Crimson Phoenix (Victoria Emerson Thriller #1)

by John Gilstrap

Overview

Brad Taylor meets The Stand in a riveting novel of suspense kicking off a brand new series perfect for fans of the page-turning novels of A.G. Riddle, Mark Greaney, and Matthew Mather.

“One of the most singular and compelling heroines to come along in years.” —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author

“Snaps with action from the very first page.” —Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Stone Cross and of Tom Clancy’s Code of Honor

From John Gilstrap, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Jonathan Grave novels, comes Crimson Phoenix—first in the new Victoria Emerson Thriller series. With America brought to the brink of destruction, one woman becomes the last hope of a nation and its people...

Victoria Emerson is a congressional member of the U. S. House of Representatives for the state of West Virginia. Her aspirations have always been to help her community and to avoid the ambitious power plays of her peers in Washington D. C. Then Major Joseph McCrea appears on her doorstep and uses the code phrase Crimson Phoenix, meaning this is not a drill. The United States is on the verge of nuclear war. Victoria must accompany McCrea to a secure bunker. She cannot bring her family.

A single mother, Victoria refuses to abandon her three teenage sons. Denied entry to the bunker, they nonetheless survive the nuclear onslaught that devastates the country. The land is nearly uninhabitable. Electronics have been rendered useless. Food is scarce. Millions of scared and ailing people await aid from a government that is unable to regroup, much less organize a rescue from the chaos.

Victoria devotes herself to reestablishing order—only to encounter the harsh realities required of a leader dealing with desperate people...
“Just the thing for readers who feel oppressed by the pandemic lockdown.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A gripping page-turner.” —Taylor Stevens, New York Times bestselling author

“An explosive story that keeps your mind churning and pulse racing . . . Don't miss this powerful new series from a master thriller writer.” —Jamie Freveletti, international bestselling and award-winning author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786046645
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Series:	Victoria Emerson Series , #1
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	194,522
Product dimensions:	4.80(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Gilstrap is the New York Times bestselling author of the Jonathan Grave thriller series and other fiction and nonfiction. His novel Against All Enemies won the award for best paperback original of 2015 given by the International Thriller Writers. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. An explosives safety expert and former firefighter, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia. Please visit him on Facebook or at www.johngilstrap.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/14/2020

The U.S. approves an Israeli first-strike to destroy Iranian nuclear weapons, in this pallid near-future series launch from bestseller Gilstrap (the Jonathan Grave series). Given the threat of nuclear war, all members of Congress are transported to an underground bunker in West Virginia, but Victoria Emerson, a U.S. representative from that state, balks at entering when she’s told her two teenage sons accompanying her aren’t welcome inside. She resigns her post to go in search of her third son, a student at a West Virginia military academy. When word of the government’s precautions leaks to the press, Iran acts first, killing millions of Israelis with multiple nukes and triggering a Russian attack that takes out 13 U.S. cities, the president, and the vice president. The House Speaker is left to try to run the country after most of America’s power grid is knocked out, while contending with opposition to his leadership inside the facility. Implausible details—both the president and v-p are in Washington, D.C., just hours before the planned Israeli operation, leaving them vulnerable—don’t help a familiar story line. Still, fans of apocalyptic thrillers may want to check this out. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Crimson Phoenix

“The novel seizes you on page one and never lets go . . . this riveting book will stay with you long after you finish it. And to top it all off, he’s created one of the most singular and compelling heroines to come along in years.”
—Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author
 
“Fans of apocalyptic thrillers may want to check this out.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Just the thing for readers who feel oppressed by the pandemic lockdown.”
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-12-15
When you imagine nuclear war, what do you think next? Gilstrap thinks series launch.

Getting wind of Israel’s intention to launch a nuclear strike, Iran attacks preemptively. So does Russia, which targets major U.S. cities. Communications are sketchy, but it looks as if Britain's not doing so well, and the American president and vice president, along with many Beltway stalwarts, have been incinerated. Escorted by Maj. Joseph McCrea to the Hilltop Manor Resort, the designated secure refuge for members of Congress, West Virginia Rep. Victoria Emerson is informed that her sons, Caleb, 16, and Luke, 13, can’t be accommodated. So she resigns her position on the spot, turns on her heel, and leaves in search of someplace safe for them to shelter together—preferably someplace like Top Hat Mountain, the designated rendezvous for her son Adam, an 18-year-old cadet at Clinton M. Hedrick Military Academy, and the rest of the family. As the legislators immured back at Hilltop squabble about whether House Speaker Penn Glendale is really next in line for the presidency, McCrea, Victoria, Caleb, and Luke, surviving a brush with an outlaw gang led by survivalist Jeffrey Grubbs, arrive in the ravaged town of Ortho and step into the middle of a vigilante case study. It’s up to Victoria, whom nobody in Ortho elected to be or do anything, to provide more inspiring leadership than the colleagues she left behind. Very little is resolved, but that’s more or less the point for this opening installment in Gilstrap’s post-apocalyptic series.

Just the thing for readers who feel oppressed by the pandemic lockdown. Yes, things could be worse.

Kirkus Reviews