IT STARTED AS AN EXPERIMENT. It ended with an invention. He never intended to use it. But then they betrayed him.
Imagine Vince Flynn's TERM LIMITS meets David Baldacci's ABSOLUTE POWER. _____________________________
Presumed dead after a staged terrorist attack, FBI Agent Odysseus Carr is running for his life with the doctor who rescued him. Meanwhile, the same power players who sent Odi to his death are now manipulating an FBI profiler into blindly tracking him down. She's not just their best, she's also his sister.
As Odi unravels a devious plot of profound political manipulation and global consequence, the hunted becomes the hunter, and the real terror begins.
Tim began his career in Soviet Counterintelligence with the US Army Special Forces, the Green Berets. That was back in the Cold War days when, “We learned Russian so you didn't have to,” something he did at the Presidio of Monterey alongside Recon Marines and Navy SEALs.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tim switched from espionage to arbitrage. Armed with a Wharton MBA rather than a Colt M16, he moved to Moscow in the midst of Perestroika. There, he led prominent multinational medical companies, worked with cosmonauts on the MIR Space Station (from Earth, alas), chaired the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, and helped write Russia’s first law on healthcare.
Moving to Brussels during the formation of the EU, Tim ran Europe, Middle East, and Africa for a Johnson & Johnson company and traveled like a character in a Robert Ludlum novel. He eventually landed in Silicon Valley, where he launched new medical technologies as a startup CEO.
In his free time, Tim has climbed the peaks of Mount Olympus, went hang gliding from the cliffs of Rio de Janeiro, and ballooned over Belgium. He earned scuba certification in Turkey, learned to ski in Slovenia, and ran the Serengeti with a Maasai warrior. He acted on stage in Portugal, taught negotiations in Germany, and chaired a healthcare conference in Holland. Tim studied psychology in France, radiology in England, and philosophy in Greece. He has enjoyed ballet at the Bolshoi, the opera on Lake Como, and the symphony in Vienna. He’s been a marathoner, paratrooper, triathlete, and yogi.
Intent on combining his creativity with his experience, Tim began writing thrillers in 1996 from an apartment overlooking Moscow’s Gorky Park. Twenty years later, his passion for creative writing continues to grow every day. His home office now overlooks a vineyard in Northern California.
Tim grew up in the Midwest, and graduated from Hanover College with a BA in Philosophy and Mathematics. After military service and work as a financial analyst and foreign-exchange trader, he earned an MBA in Finance and an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Thank you for taking the time to read about the author. Tim loves to correspond with readers like you. You are welcome to reach him through Goodreads or directly at timtigner.com/contact
One of my goals this year was to read a group of authors that I knew wrote "my type of books", action packed, fast paced, lots of twists, FBI, assassins, nasty villains. This has them all.
So here again I have find another great author alongside some great action reads this year from Brad Thor, Ben Coes, Mark Greaney and favourites Tom Wood, Mark Dawson, Simon Kernick, Victor Methos, J.B Turner, Lee Childs, Will Jordan, Daniel Silva, David Baldacci Matt Rees and Emlyn Rees.
What makes me give a five star?
If I am reading a book and cannot wait to read the next chapter, I want to stop everything to carry on reading, well then you know you have a book that is good!
Written by a former Green Beret and Military Intelligence Specialist, Betrayal combines Vince Flynn’s hard-core covert action with Nelson DeMille’s/David Baldacci's gripping drama in a thought provoking and suspenseful and action packed thriller.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO if you awoke after a mission . . . in an Iranian hospital . . . as the only survivor . . . of a terrorist attack?
FBI AGENT Odysseus Carr is about to find out.
But should Odi trust the man who saved him . . . or the man who sent him . . . or none of the above?
The epic story is full of everything, twists, shocks, action, brutal at times violence, rollercoaster pace, a great action lead, Cassi an FBI Profiler and twin sister to Odi..
This is one man's great battle, it seems impossible battle against the "Big Boys", the system, who to believe, who to trust, how to survive, and that's just Odi, at the same time Cassi, does not know what to believe anymore !
Just loved the book and the author and gone straight in to "Pushing Brilliance"
FBI, Assassins, Back-Stabbing Politicians...Odi Carr Encounters All In One Messed Up Mission!
Why have I Not read this author until Now ?! Ok, I read many books and may not have found time, But this book has blasted his name on my radar! All my favorite ingredients for a one heck of a story, as Odysseus (Odi) Carr, a FBI Agent, gets details on a new mission from a man who is more politician than military leader. He does not like not being able to tell his team the target, and when he tries to make sure all is what it is supposed to be at the target site, he is removed from command! He awakens in a clinic, his team are all dead...How...And Why?!! Well there are some high powered people in Washington doing things their Own way, Odi finds himself in battle against people he thought he could trust. Odi is not just an FBI Agent, he is intelligent, highly schooled, a bomb specialist, and a chemistry scholar. The folk trying to do things to enhance their careers have no idea what is coming for them!! With his murdered colleagues on his mind, this agent plans for revenge... An explosive story with great characters, extreme action and enough political intrigue to keep you glued to the pages from start to finish!
A waste of time to read this. One dimensional characters, a really stupid plot, ridiculous situations and just not well written. "Twists" you can see a Mike away. Save your time - and don't believe the comparisons to Lee Child, Nelson Demille, or Vince Flynn. Not even close. I don't usually write negative reviews, but want to help you avoid this waste of time. You're welcome.
This was like James Bond and Lara Croft working together in a 24 Hour story! Especially the second half was a real rush. Crazy fun and crazy implausible but an exciting read
BETRAYAL is about breaches of trust, and the consequences thereof. Already one of the wickedest sins, betrayal is especially egregious when lives are on the line, and particularly disturbing when perpetrated by people in power.
All too often the rich and powerful are not held accountable for the casualties they create in the pursuit of personal gain. From the sidelines, it appears that when the payoffs don’t work, either the lawyers find loopholes or the lobbyists create them. BETRAYAL explores this topic on several levels, the central of which is a soldier betrayed by his commander. He does what most victims only dream of doing, and takes justice into his own hands.
Like my other thrillers, BETRAYAL is told both from both the victims’ and the perpetrators’ points of view, although it’s full of role-reversals. I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I love a good thriller and an action/adventure thriller is a bonus. So "Betrayal" aced those parameters. The concept of Odi and Cassi Carr, twins in FBI roles is, to my knowledge unique and offers countless plot possibilities. And author Tim Tigner didn't let details such as believability deter him in crafting his characters. Don't get me wrong, I liked both Odysseus and Cassandra (she's my hero) but I was amazed by their seemingly superhuman feats of strength, endurance and courage under fire. That said, even considering the implausibilty of some of the stunts, the book is very well written with no fillers or "fluffy" phrasing. This is meaty writing you can sink your teeth into. I already have another Tigner title ("Flash") loaded and ready to go.
Counter terrorism became political issue and all the companies in this war will be making billions. They hand out millions to politicians push for war and keep talking about this "fear". Trillions USA spend on this war overseas, our schools, education, roads and bridges won't get the needed money.
This was a tough one for me. It's exciting and fast paced, to be sure. But I'd venture to say that maybe it's a little too fast paced. Part of the fun of thrillers is watching how they get from point A to point B, not just the excitement of what happens when they reach point B. Think Mission Impossible without the impossible part. Oftentimes, that's how this book read. We'd jump from big plot point to big plot point with only a quick sentence or two on how we got there. I found myself missing the journey with all the focus on the destination.
The other struggle I had with the book was with the main character's goal: revenge. Revenge for revenge' sake isn't that strong an objective for a main character -- especially when it leads the MC to make some incredibly dark and disturbed choices. Granted, this character's arc does change throughout the course of the book, but at its heart everything is set in motion by his need for revenge and the way he chooses to exact that revenge. He never has to face the repercussions of those choices -- either from outside forces or internally.
I can get on board with a character who's struggling with their darker nature and sees it as a battle. I can even get on board with an antihero who is thoroughly irredeemable and be amazed & entertained at how heartless they can be. What I struggle with is an honorable MC who acts in dishonorable ways and is never forced to come to terms with it.
That doesn't make for a very emotionally-satisfying read.
A pretty good conspiracy thriller. I'd say it's equivalent to a Baldacci or a Thor novel. The writing was crisp, the dialogue wasn't too stereotypically heroic, the politics? Hmmm....I'm not really a conspiracy buff and I didn't find the bad guys to be that believable. Having said that, the storyline hangs together quite well.
If you like the Clancy/Baldacci/Flynn type of books, this one is for you. If you're more into the LeCarre type novels, you might want to pass this one by.
If you liked I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, you will like this book. Although not as good as Pilgrim, it is very thrilling. It moves at break-neck speed, with a LOT of action. The "seemingly indestructible" hero of the book (as the villain thinks of him at a point), Odi Carr, is a genius research scientist, an exceptionally talented bomb-squad member, and at the start of this book a special agent of the FBI's counter-terrorism department. He barrels through a host of villains and red herrings in this romp and keeps us turning pages. And oh, he has a talented twin! What I did find kinda-sorta unique about this book is that the hero and the heroine are not a couple. They are twins. The author successfully pits them opposite each other. After growing up with Forsyths, where the assassin takes 200 pages planning, 200 more with the execution, and another hundred pages of the fallout the modern spy thrillers keep you on your toes and I like that! There's a plot twist round every corner, and a near-death event every twenty pages!
As to the negatives: a few typos in the book, some really out-there and farfetched events, and an end that tied up most loose ends, but a couple of small details are glossed over, leaving the gate open for a sequel.
Tim Tigner always delivers great action and compelling stories. Betrayal is no exception.
But unlike his other novels, I found it hard to like the main protagonist. Odysseus Card is indeed betrayed in the early part of the novel which puts him on a path of revenge against those who purposely caused the death of his team in Iran. This includes a group of corporate CEOs and one high government official. While what happened to Care was despicable, his actions that follow left a bad taste in my mouth.
Tigner did a decent job of character development here. That is always one of his trademarks. In this case the bad guys are even more fully developed than the good guys. Their motivations are evil, but easier to understand than Carr's. The one character I found totally sympathetic is Carr's twin sister Cassie. She is torn between her brother, her lover and professional ambition. But her dilemma is really the secondary focus of the story.
Recommended for readers who like a good thriller. While not the strongest entry in Tigner's catalog, I think you will find this worth your time.
Great book. New author for me. If you like Brad Thor, Nelson DeMille, Marc Cameron, Brad Taylor, Vince Flynn, AJ Tata, Ben Coes, Alex Berenson, John Gilstrap, etc you will enjoy this author. I wish it was a series so I could keep reading to find out what happened to the characters next.
I have read Chasing Ryan, his latest book which is available here http://timtigner.com/free which introduces a new character which will be in a series (1st one out in 2016 titled Pushing Brilliance).
In the meantime I will be continuing to read his other books Flash, and Coercion.
Be warned, however, once you start reading you will find yourself saying "one more chapter" until you find that you have finished the book!
This book is a totally over the top action romp that is very entertaining to read. Odi Carr is an FBI operative whose team is tasked with taking out a suspected terrorist training camp in Pakistan (don't ask what the FBI is doing operating covertly on foreign soil). Things go horribly wrong and Odi is the only survivor of an ambush. He is rescued by an American-Iranian doctor and learns that his team was betrayed. He vows revenge and sneaks back into the US to extract same.
Meanwhile his sister is dating the director of the FBI who has ambitions for higher office. The means to achieve this are, however, most nefarious. Odi and his sister, Cassi, get caught up in an evil power struggle and suffer more betrayals as they fight to ward off the biggest terror plot since 9/11.
You get the idea - lots of action and suspense, all good fun.
Non-stop action. The plot was unpredictable and allowed for guessing at every turn of the page. Excellent read! I highly recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers or military mysteries.
My brother recommended this book to me and I was not disappointed! This was a fast-paced political thriller in the Vince Flynn/Brad Thor vein. The protagonist FBI Special Agent Odysseus Carr (Odi) is on the FBI's Counterterrorism Response Team. He has been assigned, along with his team, to take out a terrorist training location in Iran but when they get there, it is apparent that the site is really a hospital treating injured children. And then his entire team is apparently attacked and killed but was it terrorists or something else? Odi survives the attack with the help of an Iranian doctor named Ayden who convinces Odi that he was setup by his superiors. Indeed, Odi turns up a nefarious conspiracy by the heads of Defense contractors and high-placed government officials to instigate terrorism for the benefit of the contractors and others. Well Odi sets out to take revenge using a very potent weapon that he has developed. Ayden is helping him in this but is he just using Odi for his own purposes? Overall, a very fast-paced, tense thriller that I would highly recommend!
Terrorism, ultimate betrayal, intrigue, spies, Iran, Washington, DC and New York City. Plus some Senators and possible candidates for higher office. The adventure never stops, and I read it in a night. The text is crisp and clear, easily understandable although often technical (computers and widgets), and the story is relatively easy to follow. If you keep pitting your strategy against theirs (the good guys and the bad), it's a good read. Formatting was/is well done, the text looks good and the editing is clean. But I kept wishing it were better. It got going so fast and never stopped so you barely had time to learn the character's names, let alone really care about them. Huge catastrophes happened once or twice a day and some of the happenings pushed the limits of believability/credibility. I think it is a good man's thriller, even though there is a female lurking around the edges.
This is a very good thriller, better written than many of the other thrillers on the market today. The villains are well portrayed and seem realistic, the two heroes--a brother and sister team--are both strong, compelling characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The plot itself has plenty of twists, turns, and moments in which it seems that all is lost for our heroes. The last quarter of the book is a high-tension ride in which our heroes get into more and more trouble, and it's a testament to the skills of the author that he manages to resolve all these difficulties in a logical and credible way.
I borrowed ths book from Amazon's Prime Library after I read the author's bio. Honestly, his bio is fascinating. The storyline intrigued me so I gave it a shot.
This is a meh book. The basic storyline is interesting enough but I found his characters to be quite one-dimensional. The breakup of the romance between the two main characters (Wiley & Cassandra), for example, was pretty sanitary. Not much emotion there. Wiley decided his career had a higher priority than Cassandra. Pretty much end of story. Let's move on to the next plot. Many of the subplots were not given sufficient detail.
While Mr. Tigner has a wonderful personal story, he is no Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum.
Here's the deal. This isn't Tale of Two Cities or Moby Dick but it's a great time. If there were still phone booths I'd be tempted to scrawl, "For a good time, get Betrayal by Tim Tigner." Look up page turner and there's a link to this book. When I was tempted to question my suspension of disbelief I just kept reading. You will too.
This was such a fun book to read and was unlike most books that I have read. It is very rare that you really truly are not sure if the main character(s) are going to get out of the situation that they are in alive, this one was that. In fact, you really didn't know what was going to happen until the last 20 pages or so. As can be imagined it keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. It is also one of those books that makes you think about real life and "could this actually happen", and for me personally, I tend to try to put situation and real life people in those situations. Even though she is female and the antagonists in this book is a male, you could definitely draw a parallel to real life politicians. Hillary Clinton (her handling of Benghazi and all of her scandals really) or Barrack Obama (and his insistence on executive orders, keeping America in the dark when he makes decisions, and him thinking that he knows better than everyone in the world how to do things) come to mind to me.
Between Coercion and Betrayal, Tim Tigner has risen up to one of my favorite authors with Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and Brad Taylor, so if you enjoy those authors, give this book a read and you won't be dissapointed!!! This is a great read for any adult above the age of 12 that enjoys a great thriller whether you are male or female, democrat, independent or republican.
Tim Tigner's Betrayal was a surprisingly good read. I had never read anything from him, so his style was new to me. The action started right away with dialogue of conflict. The action soon followed.
I read the entire book--no skipping past the parts where the terrorists are blabbing about the excesses of the West and 'death to America.' Every character in the book was interesting. There were twists and turns, including one I didn't seen coming, but should have based on little details throughout the book. That part was masterfully done by the author. I'd tell you, but that would ruin the twist.
On a big plus side, the foul language was very low. I honestly can't remember if I was F-bombed. Hmmm.
Betrayal definitely deserves 5 stars. I wish there was a second book with the same characters, but I think the other books have new people in them. Oh well, this was a great read. Highly recommended.
Meh. Cliched and already done much better by Vince Flynn and others. Very disjointed at times with almost a bad horror movie vibe. Oh my goodness; what else can go wrong to make this even harder for our good guy/girl to save the day.
I read more thrillers than any other genre, and I know what I like. Tim Tigner has moved onto that list of reliable thriller authors for me. I was willingly able to suspend belief as each major character’s motivation became apparent. I think, for me, what makes this story above an average action thriller is that Tigner writes both brains and brawn into his protagonists. It adds to the entertainment for me to have the hero not just outmuscle, but outsmart the villain. A fast paced and fun read.