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The Leopard of Cairo: Apex Predator Espionage Thrillers, Book 1
“Bayard and Holmes's The Leopard of Cairo is everything I love in a action, intrigue, exotic locations. Here is a lightning-fast tale of intrigue, lies, and the mother-of-all terrorist plots. Big story, big adventure, big thumbs-up!”
—JAMES ROLLINS, New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones
John Viera left his CIA fieldwork hoping for a “normal” occupation and a long-awaited family, but when a Pakistani engineer is kidnapped from a top-secret US project and diplomatic entanglements tie the government’s hands, the Intelligence Community turns to John and his team of ex-operatives to investigate -- strictly off the books. They uncover a plot of unprecedented magnitude that will precipitate the slaughter of millions.
From the corporate skyscrapers of Montreal to the treacherous alleys of Baluchistan, these formidable enemies strike, determined to create a regional apocalypse and permanently alter the balance of world power. Isolated in their knowledge of the impending devastation, John and his network stand alone between total destruction and the Leopard of Cairo.
"Wild adventure, delicious storytelling, tradecraft that only the insiders know. An excellent reminder that great spies tell great stories. The Leopard of Cairo is Bayard and Holmes’ best one yet. Do not miss the Truth and Fiction section at the back."
~ ANNIE JACOBSEN, Pulitzer Prize Nominated Author of Surprise, Kill, Vanish; TV writer/producer of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
—JAMES ROLLINS, New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones
John Viera left his CIA fieldwork hoping for a “normal” occupation and a long-awaited family, but when a Pakistani engineer is kidnapped from a top-secret US project and diplomatic entanglements tie the government’s hands, the Intelligence Community turns to John and his team of ex-operatives to investigate -- strictly off the books. They uncover a plot of unprecedented magnitude that will precipitate the slaughter of millions.
From the corporate skyscrapers of Montreal to the treacherous alleys of Baluchistan, these formidable enemies strike, determined to create a regional apocalypse and permanently alter the balance of world power. Isolated in their knowledge of the impending devastation, John and his network stand alone between total destruction and the Leopard of Cairo.
"Wild adventure, delicious storytelling, tradecraft that only the insiders know. An excellent reminder that great spies tell great stories. The Leopard of Cairo is Bayard and Holmes’ best one yet. Do not miss the Truth and Fiction section at the back."
~ ANNIE JACOBSEN, Pulitzer Prize Nominated Author of Surprise, Kill, Vanish; TV writer/producer of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2022
17 people are currently reading
2184 people want to read
About the author
Bayard And Holmes
10 books16 followersPiper Bayard is an author and a recovering attorney with a college degree or two. She is also a belly dancer and a former hospice volunteer. She has been working daily with her good friend Jay Holmes for the past decade, learning about foreign affairs, espionage history, and field techniques for the purpose of writing fiction and nonfiction. She currently pens espionage nonfiction and international spy thrillers with Jay Holmes, as well as post-apocalyptic fiction of her own.
Jay Holmes is a forty-five-year veteran of field espionage operations with experience spanning from the Cold War fight against the Soviets, the East Germans, and the various terrorist organizations they sponsored to the present Global War on Terror. He is unwilling to admit to much more than that. Piper is the public face of their partnership.
Together, Bayard & Holmes author non-fiction articles and books on espionage and foreign affairs, as well as fictional international spy thrillers. They are also the bestselling authors of The Spy Bride from the Risky Brides Bestsellers Collection and were featured contributors for Social In Worldwide, Inc.
When they aren’t writing or, in Jay’s case, busy with “other work,” Piper and Jay are enjoying time with their families, hiking, exploring back roads of America, talking foreign affairs, laughing at their own rude jokes until the wee hours, and questing for the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
Jay Holmes is a forty-five-year veteran of field espionage operations with experience spanning from the Cold War fight against the Soviets, the East Germans, and the various terrorist organizations they sponsored to the present Global War on Terror. He is unwilling to admit to much more than that. Piper is the public face of their partnership.
Together, Bayard & Holmes author non-fiction articles and books on espionage and foreign affairs, as well as fictional international spy thrillers. They are also the bestselling authors of The Spy Bride from the Risky Brides Bestsellers Collection and were featured contributors for Social In Worldwide, Inc.
When they aren’t writing or, in Jay’s case, busy with “other work,” Piper and Jay are enjoying time with their families, hiking, exploring back roads of America, talking foreign affairs, laughing at their own rude jokes until the wee hours, and questing for the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 6, 2022
This is an amazing start to a thrilling series. From the first page you are immersed in foreign locations with such detail that you feel like you're there. The plot has great twists and turns and kept me up way too late reading! Cant' wait for the next book!
April 12, 2024
✨BOOK TOUR✨
🐆This gripping espionage thriller will have you on the edge of your seat, tossing the popcorn and feeling like you’re dodging explosions.
📖: The Leopard of Cairo
🖋️: Bayard & Holmes
⭐️: 5 of 5
💭: “You will be mine. All the world will be mine.”
After John’s friend was taken and he left his lover of three years. John left the CIA to start a normal life.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he will always feel called to protect and try to make sure the world is a better place.
“I have them.”
When a Pakistani engineer and his daughter are taken. John is back in action and ready to try to save them. Yet, his wife has put her foot down.
“If you miss this appointment, I will leave you.”
Torn between the mission and his wife’s ultimatum. While his ex-lover is around the corner. John has hard decisions to make.
“At least you still trust me.”
With the stakes rising, violence growing, and a bigger plan in place.
Will John be able to finish the mission and make it back home on time?
Find out in The Leopard of Cairo
Wow, what a wild adventure this was!🔥🔥 The details were incredible. I felt like I was part of the book dodging the shots, fire, and explosions. I don’t normally read these types of books but I’m fully invested now! So happy I took a chance for something different.
The leopard was so unexpected. I did not see that coming but it was pretty funny too.
The action never stops in this book and I devoured it!! I felt like I was part of the mission and I can’t wait to check out the next book, The Caiman of Iquitos.
Thank you Author Marketing Experts for this gifted book! As always, my review is my opinion and thoughts.
🐆This gripping espionage thriller will have you on the edge of your seat, tossing the popcorn and feeling like you’re dodging explosions.
📖: The Leopard of Cairo
🖋️: Bayard & Holmes
⭐️: 5 of 5
💭: “You will be mine. All the world will be mine.”
After John’s friend was taken and he left his lover of three years. John left the CIA to start a normal life.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he will always feel called to protect and try to make sure the world is a better place.
“I have them.”
When a Pakistani engineer and his daughter are taken. John is back in action and ready to try to save them. Yet, his wife has put her foot down.
“If you miss this appointment, I will leave you.”
Torn between the mission and his wife’s ultimatum. While his ex-lover is around the corner. John has hard decisions to make.
“At least you still trust me.”
With the stakes rising, violence growing, and a bigger plan in place.
Will John be able to finish the mission and make it back home on time?
Find out in The Leopard of Cairo
Wow, what a wild adventure this was!🔥🔥 The details were incredible. I felt like I was part of the book dodging the shots, fire, and explosions. I don’t normally read these types of books but I’m fully invested now! So happy I took a chance for something different.
The leopard was so unexpected. I did not see that coming but it was pretty funny too.
The action never stops in this book and I devoured it!! I felt like I was part of the mission and I can’t wait to check out the next book, The Caiman of Iquitos.
Thank you Author Marketing Experts for this gifted book! As always, my review is my opinion and thoughts.
March 21, 2024
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
THE LEOPARD OF CAIRO (Apex Predator Espionage Thrillers Book #1) by Bayard and Holmes is an edge-of-your-seat international espionage thriller with storytelling that pulls you into exotic locations and takes you on a thrilling adventure to stop a plot to change the world’s governments balance of power. This is the first book in the series, and I cannot wait to get started on book #2, The Panther of Baracoa.
John Viera has left the CIA to start a “normal” life, but occasionally gets called back into off-the-book operations with a team of other ex-operatives who are able to accomplish jobs the government legally or politically cannot. John and the team are sent to discover why an engineer and his young daughter have been kidnapped, but what they discover is just the tip of the iceberg in a conspiracy that could end up killing millions.
This plot never lets up on the action and peril. The authors are able to introduce you to many characters, both good and bad, while never losing the fast pace of the story and also surprising you with the many plot twists throughout. John Viera and the rest of the team are fully developed both in their personal lives and their contributions to the team. The intrigue and mystery of the shadow cabal is a great way to keep me hooked and ready to grab the next book in the series.
I highly recommend this exciting start to this international espionage thriller!
THE LEOPARD OF CAIRO (Apex Predator Espionage Thrillers Book #1) by Bayard and Holmes is an edge-of-your-seat international espionage thriller with storytelling that pulls you into exotic locations and takes you on a thrilling adventure to stop a plot to change the world’s governments balance of power. This is the first book in the series, and I cannot wait to get started on book #2, The Panther of Baracoa.
John Viera has left the CIA to start a “normal” life, but occasionally gets called back into off-the-book operations with a team of other ex-operatives who are able to accomplish jobs the government legally or politically cannot. John and the team are sent to discover why an engineer and his young daughter have been kidnapped, but what they discover is just the tip of the iceberg in a conspiracy that could end up killing millions.
This plot never lets up on the action and peril. The authors are able to introduce you to many characters, both good and bad, while never losing the fast pace of the story and also surprising you with the many plot twists throughout. John Viera and the rest of the team are fully developed both in their personal lives and their contributions to the team. The intrigue and mystery of the shadow cabal is a great way to keep me hooked and ready to grab the next book in the series.
I highly recommend this exciting start to this international espionage thriller!
March 25, 2024
This is the debut story of John Viera, our MC who is a CIA agent who left the job because he wanted a family and a normal life. This thrilling book takes the reader all over the world in many places and in different locations and with meeting different people. The settings were so vividly described that it makes this book a must read!
The very first chapter engages the readers in hearing the story of John looking for Martin in another country and the writers really know how to pull in a reader! I was hooked hearing about the kid and the mom that John helped save as he was looking for Martin. The emotional journey was very realistic for some women wanting to have a child but are having some problems in conceiving. It was interesting to read about John and his wife Kelly.
The author did a great job in taking the readers on a thrilling race to find out what happened to some of the characters. The characters were well written and incredibly interesting to the readers too😊
I am really interested in seeing where book number 2 heads to!
The very first chapter engages the readers in hearing the story of John looking for Martin in another country and the writers really know how to pull in a reader! I was hooked hearing about the kid and the mom that John helped save as he was looking for Martin. The emotional journey was very realistic for some women wanting to have a child but are having some problems in conceiving. It was interesting to read about John and his wife Kelly.
The author did a great job in taking the readers on a thrilling race to find out what happened to some of the characters. The characters were well written and incredibly interesting to the readers too😊
I am really interested in seeing where book number 2 heads to!
March 30, 2024
4-1/2 Stars
With his work as a CIA field agent in the rearview mirror, John Viera wants nothing more than to slip into a regular routine with his wife and start a family.
However, those plans get rudely interrupted by what initially appears to be a kidnapping but soon evolves into a terrorist plot with significant world ramifications.
Bayard & Holmes deliver an action-packed story in The Leopard of Cairo. With the in-vitro clock ticking, John must tie up loose ends or face his wife’s ultimatum.
Across the globe, the bad guys operate on their own timetable. The deeper John and his team get, the more lies they unravel. This fast-paced international thriller illustrates the challenging world of espionage, which operates much like a roller coaster.
The Leopard of Cairo straps readers in for an immersive international adventure where danger lurks around every corner. ~ Amy for Novels Alive
With his work as a CIA field agent in the rearview mirror, John Viera wants nothing more than to slip into a regular routine with his wife and start a family.
However, those plans get rudely interrupted by what initially appears to be a kidnapping but soon evolves into a terrorist plot with significant world ramifications.
Bayard & Holmes deliver an action-packed story in The Leopard of Cairo. With the in-vitro clock ticking, John must tie up loose ends or face his wife’s ultimatum.
Across the globe, the bad guys operate on their own timetable. The deeper John and his team get, the more lies they unravel. This fast-paced international thriller illustrates the challenging world of espionage, which operates much like a roller coaster.
The Leopard of Cairo straps readers in for an immersive international adventure where danger lurks around every corner. ~ Amy for Novels Alive
April 9, 2024
Well I had never heard of Bayard & Holmes or their Apex Predator Series. I was given this book via the Goodreads giveaway and I couldn't have been happier. I love a good intelligence/spy novel but to really get my attention I like action. This book was non stop action from start to finish. They bounce around the world, dealing with one bad guy after the other as they work their way up the food chain. They rescue the innocent and kill the bad guys, and the main character John Vera wins but not without some struggles along the way, giving him a bit of a humanness about him. AS the story was reaching its conclusion I realized there was another 30 or so pages left. I couldn't anticipate what needed to be wrapped up that would take that long yet they continued to weave the tale. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more by this duo.
March 21, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. It had awesome action scenes, and a plot worthy of a movie. I admired the character’s dedication to the mission no matter the cost. Bayard and Holmes have crafted the complete spy thriller, and as the first of the series it left you wanting to pick up the second book expeditiously. I really felt like I was in the foreign places because of the descriptive language. I cannot wait to get my hands on Book two - The Caiman of Iquitos.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews