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High Hand
Winner of the IPPY Bronze Medal for Best New Writing/Fiction. Years before the rise of Donald Trump, this acclaimed international thriller predicted the future. A billionaire businessman is on a glide path to the White House. When an award-winning investigative reporter and former Moscow correspondent gets a call from a friend in Russia, he returns to his old stomping ground in a high-stakes bid to uncover the truth about the Republican candidate s secret ties to the Kremlin and discovers bizarre intervention by President Vladimir Putin and a US spy agency's covert effort to alter the presidential race.
416 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2016
36 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Curtis J. James
1 book1 followerCurtis J. James is a pseudonym for three distinguished Washington, DC-area professionals: Curtis Harris, a world-renowned cancer scientist; James Rosen, an award-winning political journalist; and James Ellenberger, a former senior official of a national labor union.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 2, 2015
Author: Curtis J. James
Publisher: Copper Peak Press
ISBN: 978-0-9864303-0-5
Review of ARC copy
With High Hand and under the pseudonym of Curtis J. James, Curtis Harris, James Ellenberg, and James Rosen have combined their writing skills to foray into the thriller and espionage territory.
The yarn involves an intricate elaborate tale that transports us into Russia and the U.S.A with brief stopovers in Israel and Kazakhstan that involves the C.I.A's. meddling into a presidential race concerning a presumptive Republican nominee, Senator Stuart Roberts.
As the narrative unfolds there is an attempted assassination of Roberts while he is addressing the party's faithful at Pershing Square in Los Angeles. Covering the activities of Roberts is Frank Adams, a star reporter for the Los Angeles Register, who himself escapes serious injury at the event.
Several years prior to his entrance into politics, Roberts was a successful businessman as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Russia in the 1990s under President Ronald Regan. It seems that Roberts had been involved in secret business involvements abroad and lately he had been criticizing the Russians, accusing them of anti-democratic behavior.
Within a short time after the attempt on Robert's life, Adams receives a phone call from a fellow Russian reporter, Viktor Romanov, whom he had known from his Moscow assignment at the turn of the century. Apparently, Romanov was part of a weekly poker playing group that Adams had hosted seventeen years ago while he was posted in Moscow as a correspondent for the Register. The group also included Roberts, as well as other individuals whom we eventually discover will play crucial roles in the story's maze.
As news travels with lightening speed in the age of the Internet, Romanov had heard about the attempt to eliminate the White House candidate and he wanted Adams to fill him in on the details. Adams questions Romanov if he thought Russia could be involved in the attempted assassination. After a few seconds of silence, Romanov replies “People here are whispering about that. You know how we Russians love conspiracies.” What really caught Adams' ear, however, were the last few words uttered by Romanov when he indicated that Roberts recently had stopped in Moscow for three days after his trip to Israel. What is this all about and why was it never reported? This had taken place at the threshold of Robert's political career when he was eager to bolster his standing on national security issues. It should also be pointed out, that Romanov was investigating a huge scandal in Russia'where a considerable amount of oil revenue went missing and where they have been diverted was still a mystery.
While Adams meets with his editor Thomas Hawkes, who is his ex-father-in-law, as he was married to his daughter Lisa, he unveils a high tech device which is a state-of-the-art surveillance and interrogation tool.
The device is one of the the products of a company called IntelliView that was secretly underwritten by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and the CIA for more than fifteen years. A beta version of the device was loaned to Adams by Ken Nishimura, an executive of the company, who had been among Robert's original employees when he was involved with IntelliView.
To find out if the Russians were in fact involved with Roberts attempted assassination, Adams takes on an unusual reporting assignment where he is now going to use highly classified technology embedded in the high tech device and sneak into Russia under false pretenses with a fraudulent tourist visa. You will have to read the novel to find out how this plays out and what he discovers.
By the way, unbeknown to Adams, Hawkes is involved with the CIA and Lisa is a covert CIA operative and a Non-Official Cover (NOC) working with no protection from the U.S. Government. Hawkes also is part of a secret rogue operation called Operation Long Shadow where the ultimate objective is to make sure Roberts is elected President of the USA and consequently would be manipulated by the CIA.
This is quite a thriller propelled by a fluid narrative style filled with all kinds of clever decoys, political intrigue, geopolitcial issues and at times, conventional espionage. Readers will enjoy the suspense and unexpected twists of the story-line with enough real world information to make it all seem plausible with characters that are crafted with just the right amount of secrecy. Frank Adams is a strong well-drawn character and someone to root for as he goes about trying to find out who exactly is Roberts. Will he succeed and what will he discover? Will this prejudice his jounalistic ethics? Can I expect a sequel?
Follow Here http://goo.gl/g8O8H4 To Read Norm's Interview With the Authors
Publisher: Copper Peak Press
ISBN: 978-0-9864303-0-5
Review of ARC copy
With High Hand and under the pseudonym of Curtis J. James, Curtis Harris, James Ellenberg, and James Rosen have combined their writing skills to foray into the thriller and espionage territory.
The yarn involves an intricate elaborate tale that transports us into Russia and the U.S.A with brief stopovers in Israel and Kazakhstan that involves the C.I.A's. meddling into a presidential race concerning a presumptive Republican nominee, Senator Stuart Roberts.
As the narrative unfolds there is an attempted assassination of Roberts while he is addressing the party's faithful at Pershing Square in Los Angeles. Covering the activities of Roberts is Frank Adams, a star reporter for the Los Angeles Register, who himself escapes serious injury at the event.
Several years prior to his entrance into politics, Roberts was a successful businessman as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Russia in the 1990s under President Ronald Regan. It seems that Roberts had been involved in secret business involvements abroad and lately he had been criticizing the Russians, accusing them of anti-democratic behavior.
Within a short time after the attempt on Robert's life, Adams receives a phone call from a fellow Russian reporter, Viktor Romanov, whom he had known from his Moscow assignment at the turn of the century. Apparently, Romanov was part of a weekly poker playing group that Adams had hosted seventeen years ago while he was posted in Moscow as a correspondent for the Register. The group also included Roberts, as well as other individuals whom we eventually discover will play crucial roles in the story's maze.
As news travels with lightening speed in the age of the Internet, Romanov had heard about the attempt to eliminate the White House candidate and he wanted Adams to fill him in on the details. Adams questions Romanov if he thought Russia could be involved in the attempted assassination. After a few seconds of silence, Romanov replies “People here are whispering about that. You know how we Russians love conspiracies.” What really caught Adams' ear, however, were the last few words uttered by Romanov when he indicated that Roberts recently had stopped in Moscow for three days after his trip to Israel. What is this all about and why was it never reported? This had taken place at the threshold of Robert's political career when he was eager to bolster his standing on national security issues. It should also be pointed out, that Romanov was investigating a huge scandal in Russia'where a considerable amount of oil revenue went missing and where they have been diverted was still a mystery.
While Adams meets with his editor Thomas Hawkes, who is his ex-father-in-law, as he was married to his daughter Lisa, he unveils a high tech device which is a state-of-the-art surveillance and interrogation tool.
The device is one of the the products of a company called IntelliView that was secretly underwritten by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and the CIA for more than fifteen years. A beta version of the device was loaned to Adams by Ken Nishimura, an executive of the company, who had been among Robert's original employees when he was involved with IntelliView.
To find out if the Russians were in fact involved with Roberts attempted assassination, Adams takes on an unusual reporting assignment where he is now going to use highly classified technology embedded in the high tech device and sneak into Russia under false pretenses with a fraudulent tourist visa. You will have to read the novel to find out how this plays out and what he discovers.
By the way, unbeknown to Adams, Hawkes is involved with the CIA and Lisa is a covert CIA operative and a Non-Official Cover (NOC) working with no protection from the U.S. Government. Hawkes also is part of a secret rogue operation called Operation Long Shadow where the ultimate objective is to make sure Roberts is elected President of the USA and consequently would be manipulated by the CIA.
This is quite a thriller propelled by a fluid narrative style filled with all kinds of clever decoys, political intrigue, geopolitcial issues and at times, conventional espionage. Readers will enjoy the suspense and unexpected twists of the story-line with enough real world information to make it all seem plausible with characters that are crafted with just the right amount of secrecy. Frank Adams is a strong well-drawn character and someone to root for as he goes about trying to find out who exactly is Roberts. Will he succeed and what will he discover? Will this prejudice his jounalistic ethics? Can I expect a sequel?
Follow Here http://goo.gl/g8O8H4 To Read Norm's Interview With the Authors
January 11, 2018
When I see a new political or espionage thriller coming out, I already know I have to pick it up! HIGH HAND by the writing trio known as Curtis J. James is one of those thrillers that is a fantastic reason why I love this genre. Sometimes its eerie with how relevant some of these books can be.
During a campaign rally, Republican nominee, Stuart Roberts, a bomb goes off that leaves him severely injured. It is suspected that the bombing is connected back to Roberts' time in Moscow almost two decades earlier - but why would they want to take out the presumptive Republican presidential nominee?
Fifteen years earlier, Roberts was an ambassador to Russia and was part of a poker group that was led by Frank Adams. Adams was one of the top investigative reporters for the LA Register and was a Moscow correspondent. When all of his poker buddies are being targeted, Frank is on a mission to find out why this is happening and who is behind this. When he has to return to Moscow he finds his life on the line to uncover the truth about the secret ties between the Republican Candidate and the Russian government.
This is incredibly and eerily relevant to today's world and events. I think that's something I admire about this genre. If anything, it can help some people want to pay attention more. I'm always hesitant when approaching a book that is co-authored. Not because I don't think it'll be good, but because I'm always curious how the writing styles will mesh together. Well, the trio of authors that make up Curtis J. James did a fantastic job! The fluidity of the book was perfect and the pacing kept me flying through the pages. Their knowledge and research shines through in this book, without it getting too wordy or feeling like a textbook or research paper.
Overall, if you want a great political thriller, then you need to grab HIGH HAND. I know this won't be for everyone because politically themed books are hit or miss for some readers, but this is one I'd recommend taking a chance on. You'll find yourself drawn in!
I give this one 5/5 stars!
During a campaign rally, Republican nominee, Stuart Roberts, a bomb goes off that leaves him severely injured. It is suspected that the bombing is connected back to Roberts' time in Moscow almost two decades earlier - but why would they want to take out the presumptive Republican presidential nominee?
Fifteen years earlier, Roberts was an ambassador to Russia and was part of a poker group that was led by Frank Adams. Adams was one of the top investigative reporters for the LA Register and was a Moscow correspondent. When all of his poker buddies are being targeted, Frank is on a mission to find out why this is happening and who is behind this. When he has to return to Moscow he finds his life on the line to uncover the truth about the secret ties between the Republican Candidate and the Russian government.
This is incredibly and eerily relevant to today's world and events. I think that's something I admire about this genre. If anything, it can help some people want to pay attention more. I'm always hesitant when approaching a book that is co-authored. Not because I don't think it'll be good, but because I'm always curious how the writing styles will mesh together. Well, the trio of authors that make up Curtis J. James did a fantastic job! The fluidity of the book was perfect and the pacing kept me flying through the pages. Their knowledge and research shines through in this book, without it getting too wordy or feeling like a textbook or research paper.
Overall, if you want a great political thriller, then you need to grab HIGH HAND. I know this won't be for everyone because politically themed books are hit or miss for some readers, but this is one I'd recommend taking a chance on. You'll find yourself drawn in!
I give this one 5/5 stars!
February 23, 2016
I love political\spy thrillers. From first to last page will have the readers wondering more about the geopoliticals around the world. What the readers knows, what they think they know and honestly how we do not know anything. The suspense and unexpected twist will keep the reader hooked. The authors created an amazing story that almost seem plausible.
The characters are well created and you knew what they would do without question. Each one bring the story to its amazing ending that has readers wanting more.
This story is a perfect blend of the questions, answers, suspense and roller coaster ride readers will not want to leave.
The characters are well created and you knew what they would do without question. Each one bring the story to its amazing ending that has readers wanting more.
This story is a perfect blend of the questions, answers, suspense and roller coaster ride readers will not want to leave.
March 2, 2016
This was a fun read. A spy thriller with lots of twists and turns and nefarious plots involving the CIA and the attempted assassination of a Republican Presidential candidate. For a first novel, the authors did a great job. Hopefully it will be followed by the further adventures of Frank Adams ace reporter.
August 4, 2020
Great idea for a book - the plot is a metaphor for a poker game, all the way to the end.
Execution for the book - dense, dry, and dull.
The plot is definitely a tangled web that takes place over several decades and all over the world. The layers of relationships and how they tangle into the web is fascinating.
But the writing is too dense. There are things (backstory, historic events, definitions) that are over-explained. There is too much author-introduced foreshadowing. At times, the dialogue doesn't feel genuine.
It is fair to say that the writing style isn't my preference. I finished because I wanted to see how it ended. My criticisms followed through all the way to the end, including the acknowledgments and the author bios.
Probably a good read for someone who likes international political spy genre books.
Execution for the book - dense, dry, and dull.
The plot is definitely a tangled web that takes place over several decades and all over the world. The layers of relationships and how they tangle into the web is fascinating.
But the writing is too dense. There are things (backstory, historic events, definitions) that are over-explained. There is too much author-introduced foreshadowing. At times, the dialogue doesn't feel genuine.
It is fair to say that the writing style isn't my preference. I finished because I wanted to see how it ended. My criticisms followed through all the way to the end, including the acknowledgments and the author bios.
Probably a good read for someone who likes international political spy genre books.
January 26, 2018
High Hand starts off with a bang. Literally. From there this well-paced story takes the readers around the globe to multiple locations to meet various characters who may or may not be involved. There is lots of suspense and many unexpected turns to keep turning the page.
It’s a fun read if you enjoy spy/political thrillers. I assure you it has a touch of everything from political shifty to Mossad (the national intelligence agency of Israel).
There were some parts of the story though where the dialogue was very heavy and I had to encourage myself to keep moving. Also, this novel is written by three different people and despite how well-written it is, there are spots where that is very evident.
It’s a fun read if you enjoy spy/political thrillers. I assure you it has a touch of everything from political shifty to Mossad (the national intelligence agency of Israel).
There were some parts of the story though where the dialogue was very heavy and I had to encourage myself to keep moving. Also, this novel is written by three different people and despite how well-written it is, there are spots where that is very evident.
November 29, 2020
This book is a disgrace to the written word. Honestly, I'm surprised that I finished it at all. What with the unrealistic, snail's-pace dialogue, the unnecessary and terribly boring tangents that the narrative sidetracks into, and the blatant, disgusting sexualization and objectification of women, High Hand leaves everything to be desired. I opened this book expecting an interesting, enjoyable international espionage novel, and was instead the unfortunate reader of a convoluted, poorly written, and inconclusive waste of time. The plot was disjointed, confusing, and resolved unsatisfactorily, crawling along for most of the book, revving up the accelerator towards the end, and coming to a screeching halt at the conclusion, loose ends abounding. A word of warning to anyone who, against all sound reason and wise judgement, chooses to read this book - prepare yourself for the recurring and disappointing portrayal of women as a sexual device to "enhance" the plot. The one good thing I can say about this novel is that it was educational in that it was good practice for recognizing sexism in literature. If you value your time, don't read this book.
October 6, 2024
Very interesting story. I was confused sometimes with all of the characters and back stories. The hi-tech stuff was interesting but kinda scary too. I didn’t really get the Trump connection that was insinuated other than that it was a very wealthy businessman as the Republican candidate and that there was meddling by Russia. The businessman in the book was nothing like Trump in my opinion. He was already a politician before running for president. But all in all the storyline was intriguing and the characters were quite colorful.
February 10, 2018
With a structure of the novel that made it somewhat hard to follow, a very complex plot revolving around Russian oil oligarchs, United States presidential candidates, and a phantom government agency's men and women, and wordy explanations of so much of the maneuvers of the characters, the novel was too slow moving for this genre. The stretch of the characters motivations and actions was hard to believe!
Thanks to Net Gallery and publisher for supplying an ARC of this work.
Thanks to Net Gallery and publisher for supplying an ARC of this work.
August 3, 2017
Not my cup of tea.....I believe the book was wonderful for those who likes politics and espionage, thus the 3-star rating - it was well-written after all, just didn't pique my interest enough for me to really get into it... It might have appealed to me if it were not so difficult to read, took me two weeks to finish!
May 15, 2017
An excellently done spy/political thriller. One thing to note The author Curtis J. James (actually a pseudonym for the three writers of this book) provides a lot of detail that you may or may not find frustrating in reading this book.
July 12, 2017
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I do not caare to submit as review at this time probably not later. As I don't have or the
September 23, 2016
An eye into the games we play in order to get ahead. Not always right, and sometimes too dangerous to get away with every ideal intact.
April 28, 2017
The characters, story and action made this a great read. The book kept me engaged and entertained.
I would recommend for mystery lovers. The story was plausible and relevant to current world situations. Enjoyed the travel around the worldwide spectrum of intrigue.
I would recommend for mystery lovers. The story was plausible and relevant to current world situations. Enjoyed the travel around the worldwide spectrum of intrigue.
March 5, 2018
I chose this novel because of the topical premise. I wasn't disappointed. It's a well crafted thriller, with enough twists and turns to make it move fairly quickly. I actually enjoyed the explanation of "mcguffin" as a plot device, now I shall look for them when I view movies or read. The only downside for me was that the character 'voices' didnt seem consistent, and at times I had to go back and read again in order to follow the story. If you like your thrillers mixed with money, greed and politics, I would suggest High Hand.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews