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Sean Kruger #7
The Virtual Trail: An FBI Mystery Thriller
From Amazon bestselling author J.C. Fields comes the seventh book in The Sean Kruger Series.
Now retired from the FBI, Sean Kruger is bored and restless. When the current President of the United States asks Kruger to investigate the murder of a campaign worker, he jumps at the chance, but quickly finds himself fighting a foreign adversary working to undermine democratic free elections.
MIT graduate student, Danny Barton is a quiet man. A man more comfortable pursuing academic achievement than monetary success. In a quest to finance his academic pursuits, he takes a position within a political campaign to analyze voting data. It will be a fatal decision.
When a hit-and-run accident robs Danny of his future, retired FBI profiler Sean Kruger is asked to investigate. As Kruger digs into the young man's past, he finds a brilliant mathematician who has developed a system for predicting election results. He also discovers that on the night of Danny Barton's accident, the young man carried a laptop computer. A computer which is now missing.
As Kruger digs deeper into Barton's death, he finds a deadly trail of international deception, political greed, and danger to American democracy. And the return of an old foe.
Now retired from the FBI, Sean Kruger is bored and restless. When the current President of the United States asks Kruger to investigate the murder of a campaign worker, he jumps at the chance, but quickly finds himself fighting a foreign adversary working to undermine democratic free elections.
MIT graduate student, Danny Barton is a quiet man. A man more comfortable pursuing academic achievement than monetary success. In a quest to finance his academic pursuits, he takes a position within a political campaign to analyze voting data. It will be a fatal decision.
When a hit-and-run accident robs Danny of his future, retired FBI profiler Sean Kruger is asked to investigate. As Kruger digs into the young man's past, he finds a brilliant mathematician who has developed a system for predicting election results. He also discovers that on the night of Danny Barton's accident, the young man carried a laptop computer. A computer which is now missing.
As Kruger digs deeper into Barton's death, he finds a deadly trail of international deception, political greed, and danger to American democracy. And the return of an old foe.
- GenresThriller
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2021
209 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
J.C. Fields
25 books80 followersJ.C. Fields is a multi-award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. His Sean Kruger Series and The Michael Wolfe Saga have been awarded numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in the Reader's Favorite International Book Awards contest. In March of 2020, his book, A Lone Wolf became a #1 Best Selling Audiobook. The second book in the series, The Last Insurgent, gained Amazon's #1 New Release status in January 2021.
As one of the featured authors on the highly successful YouTube podcast, Fear From the Heartland, hosted by Paul J. McSorley, he offers a variety of original short stories penned specifically for its listeners.
He lives with his wife, Connie, in Southwest Missouri.
As one of the featured authors on the highly successful YouTube podcast, Fear From the Heartland, hosted by Paul J. McSorley, he offers a variety of original short stories penned specifically for its listeners.
He lives with his wife, Connie, in Southwest Missouri.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 11, 2021
The latest book in the Sean Kruger series was well worth waiting for. In this story, two individuals working on the President's re-election campaign are killed. One was murdered and the other one appeared as an accidental hit/run. This raised questions with the President and his Nat'l Security Advisor. Both of them believed that it was best to get someone outside of the Government to investigate. This brought Sean out of retirement as well as JR since one of the peopled killed was a computer whiz. As Sean and JR dug into the case, they discovered that the hit/run was also murder as well. They discovered that the victim's laptop computer was taken as well.
Following their leads it led them to a person who was running against the President and also the campaign manager for this individual who was involved in a conspiracy. Because of the infighting between the various Federal Agencies, it was determined that Sean would be a part of DIA. This later changed to him and his team becoming part of the U.S. Marshall organization. This permitted Sean to make arrests both inside the U.S. as well as outside in foreign countries. Because of the conspiracy, Interpol became involved as well.
Once Sean knew who he was looking for and what enterprise was heading the conspiracy, it wound up being someone Sean had dealt with while in his role with the FBI. JR as well as individuals within his company was able to identify a location for hackers that were out to ruin the American Way.
To discover why the individual killed in the hit/run was so important and why his laptop was taken, what role the President's challenger played, what the intent of the hackers were and how Sean and his team put this all together, then you need to read this book. It kept my attention so much that I read until 1:30 AM to finish it.
Following their leads it led them to a person who was running against the President and also the campaign manager for this individual who was involved in a conspiracy. Because of the infighting between the various Federal Agencies, it was determined that Sean would be a part of DIA. This later changed to him and his team becoming part of the U.S. Marshall organization. This permitted Sean to make arrests both inside the U.S. as well as outside in foreign countries. Because of the conspiracy, Interpol became involved as well.
Once Sean knew who he was looking for and what enterprise was heading the conspiracy, it wound up being someone Sean had dealt with while in his role with the FBI. JR as well as individuals within his company was able to identify a location for hackers that were out to ruin the American Way.
To discover why the individual killed in the hit/run was so important and why his laptop was taken, what role the President's challenger played, what the intent of the hackers were and how Sean and his team put this all together, then you need to read this book. It kept my attention so much that I read until 1:30 AM to finish it.
August 19, 2021
An Exciting Thriller
“The Virtual Trail” by J.C. Fields offers an engaging, suspenseful thriller with unexpected twists and turns. Presidential campaign worker, Danny Barton, is targeted and purposely run down by a delivery truck. On that same day, the manager of that campaign office is murdered.
Sean Kruger, a former FBI profiler forced to retire at the mandatory age of 57, is bored and constantly checking emails until he receives a call from the President’s National Security Advisor. Before the President took office, Kruger had saved his life, and now the President wants him to investigate Barton’s death. Kruger soon learns that Barton was a graduate student at MIT who had created an algorithm that could have a profound effect on the election results and undermine democracy if it should fall into the wrong hands. Barton’s research was on his laptop computer that he carried the night of the hit-and-run. That laptop is missing from the crime scene.
The case becomes more complicated by the day as Kruger, working with a hand-picked team of trusted experts in their respective fields, begins to unravel the far reaching and deadly forces at play. Can Kruger and his team discover the conspiracy behind these deaths before it’s too late to stop those committed to toppling the U.S. democracy?
This is an amazing thriller that grabbed hold and kept me glued to the pages until the very end. All the characters were expertly created and the dialogue was clever and witty. “The Virtual Trail” is the 7th book in the Sean Kruger Series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. This is the first novel I have read by J.C. Fields, but it definitely won’t be my last. I highly recommend this engaging thriller.
“The Virtual Trail” by J.C. Fields offers an engaging, suspenseful thriller with unexpected twists and turns. Presidential campaign worker, Danny Barton, is targeted and purposely run down by a delivery truck. On that same day, the manager of that campaign office is murdered.
Sean Kruger, a former FBI profiler forced to retire at the mandatory age of 57, is bored and constantly checking emails until he receives a call from the President’s National Security Advisor. Before the President took office, Kruger had saved his life, and now the President wants him to investigate Barton’s death. Kruger soon learns that Barton was a graduate student at MIT who had created an algorithm that could have a profound effect on the election results and undermine democracy if it should fall into the wrong hands. Barton’s research was on his laptop computer that he carried the night of the hit-and-run. That laptop is missing from the crime scene.
The case becomes more complicated by the day as Kruger, working with a hand-picked team of trusted experts in their respective fields, begins to unravel the far reaching and deadly forces at play. Can Kruger and his team discover the conspiracy behind these deaths before it’s too late to stop those committed to toppling the U.S. democracy?
This is an amazing thriller that grabbed hold and kept me glued to the pages until the very end. All the characters were expertly created and the dialogue was clever and witty. “The Virtual Trail” is the 7th book in the Sean Kruger Series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. This is the first novel I have read by J.C. Fields, but it definitely won’t be my last. I highly recommend this engaging thriller.
September 13, 2021
‘The Virtual Trail’ is the seventh novel in author J. C. Fields’ Sean Kruger series. Although it is part of a continuing series, one that reminded me of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan books in that it follows the career of the protagonist, it can be read as a standalone. The references to characters and events in the previous books are few and the author always supplies sufficient additional information so that nothing is lost should the reader not have read the preceding novels.
The story is fast-paced with many twists and turns that will glue readers to the chair as Kruger and hacker J.R. take on a group trying to destabilize the US electoral system. It is a very solid and timely tale and, as described by Fields, highly plausible. The central characters, obviously developed over the previous books in the series, are fully fleshed out and lend further credence to the tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will be reading more of the author’s Sean Kruger series. I would recommend this book to those of us who enjoyed the Jack Ryan thrillers back in the day. You won’t be disappointed!
