Enemies Among Us

Nick Reagan #2

by Jeffrey S. Stephens

As Nick Reagan hunts down the terrorist mastermind, The Handler, he uncovers corruption at the highest levels of government—perhaps even within his own CIA.

Nick Reagan and his team of talented CIA operatives have managed to prevent three horrific attacks planned by the ruthless terrorist known worldwide as The Handler. Cunning and resourceful, The Handler has eluded capture, and now Reagan is determined to track him down.

As he assembles clues to the possible whereabouts of his prey, Reagan’s superiors in the CIA inexplicably order him to stand down. Accustomed to flouting authority, Reagan ignores the directive while seeking to identify the source of this obstruction. As he probes, it becomes increasingly evident that the evil he faces is corruption from within.

His suspicions growing, Reagan expands his efforts beyond the dangerous hunt for The Handler to an active investigation of both his own government and those who possess the real influence in Washington. Collectively, these are the most formidable adversaries Reagan has ever the rich and powerful who control our energy resources, including oil and lithium; Big Pharma; the media; and the funding of politicians for their personal beliefs and gains.

Charting an unfamiliar course amidst the pervasive treachery and deadly secrets inside the nation’s capital, Reagan is not sure who he can trust as he works to expose the worst of America’s elite—those who believe in a New World Order.

Violent confrontations intensify with each new act of treason he unearths, leaving Reagan to rely on his patriotic instincts as he and his team risk their lives to bring down these traitors and restore safety and freedom.

Genres: Book Club, Contemporary, Drama, Novels

304 pages, Hardcover

Published November 21, 2023

About the author

Jeffrey Stephens is the Amazon best-selling and PenCraft award-winning author of the Jordan Sandor thrillers, TARGETS OF DECEPTION, TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY, TARGETS OF REVENGE and ROGUE MISSION; the Anthony Walker murder mystery CRIMES AND PASSION; the Pencraft First Place Award winning novel, FOOL’S ERRAND; and the first Nicholas Reagan thriller, THE HANDLER.
A native of New York City, the author is a successful attorney in private practice, admitted in both in New York and Connecticut, who has lived for more than forty years in Greenwich, which is where he and his wife Nancy raised their two sons, Graham and Trevor.

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series. Loved the first book and continued here. Well paced, great characters, great plot. Looking forward to the next book already.

[RICH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeffrey S. Stephens delivers another thrilling story as Nick Reagan and associates pursue terrorist enemies of America as well plotters of a pharmaceutical attack that will make the evil doers billions and enslave millions. The action takes place in multiple countries as Nick focuses on the terrorist mastermind behind the attack described in The Handler. His task is complicated by internal US government agency politics that suggest internal high-level corruption.

As mentioned in my review of his earlier work, The Handler, all too often writers of action thrillers can all too frequently get so lost in pulse-pounding activity that plot, engaging characterization, and believability are neglected. The results can be very elevated adrenalin levels. But overdone, the reader may feel emotionally exhausted, but experiences a vague disconnection from important characters. This often happens as authors (often driven by publishers) can rush to follow up an initial success.

To my great pleasure, Mr. Stephens completely avoids that particular trap. He remains true to his earlier work providing us with heroes and villains that are engaging and even sometimes complicated representations not shallow cutouts. Even the villains are allowed to display show some depth of character. Not so much that there is any danger of compromising their fundamental evil, but enough to make them memorable.

Moving the action around the US and the world, Mr. Stephens avoids cliché images of international cities and locales. His characterization and descriptive settings in #NewYorkCity, #London, #Paris, etc. evoked memories of my own times visiting there.

In summary, Mr. Stephens provides us with an extremely well-written and memorable follow-on to his initial offering. While the story is complete in itself, it also answers some issues left unresolved from the earlier story. But, clever author he is, there are enough open questions and unresolved issues in this one that I am eagerly looking forward to his next Nick Reagan thriller. Very well done, Mr. Stephens.

[Pattyh · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

Great follow up on this series. More to come. A must read for thriller fans.
5 stars. Highly recommend to all!

[Derik · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 'Enemies Among Us" by Jeffrey Stephens, readers are taken on an exhilarating and suspense-filled journey accompanied by the brilliant but deadly Nick Reagan and his team of talented CIA operatives. As Nick pursues the ruthless terrorist, known as The Handler, it becomes nigh impossible to put this book down. The growing evidence of pervasive treachery within leads Nick on an investigation that shows him who holds power in Washington and beyond.

When Nick is inexplicably ordered to stand down, warning bells start ringing, as danger lurks at every turn. Our protagonist is unsure of who he can trust as he charts a way forward through unfamiliar terrain. Nick's formidable adversaries are the powerful elite in big pharma, politics and the oil industry who will stop at nothing to ensure their belief in a New World Order comes to pass irrespective of who falls prey to their evil intent.

In this riveting spy-thriller, the suspense builds with each chapter revealing the treachery within and without - ensuring a formidable read from beginning to end.

[Soochi Sandhiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

  As soon as I completed my first read of "The Handler" by the author, I was intrigued to know what would happen next. Although the author has ended the story in the first read, the suspense at some points has yet to be unveiled. As this is the second read of the "Nick Reagan" series, I know the characters and can connect with them. This involves catching the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks, named "The Handler," and his unfulfilled plans. The read also reveals the reality of people hidden in his own organisation who he trusted, and now their image is maligned. I was moved by the way he was feeling after coming across the reality of his colleagues, whom he has trusted for so long. The author has done a commendable job of maintaining the interest and speed of the book; this is one of the facets of this book. The characters are well written and serve their purpose. The plots and subplots are linearly aligned to enhance the interest in the unfolding of each suspense. If this is your first pick, I would request that you read its first part as well for the complete experience.  

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite Nick Reagan and Carol jealous being told to step down from the case of the quote the handler.“ Reagan is like a dog with a bone it will not let it go and went three terrorist attacks happen in Paris Russia and New York Knick knows he hast to be stopped. Right when Reagan gets the handler in his sites he learns he’ll have to take down one of his own to accomplish it but what does all this have to do with the poisoned woman in DC
And Novak Pharma? Is if Nick and Carol don’t have enough on their plate a new player is in the playpen and it seems he has an endless amount of men willing to do his bidding. This book was so good I couldn’t put the book down it is intriguing from start to finish it seems one story leads to another and yet it’s all like a ball of string in attached to make up the whole plot and OMG what a plot it is. I cannot wait for the next book I don’t know how I stumbled onto this book but I am so glad I did I have never read anything by this author before but will definitely be looking for his book in the future especially the Nick Reagan books there entertaining and very smartly done. When reading an unknown author you never know what you’re going to get and I feel like I totally lucked out with this book it is a book I highly and definitely recommend. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Zoe Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I just finished Enemies Among Us by Jeffrey Stephens, and it felt like riding a rollercoaster with a spy novel in one hand and a thriller movie script in the other. This book is part of the Nick Reagan series, and it's all about chasing down this shadowy figure called 'The Handler.'
The plot kicks off like it's on a caffeine high - fast and furious. It’s got this whole government corruption angle which, let’s be honest, is always a bit juicy. Stephens does a pretty neat job with the characters. They're like these intense chess pieces, each with their own backstabbing moves. The good guys are, well, good, but the bad guys are the kind of evil that makes you double-check your locks at night.
But, okay, there are a few hiccups. The book sometimes feels like it's repeating itself, like when you tell a story and then realize halfway through you’ve already told it. And for anyone who knows their guns, there's a bit where the book gets a bit muddled about gun types – a pet peeve for enthusiasts.
In a nutshell, Enemies Among Us is like that TV show you can't stop binge-watching. Not perfect, but totally gripping. So, if you're in the mood for some CIA, spies, and a dash of 'who can you really trust?', give it a whirl.

