What do you think?
Rate this book
Fort Black Thriller #2
Death Bed
Battered. Wounded. Former Special Agent Kade Black isn’t about to give up on the quest to prove his innocence. The trail leads him to the unforgiving deserts of Nevada. A harsh landscape where only the toughest survive.
His next clue is buried deep. Sunken in the depths of Lake Mead. But these waters hold secrets never again meant to see the light of day.
To uncover the next piece of the puzzle left by a cagey Russian operative, Kade will face a threat created before the glittering lights of Sin City lit the remote reservoir’s horizon. A bloodsport dating back to the Gold Rush and reinvented for the Digital Age.
He must make a gamble with his very life as the stakes. A sadistic mobster stands in his way and a twisted contest meant to be the ultimate game of survival.
Is Kade tough enough to take the prize? Or will he end up like the rest, in over his head?
His next clue is buried deep. Sunken in the depths of Lake Mead. But these waters hold secrets never again meant to see the light of day.
To uncover the next piece of the puzzle left by a cagey Russian operative, Kade will face a threat created before the glittering lights of Sin City lit the remote reservoir’s horizon. A bloodsport dating back to the Gold Rush and reinvented for the Digital Age.
He must make a gamble with his very life as the stakes. A sadistic mobster stands in his way and a twisted contest meant to be the ultimate game of survival.
Is Kade tough enough to take the prize? Or will he end up like the rest, in over his head?
341 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2023
148 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Russ Linton
31 books94 followersDanger, depth, and discovery. I'm an independent fiction author and vagabond travelling the US looking for adventure. As an author, I've dabbled in horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Even landed a small role with a Hollywood studio along the way.
But as a former government agent, I kept running across books about former government agents wandering the country in pursuit of justice.
I decided not to be a cliché.
Then, someone stole my Jeep. And I just *had* to get it back....
New Vigilante Justice series incoming 2023. Stay tuned!
Sign up for his mailing list here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
You can also find Russ online at:
http://www.russlinton.com
http://www.facebook.com/RussLinton
But as a former government agent, I kept running across books about former government agents wandering the country in pursuit of justice.
I decided not to be a cliché.
Then, someone stole my Jeep. And I just *had* to get it back....
New Vigilante Justice series incoming 2023. Stay tuned!
Sign up for his mailing list here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
You can also find Russ online at:
http://www.russlinton.com
http://www.facebook.com/RussLinton
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 21, 2023
Living, accomplished. Back to survival. His specialty.
I finished "Death Bed", the second of Russ Linton's "Fort Black" thriller trilogy and part of his on-going return to writing action, late last night. In fact, it was well past my self-imposed "turn off all your screens so you can sleep dummy!" time, because this chapter definitely had that special "can't put it down" vibe to it! I am more than fully invested in this story by now and am starting to really understand why folks are drawn to this genre … noting that a wizard or alien or even a wizard alien zombie hybrid wouldn't be bad be unwelcome in a cameo role either. Or super-powered type. Don't forget those when visiting your local library either (I have some recommendations in that regard if you're interested...)!
This was no time to stop. Stop and the past would catch up.
By the time I did finally turn off ye olde laptop, I had come to the conclusion that I liked "DB" slightly better than the first installment, namely, "Devil's Churn", though I am struggling to come up for a good reason why. In fact, I've been thinking about this as I've been my best this morning to heal my 'day after reading a good book hangover' (yes, this review is all about me, get over it! Hahaha!). The books have one very clear aspect in common, that is poor Kade is a an absolute magnet for all kinds of trouble, particularly when it involves getting punched, stabbed, shot and usually a combination of all of the above. How our poor agent-on-the-run is still standing by the end of this, I really don't know. Heck, even all the running he does sounds like Geneva Convention-violating torture to me.
He knew the lake had secrets. He was here to dredge up only one.
But Linton has established a really workable story here, one that flows from one scene to the next with not only logic but rocket-fueled excitement. For example, I'm glad that in this book we managed to get some more insight into what transpired with his Russian counter-part, Sergei, who turns out to be a rather interesting character in his own right. And the mystery surrounding his 'death' (I have my suspicions about same but no spoilers!) just gets more and more, well, extraordinary in nature. "Something is up" and whatever it is, it's going to make a loud kaboom as we race towards the finish line, a race I'll be starting in fact later today thanks to an ARC of the last chapter I practically begged for.
Banks will fall apart. Nation states will collapse under their own dead weight. And the geeks shall inherit the Earth.
So getting back to why I liked "DB" so much. After much contemplation - again noting that there's enough similarities in these first two chapters to make any conspiracy theorist stand up and shout "I told you so!" - I really think a lot of it has to do with the locations. Sure, "DC" had it's moments - that cliff scene was indeed an appropriately titled hanger - but it takes place somewhere I'd love to visit! I mean, except for the bullets and bullies and mistreatment of our Native American friends, it just sounded absolutely lovely! Almost to the point I had some doubts that really that much true evil could be lurking in those bucolic forests and coastal settings! Lake Mead and Las Vegas though? Yeah, not really a vacation target if you catch my drift… because in a lot of ways, I didn't have to stretch my imagination that much to believe all that was going down around us!
Kansas? Hell no! I might ask for the death penalty rather than die of boredom!
And sure, there's some of the same 'hiccups' I described about the execution of the first book, but we're getting there! I mean, does it matter if it's Rossulli or Rossuli… I mean, fuggit about it! What's he gonna do, shoot me in the head and dump my folded up carcass in the lake? Oh wait, that's probably exactly what he will do! But bottom-line is that this is a genuinely exciting story and Linton does bad guys - including the ones placed squarely in a HUUUUUGE gray zone between good and bad - extremely well! I truly enjoyed the change in scenery and Book 3 is also set up to put us deep into another challenging locale! And again without any spoily bits, this story couldn't have more relevance to today's world if it tried, especially with the pending demise of at least one of the Xbooks due to extremely questionable actions by the Big Boss(es)! Wow, what's making the back of my head itch so much?
Lots of similarities between slot machines and those social media feeds.
So do yourselves a favor action fans! Check out these books and enjoy! And trust me: you do NOT want to forget your military-grade attack shovels! Those dang things can take out a tank… and probably will!
I finished "Death Bed", the second of Russ Linton's "Fort Black" thriller trilogy and part of his on-going return to writing action, late last night. In fact, it was well past my self-imposed "turn off all your screens so you can sleep dummy!" time, because this chapter definitely had that special "can't put it down" vibe to it! I am more than fully invested in this story by now and am starting to really understand why folks are drawn to this genre … noting that a wizard or alien or even a wizard alien zombie hybrid wouldn't be bad be unwelcome in a cameo role either. Or super-powered type. Don't forget those when visiting your local library either (I have some recommendations in that regard if you're interested...)!
This was no time to stop. Stop and the past would catch up.
By the time I did finally turn off ye olde laptop, I had come to the conclusion that I liked "DB" slightly better than the first installment, namely, "Devil's Churn", though I am struggling to come up for a good reason why. In fact, I've been thinking about this as I've been my best this morning to heal my 'day after reading a good book hangover' (yes, this review is all about me, get over it! Hahaha!). The books have one very clear aspect in common, that is poor Kade is a an absolute magnet for all kinds of trouble, particularly when it involves getting punched, stabbed, shot and usually a combination of all of the above. How our poor agent-on-the-run is still standing by the end of this, I really don't know. Heck, even all the running he does sounds like Geneva Convention-violating torture to me.
He knew the lake had secrets. He was here to dredge up only one.
But Linton has established a really workable story here, one that flows from one scene to the next with not only logic but rocket-fueled excitement. For example, I'm glad that in this book we managed to get some more insight into what transpired with his Russian counter-part, Sergei, who turns out to be a rather interesting character in his own right. And the mystery surrounding his 'death' (I have my suspicions about same but no spoilers!) just gets more and more, well, extraordinary in nature. "Something is up" and whatever it is, it's going to make a loud kaboom as we race towards the finish line, a race I'll be starting in fact later today thanks to an ARC of the last chapter I practically begged for.
Banks will fall apart. Nation states will collapse under their own dead weight. And the geeks shall inherit the Earth.
So getting back to why I liked "DB" so much. After much contemplation - again noting that there's enough similarities in these first two chapters to make any conspiracy theorist stand up and shout "I told you so!" - I really think a lot of it has to do with the locations. Sure, "DC" had it's moments - that cliff scene was indeed an appropriately titled hanger - but it takes place somewhere I'd love to visit! I mean, except for the bullets and bullies and mistreatment of our Native American friends, it just sounded absolutely lovely! Almost to the point I had some doubts that really that much true evil could be lurking in those bucolic forests and coastal settings! Lake Mead and Las Vegas though? Yeah, not really a vacation target if you catch my drift… because in a lot of ways, I didn't have to stretch my imagination that much to believe all that was going down around us!
Kansas? Hell no! I might ask for the death penalty rather than die of boredom!
And sure, there's some of the same 'hiccups' I described about the execution of the first book, but we're getting there! I mean, does it matter if it's Rossulli or Rossuli… I mean, fuggit about it! What's he gonna do, shoot me in the head and dump my folded up carcass in the lake? Oh wait, that's probably exactly what he will do! But bottom-line is that this is a genuinely exciting story and Linton does bad guys - including the ones placed squarely in a HUUUUUGE gray zone between good and bad - extremely well! I truly enjoyed the change in scenery and Book 3 is also set up to put us deep into another challenging locale! And again without any spoily bits, this story couldn't have more relevance to today's world if it tried, especially with the pending demise of at least one of the Xbooks due to extremely questionable actions by the Big Boss(es)! Wow, what's making the back of my head itch so much?
Lots of similarities between slot machines and those social media feeds.
So do yourselves a favor action fans! Check out these books and enjoy! And trust me: you do NOT want to forget your military-grade attack shovels! Those dang things can take out a tank… and probably will!
January 16, 2025
good read
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews