The Cold Storm

O'Neil #1

by John Etterlee

Book one in this new action-packed thriller series introduces us to Sergeant Roger O'Neil, former U.S. Army Ranger and Veteran of the war in Afghanistan. After years of fighting terrorism abroad, he returns to Montana just to find that home is no longer the safe haven he once thought it was.

Perfect for fans of Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, or Jason Bourne.

On a winter camping trip in the mountains of Montana, an ex-Army Ranger must save his family from a gang of ruthless killers by reuniting with his combat-hardened buddies for one final fight. 

Former Special Ops Sergeant, Roger O'Neil, thought it would be a simple winter retreat with his loved ones in the vast Montana wilderness. 

He thought wrong.

Little did he know that there was something much more sinister in store for them when he finds a lone drifter hiding out in the woods behind his mountain cabin.

Deciding to help the strange man sends his life into a tailspin and puts a target directly on his family's back when they become hunted by the Aryan Brotherhood. With their lives threatened by an unforeseen criminal conspiracy, Roger decides to call on the only ones he knows can help them--a group of gun-toting former special operators who'd love nothing more than an excuse to wage war.

It's a race for time to defend the defenseless and save his family from the clutches of a gang of sadistic killers.

Will they succeed?

Or will they become victims of an extensive criminal underworld?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Etterlee is a thriller author and retired U.S. Army combat Veteran. Born in Augusta, Georgia, he joined the United States Army in 2001, shortly after the attacks of September 11th, and served multiple tours overseas before being medically retired in 2013. Having been to many countries, the Army really opened his eyes to different cultures around the world and inspired many of the books that he has in the works.

John's longest deployment was a thirteen-month tour to southeastern Baghdad with 2-30 Infantry, 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division from 2007 to 2009. This was by far his toughest. Having been in two IED blasts himself, his unit also came under indirect mortar fire, plus rocket and RPG fire on a regular basis. John lost a few friends during that tour.

Although John has always enjoyed writing, it wasn't until recovering from surgery at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany in 2010 from an injury sustained overseas that he began to take it more seriously. Writing has since become a passion for him, and he loves to share his stories with the world of book lovers.

John now lives in North Carolina with his wife Elizabeth, whom he met while stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State in 2011, along with a few furry kids. He studies the German language, and enjoys traveling, especially to Europe, and meeting new people.

Book 2, STRIKE POINT (an international spy thriller) is now available!

351 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 21, 2019

About the author

John Etterlee is a retired U.S. Army combat Veteran, thriller author, lover of horses and other animals, and adventurer. Born in Augusta, Georgia, he joined the United States Army in 2001, shortly after the attacks of September 11th, 2001 and served multiple tours overseas before being medically retired in 2013.

Having been to many countries, the Army really opened his eyes to different cultures around the world and inspired many of the books that he has in the works.

John’s longest deployment was a thirteen-month tour to southeastern Baghdad with 2-30 Infantry, 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division from 2007 to 2009. This was by far his toughest.

Having been in two IED blasts himself, his unit also came under indirect mortar fire, small arms, rocket and RPG fire on a regular basis. John lost a few friends on that deployment.

Although John has always enjoyed writing, it wasn’t until recovering from surgery that he began to take it more seriously. Writing has since become a passion for him, and he loves to share his stories with the world of book lovers.

Aside from writing, some of John’s hobbies and interests include traveling, (especially to Europe) shooting, learning new languages such as German, meeting new people, and music. He is a huge fan of rock music; his newest favorite being Breaking Benjamin. The oldest being Def Leppard.

John now lives in North Carolina with his wife Elizabeth, whom he met while stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State in 2011. He is also a lover of cats. John and his wife share their home with two beautiful Sphynx cats. Feel free to drop him a line any time. Vielen Dank!

FUN FACT: When John is not writing he enjoys being outdoors, and especially shooting his guns. John is into all firearms, but especially long-range sniper weapon systems.

ANOTHER FUN FACT: John is a huge fan of rock music; His newest favorite band being Breaking Benjamin. The oldest being Def Leppard.

P.S. Amazon reviews are always appreciated!

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Reviews

[JAC JACQMIN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story

The story was just ok. The writing was very ameturist like a High Schooler would write. The dialogue evolved like a writer that did not have the Military experiences the writer claims to have. I will not be buying other work by him until he improves his craft!

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

12/1995, Bozeman (Gallatin County), MT. Christmas Time Grandpa Buck (lung cancer, WWII retired Staff Sergeant John “Buck” O’Neil, U.S. Army) was glad to have his grandson Roger O'Neil around.
The 2 of them loved the outdoors & hunting/fishing together.
Later Buck passed away in the Veterans Affairs hospice unit.

Khost Province, Afghanistan FOB. Pakistan. 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, boarded the UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters headed for a Taliban stronghold in/around the Tora Bora mountains.
LZ. C/O Captain Graham (latoon leader), Lieutenant Gary Powers (West Point), Platoon Sergeant 1st Class Joe McGowan, Staff Sergeant Gillan, Sergeant Roger O'Neil (U.S. Army Special Ops), Frank, Shane (Asst. team leader), Lamar (A/A, sniper), & the others arrived at the village.
Mel (Pakistani, interpreter) was telling a local to put his cell phone away.
Frank took out the approaching insurgent.

Whooooooose. Platoon Sergeant 1st Class Joe McGowan had met his maker.
Captain Graham was KIA.
Platoon leader Lieutenant Powers needed to be Airvac right away.
The Night Stalkers MH-60L DAP helicopters were taking out the village.
10/2018, Bozeman (Gallatin County), MT. Roger O'Neil (husband/father, lawyer, JD, retired US Army: 75th. Ranger Regiment) enjoyed spending time with Kate (wife/mother, registered nurse), Patrick (son/brother) & Emily (daughter/sister).
Big Sky (Gallatin/Madison Counties), MT. The family had arrived at the cabin.

Walter had killed the cougar that was trying to welcome them.
Montana State Prison Powell County, Deer Lodge, MT). James Flanagan (inmate, former Aryan Brotherhood, former CIA, assassin, espionage, retired US Army Special Forces, Green Berets, Vietnam Vet) had been planning his escape for a long time.
MT. State Trooper Tillman had pulled James over & he took off running.
K-9 Officer Grant (A/A, retired USMC, Sergeant, dog handler) & his bloodhound were in hot pursuit.
Roger took everyone ice fishing.
Emigrant (Park County), MT. Daryl had picked James up.
Roger rented some snowmobiles.
12/15/2018, Livingston (Park County), MT. Jessica Flanagan (sister) was not real thrilled about seeing James.
Bozeman, MT. Kate & the kids were stuck at home, worrying about Roger.

What did Joey tell Roger & Shane?

Hooah from a US Army PFC (E-3) Vietnam Vet.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very professionally written Special Ops action-thriller book. It was extremely easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great Special Ops action-thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is a quite easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; eBookStage; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Joshua Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming home from a war is only the beginning of one man’s fight in John Etterlee’s The Cold Storm! Army Ranger Roger O’Neil thinks he’s coming home to a peaceful life, but when a family vacation gets hijacked by dangerous criminals, it falls to O’Neil and his former comrades to dole out justice. Etterlee packs in all the action I love from things like Die Hard, but also manages to make you care about the characters! This was a really awesome thriller leaving me excited to see what trouble O’Neil has to shoot through next!

[Bookish Devil · Rating 4 out of 5]

"With his team standing by his side, he would walk right through hell"

and he did exactly just that.

Although the plot wasn't mind blowing or amazing, it still held my interest. The sporadic flashbacks gave depth to Roger's character and it would've been nice if his fellow rangers too got the same treatment. For I wanted to know more about them, their background, and feelings.

[Kerry-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story as a whole but did feel that the action scenes were very short and sharp and no time was really given to the build up or the pre-action build up of tension or dialogue amongst the characters. There was also not much time given to character development other than a couple of the main characters and even then it was sporadic and took away from the scenes it was supposed to be enhancing

[Samuel murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thriller

While the book started off with a grandfather grandson close bond building relationship and into his eventual first combat mission the following jump to O’Neill being a family man and lawyer trying to build a similar bond with his children did not in my opinion fit. I did not finish reading the book in full as it just did not grab my attention.

[Elizabeth Blacker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Good

I couldn't passed the 3rd chapter because of very poor writing. Just could not get in the book . It could have a good story line, but needs lot of help.

[Mr N Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book intriguing from start to finish very good story line easy to read and stay interesting throughout
Very good author

[David Hutson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cold srorm

A good story with lots of excitement and expectations of how the story line will play out a great read I flew through it

[Richard Wichman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cold Storm Review

Great book! Full of action and adventure from beginning to end. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Can’t wait to read more of these.

[john flatman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disjointed story which jumps from one character to another, probably the only book I have not bothered to finish.

[Keith farrow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, couldn't finish the book, not good at all.

[Jimmy Story · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I kept reading this book!

One word, Horrible! The writing is atrocious. Unbelievable storyline. The people who said it was good have no idea what a good book is!

[Joseph Yarchak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

A slow start that keeps gathering speed and pulls you along! Looking forward to the next book in the series

[ralph pointer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner, hard to put down.

A very good read lots of turns switches between characters keeps the book a page turner because of this style

[Juleen Durrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read

This book was fast paced but well written. Bad guys galore but the good guys win in the end. I enjoyed it

[Peter dubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable book that deviates slightly from what I’m used to. Characters were very real, and the storyline for all intents and purposes was incredible from start to finish.

[Fred Henkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly written.

[Alan Jefferies · Rating 2 out of 5]

amateurish

It was very amateur in it storytelling, and the story was very unrealistic. Better luck next time you can only get better

[DLV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!!
This story had lots of Suspense throughout the entire story!!
This was a Great Thriller!!

[Benny Mullinax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent action filled book with good plot and characters.

[Ric Ulloa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a slow read. I had a hard time keeping interest in the story and the characters. I don't really know why, but it just didn't peak my interest in the story or the characters.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful story.

Good family story, which turns into a nightmare.

Pushing the boundaries of realism with thenumber of people getting killed, but beyond that, an interesting story. I like the dual perspective of the two main people in the story and how they are brought together.

Good images, good character descriptions.

An interesting story

[Sue Morcumb · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusual book at the beginning and the end was somewhat confusing!! Almost like the author wanted to end the book quickly, the crux of the story was patchy and confusing but, when the owner of the house found something on his land he had to make a decision which he did, and it leads to further disruption of a holiday for 4. Trying not to say too much about the story is difficult, it is worth reading just to say you have read it, but it was disjointed and lacking any real storyline and I was hoping that at the end of the book there would be a link on to the next book, but, there was nothing!! So I can only assume that this was a one of story, it was not too long and there was some storyline but it was not gripping or interesting enough for me and there was no real drama in the book. It is an easy book to read but you may be disappointed after reading the book as I have been that it suddenly came to a strange conclusion.

[Kalle Seppälä · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion this book had some problems with plot cohesion, at one side the main protagonist was a decorated war veteran but on the other side he made some silly decisions in the private life regarding dangerous situations. All in all I found the plot to be a bit too nonbelievable and also jumping a bit from one part to other.

One aspect I would have changed was also the acronyms explained in parenthesis after the acronym in text. Maybe put a glossary list next time in the beginning or end for people who are not familiar with the military acronyms?

That all being said, it wasn't that bad that I didn't read it all through.

[Terrence Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story, an excellent read on a cold night for a retired veteran. I can't wait to read more stories in this series! I recomnend this to all of my fellow action story readers. The excitement, suspense, and action while keep you captivated from cover to cover!

Loved the story, an excellent read on a cold night for a retired veteran. I can't wait to read more stories in this series! I recomnend this to all of my fellow action story readers. The excitement, suspense, and action while keep you captivated from cover to cover!

[Wayne A Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Great build up to the action! I could not put it down until I finished it.
I recommend this book to all.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those that may have been a good idea but has poor execution and is really in need of an editor. The dialogue was short and choppy and there really wasn’t much character development that made me want to invest more time and I stopped at the 18% mark on my Kindle before deleting it. Luckily, I got it under the Kindle Unlimited program which adds one star to my review. I would give this one a pass.

[Allison Minjares · Rating 1 out of 5]

All over the place

I really tried to like this book but couldn't. Your all over jumping from one implausible scene to the next. It's not even believable how Roger gets involved. No family man with his wife and kids in the car is going to hide an escaped prisoner from the law. And the reasons to be involved just go downhill from there. The best part of the book is the introduction but the story never lives up to it.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading this author and I really enjoyed the book. It’s fast-paced and action packed from the very beginning. I enjoyed how the author was able to utilize his own knowledge to make the military side more believable and therefore more readable than some authors are able to. It’s a great book and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

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