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Con & Consequence
"'Con & Consequence' is a high-stakes thriller that catapults readers across the globe, blending razor-sharp twists, shadowy alliances, and a flawed yet compelling protagonist—perfect for fans of espionage-driven suspense." – NewInBooks
Three Russian nuclear weapons go missing during the denuclearization treaty of 1991. Thirty years later, they turn up in one of the most volatile the Gaza strip. Their path is guided by a Saudi professor determined to disrupt the balance of power in the Middle East. Richard O’Brien, an FBI linguist who finds cocaine and women much more intriguing than his low-level job, stumbles upon the plot. Unbeknownst to Richard is that he becomes a pawn in the Professor’s plan. By deceiving Richard, the Professor deceives the FBI, and eventually the Israeli intelligence community. In a monumental blunder during a covert operation in Jordan, the FBI captures an Israeli agent they mistook for the Professor. As multiple intelligence agencies trip over each other, Richard’s passion for the hunt is ignited, and rules be damned.
In Con & Consequence, loyalties and relationships are not what they appear to be. Who is the Professor, what side is he on, and why do people around him keep getting murdered? Find out in this thriller that takes you from New York to Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It’s the first in the Richard O’Brien series.
Three Russian nuclear weapons go missing during the denuclearization treaty of 1991. Thirty years later, they turn up in one of the most volatile the Gaza strip. Their path is guided by a Saudi professor determined to disrupt the balance of power in the Middle East. Richard O’Brien, an FBI linguist who finds cocaine and women much more intriguing than his low-level job, stumbles upon the plot. Unbeknownst to Richard is that he becomes a pawn in the Professor’s plan. By deceiving Richard, the Professor deceives the FBI, and eventually the Israeli intelligence community. In a monumental blunder during a covert operation in Jordan, the FBI captures an Israeli agent they mistook for the Professor. As multiple intelligence agencies trip over each other, Richard’s passion for the hunt is ignited, and rules be damned.
In Con & Consequence, loyalties and relationships are not what they appear to be. Who is the Professor, what side is he on, and why do people around him keep getting murdered? Find out in this thriller that takes you from New York to Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It’s the first in the Richard O’Brien series.
- GenresFiction
306 pages, Paperback
Published December 17, 2021
2 people are currently reading
984 people want to read
About the author
Ian Rodney Lazarus
3 books11 followersIan Rodney Lazarus was born into a dysfunctional family in Detroit, Michigan, and carried these scars with him throughout his life. He grew up restless, eccentric, and intensely curious. This led him to a career of endless solo business travel, across five continents, and inevitably to many situations that became recreated in his novels. In addition to three books, Lazarus has published over 50 articles in print magazines, and managed a column for a national quality journal where he critiqued everything from the process of renting a car to pouring an environmentally-friendly cup of coffee.
A father of three who barely survived his university years, Lazarus nonetheless achieved his long-held dream of living on the West Coast by the time he was 45.
He continued to take his reckless lifestyle with him when he arrived in San Diego, engaging in sailing, spearfishing, scuba diving and other pursuits where he tested the limits of common sense. Lazarus earned a “Six Sigma Blackbelt” during a brief moment of intellectual curiosity, replaced later by more questionable decisions.
After sufficient injuries to his body and pride, he now spends his time writing from the safety of his massage chair on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, where he serves as Staff Officer for Publications.
A father of three who barely survived his university years, Lazarus nonetheless achieved his long-held dream of living on the West Coast by the time he was 45.
He continued to take his reckless lifestyle with him when he arrived in San Diego, engaging in sailing, spearfishing, scuba diving and other pursuits where he tested the limits of common sense. Lazarus earned a “Six Sigma Blackbelt” during a brief moment of intellectual curiosity, replaced later by more questionable decisions.
After sufficient injuries to his body and pride, he now spends his time writing from the safety of his massage chair on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, where he serves as Staff Officer for Publications.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 13, 2025
This is a groveling, absorbing and simmering thriller that is hard to put down once you get to the heart of the story. The hook to get your interest is certainly understated and subtle but very effective and forceful. There is a gradual riveting rising action that is palpable and will fully grab and solidify your attention and concentration.
The author definitely did put in a lot of research to the book, conveying relatable characters and primarily bringing specific cultural details on spot for foreign-based ones. There was pragmaticism to the plot and there was no doubt in my mind that Professor Isaac Shulman's idea could actually happen in real life.
This cliffhanger is laudable and accurate in its historical content as far as the Middle East issues and tensions are concerned. Richard O'Brien, an FBI linguist is the new hero on the block! I highly recommend this narrative to suspense connoisseurs!
The author definitely did put in a lot of research to the book, conveying relatable characters and primarily bringing specific cultural details on spot for foreign-based ones. There was pragmaticism to the plot and there was no doubt in my mind that Professor Isaac Shulman's idea could actually happen in real life.
This cliffhanger is laudable and accurate in its historical content as far as the Middle East issues and tensions are concerned. Richard O'Brien, an FBI linguist is the new hero on the block! I highly recommend this narrative to suspense connoisseurs!
February 13, 2022
An all too real and plausible terrorist threat takes readers on a fast-paced, roller-coaster adventure around the globe and in and out of the very human-centered, and often flawed, spy organizations we all depend on to keep us safe in real-life. With boundless historical context and vivid narrative detail, the Con & Consequence is a page-turner in the classic detective novel style, updated for the modern digital times we live in today. I highly recommend.
August 15, 2025
In most spy novels we have the complicated action hero. This story takes on a different tact in that the protagonist is Richard O'Brien a linguist with a penchant for drugs and untethered relationships more appealing than his FBI role. Richard is a far cry from a heroic field agent and yet due to a number of odd occurrences he finds himself thrust in the centre of a hunt for missing weapons from decades earlier. Richard find himself in the field as well as having to evaluate his choices in life.
Whilst the action is a little detailed and slower moving at times that I would have like, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, its twists and turns and the unexpected betrayals and murders that occur along the way. I also liked that we got to explore more of Richard's character (the good and the bad).
This story had many similar parallels with current events and thus very believable in parts. I enjoyed the take on the protagonist not being your traditional action hero but a very albeit likable ordinary person.
The ending was fantastic and something I didn't anticipate, meaning I sat there at the end of the book wondering how I missed the final twist. Loved, loved, loved the ending.
Thank you to the author who provided a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
Whilst the action is a little detailed and slower moving at times that I would have like, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, its twists and turns and the unexpected betrayals and murders that occur along the way. I also liked that we got to explore more of Richard's character (the good and the bad).
This story had many similar parallels with current events and thus very believable in parts. I enjoyed the take on the protagonist not being your traditional action hero but a very albeit likable ordinary person.
The ending was fantastic and something I didn't anticipate, meaning I sat there at the end of the book wondering how I missed the final twist. Loved, loved, loved the ending.
Thank you to the author who provided a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
April 4, 2025
What kind of magic was used to create this book? 📕 This is and was a great treat to read! List up all your adjectives and throw them on a page and you have a review that still doesn’t express just how fine of a book this is!
So, let’s just take the easy way. BUY THIS BOOK!📕
Want spoilers, look elsewhere
Michael
So, let’s just take the easy way. BUY THIS BOOK!📕
Want spoilers, look elsewhere
Michael
June 3, 2025
This is an intense thriller that had me from page one but it is also the story that gives me nightmares at night. Gripping action, a convoluted plot and an ending that promises more. What more could you want?
March 28, 2025
An captivating thriller that was hard to put down. Involving many past and present real world problems with terrorism, the author was able to tie multiple story lines together with twists and turns to keep you coming back for more. I can't wait to read the next in the series, Cease to Exist.
I was given a complimentary copy of the book from the author via voracious readers only.
I was given a complimentary copy of the book from the author via voracious readers only.
May 13, 2025
Spoilers: Who would have thought that a simple cybercrime/con job would lead to a terrorist attack that will create generations of hardship and war between Palestine and Israel?
That is the premise that faces various characters in several countries and two continents in Ian Rodney Lazarus’s Con and Consequence, a suspenseful, tightly plotted, but wide spread Thriller.
The eponymous con artist is Jelani, a Somali genius who is using his vast intellect to create fake crowdfunding sites to draw in potential investors while operating as a ghost on the Web. Not exactly legit but cunning, non violent, and gives him and his family some much needed money. However, this scheme reaches Muhammad Amir Abbas who recruits Jelani to join his organization which has a plan for much deadlier consequences and to stick it to various enemies notably the United States and Israel.
Meanwhile, Richard O'Brien, a linguist for the FBI intercepts a message that hints at a major terrorist attack in three days time. This investigation soon involves various terrorist organizations, the FBI, CIA, Mossad, the US, Palestinian, and Israeli governments, the Muslim population of Dearborn, Michigan, and O’Brien’s college age brother and girlfriend.
Lazarus does an excellent job of taking all of these various characters, settings, and plot points and tying them neatly together to make a comprehensible and perspicuous plot. The action starts small but leads to widespread complications that have the potential to lead to long term consequences for years and even decades afterwards.
This book focuses on various characters but the most interesting are three: O’Brien, Jelani, and an enigmatic character named The Professor who will be mentioned later. They form a triangle that takes the Reader through the various angles in the narrative and personalizes them.
O’Brien is an anti-hero made for this type of story. Though he works with the FBI, he is himself not an agent so his pursuits are a more scholarly and communicative nature. This particular case puts him up front and center doing the leg work that his colleagues do.
O’Brien has a very close Irish Catholic family with whom he loves but comes to disagree with, particularly about his job which causes his parents to worry. He is also tight with his brother, Myles who is a well meaning but immature goofball who accidentally stumbles upon the case himself. What starts out to be a funny and contrived coincidence becomes darker as Myles gets closer to his brother's career than he more than likely intended.
O’Brien’s romantic history is held under scrutiny. He ignores the calls of a former girlfriend until realizing too heartbreakingly late why she called. This subplot and another in which he has a flirtation with a female agent shows him as the type of man who is inept in his personal life but adept at his work. His personal life is one of failed relationships and few close connections outside of his immediate family so he devotes his time to his job. He embraces the adrenaline thrills and larger picture of preserving democracy because that's all that he has.
It's a chaotic existence but it's one that O’Brien can use his linguistic skills and intellect to play an important part to the world at large. It's hard to focus on a personal life with romance, relationships, and daily tasks when one is constantly aware that terrorist organizations are plotting to commit major fatalities half a world away.
Jelani represents those who join such organizations and live lives of crime. For Jelani, it's a matter of having a lot of brain, feeling like an outsider and not having much money or opportunity. We learn that Jelani has a high IQ and was recently diagnosed with being on the Autism spectrum. Since his diagnosis was as an adult and he doesn't have access to many resources that help him, he has many of the disorder’s symptoms such as memorization, intense fixations on his favorite subjects, discomfort in public places, and sensitivity to sensory triggers.
Jelani has difficulties functioning, is arrogant about his abilities, lives in abject poverty, and is susceptible to suggestion. Of course he's the perfect target for organizations looking for angry, arrogant, young people with axes to grind, simmering hatred for their situation, and are ready to commit desperate acts for it.
However, Jelani seriously underestimates the situation that he is in. His fatal flaw is arrogance. He thinks that because he has this online scheme and a genius level IQ, he is ahead of everyone else but he fails to realize that when his superiors are fighting a war in which fatalities, terror, carnage, assault, and violence are to be expected, no one cares about his money making scheme. In fact, compared to their activities, his con job is the equivalent of a Yorkie puppy nipping at the heels of a wolf pack trying to prove that he can be the alpha head.
To Jelani’s credit, once he becomes aware of the full implication of his new organization’s crimes, he does what he can to separate himself from them. Hey, he may rob people of their money but he still has a conscience. He might be a genius in academics but an idiot in common sense but he has some standards and one of them is not countless violence towards to random citizens to make a point that will only get worse because of the escalation of said violence.
By far the most interesting enigmatic character is someone called The Professor. Not too much can be revealed in the review because of spoilers, but let's just say they are a cypher, someone who excels in hiding in the shadows.
They have a variety of pseudonyms and identities that are used periodically throughout the book, so characters and Readers are uncertain where The Professor’s real standards and allegiances lie. In one chapter, The Professor guides Jelani. In another, they works as a Mossad spy. You go through the book thinking one thing about them, then turn around and think something else. Then the final pages reveal a final twist that could either clarify or further muddy The Professor's personal truth.
In fact the final reveal causes the Reader to look at the character and their actions differently. It also causes one to question the extremity of their motives and the means to achieve them. It makes one wonder if they were really sincere in committing their actions for their country or people or just for themselves. When a person manipulates that many people on various sides, and intentionally causes more destruction, do their real motives matter?
Con and Consequence may start as a simple con job but ultimately that job like any other action eventually has consequences.
That is the premise that faces various characters in several countries and two continents in Ian Rodney Lazarus’s Con and Consequence, a suspenseful, tightly plotted, but wide spread Thriller.
The eponymous con artist is Jelani, a Somali genius who is using his vast intellect to create fake crowdfunding sites to draw in potential investors while operating as a ghost on the Web. Not exactly legit but cunning, non violent, and gives him and his family some much needed money. However, this scheme reaches Muhammad Amir Abbas who recruits Jelani to join his organization which has a plan for much deadlier consequences and to stick it to various enemies notably the United States and Israel.
Meanwhile, Richard O'Brien, a linguist for the FBI intercepts a message that hints at a major terrorist attack in three days time. This investigation soon involves various terrorist organizations, the FBI, CIA, Mossad, the US, Palestinian, and Israeli governments, the Muslim population of Dearborn, Michigan, and O’Brien’s college age brother and girlfriend.
Lazarus does an excellent job of taking all of these various characters, settings, and plot points and tying them neatly together to make a comprehensible and perspicuous plot. The action starts small but leads to widespread complications that have the potential to lead to long term consequences for years and even decades afterwards.
This book focuses on various characters but the most interesting are three: O’Brien, Jelani, and an enigmatic character named The Professor who will be mentioned later. They form a triangle that takes the Reader through the various angles in the narrative and personalizes them.
O’Brien is an anti-hero made for this type of story. Though he works with the FBI, he is himself not an agent so his pursuits are a more scholarly and communicative nature. This particular case puts him up front and center doing the leg work that his colleagues do.
O’Brien has a very close Irish Catholic family with whom he loves but comes to disagree with, particularly about his job which causes his parents to worry. He is also tight with his brother, Myles who is a well meaning but immature goofball who accidentally stumbles upon the case himself. What starts out to be a funny and contrived coincidence becomes darker as Myles gets closer to his brother's career than he more than likely intended.
O’Brien’s romantic history is held under scrutiny. He ignores the calls of a former girlfriend until realizing too heartbreakingly late why she called. This subplot and another in which he has a flirtation with a female agent shows him as the type of man who is inept in his personal life but adept at his work. His personal life is one of failed relationships and few close connections outside of his immediate family so he devotes his time to his job. He embraces the adrenaline thrills and larger picture of preserving democracy because that's all that he has.
It's a chaotic existence but it's one that O’Brien can use his linguistic skills and intellect to play an important part to the world at large. It's hard to focus on a personal life with romance, relationships, and daily tasks when one is constantly aware that terrorist organizations are plotting to commit major fatalities half a world away.
Jelani represents those who join such organizations and live lives of crime. For Jelani, it's a matter of having a lot of brain, feeling like an outsider and not having much money or opportunity. We learn that Jelani has a high IQ and was recently diagnosed with being on the Autism spectrum. Since his diagnosis was as an adult and he doesn't have access to many resources that help him, he has many of the disorder’s symptoms such as memorization, intense fixations on his favorite subjects, discomfort in public places, and sensitivity to sensory triggers.
Jelani has difficulties functioning, is arrogant about his abilities, lives in abject poverty, and is susceptible to suggestion. Of course he's the perfect target for organizations looking for angry, arrogant, young people with axes to grind, simmering hatred for their situation, and are ready to commit desperate acts for it.
However, Jelani seriously underestimates the situation that he is in. His fatal flaw is arrogance. He thinks that because he has this online scheme and a genius level IQ, he is ahead of everyone else but he fails to realize that when his superiors are fighting a war in which fatalities, terror, carnage, assault, and violence are to be expected, no one cares about his money making scheme. In fact, compared to their activities, his con job is the equivalent of a Yorkie puppy nipping at the heels of a wolf pack trying to prove that he can be the alpha head.
To Jelani’s credit, once he becomes aware of the full implication of his new organization’s crimes, he does what he can to separate himself from them. Hey, he may rob people of their money but he still has a conscience. He might be a genius in academics but an idiot in common sense but he has some standards and one of them is not countless violence towards to random citizens to make a point that will only get worse because of the escalation of said violence.
By far the most interesting enigmatic character is someone called The Professor. Not too much can be revealed in the review because of spoilers, but let's just say they are a cypher, someone who excels in hiding in the shadows.
They have a variety of pseudonyms and identities that are used periodically throughout the book, so characters and Readers are uncertain where The Professor’s real standards and allegiances lie. In one chapter, The Professor guides Jelani. In another, they works as a Mossad spy. You go through the book thinking one thing about them, then turn around and think something else. Then the final pages reveal a final twist that could either clarify or further muddy The Professor's personal truth.
In fact the final reveal causes the Reader to look at the character and their actions differently. It also causes one to question the extremity of their motives and the means to achieve them. It makes one wonder if they were really sincere in committing their actions for their country or people or just for themselves. When a person manipulates that many people on various sides, and intentionally causes more destruction, do their real motives matter?
Con and Consequence may start as a simple con job but ultimately that job like any other action eventually has consequences.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2025
Con & Consequence is an ambitious debut thriller that weaves real-world geopolitics with technical intrigue in a story that spans continents and decades. Lazarus clearly did his homework — the novel shines in its researched details, particularly around weapons treaties, intelligence protocols, and cultural settings. He also cleverly brings in technical details that appear to be from his own knowledge and experience. The story has an authentic texture that fans of international thrillers will appreciate.
The plot is inventive, and there's no shortage of action once the groundwork is laid. That said, the first third of the novel is heavy on setup, and it takes some patience before the main narrative momentum kicks in. Readers who stick with it will find a layered, multi-agency cat-and-mouse game with twists and betrayals that plays out from the U.S. to the Middle East and beyond.
There’s a large cast of characters, which adds global complexity, but sometimes at the expense of clarity — a few players appear briefly with intrigue but fade out quickly, and other key arcs are tied up only in the epilogue rather than within the main narrative. Richard O’Brien, the central character, is more observer than driver at times, though he offers a distinct lens through which the story unfolds.
Overall, Con & Consequence is a thoughtful debut with a wide scope and some sharp ideas. Readers who enjoy modern espionage with a realistic twist will likely find it an engaging read.
The plot is inventive, and there's no shortage of action once the groundwork is laid. That said, the first third of the novel is heavy on setup, and it takes some patience before the main narrative momentum kicks in. Readers who stick with it will find a layered, multi-agency cat-and-mouse game with twists and betrayals that plays out from the U.S. to the Middle East and beyond.
There’s a large cast of characters, which adds global complexity, but sometimes at the expense of clarity — a few players appear briefly with intrigue but fade out quickly, and other key arcs are tied up only in the epilogue rather than within the main narrative. Richard O’Brien, the central character, is more observer than driver at times, though he offers a distinct lens through which the story unfolds.
Overall, Con & Consequence is a thoughtful debut with a wide scope and some sharp ideas. Readers who enjoy modern espionage with a realistic twist will likely find it an engaging read.
November 9, 2025
So let's start with my struggles with this book. For me, it was a slow start, hard to get into. I also felt like there was a lot of names for me to keep track of. Who is a bad guy, who is running the money scam, who is at the school, who are the good guys, which ones are in the U.S. and which ones are overseas? However, I think what made it hard for me to follow was listening to it on assistive reader on Kindle. That just gives you one voice, not a lot of changing tone based on what's happening and who is saying what. I would definitely recommend either reading a physical copy, reading it as an ebook or listening to an actual audiobook, not the Kindle assistive reader. So I'm not knocking the book for my poor choice in reading formats.
Now for the good parts, this was a well thought out plot line. It was intricate. There were many pieces to the enemies part of the story and background on how all of that came together. Then you also got the other POV from the good guys and how they investigated everything and got to the conclusion. I won't give any spoilers. All in all, solid 4 stars. Loved the character development. I like Richard. I'm glad he's the main character moving to the next book in the series. Which is where I will leave this, since I'm going to go start that one.
Now for the good parts, this was a well thought out plot line. It was intricate. There were many pieces to the enemies part of the story and background on how all of that came together. Then you also got the other POV from the good guys and how they investigated everything and got to the conclusion. I won't give any spoilers. All in all, solid 4 stars. Loved the character development. I like Richard. I'm glad he's the main character moving to the next book in the series. Which is where I will leave this, since I'm going to go start that one.
May 25, 2025
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a review. The book follows FBI linguist Richard O’Brian as he gets drawn into dangerous plots that span multiple countries. This thriller is packed with twists and turns you won’t see coming.
I really appreciate the author’s attention to detail—nothing is left unexplained, and you’re never left wondering what just happened. While there’s a lot going on in the story and a wealth of information to take in, the author’s precise writing makes it easy to follow and stay engaged throughout.
I really appreciate the author’s attention to detail—nothing is left unexplained, and you’re never left wondering what just happened. While there’s a lot going on in the story and a wealth of information to take in, the author’s precise writing makes it easy to follow and stay engaged throughout.
April 3, 2025
If you love thrillers with spies and action, this is the one you need to read. Once you open it, you will not be able to put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed this from cover to cover and am ready to dive into book 2! Highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 17, 2025
I went into this blind and didn't think I was going to love this book as much as I did. Never a dull moment, packed with lots of action, it can be dark and twisty with just enough suspense to keep you guessing. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another great twist.
Found the story to be incredibly interesting and well written.
Highly recommend you pick up this book
Found the story to be incredibly interesting and well written.
Highly recommend you pick up this book
June 20, 2025
This is a very well researched book.
There is lots of information given without being too overwhelming or scientific.
I liked the fact that the characters were flawed, it made them more relatable. The story was absorbing and kept you interested. It made you realise how easily these things could happen.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book by this author.
There is lots of information given without being too overwhelming or scientific.
I liked the fact that the characters were flawed, it made them more relatable. The story was absorbing and kept you interested. It made you realise how easily these things could happen.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book by this author.
April 23, 2025
I found the book a bit hard to follow at times with all the characters. However, the story was very interesting. I have no problem recommending it.
This book was received from the author for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book was received from the author for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 11, 2025
A very good read with plenty of plot twists and well developed characters from across the globe. As this is the authors first novel I look forward to reading anything more he produces.
April 5, 2025
Interesting international thriller. I had difficulty keeping up with all the characters and finer details. The threat was minimised and various characters sorted!!!
April 16, 2025
i found it long winded and at times confusing
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews