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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First The Amendment Killer, now The Puppet Master, whenever Barak brings it, the result is always the same, tense, timely and terrific!
Great news for readers who love smart writing, realistic plots, and timely topics. U.S. District Court Judge Cyrus Brooks and homicide detective Frank Lotello are back in action! We first met the pair in The Amendment Killer, Ron Barak’s sizzling 2017 novel. Barak, a master of the hybrid legal/political thriller, always seems to be a step ahead of the headlines. He finished The Puppet Master well before the wave of pipe bombs were delivered to prominent political personalities. So we should have no trouble buying into the new novel’s inciting incident: the assassination of three Washington politicians in three days. Were the politicians corrupt? Has someone been framed for the killings? Will justice be done? Barak’s finely honed storytelling technique is on brightly lit display. In brief, brisk, suspenseful chapters with plot twists aplenty, Barak takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through the marble corridors and wood paneled offices and courtrooms of Washington, D.C. Best keep your seatbelt buckled! The Puppet Master is a helluva ride.
Honestly, I almost didn’t read this because I saw it had 143 chapters. I didn’t think it would hold my interest. Boy was I wrong! This is definitely a page turner that kept me up too late because I didn’t want to put it down. The story is told from several POV to keep it flowing. A Senator is found dead in her DC townhouse with very few clues. Then there’s 2 more deaths in as many days. The police arrest Cliff Norman, an erratic suspect because he supposedly rants outside of a downtown office and “confesses.” It’s up to Detective Lotello to find the real killer before Norman convicted. Judge Brooks runs a tight courtroom and has a dry sense of humor. The story bogged down a bit in the courtroom scenes due to the Judge’s instructions to the jury ; it was a bit much (and I’ve served on a jury for a murder trial). The last of the book had several twists that I didn’t see coming. Very entertaining read. Highly recommend! BTW- some of the chapters were only 1 or 2 pages in length 🙂
I received a free copy from the author. This is my review freely given. Thanks Ron!
U.S. District Court Judge Cyrus Brooks is tasked with hearing one of the most controversial cases in his career. Several prominent political figures are murdered. Cliff Norman is charged, but is he really the killer? And, if so, is he justified in his actions? D.C. homicide detective Frank Lotello finds that things don’t add up. He and Brooks form an alliance to find the truth.
Barak’s prequel in the Brooks/Lotello Thriller Series, The Puppet Master is a hardnosed detective thriller. It looks at the law from the inside. From start to finish this action-packed ride will keep you on the edge of your seat.
In this novel, we see how the bond between Brooks and Lotello is formed. They make worthy opponents to anyone trying to skirt the law. I thoroughly enjoyed this as much as I did the first book in the series. Barak promises more, and I can’t wait!
5 out of 5 stars.
If you like Grisham Legal Thrillers, you will love this book by a newish author. Very well written and enthralling from start to finish. It’s currently only 99c so what have u got to lose. A couple of chapters about Jury deliberations got a bit detailed, but if you don’t like that it’s easy to skim those.
I got my copy from my local library and now off to read the Ammendment Killer.
I loved this book and his next book, The Amendment Killer. Excellent!!
The second book that I’ve written by Ronald S. Barak was just as good as the first! It was an original premise, and I loved reading all of the legal aspects present in the book. The characters were interesting and complex. Definitely a great read!
Excellant ,beginning to end..
A high concept thriller that pulls you in from the very first page. Washington power players, back door deals, and richly layered characters. Ron Barak’s The Puppet Master is a story that will stay with you long after you’ve read the last word.
Barak shakes Washington D.C. to the core with an all-too-real political and legal blockbuster. In this masterfully plotted whodunnit, The Puppet Master, clues are peppered throughout the text in such a subtle and clever manner, the ending is both surprising and inevitable. Brilliant and believable.
The Puppet Master is a political thriller extraordinaire, chock full of headline-grabbing ingredients spiced with scarily prescient speculation about the political state of our country today. Ron Barak chooses from a menu mastered by the likes of David Baldacci and Brad Meltzer in crafting a tale as compelling as it is ominous. Riveting, relentless, a story as well plotted as it is crafted.
The Puppet Master moves at the speed of a bullet, deliciously skewering power Washington along the way. You’ll hope for a delayed flight, a snow storm, or a long wait at the doctor’s office to finish this one! Another killer thriller from Ron Barak’s Brooks/Lotello series.
Politics. Sex. Power. Betrayal. Intrigue. Conspiracy. Murder. The strings of suspense Ronald S. Barak expertly pulls in his newest whodunnit mystery thriller, The Puppet Master.
Ron Barak’s The Puppet Master moves through D.C. politics with the wicked swiftness of an assassin’s bullet. Lean, mean, and razor sharp.
I am going to give this book to ratings. A 4 for the actual book because it was so long and wordy, pus so many characters it got overwhelming and hopped around. Now having said that… I listened to the audio and the narrator was amazing. he voice acted the ook ( which I love and each character even the females had a clear, unique voice. You could even tell when there were thoughts being voiced as happens a lot in Lotellos and Brooks’ parts. That is skilled. So I give a 5 adding in the narration.
This is book two and marked a prequel. I have not read book one and do suggest this one first since we meet Brooks and Lotello’
First, we meet Lotello, a newly widowed police officer with two kids, contemplating if he should stay on the force and keep his career or find something else so he can spend more time with his family. Mr. Barak found an unusual way to endear us to Lotello by his speaking so much to his deceased wife. It really touched my heart and made me really like him.
There is a wide array of characters, too many to mention and all have a depth to them.
Te book kinda has two parts the police procedural than the political part. After the person is found and put on trial then we get in depth of the trial and that is where we meet Brooks, the judge, and the DA and prosecuting attorney as well.
The story is engaging, thrilling and page turning and I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store. but I will choose the audio.
If you like crime thrillers, police procedurals, political procedurals, and allover page-turning suspense this is for you. I highly recommend the audio.
THE PUPPET MASTER by Ronald S. Barak
A compelling opening, a dogged detective, a cast of tightly drawn characters, a murder mystery and a political thriller that articulates the nation’s frustration with our politicians makes, The Puppet Master, a fascinating page-turner.
The use of short chapters, in the beginning, some no more than half-a-page, draws the reader into a contemporary story that mirrors today’s headlines and digs into the personal stories of the damage to ordinary people caused by the actions of politicians.
The author dazzles with his courtroom procedural knowledge and the ebb and flow of opinions in the jury room. But the main character, Detective Frank Lotello, holds the multiple threads of the story together, never satisfied with simple explanations and always asking the why questions. He truly mirrors the readers thoughts and even when it appears the story will have a simple, man against the machine ending, another bone is thrown into the soup, and then another and then another.
Although, hopefully, The Puppet Master is fictional, though an entertaining story of political intrigue, the author actually has a solution to the nation’s dilemma for its political class (other than to shoot them all along with every attorney, as Shakespeare has suggested ) which is very American and could actually work!
I would recommend The Puppet Master by Ronald S. Barak, for those looking for an entertaining, well written and researched political thriller with many twists. And for those who have long summer days and nights to lose themselves in a fantasy that politicians will ever be accountable to the people they serve.
Disclaimer: “I received an eBook copy of this book for free and voluntarily reviewed it”.
Ian C. Dawkins Moore (author of: Maili Beach, a noir novella)
Absolutely riveting! With a story easily pulled from tomorrow’s headlines, Ronald Barak unravels this political thriller with the skill of a seasoned vet.
What a wild ride! When a crime-solving team consists of a judge and a detective, the reader is treated to a story that is both a legal thriller and a crime thriller. Ronald Barak’s The Puppet Master does both well, diving deep into the legal proceedings run by a judge who rules with an iron fist, Cyrus Brooks.
Lotello runs the criminal investigation into the murder of a U.S. senator. The investigation bleeds into the actual trial, as Lotello isn’t convinced this case is as open and shut as it seems. The action on both fronts builds to a climax the reader won’t soon forget.
I wasn’t expecting such a close view of the trial process. From controversial pretrial motions to tense jury room debates, there is enough legal thriller red meat here to satisfy the most ravenous fan of legal thrillers. You don’t want to miss this one!
If you are looking for a good mystery, a story with twists and a different take on the political scene, grab this book and jump into a story with lots of facets, questions and tension. Caution! This book looks daunting at first glance because of the high chapter and page count, but it flew by for me as some chapters are only a few paragraphs.
This book begins as a murder mystery, but widens its’ borders to encompass so much more. I am loathe to give a synopsis of the plot as that would dampen your own reading enjoyment of this well-written tale. It is easy to tell you I found this to be engrossing, the pace swift, the cast of characters diverse, the legal intricasies simply explained and the tension masterfully handled.
I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from the author, Ron S. Barak; the decision to review is my own. If you enjoy mysteries, as do I, this book will be a step outside the “norm”, but well worth the slight risk in taking the chance. I recommend this book without reservation and smile while doing so. Good read!
“The Puppet Master” is even more exciting and suspenseful than it’s predecessor, “The Ammendment Killer.” Author, Ronald S. Barak, has definitely earned his place among the top writers of mystery, suspense, thrillers!
The exceptional tool that he uses to achieve his mastery is the “silent voice”, the thoughts of his characters! We get to “hear” their thoughts firsthand. From fear to wit, doubts to wishes, the personal musings of the characters in “The Puppet Master” allow the reader to “flesh- out” the plot, providing “flavor” that I often find lacking in such novels. I found it very compelling to have access to the personal voices of the key players!
In the midst the mystery, thrills, and suspense, Mr. Barak also manages to serve up a helping of social dialectics which does not hamper the novel’s pace. Thank you for the thoughtful and edifying jury deliberations.
As a mystery “The Puppet Master” is a great success, in the writer’s ability to suprise the reader with the revelation of the guilty party! No spoiler here!
I found this to be an exceptionally entertaining novel and look forward to any future writings of Mr. Barak!
I received this novel for free and I have voluntarily written this review.