Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWER 5.0 out of 5 stars ‘A bad op is a bad op’
Florida author William F. Brown has penned nine suspense novels and four award-winning screenplays. His specialty is thriller stories that step into the arena of espionage – a very popular topic at this particular time. William is a native of Chicago, received undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Illinois, and served as a Company Commander in the US Army. He then raveled widely in the US and abroad as a Vice President of the real estate subsidiary of a Fortune 500 corporation. William is also a landscape artist.
BURKE’S SAMOVAR is Book 4 of the Bob Burke (former sniper, Army Ranger, and Delta Force commander) Action Adventure series, as aw we have come to expect Brown opens the tale with a Prologue that sets a mood – in Afghanistan – ‘You can say it started three years before on that Op in the mountains…”See anything down there?” “Ace’ asked. “No, and that bothers me,” ‘the Ghost’ answered as he continued t scan the small village below through the Leupold telescope sight on his Mk-110 sniper rifle. Ace has a pair of M-22 Steiner binoculars and was doing the same thing, looking for movement or any sign of life down there, but there was none. They were sent here because Intelligence said there was to be a meeting of five of the local Taliban khans and their lieutenants in the small village this morning. That would be at least a dozen enemy soldiers and tier leaders. So far, nothing. No one was there. Or, it was meant to look that way…’
And so we enter Book 4 of the trilogy – ‘When the Russian Mafia in Brighton Beach steals his company’s Army software contract, blows up his office building in Chicago, and attacks Sherwood Forrest, enough is enough! After dustups with ISIS terrorists, the New York Genovese and Luchese Mafia families in an Atlantic City casino, and a shootout with the Chicago DiGrigoria mob in a Forrest Preserve woods, all this former Army sniper, Ranger, and Delta Force commander wanted was to go back to his North Carolina farm, kick back, and enjoy life. But that can wait. Time to take break up their operation in Brooklyn, take their ‘lunch money,’ kick theirs, and eat their borsht. Then it’s time for a road trip and a house call on their boss in his dacha outside Moscow. With the help of the Merry Men, a Russian Army Colonel, Sasha the Mad Russian, sniper rifles, of course, and plenty of plastic explosive, it is Game On! Undersized, underestimated, and now a telecommunications company executive, Bob Burke is often dismissed as simply the “telephone guy,” but as his former Delta sergeants will attest, whether he’s carrying a .50-caliber Barrett sniper rifle, a tactical knife, or just his bare hands, he is one of the most lethal killing machines the US Government ever produced.’
Few writers today match Will’s style with thriller on a contemporary stage. He never lets us down, and this book is especially strong.
Jimmy D, Amazon Reviewer 4.0 out of 5 stars Burke’s Samovar is a very good read
Story line is different, Russian mafia types from NYC attempt to take over a contract, held by and ex-Special Forces man Burke, to supply IT support to PX’s and military commissaries. When the contract is not renewed Burke visits the Pentagon to get to the bottom of it. From there on in the book everything is fast paced, with lots of violence and killing described in detail, a real page turner. When the story switches to Moscow when Burke and a few of his colleagues travel there to take on and kill members of the Russian “mafia”. Story alleges that Putin looks the other way and Burke and his men get supplied with weapons and kill the Russian bad guys. That part of the book is hard to believe for me, an former Diplomat who served in Moscow for two years. Other than the Moscow portion of Burke’s Samovar it is well worth the read.
Laureen M. 5.0 out of 5 stars Non-stop military action!
This is my first read by author, William F. Brown. I Loved this book…it was a real page turner!! Lots of military action, weaponry usage and detailed descriptions of all the players, both in the Armed Forces and the Russian Mafia, with Burke leading the way! Great plot that took the reader on an extremely fast-paced and exciting race to see what’s going to happen next towards a wrapped up conclusion, mostly with my heart racing!! Looking forward to reading more great thrillers by William F. Brown; an author who has an exciting way of bringing his storyline to life! with a ton of action thrown in!!
John Mariotti, author The Chinese Conspiracy 5.0 out of 5 stars You won’t read a Better action novel this year.
If you haven’t read the Bob Burke series by William Brown, you are in for a treat. Go back and read them in order! If you have read them, this one will satisfy and delight you. All the old gang of characters are back plus a few new, colorful ones.
The big name writers might climb the bestsellers lists because their publishers load the sales, but for downright fun and fast-paced reading, it’s had to beat William Brown’s novels. Ifyou don’t believe that, try them. Warning…they are habit forming. You’ll want to read them all. Nuf’ said!
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David C Taylor 5.0 out of 5 stars Bob Burke takes on the Russian Mob!
Once again William Brown proves he can craft a Bob Burke story that is a page-turner that refuses to let the reader/listener put it down. In this case Burke’s Samovar involved the Russian Mob muscling in on Bob’s company. As is usual with the Burke stories, there was non-stop action coupled with numerous interpersonal relationships that left this reader shaking his head and at times laughing. This is a must read/listen for Bob Burke fans and can serve as an excellent entry point for new Bob Burke readers/listeners. Matthew Newbold’s variety of voices for the character really brought this story to life.
SMC 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book with non stop excitement!
Burke stories are always a treat. I was glad to see his fourth adventure. It was an exciting, enjoyable, constant action book. I think the characters are well written and you are behind them 100%. I hope there are more Burke stories in the future. I highly recommend this book and the other three.
Jason 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars The Merry Men Strike Again
Brown is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. Bob Burke and Co. Are hilarious.
This series reminds me of The Camel Club, in the way character different backgrounds join the group and contribute to the cause. Read one and you’ll be hooked.
Dutchman 5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
An excellent novel by William Brown. It is a continuation of three previous novels. I just cannot get enough of this subject as the action just doesn’t stop. Hurry with the next one
Paula Talbot 5.0 out of 5 stars Good as ever shoot em up get your own back. Action thriller
Excellent read. Done it in two days. Loved it. Use the skills you have and make friends for the skills you need. Great action read and I love the characters running through each books. Hopefully another will soon be around – I’ll wait anyway. My type of action thriller!
Moses 5.0 out of 5 stars A rip roaring thriller!
A rip roaring thriller with action from start to finish with Bob Burke and his band of merry men and women which expands as the story progresses. The Russian Mafia attempt to muscle in on a military contract that is due for renewal to Bob’s Company, Toler Telecom and their heavy handed methods bring out the beast in Bob. After the mob bomb the Toler Telecom headquarters, the computer whizzes employed by Bob are put to work and find where the mob are based so the team can wreak revenge for the bombing. Enter the Russian hierarchy in Moscow wanting to make changes to the mob leadership which makes for a very interesting story, with the Moscow based mobster (Oleg Shurepkin) encouraging his son (Piotr Shurepkin) in New York to take violent action to fix their problems. This leads to a further attack on Bob when the Russian gang heads south to Fayetteville in North Carolina, where Bob has his home, known as Sherwood Forest. The Russians prepare a team of thugs to attack Bob and his family but they know not who they are dealing with and because Bob has prepared for an attack, the Russians are repulsed with big losses.
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All books can be found on Amazon and are available in Paperback, Hardback, Audible, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited formats. All of my thriller novels are available in English, German, Spanish, Italian and soon in French editions. However, my non-fiction Vietnam books are only available in English.