[Rich Ware · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to download this on two devices and the formatting issues on both made it much more difficult than it should've been. First off, it's a decent thriller when you get past the technical difficulties. If you read this like an episode of "Burn Notice," or a detective story, like John Sandford's Prey series, you'll enjoy it. The problems I had with it were that in the first section, the spy outlines his plan, the author outlines the plan, and then the spy tells other people the plans for about the first 15% of the book. Unfortunately, this pattern of redundancy plagues what is otherwise a decent thriller. Like James Bond, everyone knows Nick Reagan is a spy. Once it becomes known that someone is a spy, it makes them ineffectual in that capacity. About 2/3 of the way through, the author seems to forget any knowledge he displayed of guns in the first half, and begins calling handguns like the Colt 1911 an "automatic," when in fact it is a semi-automatic. This is distracting to those who have even a basic knowledge of guns. However, despite these hurdles, it's worth a read.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic!!

I didn't have any expectations going into this novel,I knew nothing of the author, and I believe this is the first in a new series with CIA agent Nick Reagan as the main lead. The opening chapters left me breathless - talk about scene setting! This is one book that I found incredibly difficult to put down.

The characters were incredibly engaging, I don't think there was a bad one in the book. The bad guys were evil, corrupt and dangerous and the good guys were trying to level the playing field despite facing resistance from within.

Without question one of the best books I've read this year, I can only hope that there's a second in this series and if I ever get the chance to read another book by Jeffrey S Stephens - you bet I'll take that opportunity without hesitating! Bravo!!

Highly Recommended if you like a good thriller.

[Grymm Gevierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with the first book, we open up with multiple acts of terrorism, so the action immediately kicks off. Of course, our beloved protagonist, Nick Reagan, gets involved. The writing is tighter, and the plot and characters are still solid (as with the last book). Stephens does a great job of playing his cards close in this book. There's a lot of momentum and action, but even when it slows down Stephens keeps the pace as he creates a lot of tension and keeps Nick active even when he's benched and told to back off. It was cleverly written, and with twists and reveals I didn't guess ahead of time even though I expected some corruption (it's in the title!).

So far, this is a great series, and this book is an excellent follow-up to the first in the series.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and easy thrill ride into the world of espionage and international intrigue. I did not read the first Nick Reagan book but I didn't feel like I had missed out on any of the character development as this book can clearly stand alone. I can totally see this series in a James Bond-esque film format. The pace was good, the characters were interesting (although there were a few extra characters that I was unsure of who they were and where they came from!). Regardless, the story was exciting (in fact, some of the plot points seemed to be drawn directly from the headlines). The ending of the book leaves things open for Nick Reagan, #3. Stephens has not made an Enemy here!

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

In book 2 of the Nick Reagan thrillers, Nick is searching for The Handler, and in doing so, realizes that his own organization may have corruption at its highest levels. Trusting few, he relies on his friend, Dr. Derek Malone, to help him gain some intel. But, this becomes compromised. Learning about Malone's involvement with an experimental drug, and its makers, leads Reagan to follow the money.
This is an exciting thriller that can be read as a stand-alone, and leaves you wanting more -- which will be coming based on the novel's ending!

[Al Bristow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. A good continuation of the Nick Reagan series and, to me, better than the first one in the series.

[Anna Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty good spy thriller. The basic premise was chillingly real!

[Garry · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read of the "spies/treason" genre

[Swati Tanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second instalment of the Nick Reagan series. The story is about the main character, Nick, trying to catch a bad person called The Handler, who is a terrorist leader. Nick finds out that dishonesty and bad things are happening in the highest parts of the government, even in his own CIA.

In the story, Nick and his CIA team stop three very dangerous attacks planned by The Handler. Even though they are successful, The Handler escapes capture, and this makes Nick work even harder to catch him. But, when Nick's bosses in the CIA tell him to stop looking for The Handler, Nick starts to think that there might be dishonesty in the CIA itself. It's a thrilling and interesting adventure.

You might like to wander through a few artistic journals — they’re full of sparks and surprises.