The Inheritor

by Tom Wither

America’s Most Deadly Enemy is still loose . . . and he’s ready to move. Following his dead mentor’s desire to re-establish the Islamic Caliphate, Aziz Abdul Muhammad, hand-picked by bin Laden himself, masterminds a series of attacks on the U.S. energy infrastructure that will reignite the war against the West. As his initial series of attacks creates mass panic, leaving the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states in terrified darkness, the manhunt is on. 

In a unique special operations force, veteran intelligence officer David Cain, along with Air Force Sergeant Emily Thompson and rookie FBI Agent Dave Johnson, leads the U.S. effort to find Aziz and his operations expert. From Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay to Chicago and the outskirts of Tehran, the force must halt Al Qaeda’s attempt to rise from the ashes of its former self—and stop The Inheritor before the rest of his terrifying plan unfolds.

Genres: Fiction

348 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2014

About the author

Tom Wither is a thirty-two-year Air Force intelligence professional and twenty-five-year affiliate of the National Security Agency.

After joining the Air Force in 1987 and completing initial intelligence training at Goodfellow AFB, Texas, he served as a Signals Intelligence Analyst and Advisory Support Analyst during various assignments. A veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he provided time-critical information to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center, which led to the safe extraction of downed allied airborne personnel and location data that resulted in the destruction of 25 strategic targets.

After completing a six-month long analytic training program with NSA in 1994, he served as an Intelligence Analyst and Senior Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Air Force gaining his NSA certification as an intelligence analyst.

After leaving active duty for a civilian position with the Air Force as a Special Projects Officer, Tom worked directly with varied elements of the intelligence community, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and other Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence managed special activities. During this period, Tom earned his certification as an Intelligence Community Officer (currently known as the Joint Duty Assignment program) and led signals intelligence analytic teams.

Following his promotion to Technical Director, Tom advised Air Force senior leaders on the production of signals intelligence and the legal, policy, and technical constraints of those activities. In addition, Tom led the design and implementation of unique signals intelligence processing and storage systems supporting Air Force space and cyber operations during Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, and INHERENT RESOLVE.

Tom also participated in the coordination, targeting, and approval process for Operation INHERENT RESOLVE combat actions to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) with Air Force non-kinetic capabilities, gaining Secretary of Defense level approval for his unit’s intelligence operations to underpin those capabilities.

In addition to his other military and civilian awards, Tom was most recently awarded the Exemplary Civilian Service Award for his work that led to a major degradation of ISIS command and control, the destruction of one of their headquarters facilities, and the liberation of Raqqah, Syria from ISIS control.

Reviews

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would I read another book by Tom Wither? Yes. But, will I be counting the days until Autumn Fire is released? No.

It took me much longer to read this than I expected and I have to believe this is due to the amount of description in the book. Some description is needed, yes, but this book goes overboard (it may be important to know where someone goes, but not necessarily the routes he/she took to get there). This does seem to wane a little about halfway through the book, where the action picks up, and reading is much more fluid. I also felt like you needed to know some history since it is set in the future and uses your knowledge to build on itself. Another note: a lot of military acronyms - be prepared.

The best part of this book is how realistic the situations are. This could be a possible future. I was excited to read this because the book's description reminded me of one of my favorite authors: Nelson DeMille. However, based on it being too militaristic I don't think it can be enjoyed by as many people, especially laymen, as DeMille enchants. Worth a read if you like military exploits though.

A side note: why wouldn't they attack the military systems in San Antonio? I can't speak for the other cities, but it would make sense to me that either Lackland or Brooks AFB would have been attacked at some point. I get they were mostly after civilians, but still; the area around Lackland is flush with civilians.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't thinking this was going to be a series. I thought that by the end of the book all my questions would be answered. Nope. This entire book was like the exposition for one big series. It was boring, the timeline was confusing, and it was impossible to get into. I was very enthusiastic about winning this book in a giveaway on Goodreads, but I'm just disappointed. If this book isn't the beginning of a series, it's a waste of time because you never find anything out. Really didn't like this book.

[Domisty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an uncorrected proof through a Goodreads Giveaway of The Inheritor. It took me awhile to get into the book, there were was a lot going on & a lot of characters to try & keep up with.

One thing that would be hellpful for me would be a glossary in the back of the book with all the abbreviations. I found myself loooking back in the book because I couldn't remember what something meant.

All in all it was an ok book.

[Don Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good story and it captured my attention and held it throughout. No doubt this book is written as the first installment in a series and I can't wait for the "Autumn Fire". Tom spins a great yarn! A story of this nature needs to be situationally plausible, technically accurate, current and fitting of today's geopolitical landscape. Tom exceeds those standards and does so expertly and with authority. Well Done!

[Shy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in the goodreads giveaway.

This story is really good and it caught my attention as soon as I opened the book. I loved how realistic the situations were. I'm excited to read "Autumn Fire".

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book and the fast pace of it! I'm very excited to read Autumn Fire and hopefully wrap up the story of Aziz! A great book if you're into reading about the CIA, FBI and other agencies involved in terrorist elimination.

[Wilma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally like this genre of book but this one had way too many descriptions. I will not be looking for the next one.

[Ryan Hillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great 2nd post 9-11 Thriller.

[Jay Clement · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The author was an intelligence analyst, and so there was much discussion of the heroic analysts that apparently are the most important people in the world. The bad guys are clever in their attacks on America, but the author's anger about the constraints of the law as it applies to intelligence gathering gets in the way of a potentially gripping tale. PLUS, this is book one of a series, and thus this book has no resolution. Grrrr. I will not pursue book two.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won this book through a the Goodreads giveaway. The book was an excellent military thriller with intricate details into some of the goverments top intelligence agencies and how they operate. Very interesting plot, and put together quite nicely.