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Pariah
In a world where the lines between right and wrong blur, one woman stands against a sinister conspiracy that threatens to consume her.
Hope Novak, a skilled Krav Maga instructor, finds herself thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse when her estranged father, Malcolm Cross, becomes the target of a covert assassination team known as Phantom Unit. As the mastermind behind the controversial Project Aurora, which sought to manipulate DNA and psychologically condition individuals for covert operations, Cross holds the key to exposing a web of secrets that could bring down powerful figures.
Haunted by her own traumatic past as a subject of Project Aurora, Hope must confront her demons and forge an uneasy alliance with the very man she despises to uncover the truth. Joined by her brilliant sister Ewa, a skilled hacker, and a cast of unlikely allies—including a conflicted assassin, a dogged investigative journalist, and a high-ranking intelligence official—Hope races against time to expose the conspiracy before it's too late.
As she navigates a treacherous landscape of political intrigue, black-market deals, and shocking betrayals, Hope must stay one step ahead of her relentless pursuers, led by the enigmatic and lethal Wraith. With each revelation, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her life but the very fabric of society itself.
In this gripping tale of espionage, murder, and redemption, author Daniel Pelfrey weaves a complex tapestry of morality, loyalty, and the indomitable human spirit. "Hope Novak" is a pulse-pounding thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final, explosive conclusion.
Hope Novak, a skilled Krav Maga instructor, finds herself thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse when her estranged father, Malcolm Cross, becomes the target of a covert assassination team known as Phantom Unit. As the mastermind behind the controversial Project Aurora, which sought to manipulate DNA and psychologically condition individuals for covert operations, Cross holds the key to exposing a web of secrets that could bring down powerful figures.
Haunted by her own traumatic past as a subject of Project Aurora, Hope must confront her demons and forge an uneasy alliance with the very man she despises to uncover the truth. Joined by her brilliant sister Ewa, a skilled hacker, and a cast of unlikely allies—including a conflicted assassin, a dogged investigative journalist, and a high-ranking intelligence official—Hope races against time to expose the conspiracy before it's too late.
As she navigates a treacherous landscape of political intrigue, black-market deals, and shocking betrayals, Hope must stay one step ahead of her relentless pursuers, led by the enigmatic and lethal Wraith. With each revelation, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her life but the very fabric of society itself.
In this gripping tale of espionage, murder, and redemption, author Daniel Pelfrey weaves a complex tapestry of morality, loyalty, and the indomitable human spirit. "Hope Novak" is a pulse-pounding thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final, explosive conclusion.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2024
1 person want to read
About the author
Daniel Pelfrey
50 books3 followersBefore becoming an author, Daniel Pelfrey followed many career paths over the years. He’s served in the United States Air Force and worked in government at the TSA as a supervisor at one of the busiest airports in the United States.
From there, he tried his hand at blackjack, as a dealer, Daniel thinks it’s too risky to make a living as a gambler.
Daniel next entertained the idea of becoming a teacher and returned to college. He graduated, but teaching ended not in the cards. A Bachelor of Science in History from Black Hills State University, in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, is how Daniel completed his education. He’ll be the first to say it’s really just a license to B.S. in History.
Daniel has also spent several years in seasonal jobs in places ranging from Mount Rushmore in South Dakota to Mammoth Lakes, California, and finally Medora, North Dakota, where he currently lives.
From there, he tried his hand at blackjack, as a dealer, Daniel thinks it’s too risky to make a living as a gambler.
Daniel next entertained the idea of becoming a teacher and returned to college. He graduated, but teaching ended not in the cards. A Bachelor of Science in History from Black Hills State University, in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, is how Daniel completed his education. He’ll be the first to say it’s really just a license to B.S. in History.
Daniel has also spent several years in seasonal jobs in places ranging from Mount Rushmore in South Dakota to Mammoth Lakes, California, and finally Medora, North Dakota, where he currently lives.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 18, 2024
People developing advanced humans have second thoughts - 3.5 stars
Las Vegas, Nevada is the home of Project Aurora - a government and private industry attempt to engineer humans who can be counted upon to do whatever they are told to do. Project Aurora had its own protective team; any dissent, experiment gone bad, or lack of compliance with direct orders could be and was eliminated. It was a perfect way to have absolute power.
The man who originated the organization, Malcolm Cross, used his daughters as test subjects, subjecting them to off-the-books biological testing and implants. His daughters escaped and wanted to shut down Project Aurora. High-level officials in government (President, Congress, CIA, and DOD) encouraged the project and are complicit. Similarly, top-level executives in defense and technology industries were involved up to their eyeballs. Once Malcolm Cross "turned" against the project, he was marked for elimination.
This could have been a great story except that it was poorly written. The writing style was worthy of a group of kids who wanted to show their use of a limited number of words and poor understanding of digital technology. The overuse of "tension" as in [the air] "was thick with tension" and "tumult", "feral", and "fingers dancing" as in typing quickly were but a few of the overused words. Citing tech hotshots as people who could look at streams of data and make sense of long streams of data, devolving it into understandable code at electronic speeds is a feat that AI might be able to do but not humans.
Once I got past my yawning reaction to repetitious prose and arrived at the meat of the story - concerns of conscience - there was finally a theme - what do I do now? There were many scenes of violence (hand-to-hand fighting and gunplay), the crux of the story was trying to reconcile acceptable behavior when the Project Aurora enforcers and leaders decided to eliminate problems (people) by killing them. Forcing people to become automatons and suffer from wild medical experiments added human trafficking to the list of repugnant behaviors as the modified people were sold into slavery.
Las Vegas, Nevada is the home of Project Aurora - a government and private industry attempt to engineer humans who can be counted upon to do whatever they are told to do. Project Aurora had its own protective team; any dissent, experiment gone bad, or lack of compliance with direct orders could be and was eliminated. It was a perfect way to have absolute power.
The man who originated the organization, Malcolm Cross, used his daughters as test subjects, subjecting them to off-the-books biological testing and implants. His daughters escaped and wanted to shut down Project Aurora. High-level officials in government (President, Congress, CIA, and DOD) encouraged the project and are complicit. Similarly, top-level executives in defense and technology industries were involved up to their eyeballs. Once Malcolm Cross "turned" against the project, he was marked for elimination.
This could have been a great story except that it was poorly written. The writing style was worthy of a group of kids who wanted to show their use of a limited number of words and poor understanding of digital technology. The overuse of "tension" as in [the air] "was thick with tension" and "tumult", "feral", and "fingers dancing" as in typing quickly were but a few of the overused words. Citing tech hotshots as people who could look at streams of data and make sense of long streams of data, devolving it into understandable code at electronic speeds is a feat that AI might be able to do but not humans.
Once I got past my yawning reaction to repetitious prose and arrived at the meat of the story - concerns of conscience - there was finally a theme - what do I do now? There were many scenes of violence (hand-to-hand fighting and gunplay), the crux of the story was trying to reconcile acceptable behavior when the Project Aurora enforcers and leaders decided to eliminate problems (people) by killing them. Forcing people to become automatons and suffer from wild medical experiments added human trafficking to the list of repugnant behaviors as the modified people were sold into slavery.
October 19, 2024
Just finished this book, it was challenging as there were so many elements and soi many people involved with what was going on. I can see something like this happening in real life but I hope that it never does. I loved the main character Hope, she has so many thing going on in her life. She does try to help as many people as she can. It looks like the author can not decide if she will live or die. I hoope that you will let her live and do more good. Let hope that all what she went threw and everyone else is not wasted and that you make sure that some good comes from this story. It was a very fast moving story and let hope that you will continue keep it going. If you enjoy mystery that are on the very edge this will work for you enjoy it.
October 16, 2024
Pariah (Hope Novak Thrillers Book 5), my ninth read from author Daniel Pelfrey. A 273-page Vigilante Justice Thriller, the sixh in the Hope Novak Thrillers. It began with 3 books in the Project Aurora Series before switching over to 3 books in the Hope Novak Series. “I received a Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I look forward to reading more from this author with Ghost Town (Hector Ramirez Thrillers Book 4) due out in November of this year. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
October 5, 2024
Espionage/ Murder/ Spin Tingling Suspense this book has it all and I spent an entire day reading it and it's worth every hour. Hope Novak is a product of a experiment called project Aurora, but she prefers to use her skills for the greater good vs evil. Every time I think one of Mr. Pelfrey's books are my favorite he comes out with another that's unputdownable.
October 12, 2024
I enjoyed this book. Interesting storyline. Good characters. I’m new to this series but I will be pursuing the rest. I found this to be as good as the Hector Ramirez series.
October 19, 2024
An interesting storyline with a lot going on that sometimes made it hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews