Change of Heart

I could not stop reading Jack Allens new spy Thriller,"Change of Heart," for 2 days.(I did have to hide it a couple of times because I read most of it at work)Its like watching a movie from start to finish.I can just picture Mel Gibson playing our Hero,Josh McGowan.I'm still thinking about who could play the beutifull,former KGB female spy,Valeria Konstantinov. I can also picture Jerry's face,Josh's new partner, flying airborn on his first assignment with our hero.I honestly bust out laughing at some parts,felt romantic when Josh and Valeria had there first dance,and what she was thinking,and was amazed at what happened next."Change of Heart" is the first in a series of new adventures about Josh McGowan,the American spy with the selfless sense of honor.I can't wait for the next adventure.

Josh McGowan: international (and yet patently American) man of intrigue. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Brave the action, adventure, and breathtaking stunts McGowan executes as he works to rescue a young Russian, a woman of mysteriously high importance to intelligence and military figures of the former Soviet Union. But why is she so important to them? What secrets does she hold? McGowan would like to know, but she's not talking. What we're talking about here is an adventure, a spy/military/political thriller, and first and foremost, an action novel penned with a gift for the mode by author Jack Allen - so much so that this novel might easily translate into one of the action flicks Hollywood is so fond of turning out. If you are a fan of spy novels or action flicks, take Allen's "A Change of Heart" out for a spin. But be careful; on Allen's roadways, the rules tend to disappear.

Nothing is ever routine with Navy Intelligence operative Joshua McGowan, who lives by his own code of honor. His newest partner considered him as passive as an old head of lettuce until the bullets began flying and Josh did his Bruce Willis imitation. In the flicker of a moment, Josh goes from lettuce to a bloodthirsty killing machine intent upon his mission. But when the heat of the moment passes, Josh can't help wondering how he gets into these messes.Josh McGowan began his service in a Special Forces outfit, where he interfered with the function of the KGB making an avowed enemy of Colonel Mironov, the KGB controller for many Soviet operatives Josh encountered in the field. During the Cold War, Colonel Maronov had been a thorn in the side of Josh's boss. With the end of the Cold War, enemies become allies as Colonel Mironov promises the location of Valeria Konstantinova with the provision Josh is the man to bring her in. Valeria knows the location of Dr. Otto Jones, an explosive expert who is aiding the Communist Party in its effort to overthrow Russia's new democratic leadership. The CIA freed Valeria from prison and smuggled to the Siberian coast. Now Josh must bring her back to the States.Valeria Konstantinova is a serious threat to the security of the Communist Party. If she were to share what she knows with western intelligence agencies, the Party would be set back a hundred years. During her short service to the KGB and directed by Mironov, she slept with more than twenty of the most powerful men in the Kremlin. A whore for the KGB, she is determined that her service is done, and she wants nothing more than to slip away with the man she loves. Unfortunately, Mironov plays a dirty game, planning to double-cross the United States and use Valeria to resurrect Communist Russia.Novelist Jack Allen presents the sleuthing world with CHANGE OF HEART. An action packed thriller, CHANGE OF HEART keeps the heart pounding rapidly and keeps the pages turning swiftly as it moves from the murky depths of Soviet water to exotic Tokyo to the heart of the Kremlin. Espionage, betrayal of friend and country, and power provide strong motivation for this plot-driven spy thriller. Josh is no James Bond, with women clutching his elbows and supreme self-confidence. Instead, he's a refreshingly original hero with attitude, vulnerabilities, and no love life. The Joshua McGowan series will continue wit the following upcoming releases: AN INNOCENT AMONG THEM, WIDOW OF CALCUTTA and THE LENNOX CONSPIRACY, as well as BREATHE OF THE FLESH. Outstanding within its genre, CHANGE OF HEART comes very highly recommended.

"Change of Heart" is Jack Allen's first novel. While I do not usually read spy thrillers, I felt a sense of duty to do so this time, since he is a fellow Michigander. In addition, someone who can call themselves Burping Frog Publishing is worthy of attention, if not respect. The news is good. This is an old fashioned spy thriller with all the appropriate parts - evil master spies, beautiful women, a true hearted hero, and all the epic action and violence that a reader could ever ask for.Josh McGowan is the hero in question. He is part of Naval Intelligence and has spent most of his career doing the hard and dirty work of a field operative. The opening scene of the book has McGowan busting up an undercover information theft with a chase scene the has him destroy a truck with one car and then bring down a boat with another. All in a days work for Josh, who has just been ordered to Washington for an even more harrowing assignment. As part of a protection deal, KGB Colonel Mironov (the nasty of this story) has provided the prison location of Valeria Konstantinov. She is a spy that US intelligence is anxious to talk to. Valeria knows the location of Dr. Otto Jones, an explosive expert who is aiding the Communist Party in its effort to retake Russia. Valeria has been freed from prison and smuggled off the Siberian coast by the CIA. Josh's assignment is to bring her back to the States.In a series of confrontations with every thing from a destroyer to sharks, Josh barely makes it to Japan with Valeria. Josh wants to head for the U. S. Embassy, but Valeria is intelligent enough to figure out that she does not want to face interrogation. Playing on Josh's feelings, the beautiful spy manages to escape him and sets up a meeting with her Russian lover. Unbeknownst to everyone, Mironov is planning a double-cross and manages to recapture Valeria, who figures greatly in his plans to resurrect Communist Russia. Josh is caught up in a series of events that will take him to Israel and then back to Russia in his efforts to save Valeria and defeat Mironov's plan.This is a pretty wild tale, long on action, with good solid details. Characterization, no surprise, suffers in this kind of novel. But many of the players are painted well, even if a bit sparingly. I wouldn't hold this against this kind of fiction. Only John Le Carre is prone to pushing the envelope towards making spy fiction great literature. The story is far from boring and will carry the reader right through to the end. My only real complaint is that, while the story reads believably while you are in the middle of it, there are a few places which don't quite make sense in retrospect. Like McGowan taking the time to erase a disk drive in the middle of a warehouse complex he is shortly going to completely obliterate. These few idiosyncrasies do serve to move the plot along and are easily forgiven. I found the book to be great fun, and hope Jack Allen gets to write many more. Recomme

Burping Frog Publishing is Jack Allen's new publishing company, located in southeastern Michigan. Change Of Heart is their very first novel, to be followed by An Innocent Among Them, Widow of Calcutta, The Lennox Conspiracy, and Breathe of the Flesh. Specializing in spy thrillers and espionage novels, Burping Frog Publishing is a welcome addition to the burgeoning small press industry, which is where the real action is.In Change Of Heart, we meet a Mel Gibsonesque Naval Intelligence officer named Joshua McGowan. Joshua is, on the surface, mild-mannered until he finds himself in a combat situation. The first scene finds Josh on the streets of Baltimore, stubbornly tracking an espionage operation. His own personal code of ethics requires him to follow through on one operation before tackling his overriding orders to escort a former KGB spy who has been sprung from a Russian prison by Josh's friends in the CIA. New recruit Jerry shows the reader Josh's amazing character: "Jerry always took that for a load of crap, until he looked into the eyes of the man sitting next to him. Josh was not just some average field agent working a tedious surveillance job for an intelligence organization. He had been changed. He was a soldier, a hardened warrior. Jerry looked away. He completely underestimated his partner. But then, how could he not? To look at Josh he'd never know what he was made of inside."Change Of Heart takes the reader for a thrill ride from the very first chapter, as Josh tries to rescue the reluctant and beautiful Valeria Konstantinov, former KGB agent, who is being used by both sides for information and power. We see the streets of Baltimore, take several helicopter rides full of thrills and spills on the way to the waters of Japan, and finally step inside the new Kremlin as the old guard makes a bid to return to power.Josh McGowan is a hero everyone will love. He is handsome, unaware of his appeal, has a moral code that is beyond most people's ken, and refuses to quit. A great start for Mr. Allen!Shelley GlodowskiReviewer