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DEPARTMENT ECHO: A CJ Hawk - FBI Thriller
Ryan Steck - The Real Book Spy and Best Selling Author “Packed with authenticity and realism, DEPARTMENT ECHO, written by an a former FBI agent who knows that world inside and out, is the must-read FBI thriller you don’t want to miss!”
DEPARTMENT ECHO finds Hawk as the first police officer on the scene in 1984 when Dr. David Richards is assassinated answering the door to his Old Town Alexandria, Virginia townhouse late at night. Despite the fact his estranged spouse was seeking custody of their children who lived with him, there was little evidence, and the case went cold for years. By 1990 Hawk has joined the FBI and was in command of an SWAT team when a bank robbery takedown went tragically wrong resulting in the death of a fellow agent. He finds himself “removed from the rolls of the Bureau,” and working boring cases as a Private Investigator. Hawk is then unexpectedly retained by a prominent attorney to solve the Dr. Richards murder once and for all, although who the client is remains a mystery.
His investigation spirals in directions Hawk never saw coming. His sometimes girlfriend Kori West married a flawed attorney on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. A sketchy K Street lobbying firm with ties to members of Congress and Iranian Intelligence is uncovered. Most challenging, Hawk trips into a rogue Department of Defense (DoD) intelligence office codenamed Department Echo that operates in the Black. Officially, it doesn’t exist - it’s off the books. And then these scenarios collide in a powerful ending that delivers justice all that deserve it – except maybe Hawk.
Inspired by an actual assassination in Old Town Alexandria in 1984, DEPARTMENT ECHO will keep you turning the pages until all hours of the night.
DEPARTMENT ECHO finds Hawk as the first police officer on the scene in 1984 when Dr. David Richards is assassinated answering the door to his Old Town Alexandria, Virginia townhouse late at night. Despite the fact his estranged spouse was seeking custody of their children who lived with him, there was little evidence, and the case went cold for years. By 1990 Hawk has joined the FBI and was in command of an SWAT team when a bank robbery takedown went tragically wrong resulting in the death of a fellow agent. He finds himself “removed from the rolls of the Bureau,” and working boring cases as a Private Investigator. Hawk is then unexpectedly retained by a prominent attorney to solve the Dr. Richards murder once and for all, although who the client is remains a mystery.
His investigation spirals in directions Hawk never saw coming. His sometimes girlfriend Kori West married a flawed attorney on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. A sketchy K Street lobbying firm with ties to members of Congress and Iranian Intelligence is uncovered. Most challenging, Hawk trips into a rogue Department of Defense (DoD) intelligence office codenamed Department Echo that operates in the Black. Officially, it doesn’t exist - it’s off the books. And then these scenarios collide in a powerful ending that delivers justice all that deserve it – except maybe Hawk.
Inspired by an actual assassination in Old Town Alexandria in 1984, DEPARTMENT ECHO will keep you turning the pages until all hours of the night.
384 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2024
6 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
F.X. Regan
16 books9 followersF.X. Regan was a police officer in a major metropolitan police department and an FBI special agent and SWAT team member. He retired with more than thirty-three years of law enforcement service and had a storied career working on several high-profile investigations. He retired as the special agent in charge of a large FBI field division and went on to become a Vice President and COO for corporate security at two large companies.
He has written editorials in The Washington Post, Gannett, and The Hill newspapers, and has appeared on America's Most Wanted, NBC's Dateline, and Fox News. He has graduate degrees in Criminology and International Relations, and in addition to writing full-time, he is a licensed Private Investigator.
AREA 51: Project Sapphire and AREA 51: Project Onyx, and AREA 51: Project Lunar Dust are the beginning of a planned series of novellas that involve crime and intrigue at the secret government base known as Area 51.
F.X. Regan has penned two full-length novels featuring dismissed FBI agent turned Private Investigator CJ Hawk that involve murder, conspiracy, and rogue government operations in Washington, D.C. A third novel is in development, and all are inspired by actual events including murders in the Nation's Capital. They are with agents and editors and will be in publication soon.
A third series featuring Fairfax County, Virginia Detective Sergeant Kiki Diaz is in production and the first novella, Rosslyn Station will be out in early fall 2023.
Keep up with all of his work at www.FXRegan.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @FXRegan.
He has written editorials in The Washington Post, Gannett, and The Hill newspapers, and has appeared on America's Most Wanted, NBC's Dateline, and Fox News. He has graduate degrees in Criminology and International Relations, and in addition to writing full-time, he is a licensed Private Investigator.
AREA 51: Project Sapphire and AREA 51: Project Onyx, and AREA 51: Project Lunar Dust are the beginning of a planned series of novellas that involve crime and intrigue at the secret government base known as Area 51.
F.X. Regan has penned two full-length novels featuring dismissed FBI agent turned Private Investigator CJ Hawk that involve murder, conspiracy, and rogue government operations in Washington, D.C. A third novel is in development, and all are inspired by actual events including murders in the Nation's Capital. They are with agents and editors and will be in publication soon.
A third series featuring Fairfax County, Virginia Detective Sergeant Kiki Diaz is in production and the first novella, Rosslyn Station will be out in early fall 2023.
Keep up with all of his work at www.FXRegan.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @FXRegan.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 20, 2025
I have seen so many friends mention this series and F.X. Regan as a good author so I thought, why not try it. Department Echo is the first book about C.J. Hawk, a policeman turned FBI agent turned private detective. This is my first book by this author and for those that are quick it's still a dollar at Amazon, and it sure is worth it. He has actually a bargain on the next book as well. I think I will buy it. The book is well written and the characters are great, it's not often nowadays that a story is stretched out over so many years. It is a good story and I like the fact that part of it deals with the gun laws of Washington D.C. which aren't like most places in the USA. I can really recommend this book and I will hopefully read some more shortly.
January 7, 2026
Department Echo by F.X. Regan is a gripping FBI thriller that kicks off the CJ Hawk series with impressive authenticity. Drawing from the author's real-life experience as a former FBI special agent and SWAT member, the novel follows dismissed agent-turned-PI CJ Hawk as he unravels a decades-old assassination tied to Iranian intelligence, congressional corruption, and a shadowy off-the-books DoD organization. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more of F.X. Regan’s stories!!!
September 16, 2025
a murder, corruption, power, money and deception. all the things you need to make a novel read like real life
A private investigator is hired by a lawyer who represents an anonymous client who is offering a million dollars to solve a 6 year old murder, a case from the investigators past when he wore the badge of a city policeman. Taking the case reluctantly and with suspicion about the wealthy anonymous client, the investigator embarks on a journey of memories, nightmares, old friends, government agents, foreign spies, capital hill corruption, presidential candidates, and a riddle from germanys third reich past that lives unseen in the modern day United States government. The story is a good story, the characters are developed, the pace is fast and most of all, like any good novel, it’s believable and could absolutely be true.
A private investigator is hired by a lawyer who represents an anonymous client who is offering a million dollars to solve a 6 year old murder, a case from the investigators past when he wore the badge of a city policeman. Taking the case reluctantly and with suspicion about the wealthy anonymous client, the investigator embarks on a journey of memories, nightmares, old friends, government agents, foreign spies, capital hill corruption, presidential candidates, and a riddle from germanys third reich past that lives unseen in the modern day United States government. The story is a good story, the characters are developed, the pace is fast and most of all, like any good novel, it’s believable and could absolutely be true.
November 22, 2024
I wanted to like this. I really did. But I didn't. I found the characters shallow, some of the chapters seemed to end abruptly, and I just never really could get into the plot. I was close to making it a DNF several times, but plodded through. Probably just a me thing, so don't let it dissuade you from giving it a shot.
July 27, 2024
DEPARTMENT ECHO is a boiling caldron of police procedural, hardcore detective whodunnit, thriller, and good, old fashion storytelling. CJ Hawk is the complex protagonist whose blend of strategic intellect and street smarts, is offset by his fierce compassion and loyalty for those he loves.
The storyline opens with an unsolvable porch shooting in Arlington, VA and works its way into some of the most impregnable agencies in the federal government. Created from headline news and experiences from the author's law enforcement past, the reader is left feeling they are living real-time in the headlines of breaking news. Add in Regan's knack for quirky twists and turns, fans crying out for the next volume.
Our parents had 77 SUNSET STRIP, HAWAIIAN EYE, and PETER GUNN, but for the new generations, F.X. Regan's CJ Hawk makes PI novels cool again.
The storyline opens with an unsolvable porch shooting in Arlington, VA and works its way into some of the most impregnable agencies in the federal government. Created from headline news and experiences from the author's law enforcement past, the reader is left feeling they are living real-time in the headlines of breaking news. Add in Regan's knack for quirky twists and turns, fans crying out for the next volume.
Our parents had 77 SUNSET STRIP, HAWAIIAN EYE, and PETER GUNN, but for the new generations, F.X. Regan's CJ Hawk makes PI novels cool again.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews