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Alex Hoffmann #3

The Backup Asset

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ESPIONAGE TECHNOTHRILLER
Cold War II has started with a vengeance. Or, as the American president calls it, Cold War 2.0, reflecting the impact technology has in the new age of espionage. The United States is now in the crosshairs of a renewed, unstoppable enemy intelligence operation.

At Langley, a report causes turbulence, as it predicts Russia’s inconceivable plans based on apparently random incursions into other countries’ territorial space.

In Moscow, the relentless Russian president and his key military leader are planning retaliation for the Crimea sanctions.

America’s newest weapons system, the laser cannon, is ready to be installed on a Zumwalt-class stealth destroyer. This weapon has the ability to change the balance of power in the world, and give America and its allies the upper hand in any military conflict.

But there’s a problem. Someone stole the weapon’s plans and is ready to hand them to our enemies.

Espionage has a new dimension. Everyone is gettable.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2015

1709 people are currently reading
1665 people want to read

About the author

Leslie Wolfe

35 books2,849 followers

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5 stars
667 (46%)
4 stars
540 (37%)
3 stars
176 (12%)
2 stars
45 (3%)
1 star
21 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
Profile Image for Mike French.
430 reviews109 followers
April 4, 2017
Another five star book in the Alex.Hoffman series! Keeps you on the edge of your set from start to finish. Very enjoyable and entertaining. You should read in order as this is a continuing series.
Profile Image for Michael Gallagher.
Author 12 books56 followers
July 16, 2015
Pick It Up Clancy Fans

Just got back from the beach and realized I forgot to go swimming. Why? Leslie Wolfe’s The Backup Asset would not let me leave my beach chair. Really! The book is a frenetic rollercoaster ride filled with twists and turns that only slows down to give the reader a chance to swallow the reasoning behind the antagonists’ justifications for their treachery. Some backstory is always great.
What did I like the most? The techie side of the story comes out in plausible character dialogues. Now I am a big Tom Clancy (May the great man rest in peace!) fan, but Wolfe does him two better. How? First, she writes dynamite, believable woman characters. Second, she keeps up the pace by not spending pages of narrator talk to explain the technology in the story. People just talk about it Bravo! The book dazzles and the short, punchy scenes will make a great visually hyperactive movie. Liked The Backup Asset so much, I just bought the other two books by Leslie Wolfe. Pick ‘em all up and go to the beach, but don’t forget the sunscreen ‘cause you’re not going in the water once you open the book. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Alfred G..
44 reviews3 followers
December 31, 2016
Another excellent story! But the best part was finding out at the end that there's another book scheduled to be released next month! Advanced order, yes, please :-)
44 reviews
October 19, 2016
The Next One

This was so good, I'm not even going to stop long enough to give a lengthy review. I'll just go on to Ms Wolfe's next one in the series!
158 reviews3 followers
December 2, 2016
Wow? What a storyline!

Gets more intense as the story continues. What a writer! Every time I think that's all , here comes another .
Profile Image for Maria Fledgling Author  Park.
944 reviews45 followers
April 9, 2025
Renegade or Revenge?

The Backup Asset by Leslie Wolfe is scarily close to the resurrection of the old KGB to further the goals of the Communist hardliner currently in control.

Only, because Wolfe wrote it, it's much more exciting, has fabulous women role models and the United States comes out on top because of its integrity.

Aren't books wonderful? And this one is just packed with surprises, plot twists and action that will keep you hyperventilating. I am now a true Leslie Wolfe fan. And I highly recommend her to you, too.
474 reviews12 followers
October 31, 2021
4.5/5-Minor Spoilers

This was my introduction to the Alex Hoffman series, and I will download the others without hesitation. I’m not up to date on Hoffman’s previous missions, but I was immediately immersed in this tale of espionage and betrayal. In this installment, Hoffman goes undercover as an engagement consultant for the US Navy, where there has been a breach involving the newly declassified laser cannon weapon. But that’s not all-a narcissistic Russian leader and his oligarchs want a piece of the new technology, fueled by animosity and bitterness towards the United States.

The various situations ranging from the White House to the USS Fletcher were brief and fast paced. The ending made me want to jump right into #4, but patience has its rewards, so I will start with EXECUTIVE.
88 reviews
July 14, 2015
I've been really loving the books by Leslie Wolfe lately, and this one is no exception. It's phenomenal, as usual! Wolfe's writing style is one that will grip you instantly, and one that is rather fast paced. I've found that while fast-paced writing sometimes crashes and burns for some authors, it works perfectly for Leslie Wolfe, since the author integrates action with the backstory almost seamlessly. I love Alex Hoffman, of course, she's an incredibly likable main character--but I also found the supporting cast of characters to be just as compelling! This is a wonderful work of fiction, and I cannot wait to read more.
Profile Image for Caroline Angel.
Author 12 books34 followers
July 28, 2015
Wow! Roller coaster ride of espionage, cold (and not so cold!) war and the hard work to combat the threat to the U.S. Leslie Wolf leads us on a cleverly written, twisting journey of intrigue and spies and all things bad. Her characters are well thought out, well written, and believable. I found myself so caught up in the story I was left wanting more, and can't wait to read all of her work. I'll be back, and I am pleased to highly recommended this book and this author!
57 reviews
January 19, 2016
I started reading the 4th book in this series but was intrigued by the main character, Alex so I decided to check the books in order. I am glad I did. You will miss so much fun if you read them out of order. The writer builds all the characters from the original beginning, so they can develop new strengths and talents. Each book is stand alone but you miss the journey and watching the characters growth.
Profile Image for David Tarasevich.
25 reviews
January 10, 2016
Getting There

Much better than the first effort and progressing nicely with all elements of characters, plot, and prose improved. The weaving subplots are well laid out and developed to hold the readers interest. Each book stimulates the desire to read more...

Profile Image for Howard Katzoff.
280 reviews5 followers
April 4, 2016
A real thriller

A very thrilling read with a lot of interesting characters. The brainy main character is fascinating and fun. The story was hard to put down. Looking forward to reading more in the series.
997 reviews22 followers
April 26, 2016
The backup asset

A great expansion and continuation of the series. The story follows the same group of characters in the same believable fashion I enjoyed before except this one was tighter on logic and left plenty of natural resources for the next of the series. Great tales
Profile Image for Tatiana Lammers.
375 reviews
December 17, 2019
This is the third book in the series about and it follows the plot of Book 2.
Apart from (still) using a lot of cliches about the Russians (which I do not like at all), I actually enjoyed this book more then the second one. This novel had more action, more spy intrigue, and the investigation process seemed more exciting, so were the chases after the bad guys. The plot seems to end on a cliffhanger, and I suspect the story might continue in the next book in the series.

A couple of hints from a Russian native to the author: Even though your book is a fiction, you portray the country wrong as a whole (painting it sad, broken and poor, and the people generally miserable). Reading anti-Russian propaganda in the media does not help creating the true image of the country you consider an enemy. And another note: the Russians do not drink vodka like it water - non-stop, at all the occasions; when some Russians do drink it, they like it perfectly chilled in the freezer, but never drink it on ice. One can rarely find a Russian who likes ice in the drinks (any drinks, alcoholic or not).
633 reviews4 followers
July 17, 2023
It is not really such an uncommon precept for any nation in pursuing science and find new cutting edge technology to keep society ahead of everyone else, this ensuring the nations's continued prosperity.
And if a nation does not do so, stagnation and increasing poverty follows.
However, Russia always had a way of stealing the latest technology from other nations. However, stealing the plans for a new laser cannon is not really about preserving prosperity. This time this might be the precursor to another world war. That nobody can afford.
Which is how Alex Hoffmann got involved. Again.
The Backup Asset is another unusual spy thriller penned by Leslie Wolfe that will somehow have you setting new personal records in reading this book . Talk of suspense and intrigue bar none!
Enjoy.
Profile Image for Maggies Daisy.
438 reviews29 followers
March 12, 2018
An intriguing fictional story delving into the world of American and Russian espionage by placing spies that will coerce scientists into stealing top-secret documents. With the help of a team of private experts, the CIA uncovers the trail of the thief and their Russian trainers. With so much going in the world today, you have to stop and think about how true life the storyline of this book really is. I am looking forward to the next installment of America's never-ending fight against the power-hungry individual despots the world has created. Why does power so change people for the worst? #BookReview #TheBackupAsset
682 reviews9 followers
October 2, 2017
THE BACKUP ASSET BY LESLIE WOLFE is the third book in the Alex Hoffman series but it is the first book I have read. The book is like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded, you never know when a twist or turn comes and when it does it blows your mind!
I felt like I was reading headlines from the news the characters are so real,which I think scared me the most! I am definitely hooked and will be reading books one and two and waiting for the fourth in the series to come out.

I recieved this book free from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
590 reviews4 followers
May 30, 2018
Fantastic! great spy novel. My new favorite super agent-spy-Alex Hoffman.
The CIA-And others ---The Agency is made up of former intell agents now they are the favorite
outsiders to solve the Navy problems and other Government Departments.
A new weapon a Cannon-----and the Russians wanted all the documents-----the spy game is on.
Amazing facts concerning Russian's assets )(spy people) and their leadership.
Amazing technical knowledge that Alex has absorbed and what was explained.

Profile Image for Denise.
1,771 reviews24 followers
May 2, 2020
'The Backup Asset' took me on quite the ride. I was glued to the pages till the end. Alex is turning out to be quite a bad-ass. She's smart, sarcastic at times and truly a great friend and co worker. She likes to test boundaries and most of the time I don't think she realizes she's doing it. Her team is a great group. They work well together. This book is full of action, suspense, danger and some crazy scenarios. A must add to your tbr list.
207 reviews1 follower
November 2, 2024
Tired of the Russians

The book before this one almost made me drop the series. I purchased the entire series after reading the first one. The second one was extremely troubling due to its similarity to some real events that actually frighten me. This one was better with fewer bad guys but still with the Russian plot. After reading the synopsis for the next book I realize the same theme is going to continue. I may take a break before continuing the series.
3,198 reviews27 followers
September 19, 2018
The United States has developed a new cannon for the new ships and it will change the balance of power. The opposite incorporates numerous spies to attempt to purchase the blue prints of the new weapon. The weapon is secure until Intelligence Agents discovered a plot to steal the blueprints and a working model of the new weapon.This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
Profile Image for Judith  Wong.
142 reviews1 follower
January 4, 2019
Another of Alex Hoffman's escapades, again working without much belief in her judgement but plenty of congratulations for her results!

Please see the review of Leslie Wolfe 's books at the end of the Alex Hoffman series. Alex Hoffman is an amazing person and asset to her company and most of all, to her country!
Profile Image for David Taylor.
1,533 reviews25 followers
February 14, 2019
Alex continues her search for V as she goes undercover in a government contractor responsible for a laser cannon. This series continues to not only get better with each book, the action and intrigue never stops, not to mention the detailed discussions of the technology aspect of the story makes it very believable.
Profile Image for Chandru CS.
374 reviews11 followers
March 12, 2019
Good

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quotations used in reviews and articles. This is entirely a work of fiction.
587 reviews6 followers
November 22, 2024
I was all set to give this book 4 stars because it was a very interesting story even though it was very difficult to follow at first. But then the way it ended was very disappointing. After spending all this time reading, I expected to have the story reach a conclusion rather than leaving it unfinished. I don't think I will tell anything else.
475 reviews1 follower
October 4, 2017
The Backup Asset!

I couldn't put this book down. The writing is first class and the characters are very intense. The strategy on both sides is incredible. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
3 reviews1 follower
March 4, 2018
Another winner from LESLIE Wolfe! This 2nd of the AlexHoffmanSeries is as

As intriguing as the first of the Alex
Hoffman series. Can’t wait to start the
Third entitled The Ghost Pattern!
96 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2019
Corporate espionage mixed with political goals

Interesting take on the political attack using espionage as the weapon. The seriousness of such a scenario cannot and should not be ignored. Today's world is probably a reality mimicking this story.
439 reviews5 followers
July 9, 2019
Smart Read

I have like everything that I have read by author. Alex is one of my favorites tho. She’s smart, quick, street smart, and beautiful and she’s true to herself. She has values.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews

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