Targets of Opportunity by Jeffrey S. Stephens

THE ENEMY HAS A THOUSAND WAYS TO STRIKE. WE HAVE JUST ONE WAY TO RETALIATE. HIS NAME IS JORDAN SANDOR. In Targets of Deception, which suspense master Robert K. Tanenbaum called “a fast-paced thriller,” Jeffrey Stephens introduced CIA agent Jordan Sandor, whom bestselling author Steve Alten praised as “terrific.” Now Sandor is back, playing for bigger stakes and facing deadlier challenges. 

Whisked from his Manhattan town house to a gabled CIA safe house in Virginia, Sandor faces off with a top terrorist agent from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. In exchange for protection from his own side, Ahmad Jaber is offering the CIA explosive information: word of a secret, unholy alliance forged among operatives in the Middle East, a ruthless South American, and Kim Jong-Il’s North Korea. Jaber claims not to know specific details, only that the strike will target the heart of America. 

The fanatics stage a stunning diversion in the Caribbean, mercilessly downing a passenger jet and unleashing an assault on a French intelligence installation. Sandor, however, has already moved in a different direction. Leveraging Jaber’s infor-mation, he assembles a small strike force to penetrate North Korea. The team knows they will not all return, but the intel they gather will be vital to American security. What they ultimately discover plunges Sandor into a frantic race against time, struggling to defeat a shadowy figure—a master terrorist with a plan of destruction so perfectly disguised that even with the new knowledge he has gathered, Sandor cannot guess where or how he will strike. 

As a storm rages in the Gulf of Mexico, word comes that two submarines have penetrated U.S. waters. With the U.S. military hampered by the hurricane, Sandor turns to a few daring U.S. Navy SEALs to duel with the enemy they cannot see . . . for now they know only that there are two nuclear weapons aimed at a target of opportunity whose destruction would change the world order forever.

 This book is the second book with Jordan Sandor as a "have his own rules" spy. The first is Targets of Deception. You do not need to read the first book to get caught up with this one, but in terms of having a connection with Sandor it helps. You don't get connected to him much, unless the first one is read. It isn't essential to the story since this one is mostly about international and political intrigue, but since Sandor is much more of a cad toward women in this one than the last, it helped me. :)

Now, Sandor isn't too bad of a cad, but he does seem to see women in one dimension, with the exception of Hea who plays a central part in this tale in getting his arse out of North Korea in one piece. I really liked the respect he had for her, with the exception at times I felt he was too forward. With so much going on all at once, this wasn't too often, but often enough I felt that he would have gone further if he had the time. Also, in the last book I complained about the woman in the book as not being competent. Hea, was not incompetent and in fact, I think surpassed Jordan in some ways. She never took anything for granted including her own family's safety. She is one character I'd love to get to know more.

The one character you did have sympathy for in a surprising way was Jabbar. You don't just get the one dimensional terrorist caricature. I appreciated that and even though he was a "bad" guy, you felt that he was truly trying to do what was right while trying to protect his own life as well as his wife's. I like it when you get a more rounded view of secondary characters.

I give this book 4 stars. It's much more about political intrigue than the last book which was more action oriented. It is a large book, but reads quite quickly. I recommend it to those that love international twists and turns in thrillers where the end goal isn't revealed until the end.

I received this book from Pocket Star books and no compensation for my review was given.