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Book Four in the Black Flagged Series

With the most recent bioterrorism threat against the United States neutralized, and Dr. Anatoly Reznikov in secret custody; CIA Deputy Director Karl Berg proposes a more permanent solution to prevent future attacks.

- A covert raid by General Sanderson’s Black Flag unit against Vektor Labs, deep inside Russia…to destroy a bioweapons program that should have ended with the Cold War -

The United States isn’t the only nation looking to tie up loose ends. The sudden abduction of a CIA officer in Stockholm exposes the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service’s (SVR) ruthless campaign to discover the truth behind the massacre of an elite Spetsnaz team sent to eliminate Reznikov and erase any connection between the rogue bioweapons engineer and the Russian Federation.

When the SVR investigation takes a turn that could threaten the mission against Vektor Labs, Berg goes “off the books” like never before to even the odds.

Through an intricate web of unsavory alliances, deviously orchestrated political maneuvers and shockingly brutal black-ops sanctions, Karl Berg will set in motion an unstoppable chain of events with the potential to ignite a new Cold War.

Black Flagged Vektor continues the series’ tradition of gritty, unapologetic storytelling, plunging readers even deeper into the murky, shark infested waters navigated by covert operators and their puppet masters.

424 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2013

1411 people are currently reading
370 people want to read

About the author

Steven Konkoly

70 books1,230 followers
Steven graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1993, receiving a bachelor of science in English literature. He served the next eight years on active duty, traveling the world as a naval officer assigned to various Navy and Marine Corps units. His extensive journey spanned the globe, including a two-year tour of duty in Japan and travel to more than twenty countries throughout Asia and the Middle East.

From enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq as a maritime boarding officer in the Arabian Gulf, to directing aircraft bombing runs and naval gunfire strikes as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) assigned to a specialized Marine Corps unit, Steven's "in-house" experience with a wide range of regular and elite military units brings a unique authenticity to his thrillers.

He still wakes up at "zero dark thirty" to write for most of the day. When "off duty," he spends as much time as possible outdoors or travelling with his family--and dog.

Steven is the bestselling author of ten novels and several novellas, including a commissioned trilogy of novellas based on the popular Wayward Pines series. His canon of work includes the popular Black Flagged Series, a gritty, no-holds barred covert operations and espionage saga; The Perseid Collapse series, a post-apocalyptic thriller epic chronicling the events surrounding an inconceivable attack on the United States; and The Fractured State series, a near future, dystopian thriller trilogy set in the drought ravaged southwest

You can contact Steven directly by email (stevekonkoly@striblingmedia.com) or through his blog (www.stevenkonkoly.com).

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5 stars
842 (53%)
4 stars
561 (35%)
3 stars
151 (9%)
2 stars
17 (1%)
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5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Sheila .
2,006 reviews
July 16, 2013
This is another well written, action packed thriller, the fourth in this series I have read. I enjoyed the book, but just wish that the women had been given more of the action. Jessica, my favorite character from this series, sat this book out, and is only mentioned as being at the beach house, and having left to go shopping in Savannah. Okay, she was almost killed in the last book, so maybe she deserved a vacation, but I have to admit I missed her.

We are introduced to another kick-ass woman in this book, Erin Foley, and while she did get to put a Russian gangster in his place after he tried to cop a feel (You go girl!) after her bit part was played she was put on a plane and missed the rest of the action. But since this is her first book, I hope this was just our introduction to her, and she will be back later for more.

The excerpt in the final few pages from the next book in this series, Black Flagged Reprisals, does give me great hope that at least Jessica will play a big part in the next book. I hope Erin gets to join her too. Let's give these women more of the action! We are women, hear us roar!
Profile Image for Sabrina.
452 reviews10 followers
December 26, 2015
An amazing fourth book in the Black Flagged series. So fast-paced and just completely action-packed, I found myself holding my breath while the operatives raced to complete their missions.

Stuffed full of intrigue and political side-stepping, Sanderson's crew are increasingly left to their own survival as the clock ticks down to the end! Of course, Mr. Konkoly leaves the reader with a sense of completion....and then jerks on the leash to leave you with a teasing thread to continue pulling on, until he finishes the next book! Great, well-defined characters, quick dialogue, and a ton of action. A fantastic read!
Profile Image for Felicia A Sullivan.
445 reviews
July 2, 2013
YAYYYYYYY!!! Another editing project is now a published book! Vektor, book four of Steve Konkoly's Black Flagged series does not disappoint. If you're looking for thrills, chills, intrigue and nonstop action, look no further.
Profile Image for Pat Moore.
6 reviews
Read
May 3, 2016
no spoilers, the end was a HUGE letdown. Almost as if the author had tired of the series and wanted it to end .
Profile Image for Michael.
Author 168 books38 followers
September 19, 2017
Before you read this book, you need to read the first book in the series, Black Flagged, followed by book 2, Black Flagged Redux, and book 3, Black Flagged Apex.

Steven Konkoly continues his heavy action and energy series with this fourth installment, and overall he writes a pretty darn good mystery / thriller. This book focuses more on the Richard Farrington character and Daniel makes a few cameo appearances which I thought was good as it gives the series a little more color.

As I type this review the Kindle version of this book is $4.97 - you will certainly get a lot more than that in terms of entertainment value with this book: Konkoly is better than most of the "name brand" thriller authors out there today, and if you like a continuing series writer such as Vince Flynn and Lee Child, I'd recommend you give Konkoly a shot (but start with the first book in the series).
Profile Image for Susan.
1,455 reviews
January 8, 2018
VICTORY AND LOSS. Vektor is the fourth book in the Black Flagged series. You can read this as a standalone. But each book builds on the previous storylines so I suggest you read them in order. There is a lot of violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all of that info here. This is a fast paced action packed book. There are clues in the storyline that keep you guessing what will be revealed next. As usual, not everyone and everything is as it seems. I'm looking forward to reading more of these books.
131 reviews
November 24, 2019
Lab rats science

This one is about scientist manufacturing unstoppable versus to kill off humans in an effort to bring down a country without declaring and having a war. Very ugly concept to take over a nation without a war. The undercover agents efforts to neutralize the versus and the lab where it's produced. Fast moving under cover hits and escape. Lots of political thesis about how politics affect politician's decision to a course of action. Very interesting how this affects the integrity of politicians. Lots of food for thought.
Profile Image for Samuel .
180 reviews129 followers
February 22, 2015
BLACK SWAN DIVE

[4.89 stars rounded up to five. Together the arc gets the proper full five stars]

James Angleton, one of the CIA's founding fathers likened the espionage business to a hall of mirrors. That metaphor sums up Steven Konkoly's Black Flagged series perfectly. It's a world where one's usefulness is only determined by how many bullets have been dodged and where what's right and wrong is irrelevant, to what works. In the concluding act of the "core story arc", these two principles are displayed fully, as the formidable, pathologically pragmatic operators of the Black Flagged program travel to Central Asia and go on one of the most bloody road trips ever undertaken in the spy thriller genre. Bullets will fly, friendships will be tested and while emerging victorious, the final pieces of a perfect storm come together in this book. Now to the review. What happens when those that protect us reach their limits?

We start the story in a luxurious facility in Vermont, Karl Berg the Assistant Deputy Director of the CIA NCS visits the scientist who was renditioned in book 2. Berg interrogates him about the biological weapons program which he was working on. After hashing out some initial terms, Berg leaves, both he and the scientist thinking they have played each other. Meanwhile in the suburb of Viggbyholm Sweeden, a team of Zaslon Spetsnaz officers storm into a CIA safe house and find nothing but a camera recording them. The video gets back to Langley Virginia and a warning is sent to Stockholm Station that the SVR has declared open season on them. The warning gets to them too late and a CIA officer gets taken for a ride. In Moscow, a mole hunt is instigated and the asset who provided the intel with book 2 begins to make plans to save himself and everyone involved in the operation. And in Germany one of the Black Flagged operators gets taken. All these threads converge in a high stakes chess game across central Russia where the might of the Russian Armed Forces contends with the most ruthless paramilitary operators produced by the American Department Of Defense.

In terms of plot, Black Flagged VEKTOR does perfectly as the curtain call for the "core story arc". The plotting is a little slow at the beginning but like Jaws the shark, it slowly gets faster and faster before it's blazing an exciting, destructive, blood soaked trail to the conclusion. From the SVR's own black site torture chamber in the Sweedish countryside, a complex shell game used to infiltrate into the Russian federation and a epic race to the border where it all comes down to three men in a souped up SUV trying to outrun the armed forces of the Russian Federation, Black Flagged Redux is even more fun and violent than the previous three books put together. The research is also a highlight. One of the ways Konkoly distinguishes himself is the focus he manages when dealing with the Military/Intelligence communities of the Russian federation, which in other books, get lumped together in some formless mass. From the inter-service rivalry between the FSB and the SVR, to the equipment and capabilities of ZASLON, and their granddaddy, VYMPEL, Konkoly manages to give readers the closest "insider" look into a group of organizations which are increasingly becoming more important for the Russian Federation and its efforts to further its foreign policy.

Now for characters. Only a few standouts this time around, and the Petroviche's take a well earned break, coming in to consult once again on the killing of a man. Instead, the decisive star of the show is Richard Farrington. One of the coolest secondary characters I've seen in spy fiction, this time around he takes point and gets to show off his combat abilities during the operation which this book revolves around. Snarky, professional and a stone cold badass who doesn't let the enormity of his task get to him, he dives into the hellish mission assigned to him with gusto and it's his ability to constantly adapt to the changing tactical environment which keeps the mission aloft despite taking casualties. Next standout is Karl Berg. In this book he's put to the test in scheming, dealing and generally harnessing the political capital necessary to get the mission going before the politicians change their minds prematurely. He's developed as a character and is firmly on the side of our anti-heroes, even if they force him to tax his friends and resources to breaking point. Finally, we have Alexi Kaparov, FSB Officer and asset of Karl Berg. Likable, funny and very sharp, when the mole hunt begins, he doesn't panic and instead, on his own initiative, comes up with a plan that saves himself and his subordinates from termination.

Overall, the Black Flagged "Core Story Arc" has been fantastic. Konkoly takes Flynn, Forsyth and Ludlum, blends these influences together and what results is a unique, fascinating spy thriller saga where the principal of whatever it takes sometimes means selling your soul one day at a time to keep the rabid wolves at the door from blowing the house down. Well plotted, extraordinarily well researched and willing to go into places where other spy thrillers wouldn't dare. The Black Flagged series has just concluded its first story arc. Alliances have been made. Enemies foreign and domestic are on the prowl. And when "the empire strikes back", I'll be waiting.

TOTALLY RECOMMENDED.
1,477 reviews25 followers
August 20, 2018
Vektor. Steven Konkoly

A biochemical lab needs to be destroyed inside Russia. No American involvement can be used. A deep covert group has been given the task. To many of the politicians involved in the Presidents inner circle, these soldiers are expendable after the mission is completed. This is an extremely fast paced action packed read laced with bravery, deceit and the will to survive. I highly recommend!
Profile Image for Don.
1,027 reviews5 followers
June 9, 2019
Not a page turner, which I suspected. Then there are too many characters which makes it difficult to follow the plot line. Konkloy is just trying to turn out books like a machine, not enough thought to make it an interesting page turner! I guess I don’t read fast enough. 30-40% in it started to get active making it interesting. I finished it and now it was just ok, again too many people to keep tabs on for an enjoyable read. 4
Profile Image for Andrea Payne.
709 reviews5 followers
January 5, 2023
Vektor: A Black Flagged Thriller (The Black Flagged Series Book 4)

The series continued with less focus on Daniel and Jessica. They aren't key players in this mission. It was very interesting seeing the others in action and getting to know them.

Steven Konkoly's action scenes are the perfect combination of descriptions and explanations. It's very exciting.
Profile Image for Wanda.
501 reviews
September 20, 2025
Non-stop action and suspense makes this a

Difficult book to put down.

Keeping track of the players Who were using Russian aliases was a challenge.

A glimpse into the subterfuge and outright lying among senior players in critical agencies present a scary potential. I'm glad that it's fiction.
Profile Image for Mattster.
83 reviews7 followers
January 21, 2018
Politics and Black Ops

Although fiction, it comments on the dirty yet necessary evils to keep Americans safe.

Great continuation of this series that has kept me turning the pages - or swiping right on Kindle.
3 reviews
February 3, 2018
Most exciting one yet

This was the most exiting book yet in the series and I’m looking forward to the 5th book. It was a bit weird without Daniel in it but Farrington carried the torch well.
Profile Image for Stephen Wells.
60 reviews2 followers
March 14, 2019
Another great read

The thrills continue in book 4 of the Black Flagged series. Twists and turns abound that keep the reader guessing. Aiding the fun is a solid cast of characters. Looking forward to Book 5!
999 reviews23 followers
December 2, 2019
Vektor

Pretty wild adventues with a good set of facts and fiction to get the action going and keep it on the edge. Action sequences full of the details that help you picture it in your mind.
37 reviews
February 13, 2020
Thank you

Thank you for your service. Thank you for the amount of detail about the guns and machines. I am smarter because of the war toys and your description of the people trained to use them.
208 reviews1 follower
September 26, 2020
Vektor

What's the vector Victor?? This series, has been interesting to read. All a part of a continued saga I have had a good time reading.
However, I wonder if it could have ended with Vektor? Guess I'll just have to read on.....
Profile Image for Jo-Ann Fitzgerald.
753 reviews2 followers
October 20, 2020
This is the 4th book in the series. While the plot was a good one, it was very drawn out and felt like it too months to read.

I think I’m going to give the series a rest but I just don’t know if it’s going to be for a few weeks or forever.
Profile Image for David Pospisil.
613 reviews3 followers
September 12, 2022
Another great thriller from Mr. Konkoly.
Destroying the bio-weapons plant in Russia was the easy part.
The white-knuckle race to the border and extraction was amazing.
Can't wait to see what's in store for the BF team in Book 5
Profile Image for Wenzel Roessler.
815 reviews7 followers
March 24, 2023
A very satisfying chapter in the series. Takes a while to get ramped up but the last third of the book is really well written. Great plot developments and some good main characters you can latch on to.
261 reviews2 followers
August 28, 2023
Hood read

Another exciting book in the series but leaves you a bit on a cliffhanger. But the action in this book is impressive. Lots of excitement from start to finish. It's a nail biter leaving you on the edge of your seat for much of it. Exciting book.
136 reviews
August 17, 2025
Vector

Exciting story that let the reader see the real way the world works spies. Anyone who enjoys spy novels will enjoy this series, Mr. Konkoly writes well researched with slot of action.
Profile Image for Lisa Omstead.
127 reviews4 followers
January 22, 2018
My only complaint about this series is that there's only one book left in it. What a fantastic story!
Profile Image for Allan Ashinoff.
Author 3 books9 followers
July 21, 2018
Another action packed black ops roller coaster. This time a secret insertion into Russia to destroy a highly illegal chemical weapons laboratory.
133 reviews3 followers
September 19, 2018
Well written,no less than what I expect from a Konkoly book.
Now on to the next one.
Profile Image for Allen Thomas.
219 reviews9 followers
November 4, 2019
Vektor

Another extremely good story. A very good follow up to the first 3 books. Most of the same characters and fast paced.
Profile Image for Mike.
672 reviews8 followers
April 17, 2020
Nicely gripping with an absolutely amazing finish!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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