The Crew Reviews Podcast

TCR Episode #105 | Toby Harnden--FIRST CASUALTY

In this episode, accomplished author and veteran foreign correspondent Toby Harnden joins the Crew Reviews to discuss First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11, his riveting account of the first U.S. military action in Afghanistan.
 
 
"Harnden skillfully interweaves dramatic action sequences with the backstories of the book’s central figures, and briskly highlights the failures of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. Readers will be swept up in this little-known chapter of America’s 'forever war.'" –Publishers Weekly
America is reeling; Al-Qaeda has struck and thousands are dead. The country scrambles to respond, but the Pentagon has no plan for Afghanistan—where Osama bin Laden masterminded the attack and is protected by the Taliban. Instead, the CIA steps forward to spearhead the war. Eight CIA officers are dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan on October 17, 2001. They are Team Alpha, an eclectic band of linguists, tribal experts, and elite warriors: the first Americans to operate inside Taliban territory. Their covert mission is to track down Al- Qaeda and stop the terrorists from infiltrating the United States again. 
 
First Casualty places you with Team Alpha as the CIA rides into battle on horseback alongside the warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. In Washington, DC, few trust that the CIA men, the Green Berets, and the Americans’ outnumbered Afghan allies can prevail before winter sets in. On the ground, Team Alpha is undeterred. The Taliban is routed but hatches a plot with Al-Qaeda to hit back. Hundreds of suicidal fighters, many hiding weapons, fake a surrender and are transported to Qala-i Jangi—the “Fort of War.” Team Alpha’s Mike Spann, an ex-Marine, and David Tyson, a polyglot former Central Asian studies academic, seize America’s initial opportunity to extract intelligence from men trained by bin Laden—among them a young Muslim convert from California. The prisoners revolt and one CIA officer falls—the first casualty in America’s longest war, which will last two decades. The other CIA man shoots dead the Al-Qaeda jihadists attacking his comrade. To survive, he must fight his way out against overwhelming odds.
Toby Harnden reported from 33 countries as a foreign correspondent while based in London, Belfast, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Washington D.C. During his work for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times of London, he was imprisoned in Zimbabwe and faced prosecution in Northern Ireland for his work. A dual U.S. and British citizen and former Royal Navy officer, he lives in McLean, Virginia.
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TCR EPISODE #104 | TED BELL - SEA HAWKE

In this episode, New York Times bestselling and acclaimed author Ted Bell returns to The Crew Reviews to discuss his latest Alex Hawke thriller, SEA HAWKE.
Bell's books are international bestsellers, published in 17 countries including Japan, Israel, and Turkey, and Russia, where he is the last spy novelist still published in Russian. The novels are also available in audio versions voiced by actor and good friend of Ted’s, John Shea.


Bell worked for a brief time as an Advisor at the U.S. State Department and is a standing member of DOCA, a unit of the Department of Defense.He was also formerly one of the leading talents in advertising, having won every award the industry offers, including numerous Clios and Cannes Gold Lions, and, as Worldwide Creative Director of Young & Rubicam, the Grand Prix at the prestigious Cannes Festival. 

A native Floridian, Bell, an English major, graduated from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and is a former member of the college's Board of Trustees.
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TCR Episode #103 | Robert Dugoni - THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS

In this episode, critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author Robert Dugoni returns to the Crew Reviews to discuss his latest thought-provoking and evocative book, The World Played Chess.
“The World Played Chess is a masterwork of emotion from an author who seems like he hasn’t met a genre he can’t conquer. Rich with historical detail and as poignant and powerful as the best works of fiction, this novel is a gut-punch of a story that is as fearless as it is insightful.” —Bookreporter
“A riveting story of boys becoming men and the risks they take along the way.” —Library Journal
In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer-Vincent's last taste of innocence and first taste of real life-dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one's own destiny. 
Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. His books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.
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TCR Episode #102 | Simon Gervais - THE LAST PROTECTOR

In this episode, the Crew goes behind the scenes with New York Times and #1 Amazon bestselling author Simon Gervais to discuss his latest thriller, The Last Protector.
Simon spent several years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police protecting visiting heads of state, such as Queen Elizabeth II and former US president Barack Obama, and his expertise shows on the pages of this explosive new thriller.
Praise for The Last Protector:
“Gervais’s brisk series kickoff, which jumps around the world, is built on the tension underlying the tenuous alliances among the sort of power-hungry villains who will stop at nothing. Well-modulated action scenes alternate with showdowns that reposition the pawns.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[A] solid thriller from Gervais…” —Publishers Weekly
“A thrill ride from the first page to the last! Simon Gervais is coming in hot with The Last Protector. Looking for action, intrigue, and suspense? This is your novel! Move it to the top of your list!” —Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Hand
In The Last Protector, we are introduced to former US Air Force combat rescue officer turned Secret Service agent Clayton “Clay” White. When he is assigned a routine protection assignment for the US vice president elect, Clay thinks his days on the front lines are over. But all too soon he is thrown into a vast conspiracy that lands the love of his life—the daughter of the vice president elect—in the crosshairs. Pitted against the power-hungry politicians of DC and deadly South African mercenaries, Clay will stop at nothing to protect her.
You can learn more about Simon by visiting https://simongervaisbooks.com/
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TCR Episode #101 | Yasmin Angoe - HER NAME IS KNIGHT

In this episode, the Crew is joined by #1 Amazon bestselling author Yasmin Angoe to discuss her smash debut novel featuring an elite assassin heroine on a mission to topple a human trafficking ring and avenge her family, HER NAME IS KNIGHT. 
Hailing from Northern Virginia, Yasmin Angoe is a first-generation Ghanaian American who grew up in two cultural worlds. She taught English in middle and high schools for years, served as an instructional coach for virtual teachers, and works as a freelance developmental and copy editor.
Yasmin received the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color from Sisters in Crime, of which she’s a proud member. She lives in South Carolina with her beautiful blended family, and when she’s not writing, Yasmin’s editing for clients, trying new recipes, or absorbed in an audiobook.
You can learn more about Yasmin by visiting https://yasminangoe.com/
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TCR Episode #100 Celebration

The Crew celebrates their 100th episode with special guests Nick Petrie, Don Bentley, Meg Gardiner, David Brown, and Mark Greaney.
We discuss the origin of the show, the state of the publishing industry, and highlight upcoming news.
So pour yourself a drink and pull up a chair. We think you're going to enjoy this show.
If you haven't, please subscribe, hit the "LIKE" button, and leave a comment or a review. And thank you if you have! And if you want to learn more about Mike, Sean, and Chris, or see additional author interviews, visit us at http://www.thecrewreviews.com
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TCR Halloween 2021 | Horror Novel Recommendations

Halloween 2021 | Horror Novel Recommendations
From Stephen King to Alma Katsu, there is a monstrous amount of great horror writers out there, but on this special Halloween 2021 episode, the Crew discuss their current and past favorites.
Find us on social media and let us know your favorites!
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TCR Episode #99 | Vera Kurian - NEVER SAW ME COMING

In this episode, the Crew goes behind the scenes with Vera Kurian to discuss her debut thriller, NEVER SAW ME COMING.  
Vera is a writer and scientist based in Washington DC.  Her debut novel, NEVER SAW ME COMING, was published by Park Row Books (US) and Harvill Secker, Vintage (UK) in September 2021. Her short fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train, Day One, and The Pinch.  She has a PhD in Social Psychology, where she studied intergroup relations, ideology, and quantitative methods. She blogs irregularly about writing, horror movies and pop culture/terrible TV. She enjoys existentialism and puppies.
You can learn more about Vera by visiting www.VeraKurian.com.
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