues. An accomplished, tense thriller, The Puppet Master offers real depth that keeps one thinking long after finishing the final gripping page.
I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.
This is the second book in the series but it is a prequel. I have not read The Amendment Killer [the first book in the series]. I had no trouble understanding the characters or their motivations. It is a standalone story [no cliffhanger ending].
Here’s what I really liked – this is a poltical/legal thriller. Three prominent politicians are murdered. A man, who may have a grudge against the government over issues related to his son’s death, is arrested. Problem is, the man may be mentally ill and provides no real assistance to his defense attorney. The set up of this book is compelling and really drew me in. The search for the truth of who committed these crimes by the detective [along with his problems of being a recent widower with young children] was interesting and full of twists and turns.
Here’s what bothered me with this book — and maybe it’s the current political climate and all of the recent horrific hate crimes — the judge, during the trial allowed the defense to argue that the politicians were justifiably killed because of the defendant’s [or anyone else’s] belief that they deserved it because of their political actions. I don’t want to give anything away but the jury discussed how right or believable this type of action would be to commit. I, personally, – even in a fictional setting – do not believe it’s appropriate to advocate that someone has a license to kill based upon a political belief or action. Perhaps this won’t bother other readers, but in light of recent events, this really troubled me.
I listened to this book — the narrator did a very good job. He did different voices for the various characters and kept a good pace.
This is a greay book could not put in down
This is a most unusual book by Ron Barak. And it’s a prequel to The Amendment Killer.
We are first introduced to Judge Cyrus Brooks, an honorable man. Then the first of several murders start.
Then comes Homicide Detective Frank Lotello, who is still grieving over his wife who was killed by a drunk driver. But he still talks to her in order to keep his sanity. He realizes that his priorities needed change because he now must care for his two children on a daily basis. Then his partner calls letting him know he’s back on an investigation.
Follow Lotello and his partner as they navigate the investigation before and during the trial of the suspected killer. The most pressing issue is…who is the Puppet Master? Is it the man on trial or is someone else the “real killer”?
It’s a true crime thriller you have to read to answer that question