Warlord Actual

The Trigger Man #4

by Aiden Bailey

They thought they could control him. But the Trigger Man doesn’t play by the rules.

Lone wolf Mark Pierce doesn’t form attachments easily. One of the few people he trusts and respects is his CIA handler, Mackenzie Summerfield.

And she’s in big trouble.

Mackenzie has been kidnapped by a vast and sinister organization. Its leaders want access to four nuclear suitcase bombs to help achieve their aims of global domination.

They know that Pierce knows where the bombs are. They also know he cares about Mackenzie…. If he wants to see her alive again, he needs to help them get what they want.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. There’s no way Pierce can give them access to the bombs. But there’s no way he can let Mackenzie die. He needs to rescue her – and fast.

In a deadly game of cat and mouse played out across the Middle East, Pierce tries to stay one step ahead of an organization that seems to have its tentacles everywhere.

Can he find and rescue Summerfield? Can he stop the bad guys before it’s too late?

The Trigger Man is back.

Warlord Actual – the fourth in the stunning Trigger Man action thriller series. Perfect for fans of Vince Flynn, Brad Taylor and Rob Sinclair.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Action

476 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2024

About the author

Aiden Bailey is an international bestselling thriller author from Australia. Formerly an engineer, he built a career marketing multi-national technology, engineering, and construction companies. His various roles have included corporate communications with the Australian Submarine Corporation, technical writing for several defence contractors, engineering on an outback petroleum pipeline, a magazine editor and art director, and engineering proposal writer for the Royal Australian Air Force’s surveillance and intelligence gathering aircraft and drone enabling works. Aiden has travelled widely in six continents and his experiences are the basis of many of his stories.

Reviews

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this author not that long ago and suddenly I have read four books in the series about Mark Pierce aka. The Trigger man. Aiden Bailey have come up with a great character and some really nasty bad guys. I found this book well written and hard to put down, I actually stayed awake until 2:30 in the morning to finish this story. I am glad I was made aware of this author and was fortunate enough that he sent me a copy of the first book in this series and now I find myself addicted and can't wait until the fifth book is out. I send a big thank you to Inkubator Books and Netgalley for giving me this advance copy.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

this uses the action thriller element that I was looking for and enjoyed from the description. The characters had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed how they worked with the story being told. Aiden Bailey has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ken Karcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great new installment of an exciting series. Mark Pierce is one tough son of a bitch but he has no idea how badly the people who have his friend Mackenzie Summerfield has tortured her in an attempt to control him, but he plans on returning her pain on them a hundred fold. The novel begins two and a half years earlier when Mark and Mackenzie worked with a Mossad agent tracking terrorists in North Africa. In the present day, Pierce is tracking the organization that's holding and torturing his closest friend. He discovers a connection between a terrorist he formerly chased with Mackenzie's kidnapping. Pierce's past and the knowledge in his head comes crashing together in his search. The pressure mounts when additional hostages are revealed, which points to an act of terrorism unimaginable in scope. Will Pierce be forced to choose to save countless strangers or save his dearest friend? His past is being pieced together while he's barely surviving his present, which gives me little hope that he'll survive until we're able to discover it fully. The action doesn't stop, and it's a fantastic ride. Thankfully, it's easier on us than Bailey is on his main character, I swear he has it in for Pierce. This is the best book yet with even higher stakes and consequences and a definite uncertainty about the next book. If you enjoy this genre, then by all means, you need to read these books!

[Meenaz Lodhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

White-knuckle, thought provoking and mind blowing!

The thrills and revelations come nonstop in Aiden Bailey’s captivating thriller with a gripping blend of character development.
-A really thrilling read, filled with so much despair (a trademark of the author!) but there's also an inherent sympathy and understanding of the characters. I really loved how the characters grew..just when you think you’ve figured them out, they reveal more complex layers.

The pacing is relentless, pulling you deeper into the web of secrets, and the twists are genuinely unexpected. The blurred lines between truth and deception made it hard to know who to trust, adding a great sense of tension throughout.
The parallels with modern-day issues, and the emotional stakes really made this story epic.

-High-Quality Writing
-Bailey weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense.
A pletoric blend of cutting-edge writing, heart-pounding action, and a fight for survival that feels frighteningly plausible.

Author Aiden Bailey grips you from the outset, embarking you on an exhilarating odyssey through the depths of exotic countries.
Extraordinary persecutions propel this dense but undeniably enthralling journey.
The story delivers a profound exploration of human values, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of truth against all odds.
Sometimes, I felt the pages turning too quickly. It was just THAT exciting!
Warlord Actual #4 is absolutely unputdownable.

[Tracy Greenwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure brilliance

I couldn’t put this down. You never stop hoping that Triggerman will succeed. Always helping others and making decisions to ensure their safety before his own. Nail biting throughout.

[Mary Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is yet another riveting read in this fantastic action-packed series. Pierce is trying to locate his colleague and friend Mackenzie and in his quest, gets involved with old foes as well as old contacts in other security services. It seems relations and partners of some prominent people are being taken hostage to force people to perform some illegal activities.

The action flits between a few years earlier and covers Yemen, Saudi Arabia and culminating in the UK where a weapon of mass destruction is in danger of being activated. There is a lot going on in this story but my attention never wavered throughout as I was so engrossed in it. I wonder what's in store next for Pierce and I can't wait to find out.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ross Sidor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers who have been following this series from the beginning will be well rewarded with this fourth installment, as plot threads from previous books intersect and come to a head. Mark Pierce is searching for his missing CIA handler while the mysterious international cabal from previous books is searching for a cache of hidden Soviet suitcase nukes, and Pierce is ultimately dispatched to Yemen with a Mossad team. As with the previous books, action, plot twists, and double-crosses are abundant in a very fast paced, cinematic story. This book feels like it's tying up some of the existing storylines in the series while planting the seeds for new ones, and it will be interesting to see what direction the series goes next. Recommended reading for Bond and Gray Man fans.

[Sandra Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this Author, Aiden Bailey, and he never disappoints. What a great book. I was interested from the start as the first ten chapters are taken up by showing how Mark and Yaghi first met. Both evenly matched intellectually. The Protagonist shows his strong sense of loyalty in his drive, no matter what, to rescue his friend and colleague and makes for compelling reading. He came up against some pretty hard and nasty hombres. As usual, Mr Bailey has finished by leaving the reader already wanting the next book as soon as they have read the last word of this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[J R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pierce at war

The Trigger Man is an excellent series based on concisely drawn characters dealing with multiple plots within plots that are surprisingly cohesive when they're finally unraveled.
It's exceedingly refreshing to discover a protagonist who is definitely not a GI Joe superhero , but is a highly trained mortal dealing with the stresses of doing a job that only a few can do , and have done in the real world.
Mr. Bailey's Trigger Man offerings bring to my mind many similar excursions into this literary genre from Robert Ludlum, and Daniel Silva that I treasure ( and re-read ) to this day.
Well done, Mr. Aiden Bailey !
I am eagerly anticipating your next sequel of The Trigger Man !

[Barbara buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed

Another amazing mission for Trigger Man.Couldn’t put it down, fast paced and full of action and tension.I loved it !!!

[Diwakar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey Guys hope you’ll doing well This time I’ve finished the novel Warlord Actual by Aiden Bailey. This is 4th novel in the Trigger Man series which is going to get released on coming Oct 6th and I like to thank Aiden for the ARC.

This novel starts with Mark Pierce aka Trigger Man a singleton Ground Branch operator who has gone rogue to rescue his handler from a mysterious group that was hunting him for the past two novels. But when he found out that their end game involves his intimate knowledge about a previous mission so he tries to contact an old friend who was also involved in that. In the game of smoke and mirrors each and every player will have their own roles and agenda which affects each and every step his mission. How Trigger man is going to break this and whether rescued his handler or not forms the rest of the story.

I think this is one of the bloodiest novels in the Trigger man series as Pierce literally mows down people who stand between him and his friend. Be it ambushing the ambushers or resisting some of the best henchmen eventhough he was beaten and exhausted it was exhilarating to read. At the same time Mckanzie also doing her best to reach back to Pierce by her own means. On the whole this novel will be a huge treat for weekend lovers like me. Give it a try you won’t regret the choice and once again Thanks to Aiden for the ARC

[Darren Bourn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another exciting book that I was granted an early ARC copy by the author (Aiden Bailey), his publisher (Inkubator Books), and the fine folks at Booksprout.

I have been fortunate enough to have been able to read all four books in this series thus far. Since I have been blessed so far as I found this book well written and hard to put down

This novel starts with Mark Pierce (aka Trigger Man), a former CIA Ground Branch operator, who has gone rogue to rescue his handler from a mysterious group that has been hunting him for the past two novels. Lone wolf Mark Pierce doesn’t form attachments easily. One of the few people he trusts and respects is his CIA handler, Mackenzie Summerfield. And she’s in big trouble. This organization, Deckeract led by Khaled Ameri has taken her prisoner, and she and others are being held hostage with the intent that because of whom they are related to (or work for) as leverage to get information from politicians and other interested parties.


But when he finds out that their end game involves his intimate knowledge about a previous mission, he tries to contact an old friend who was also involved. In this continuing game of smoke and mirrors, each player will have their role and agenda which affects every step of his mission. How Trigger Man is going to break this and whether rescues his handler or not forms the rest of the story.

Deckeract's leaders want access to four nuclear suitcase bombs (which were once part of four Soviet-era hidden weapons caches that were secreted in the hills of Yemen) to help achieve their aims of global domination. One of these bombs, only weighing between 60-80 pounds, would have an explosive charge of one kiloton (equivalent to one thousand tons of TNT). If a device like this made its way to its target, it could destroy everything within a half-mile radius

Dekeract planned to smuggle these weapons into Russia, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom to further its nefarious plans

They know that Pierce knows where the bombs are. They also know he cares about Mackenzie…. If he wants to see her alive again, he needs to help them get what they want.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. There’s no way Pierce can give them access to the bombs. But there’s no way he can let Mackenzie die. He needs to rescue her – and fast. Readers of Aiden Bailey's past novels will recognize characters from the past as they play their own integral parts in this story.

In a deadly game of cat and mouse that is being played out not only across the Middle East but throughout the halls of the intelligence agencies of our trusted allies (read: Britain), Mark Pierce tries to stay one step ahead of an organization that seems to have its tentacles everywhere.

Can he find and rescue Summerfield? Can he stop the mysterious Deckeract before it’s too late?

The Trigger Man is back.

Warlord Actual – the fourth in the stunning Trigger Man action thriller series. With the extreme amount of action and twists, I would easily recommend this novel to aficionados of action novels. Perfect for fans of Vince Flynn, Brad Taylor, and Rob Sinclair. I would easily give this novel a solid four stars.

As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents worth.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC through "Booksprout" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The story begins with Pierce looking for Yaghi, an SIS, to warn him that he is a target and to help him evade those looking for him. Pierce finds him at an airport waiting to attempt to get on a plane. Pierce observes a large force of military there and eventually convinces Yaghi to leave. They now begin a large trek to escape. They discover later that that group that was at the airport was following them. As they were waiting to be extracted, they came under fire and had a major fight on their hand. Pierce then proceeded to approach that group to neutralize them with Yaghi backing him up. They were successful in getting away.

The story now picks up years later with Pierce in Oman. Pierce is hiding expecting that people will be coming for him. Pierce is able to destroy those and later finds one that had been outside the perimeter who was still alive. He captured him and then asked for information about Summerfield, his handler, who had disappeared 6 months earlier. He didn't get a location where she was being held but learned a name of the organization who was responsible, Dekeract. He also found out that he and Yaghi were being hunted to gather information relating to "Warlord Actual" since those two were the only one that knew the location of the items. Upon leaving the area, he received a message from Yaghi asking for a meet.

As Pierce was heading for the meeting location, Yaghi was attacked in Beirut by this new group looking for information pertaining to "Warlord Actual". Yaghi managed to escape and met Pierce at the meeting site. Yaghi in addition had 3 other individuals who looked like him dressed the same to confuse those looking for him. Pierce had planted trackers to attach to Yaghi's vehicle so he could follow him. Yaghi tells him that the group looking for them wants info on a weapons cache that they were involved in a year earlier. As it stands Pierce and Yaghi are the only people that know the location and Yaghi is leaving the Middle East.

Pierce followed Yaghi to his apartment, but when he got there it was empty. As he searched, Yaghi notified him that he only had a short time to leave before he was caught. Pierce fled. but in the end, he was caught.

To discover who captured Pierce, what they wanted him to do as well as what other calamities he faced, then you need to read this book. Learn how Pierce learned the location and who gave him that info as well as the escape of Summerfield and others in addition to what mission Piece had to do in London, then this is a must read.

Don't miss out!

[Viking Jam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review: The Trigger Man is back and bolder than ever in this epic spy series. The MC never gets old. Somehow the author maintains character development while providing a consistent story line melee.

The change of venue is always interesting coupled with various bad factions that inhabit and pursue our hero. I like that Trigger Man is not this reluctant Costner whom mopes about then grudgingly complies to do his job. This is pure action that rivets the attention and before you know it, the end of the novel is there.

What may suck for some is chapter interludes with Paige and the Gay love proselytizing. It is a common theme these days where authors want to sell more novels by capturing all audiences that they can. The Paige chapters and Soap boxing really undermined this novel as it seemed forced and broke the flow.Like how does a British spy end up in Ethiopia with the CIA notified to bring in that asset. No reason? None? Anything? Well pure supposition on the CIAs part then the gay reason that only the Brit knows. That makes sense. Everyone risk your lives for gay love and then state how proud you are to know someone that could hide their forbidden love blah, blah, blah.

I am disappointed yet still had fun when the writing stepped down and did its job. I will probobly not continue with this series.

I received this ARC for an honest review.

2.4/5

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the first three books in the Trigger Man series a few months back, but hadn't gotten around to starting them. With the opportunity to preview Warlord Actual, what better time to jump in?

Starting off with book four in most series can be a challenge, getting up to speed with characters you aren't familiar with. I felt this volume was fairly easy to begin with, though, leading to only a few questions that should be answered by the previous books. While at times the detail-laden scenarios led to slow but steady movement in the 444 page story, things really ramped up after the halfway point and it was hard to put the book down until I saw how things turned out.

Action packed with vivid descriptions, characters you will love to hate, and seat of the pants moments throughout, I enjoyed my intro to this series. I'm sure you will, too, whether this is your first book or you've already enjoyed the first three. I'm now motivated to pick up book one and catch up on what I've missed so far!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pierce is on a mission to track down Summerfield ,and discovers a terrorist group is holding her by the name of Dekeract ,run by man whose known as Mr Real ,in conjunction with Khaled Ameri .
Mr Real will only release Summerfield if Pierce reveals the location of Bombs ,which he cannot the only other person who knows the location is the English spy Yaghi and Pierce and he are a team .
Pierce gets captured by Mr Real and manages to escape and Mr Pierce reveals the location of Summerfield and others that have been captured in order to make there loved ones comply .
Pierce and his team locate Summerfield and others who managed to escape but is in a bad way after all the beating she received and was taken to hospital .
Mr Real also revealed there was a bomb on it's way to England and is sent to find before its armed and is a race across the world to get to the Uk .
This is a very in depth read and keeps you speeding through and another great adventure that keep you on edge and is a really great read .Mr Bailey is a very knowledgeable Author and writes very well .

[Ganesh Subramanian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with an overdose of Espionage, sudden twists & turns, and hostage drama all set in the Middle East. The pace is rapid, relentless and a definite page-turner. Pierce is a CIA agent whose coordinator/ handler, Mackenzie has been kidnapped by an organisation that is far more powerful and more widespread than anything before, an organisation that does not have any principles or allegiances. They kidnap Mackenzie to get at Pierce who knows the address of the old Soviet ammunition dumps that were supposedly destroyed but in reality stayed intact. This dump contains nuclear weapons that the organisation wants to grab to wield more power and influence. The book takes you all over the Middle East and at times becomes too technical with a lot of descriptions and abbreviations for the various weaponry used.
Thank you ‎for providing this book for review consideration via BookSprout All opinions are my own

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always Aiden Bailey comes up with another good read with Warlord Actual, the fourth book in his Trigger Man series. If you like books with plenty of action, thrills and suspense then I think this series is for you. The writing is good, the story fast paced and very entertaining. I was pulled in right from the start and this read held my interest to the last page. The different country settings add to the story and plot line and at times Warlord Actual was a very tense read. I really like the main character who tries to locate a missing colleague. Can he find them in time though? The endingis good and sets up the next book nicely and I look forward to reading it. If you like thrillers then I'd recommend this book and would suggest you read the series in order to know the characters from the beginning.

3.5 stars

[Nikki Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

These terrorists really don't know what they have unleashed when they abduct Mark's friend/handler, Mackenzie. She may be tortured but Mark will inflict infinitely worst on their enemies to get her back!

The timeline slips between modern day and a few years earlier, when a joint mission with Mossad led Mac and Mark to work together. Now that previous mission has bearings on Mac's current predicament. Past and present merge together as Mark tries to piece together information that may lead to Mac's whereabouts.

As the tension mounts we learn there are more hostages, suitcase nuclear weapons and blackmail being used to control and coerce people throughout the Middle East and the UK to do the bad guys bidding. Fast paced, twisty, and packed with danger. I love a well researched and paced thriller and this has both those things in spades!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars.
Yet another excellent Aiden Bailey, Trigger Man novel. This one takes place primarily in northeastern Africa / Arabian desert where Mark Pierce is trying to perform triple duty to:
(1) Locate and rescue his CIA handler, MacKenzie Summerfield,
(2) Locate, remove, and secure hidden Soviet nuclear suitcase bombs stashed in Yemen, and
(3) Prevent Deckeract, a world-wide, terror-organization from initiating a multi-national nuclear attack.

In Warlord Actual, Mark interacts with agents from Britain, USA, and Israel, to deal with the above listed concerns. In so doing manages to get into (and out of) numerous dangerous situations. This Trigger Man series would make for an exciting TV streaming series, and favorably compares with Mark Greaney, Jack Carr, Jason Kasper, and Brad Thor.

[Todd Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Thriller. This was such an enjoyable book to read. A great plot, outstanding characters, with some great action. I know how much I’m enjoying a book when I’m disappointed when I have to put it down, and this was certainly one of those. I had to stop myself from skipping forward to the end to see what happened, and I’m glad that I was patient, as it was worth the wait. I’m amazed that Aiden Bailey can keep coming up with such great stories for Trigger Man, Mark Pierce. He’s a walking death machine, and not someone you want to upset. He has the smarts to go with it though, and there aren’t too many people that would want him coming after you.
From start to finish I loved this book. Easily worth the 5/5 Star Rating.

[BookishDramas · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to the team of NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this review copy.

I had become something of a Mark Pierce fan in an earlier adventure and wanted to read this book immediately.
This is another action packed thriller which moves from the word go. Aiden has managed a gripping exploration of modern warfare, blending high-stakes action with moral dilemmas with conflict as its backdrop. The psychological toll on the forerunning soldiers is well articulated. There are parts which seem uneven and forced but overall the story never falters and Mark's character continues to develop.
For pure unadulterated adrenalin fueled fun, this is it. Worth reading into the early hours of the morning.
Recommended.
3.5 stars closer to 4 stars.

[Beach Bum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inept villain's

By book 4, you'd expect the bad guys to have realised that when you catch Pearce, you kill Pearce. Yet in this book alone there must have been at least 3 occasions they passed on the opportunity. Add a degree of disbelief that spoils the whole story
Other than that, Pearce is the usual one man wrecking ball that you expect him to be. Others get involved to help along the way and without them he would have been dead at least twice
I'm hoping things pick up, the underworld organisation now has a name, but all the senior people we had known of are now dead, so there will have to be a slight change in tack at the very least

[Samuel murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast moving thriller.

Fast moving thriller that has Pierce or by his other name the trigger man setting out to rescue his female boss from the hands of an unknown terrorist organisation. During his search assassins try to capture him for his knowledge of the location of three nuclear bombs the organisation wanted with a forth one already on its way to London and a race against time to locate and defuse it.

[Doug Yonce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Trigger Man is back and the bad guys should be careful what they ask for. Taking one of his few friends captive doesn’t appear to be a wise move, but the bad guys have much greater goals so their underestimates Mark pierce’s skills leads to an excellent story. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review.

[Shannon Binegar-Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit there were parts of this book that drug on for me and barely kept my attention but the rest of the book more than made up for it. I absolutely loved it. Great thriller. I will have to go back and read the other Trigger Man books as I didn’t realize it was part of a series.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

[Michelle Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Pierce is pretty much a lone wolf. Being a the CIA makes you that way and the only person he truly trusts is Mackenzie who is is handler. Things go south really quick when Mackenzie is kidnapped by an organization that doesn't want her to survive. The leaders of the group that kidnapped Mackenzie want Mark to give up four nuclear weapons to get her back.

[Deb Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, each book is intricately constructed and so welll written. This one is the best so far. There is so much going on in this one, several different stories in one. Shout out for the cliffhanger, not fun! Great read.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is great I really enjoyed this novel I would highly recommend this author to my book loving friends I very much enjoyed reading this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Edward Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable series with interesting characters. This book ends leaving the main story line and the status of one of the main characters unresolved. I hated that it left this unnecessary hanging no doubt to force me to watch for the next I. The series.