The Mesa Conspiracy: A Department Thirty Novel

I read David Kent's debut novel, "Department Thirty," a year or so ago. I have anxiously been awaiting the follow-up and just now found out it was available. Wow. I thought his first book was full of twists and turns! "The Mesa Conspiracy" is chock full of surprises and is an even better book than the highly praised debut. I have marked my calendar for the release date of his next book (found it at his author website) and won't wait so long to read it! "The Mesa Conspiracy" was one of the best reads I've had in a long time. Bravo, David Kent! We'll be hearing a lot from this author!

Oklahoma--the land that spawned notable authors such as CJ Cherryh, Mel Odom, Mercedes Lackey, strikes again. David Kent, wearing another hat as KCSC Radio personality, shows promise to join in the illustrious company. The story opens with a woman named Maggie giving birth to a child she's signed away for adoption....She regrets this decision, but what can she do? Just as her son is born, her husband rushes into the operating room. The last thing Maggie remembers is a flash of light. We move next to Art Dorian, an academic, opening the first case for Department Thirty, a US Government agency chartered to pardon criminals in exchange for secrets, a kind of "Witness Protection" program for the guilty. He's signing up Case #1 for the agency, but he has grave doubts about the man he's pardoning. Next, Eric Anthony receives word his guardian is dying. Colleen, a former movie actress, tells him on her deathbed he's not who he thinks he is. She adds a new name to his: Miles. Then, US Marshal Faith Kelly is forced to join Department Thirty because Dorian confided in her before he died. What the agency stands for goes against the grain, but she doesn't have any other choice. Meanwhile, an assassin is starting a killing spree by bombing a law-enforcement picnic. He's set the hit up as a terrorist attack.... Think that's a lot to keep up with? It just keeps going from there. Strongly recommend this second book. I haven't read Department Thirty (the first in the series) yet, but I definitely plan to! Looking forward to more from David Kent.

In Oklahoma City, his ex-wife chose her career over him and their deaf son Patrick so Eric Anthony raises the lad by himself. However, he leaves the lad with his former spouse because the dreaded call he expected finally has occurred. Fifty-nine year old Colleen Cunningham, who raised Eric, is dying from cancer. Just a few minutes away, Eric goes to say his goodbyes to his beloved relative. Colleen shocks Eric when she tells him about his biological parents something she never said a word about in the years she raised him. Eric learns that his full name is Eric Anthony Miles, a little about his parents, and finally she leaves him with an envelope that contains directions to a cemetery. After Colleen dies, Eric travels to the cemetery where he finds a marker with his name and that of a twin he never knew was born. Not long after that shocker, Eric finds himself in the crosshairs of domestic terrorists, a shadowy federal agency Department Thirty, and the highest echelons of DC power. Only recent Department Thirty recruit Faith Kelly can save him, but that goes against her assignment. The second Department Thirty book is a terrific action packed conspiracy thriller that never slows down once Eric visits the cemetery. Though many of the villains are stereotypical, readers will root for the bewildered Eric to somehow defeat them. This likable single father, who feels like Alice falling through the hole, gallantly struggles to understand his past that if revealed will probably lead to his extermination. Fans will read THE MESA CONSPIRACY in one delightful suspense sitting. Harriet Klausner