Middle Man: A Lieutenant Rollie Waters Novel

Rollie Waters #2

by David Rich

David Rich—whose acclaimed debut, Caravan of Thieves, drew comparisons to Elmore Leonard, Robert Ludlum, and John le Carré—returns with a crime thriller featuring Lieutenant Rollie Waters.

Recruited into SHADE, the elite, covert group formed by the U.S. military, Rollie Waters must locate and retrieve the countless millions taken from Saddam’s cache during the Iraq War and shipped home in the coffins of dead soldiers. But when a sniper attacks the team, Rollie is forced to go undercover to solve the riddle of the graves and to apprehend the puppet master behind the whole plot.

Rollie’s own father, inveterate liar and charming con artist Dan Waters, was killed attempting to steal the first $25 million after stumbling across the conspiracy involving powerful military officers, would-be kings, and the very general who nearly destroyed Rollie during his last tour in Afghanistan.

Rollie’s undercover quest takes him from Houston and the self-proclaimed king of Kurdistan, to the treacherous, labyrinthine streets of Erbil, Iraq, and into the arms of a stunning, enigmatic woman whose motives he can’t discern. As a confirmed citizen of the fog, now more spy than soldier, Waters must uncover the man pulling the strings behind a backdrop of murder, deceit, and stolen fortune—before he disappears forever into the mist.

Genres: Thriller

321 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2013

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Middle Man: David Rich

Dan Waters was everything his son Rollie wants to be. Living up to his memory and following in his path keeps him centered and focused. Thinking back to what his father was engaged in at the time of his death allows readers to understand their relationship and why Rollie has agreed to join an elite covert group called the SHADE (Shared Defense Executive.) Created by the military he is recruited to complete what his father started. Grave robbers often steal bodies for the gold in their teeth, the silver from cavities or for body parts. Imagine stashing money inside a coffin and burying it so deep you hope no one finds it until the right time.

Rollie Waters presents the facts, the details and the events as they happen in his own words in a crisp, clear and concise manner making it easy for readers to follow his line of thought. Saddam Hussein might be gone but his memory and deeds linger far and wide in the present as a fund or stockpile of cash stolen from him during the second Iraq War has been buried within these coffins and graves and Rollie has been engaged to find it.

As the story begins we meet Rollie as he enters a bar and hopes to elicit information from its owner. The banter goes back and forth neither side wanting to give an inch. When he finally thinks the person is cooperating someone close by just might change it all. The request he makes, the instructions he gives results in the unexpected. When faced with the outcome Rollie is taken into custody and hopefully can stall until the right person arrives to bail him out. Every step of the way we hear his voice as he flashes back to something that happened with his father, an incident that mirrors what is about to happen in the present. Dan is forever with him in mind, spirit and heart. Meeting with Major Hensel, he is enlightened as to his role, where he will be headed and how they hope he will uncover where the missing graves are and the money. Taking on the role of a rich and wealthy investment banker named Robert Hewitt, he will travel from Houston to Erbil, Iraq and meet with the self-proclaimed King of Kurdistan. As we learn more about the assignment the author creatively flashes back to his tour in Afghanistan, his discussions with his father who was killed. Dan Waters was a first rate con artist and suspected of trying to steal exactly what he is hoping to find. Imagine taking the bodies of dead military men and replacing them with money. But, Rollie faces snipers, betrayals from those he thought he could trust and is enlisted to find and capture the mastermind or puppet master. Every step of the way you can tell that Rollie is trying to model himself after his father and the fact that he was killed trying to steal 25 million dollars when coming across this conspiracy, fuels his energies even more. What is the military was involved? What if they are closely aligned with this self-proclaimed king? What is they were the ones who destroyed Rollie and his general while in Afghanistan?

Learning more about his new role we meet two women that will dominate his time, entice him in many ways and one who claims to be the daughter of the King of Kurdistan and hopes he will align himself with her father. The second is a puzzle and her role yet to be revealed as Rollie goes deep inside mind of the Kurds, hears his father’s voice instructing him about how to proceed, the questions to ask and the persona to portray.

Some appear to be illusions, other pretend to be someone they are not and Rollie has yet to decide whom he can trust. Speaking with Will Panos he discusses where he is, finding the shooters and the government of Kurdistan. Meeting the King’s daughter would enlighten him to what the self-proclaimed king needed in funds. Hoping to lure investors and knowing he was hungry for cash made him a prime target for what Rollie had in mind.

Smart, sharp, never yielding to pressure he meets with the King and his minions to learn that his daughter has been kidnapped and he hopes Rollie will supply the funds to have her released. Finding out more about where she might be held with the help of someone provided by the Major and then dealing with the kidnappers Rollie proves to be more than just a member of SHADE. Pursuing the kidnappers he winds up drugged, beaten and down money as they help themselves to what he was supposed to give them. A Welshman named Bannion is the alleged kidnapper of the king’s daughter and the end result leads to more bodies, injuries and betrayals. Why negotiate with his daughter’s ex-husband? Why even consider a partnership? Someone betrayed him and told Bannion he was coming for Maya and the end result still remains to be seen. Allying himself with the Kongra-Gel would hopefully get him the answers he wanted but would it?

Enter or reenter the FBI holding a slip of paper letting him know that the grave was attacked and that it was linked to the dead bar owner, Fran Godwin. Rollie lets readers know that this is one grave that he thought was wrong. Each time he is stumped his father’s voice comes through loud and clear hoping to tell him what to do next and where he should go. Another story, a reference to plan and along with the King’s security man Rollie hoped to find the graves, the money and the puppet master.
Once again the author flashes back to when Rollie was a Marine, his dealings with a drug dealer, working in the poppy fields and reverting to the present. A man with millions who caused the death of many yet no one interfered with his poppy business and no one stopped this man. Coming into the present dealing with a man named Victor Koinski, telling him he wants to go into partnership with him and the lies and betrayals continue.

Dealing with Bannion he finds Maya as Dan’s voice is heard loud and clear as he tries to instruct Rollie as to his next move. Retired generals were working for his man and just how connected to the King and will he find the graves has not been revealed. With the King back in Erbil, pleased about the situation or was it for the sake of appearances. Telling everyone that their first hurdle is the Regional Government. Some want a separate Kurdistan, united and free and are allies of the King. But, how will they combat as he states, “ the concept of a government subservient to Baghdad?” As the King states another concern that of the PKK and his reason for wanting Rollie/Robert Hewitt on his team. Alliances change, Bannion’s secret revealed and once again Rollie faces off with another adversary but not quite the same this time. An attempted coup as the Self-proclaimed King tries to take over the country, gunshots are fired, Rollie is once again captured and the end result allows readers to know that trust comes with a high price. Just what did Bannion really want and did he really want to take over Kurdistan? What lies did he tell the generals and military men who aligned themselves with him? Where is the money from the graves? What happens next will definitely surprise the reader as the situation is summed up, the real prize that Rollie delivered to the puppet master, the fake assassination plot on the Prime Minister and just who is the fall guy and why?
An explosive ending you won’t expect and the truth behind where the money was hidden revealed but there is much more as Rollie is once again questioned, detained and assumed guilty of undoing what the CIA was working on. Did he have anything to do with the PKK? Did he overturn what they started? Questions asked, one Major arrives and the ending lets readers know this is far from over and that Rollie is still in the game. Graves need to be dug up, the list Gordon had, his friend Will’s part now revealed and an ending that shows that author David Rich has raised the bar for others to follow. Just when you think you have it all figured out, the players are about to reach the final scene you won’t believe what this author has planned. The ending alerts readers to know that there is more to come. Just what was in the graves you will have to dig it up yourself to find out? Rollie Waters: what’s next? Ask Dan! Middleman: an intermediary or go-between or Rollie Waters.

Fran Lewis: Reviewer

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Question: what kind of job are you gonna get if your skill set basically consists of desert combat training, arctic combat training and 57 varieties of martial arts?

Well, you could commute between Morocco and Svalbard, Norway as the world’s most badass subway mugger. Or, if you’re Lt. Rollie Waters, you could become a secret government agent and throw SHADE at a bunch of bad guys.

David Rich’s latest novel, Middle Man takes us from Big Sky country to Baghdad and from Houston to Helmand Province tracking down Saddam’s ill-gotten gains hidden in the graves of deceased soldiers. Hunted by psychopaths and haunted by the ghost of his ne’er-do-well dad, Rollie’s unenviable job is to sort through the players and find out where the money really went. The action never stops and neither should you, at least until you’ve bought this book and read it.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a book reviewer isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Sure, you receive copies of books before they come out and it's almost like you're hearing juicy celebrity gossip before the rest of the world. Cracking open an unreleased book is ... exhilarating. I get this giddy, kid-on-Christmas-morning type of buzz just thinking about reading a yet-to-be-released installment from an author that I have followed for years or being the first to read how a character's life has changed due to some cliffhanger at the end of the previous book in a series or when you are one of the first to be able to read the very first book from a brand new author.

But there is also a very difficult side to reviewing books. Sometimes you have to dish out these less-than-stellar reviews about something that an author has slaved over for a crazy amount of time ... something that has probably become a best friend and/or enemy at many times during their writing process and has settled on being one of their greatest accomplishments and something they are very proud of.

The blurb for Middle Man was awesome ... millions stolen from Saddam, a soldier turned spy set out to solve the mystery of the stolen money with only a clue from his deceased father. That sounds amazing, right?

Unfortunately, this book just didn't hit the mark for me. I don't know what it was. Okay ... let me put it like this: books are like fish in a tank. There's a sign on the tank that says, "Don't tap the tank". I want a book to be the fish that I have to tap the tank for. I want to be banging on the tank like my life depends on it, trying to get the attention of this fish, repercussions be damned. I just didn't want to tap this tank. I wanted to walk by and drag my kiddos with me. Weird analogy, I know. But it's what popped in my head, so that's what you get.

I can't say for sure what it was about the book. I guess it could be in part within the first couple of scenes something that happened with a Marine sniper ... the whole scenario seemed weird to me. Not that I know from personal experience whether something about the military is true ... one of my favorite people is a Marine sniper and so I asked him what he thought ... he agreed with me that something was wonky (my word, not his - Marines don't say wonky, I'm sure).

Anyhow ... that one item didn't ruin the book. The writing wasn't BAD. The characters were well written, the story seemed full and it didn't seem to be lacking in any department. It could be that I've read so many Vince Flynn books that he has ruined me for military/spy authors.

I really wish that I had some concrete reason as to why the book and I didn't mesh. Sometimes, the book gods just aren't smiling down on you the day you start a new book.

Just because it missed the mark with me, doesn't mean that you won't love it! So if you're into the whole military/spy novel thing, you should definitely pick this one up and see what it's all about. You may have found a new author that you love.

[Shelley Fearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sequel to Caravan of Thieves finds Marine Lieutenant Rollie Waters still chasing the money trail. As an agent of a top secret agency (SHADE), he is deep undercover as he tracks the mastermind behind the theft of Saddam Hussein's fortune and its caching in the graves of American servicemen killed in the war. Plenty of action combine with interesting characters to make this 2nd entry in the Rollie Waters series as likeable as the first. Lots of fun.

Fans of Robert Ludlum and Lee Child will find a lot to like in quick thinking Rollie.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. I wasn't sure from the beginning about he "voice from the past" but it seemed to work. It was an easy read and the travels to different parts of the world were not difficult to follow. Would read more of his writings.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saddam Husans' money has been buried in graves of fallen American servicemen and those graves are scattered through out America. A special recovery squad of American has been formed to locate these graves and recoup the money. NO! It did not have that suspense needed for a novel of this nature. Rollie Waters, the main character, just kept getting out of trouble and sure death with bruising and a bloody nose. Has some twists but just not enough. Later. Keep Reading.

[L.M. Pampuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series! Looking forward to reading the next one.

[Jayw]

Agent Rollie Waters, con man extraordinaire, is racing for millions $US of Saddam Hussian's hidden loot. Others on the trail include the CIA, FBI, assorted bad guys and a self proclaimed King of the Kurds.

[Todd Morr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a lot going for it, Rollie Waters is top notch character, which is why after finding Caravan of Thieves disappointing I picked up Middle Man. Rollie deserves better, as Middle Man manages to be both confusing and predictable in all the wrong places.

[John Wintersteen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In paperback
Don't see another in the pipeline as of 9/3/14
This is a terrifically entertaining and well written but very confusing.