The story is fast-paced with many twists and turns that will glue readers to the chair as Kruger and hacker J.R. take on a group trying to destabilize the US electoral system. It is a very solid and timely tale and, as described by Fields, highly plausible. The central characters, obviously developed over the previous books in the series, are fully fleshed out and lend further credence to the tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will be reading more of the author’s Sean Kruger series. I would recommend this book to those of us who enjoyed the Jack Ryan thrillers back in the day. You won’t be disappointed!
September 14, 2021
I've loved these books since I read the first in the series. Following Sean Kruger's career is like following the progress of a friend. The stories are extremely well written, the characters engaging - I feel I know them all personally since this is the 7th I've read in the series. The situations Kruger and co. Find themselves in during the course of their very believable investigations are intriguing, tense and exciting. The long suffering wives, and expanding families make me fear for their safety, but - you can't keep a good man down, even less a well connected group. It would be nice to think our countries were being kept safe by such people in the real world. I can't wait to get started on book 8 !
December 2, 2021
Poor, poor editing.
The editing distracts from the book. You need an editor who actually knows english, the meaning of words and sentence structure. I would have given more stars if not for the editing.
The storyline is good, a little convoluted in places. A little too much whinning, naivete for seasoned veterans. However, all in all good reads, with all the books thus far. Believable characters.
Sub plots and characters could be filled out a little more, but you will not be sorry you if you choose this series to read.
The editing distracts from the book. You need an editor who actually knows english, the meaning of words and sentence structure. I would have given more stars if not for the editing.
The storyline is good, a little convoluted in places. A little too much whinning, naivete for seasoned veterans. However, all in all good reads, with all the books thus far. Believable characters.
Sub plots and characters could be filled out a little more, but you will not be sorry you if you choose this series to read.
January 6, 2022
This is one of the best series I have ever read. Fast moving, tense, edge of your seat. Sean along with his friends and some help from his White House buddies, stop a major, country wide cyber attack. He's come out of retirement on a new journey.
We were given a small taste of the next book, and I really need to get my hands on it- looks extremely interesting.
Well written and so very worth the time.
We were given a small taste of the next book, and I really need to get my hands on it- looks extremely interesting.
Well written and so very worth the time.
April 21, 2022
The plot about hacking and sending emails to having a spyware program geared to being able to sway and know the outcome of an election
Having Jr as a special agent to the President, was the main role and character for me. The concept was good. Got to be too long and seemed to be repeating of what they were doing.
Evidence that two people were murder could have been brought out more I felt. Have enjoy this series, will definitely read more. Even though this was my least favorite.
Having Jr as a special agent to the President, was the main role and character for me. The concept was good. Got to be too long and seemed to be repeating of what they were doing.
Evidence that two people were murder could have been brought out more I felt. Have enjoy this series, will definitely read more. Even though this was my least favorite.
April 23, 2022
very interesting action book.
The author does a good job of putting this book together, so it has great flow in the story and characters fit together. There is action on every page, that shows how the author thought out each part, and shows the author having fun writing this book. This is one of the few books that I was able to read the books back to back and enjoy them and want more. Read and enjoy.
The author does a good job of putting this book together, so it has great flow in the story and characters fit together. There is action on every page, that shows how the author thought out each part, and shows the author having fun writing this book. This is one of the few books that I was able to read the books back to back and enjoy them and want more. Read and enjoy.
September 27, 2022
Virtual Trail
I binge read the entire series and enjoyed them all very much. I wish he had not allowed time to pass so fast because I definitely would have liked more books. Stories were good and all the books moved well. He definitely loses points for editing. Spelling, grammar and word usage was really bad at times and distracting. That's the only knock. Anyone who enjoys a good thriller will like this series.
I binge read the entire series and enjoyed them all very much. I wish he had not allowed time to pass so fast because I definitely would have liked more books. Stories were good and all the books moved well. He definitely loses points for editing. Spelling, grammar and word usage was really bad at times and distracting. That's the only knock. Anyone who enjoys a good thriller will like this series.
January 29, 2023
#7 great pleasure in the lineup.
I’ve read 7 books in this series in a week. What a thrill! J.C. Fields sure knows how to write them. I just can’t put the stories down. You’re always kept guessing, right up to the end. After reading a couple of books in a series you sometimes need a break. Not with the Sean Kruger series. I will start #8 as soon as I download it. Then I’ll start on another of J.C’s series.
I’ve read 7 books in this series in a week. What a thrill! J.C. Fields sure knows how to write them. I just can’t put the stories down. You’re always kept guessing, right up to the end. After reading a couple of books in a series you sometimes need a break. Not with the Sean Kruger series. I will start #8 as soon as I download it. Then I’ll start on another of J.C’s series.
August 11, 2021
I usually love the Sean Kruger books but this one just was a 'meh' for me. It started with lots of thrills and action and kept up a steady pace. All of a sudden, the plot shifted more into trying to figure out which government agency Sean was going to work for. I feel like a missed the entire resolution of the actual main plot.
To be fair, I was recovering from a surgery and had taken a lot of pain meds so that could be it, too. I'll definitely be back for book 9 (hopefully without any scars or pills).
To be fair, I was recovering from a surgery and had taken a lot of pain meds so that could be it, too. I'll definitely be back for book 9 (hopefully without any scars or pills).
March 30, 2022
Another great Sean Kruger mystery
Two members of the President’s IT staff have met with accidents and Sean Kruger is called to D.C. by the President to find out who is responsible. Sean and his crew discover there is a plan to infect election computers so they correct the election results.
Two members of the President’s IT staff have met with accidents and Sean Kruger is called to D.C. by the President to find out who is responsible. Sean and his crew discover there is a plan to infect election computers so they correct the election results.
December 30, 2022
Another fast paced action story with many twists and turns. Sean is forced to retire from the FBI but the president keeps searching for ways to keep him employed by the government. He winds up in the US Marshall service as he is chasing cyber criminals to Canada and Estonia. Great reading and continued excellenc
November 15, 2021
Virtual Trail
Another good entry in the series. By now the characters are all old friends. They have been developed nicely and work well together. The plot could have been taken from today’s headlines. Plenty of action. Very enjoyable read. Recommended.
Another good entry in the series. By now the characters are all old friends. They have been developed nicely and work well together. The plot could have been taken from today’s headlines. Plenty of action. Very enjoyable read. Recommended.
January 10, 2022
Political crime
Action with political crime. All too believable corrupt and inept people in jobs or positions that allow them to take financial advantage of others. Computer dependency and reliance creates the opportunity for scams and crime
Action with political crime. All too believable corrupt and inept people in jobs or positions that allow them to take financial advantage of others. Computer dependency and reliance creates the opportunity for scams and crime
January 14, 2023
Riveting
An outstanding book. Lots of twist and turns. The reluctance of the main character to retire gets himself into some very dicey situations. All in all extremely hard to put down. Loved it
An outstanding book. Lots of twist and turns. The reluctance of the main character to retire gets himself into some very dicey situations. All in all extremely hard to put down. Loved it
January 16, 2023
Sean and JR at their best
Well written and captivating. If you like cop stories this is one of the best. The stories are real enough to keep you turning pages. Nice wholesome books.
Well written and captivating. If you like cop stories this is one of the best. The stories are real enough to keep you turning pages. Nice wholesome books.
October 11, 2023
Fault don't start this book until you have your schedule cleared. You will not want to put it down once you get started. Have your coffee maker going so you can drink coffee with Sean Kruger and read and read and read
June 7, 2025
Well Done!
This was a fun read. Sean and JR got quite a bit of travel in this episode. It was interesting to have JR more involved and for him to get closure with his old partner. A very engaging book!
This was a fun read. Sean and JR got quite a bit of travel in this episode. It was interesting to have JR more involved and for him to get closure with his old partner. A very engaging book!
July 30, 2025
great series
I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that he never stops writing. His books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.
I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that he never stops writing. His books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.
March 19, 2023
Foreign Virus
JR and Sean are investigating a computer virus that threatens free elections worldwide. Follow their adventures travels in The Virtual Trail.
JR and Sean are investigating a computer virus that threatens free elections worldwide. Follow their adventures travels in The Virtual Trail.
April 15, 2023
A truly amazing book in a wonderful series.
July 21, 2023
Another good book from this series that's hard to put down. I rate it 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews