Rogue Ghost

CIA Ghost #1

by Mike Ryan

CIA operative Alex Parker is one of the most successful "ghosts" the agency has. Recruited as a 17 year old, she has over 100 kills to her credit. But ten years of blending in, disappearing, and assassinating targets has taken a toll on her and she'd like to get out. Now, she has a new problem....her partner's gone rogue. After stealing government secrets, he intends to sell them to the highest bidder. It's up to Parker, and her new partner, to find him and bring him in...dead or alive.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Action, Crime, Mystery

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2015

About the author

Mike Ryan is a writer living in Bucks County, PA. He's married, has three kids, and three dogs. He's used to a hectic and busy household. During his free time, he enjoys watching sports, movies, and music.

Mike's a huge Star Wars fan and loves just about anything with superheroes in it (both Marvel and DC). He also loves to interact with his readers via his blog, Twitter, or email. Follow him on Twitter @Mike_Ryan36 or email at mikeryan36@verizon.net.

Mike also offers a few readers on his mailing list the chance to be beta readers for all books before they're published.

Sign up for Mike's mailing list or visit his blog at www.mikeryan36.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Denise]

I very rarely resort to rating a book only one star, but this was just so ludicrously bad from start to finish that pretty much everything I've ever given two stars to compares favourably. Just yesterday I complained when reviewing another spy thriller that its author didn't seem to have much of a clue about the spy business. In comparison to this spectacular heap of nonsense, that book now seems like an at least medium well researched work in retrospect. This guy just wasn't even trying. In addition to being wildly unrealistic, the plot also manages to be both flimsy and convoluted at the same time. The writing is... let's just say it requires more practice. Lots and lots of practice. A capable editor couldn't hurt either. As for the characters, they have no depth and talk and behave like a bunch of moronic teenagers. Don't even get me started on the stupid romance subplot. The only thing vaguely resembling a redeeming feature about this book is that it's fairly short, so at least I didn't waste much more than an hour of my life on it.

[Jay W Williams]

Where to start. I actually read all four Ghost novels - sigh. But I did buy them - ok they were free - but I still had them on my Kindle and I was in a period of searching for a new author. First a spoiler alert, a lot of this information will spoil the suspense of the plot. But wait, there is no suspense. The plot is as thin as a butterfly's wings. The author tries, often thrashing around for some other vehicle to keep the reader's interest, but to no avail. And the editing, or lack thereof, just confounds the process. As a starting point, the prose is abysmal. This reads more like a teen novel (and not the Harry Potter kind) with jerky sentence structure, disjointed ideas and repeats of the more tedious passages through all four novels. There is no question that the books could have been at least 50% shorter, and the "tension" between a beautiful assassin and a computer nerd was at best irritating, and at worst insulting. The fact that an entire dossier on 2 CIA assassins was leaked to family members, and with the blessing of their handler was only the most glaring, and ridiculous part of the story. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs, and often entire pages of boring and stilted dialogue just to get on with the plot. Even then, the contrived angst of the lovers and the Segal-like Cole, set my teeth on edge at every point. Taking on dozens of crack military troops, outgunning as many more guards and villains at every turn and never having to slow down because of wounds nor physical injuries nor sleep deprivation just became totally unbelievable at every turn. After pages and pages of incipient dialogue and lovers' spats and misunderstandings, which could all be ironed out at a moment's notice, the end game of each plot was wrapped up in a few pages. No twists or turns or surprises, and certainly no suspense. I really wanted to like these books, but for someone who is an avid reader with a vocabulary somewhat past the 5th grade, it was impossible. Look elsewhere for your entertainment.

[Walt Mccluskey]

Rogue ghost

Nothing like the usual thriller mystery tales I enjoy as what started out corny stayed that way. Seemed to be a good idea and story line but came off extremely amateur in the writing. Doubtful I will follow up with any others of the series.

[Barbara Ashcroft]

Very generic. Predictable and not very believable.

[Bobbie]

The book was okay but not an action thriller by any means. Romance weak and annoying. Probably not continuing this particular series.

[DAVID A HABEDANK]

An enjoyable read

Enjoyed reading this book as it had plenty of action. The only downside was the frequent changing from using a character's first name to his last name, even within the same paragraph. I would think their was a reference to yet another person. Otherwise - off to hunt for Mike Ryan's next book.

[Michael V]

If you spy stories this book would be s good read

The book moved along at a good pace an easy and pleasant read.
The characters were interesting and developed.
I look forward to reading the next book in the seies

[Kenn Goslin]

Hey, new neighbor!

What I wonder is how you can tell a spy from a CIA operative? Oh,wait...maybe they're the same thing as Ryan discovers. So now he has to figure who's the good guy & who's not!

[Betty Richard]

Rogue Ghost

New series enjoyed the character s and was a little disappointed it ended where it did. But understand that it did the job of hooking me for the rest of the series.

[Perry Bazonski]

Heroine takes the stage.

Finding a woman leading the way in this story was a different take than I am used to, but I found it quite fun.

[Greg Oaster]

Short and intense

Nice quick read, not much in the way of character development but a great read nonetheless. Look to the follow up books.

[Tina Simpson]

Really good 👍👍👍👍👍

I've never read a Mike Ryan book before, I'm so glad that I picked him to read. I really enjoyed it. Hope you feel the same way..☺☺

[Laura Collier]

Fun and exciting story

I loved the characters in this book. The story flowed at a good pace and leaves the reader wondering what happens next...in a good way.

[David Cox]

Didn't even seem to match the book description - gave up a third of the way through. A waste of time...

[Terry Canada]

I’ve enjoyed the series , but unfortunately it’s too similar to the TV series called “Chuck” that I enjoyed already. Apparently the author is a fan as well.

[Daniel]

What a horrid book, more a high school love story than a thriller. I could never get into the characters so will not be reading more of this series.

[Alex]

Quick read, but kind of cheesy and seems too unrealistic

[Jim]

This book is okay. It's more of a romance novel than action adventure novel. Would I recommend this book to anyone ? Not necessarily. My opinion is let each reader decide for themselves.

[Heather]

I fell in love with the characters! A beautiful, deadly CIA agent that doesn't see her own beauty, a one track kill them all agent that discovers a human side and the honest caring guy next door. I can't wait to read more!! This is a cleverly written thrill ride.

[toni pfeifer]

A bit predictable

He seems to be good at telling stories. The story was just not that interesting.
Hopefully the series will be a little more unpredictable.

[Geneva Hanson]

Great read

I enjoy reading about stories like this. I think they are exciting and fun to read. This one was extremely good.

[Ruth Willis]

Lots of action!!!

It kept me thoroughly entertained for the whole book. I think it was worth the four stars. Bye for now

[Arthur]

Rogue Ghost (CIA Ghost series #1)

Mike Ryan introduces his beautiful, but deadly agent, her partner, Cole and maybe the one person who she might walk away from her job for. The plot centers around a rogue agent, Davis, who was involved with her in years prior, but manages to stay one step ahead. Action is a little predictable at times, but will keep you turning pages. Nice read and looking forward to the next one.

[Jana]

I liked this book and like the characters. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

[gene b camplin]

Great story!

I enjoy action and adventure books! A good thriller is always enjoyable. Lots of action,,and suspense! Will look for more from this author!