Tom Dugan Series by R.E. McDermott

In the tradition of Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and W.E.B. Griffin, R.E. McDermott delivers a thriller to rival the masters.When marine engineer and very part-time spook Tom Dugan becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down.Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear himself by helping the CIA snare their real prey, Dugan's best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz... moreIn the tradition of Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and W.E.B. Griffin, R.E. McDermott delivers a thriller to rival the masters.When marine engineer and very part-time spook Tom Dugan becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down.Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear himself by helping the CIA snare their real prey, Dugan's best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex's company, despite doubts about his friend's guilt. Once undercover, Dugan's steadfast refusal to accept Alex's guilt puts him at odds not only with his CIA superiors, but also with a beautiful British agent with whom he's romantically involved.When a tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in Panama as Alex lies near death after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan is framed for the attacks. Out of options, and convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan eludes capture to follow his last lead to Russia, only to be shanghaied as an 'advisor' to a Russian Spetsnaz unit on a suicide mission.Deadly Straits is a non-stop thrill ride, from London streets, to the dry docks of Singapore, to the decks of the tankers that slake the world's thirst for oil, with stops along the way in Panama, Langley, Virginia, and Teheran. Richly spiced with detail from the author's 30 years sailing, building, and repairing ships worldwide, it is, in the words of one reviewer, "fast-paced, multilayered and gripping." less

A phone call. A common enough event, sometimes welcome, sometimes annoying, but seldom life changing. Or so we assume. But assumptions are dangerous things, and the reality is we all live one phone call away from disaster. One cheerful ring away from news of a tragic accident. One muted buzz from learning a lifetime of memories have disappeared in a raging house fire. And so it is for Tom Dugan, rolling though the London night, the woman he loves in the taxi beside him... moreA phone call. A common enough event, sometimes welcome, sometimes annoying, but seldom life changing. Or so we assume. But assumptions are dangerous things, and the reality is we all live one phone call away from disaster. One cheerful ring away from news of a tragic accident. One muted buzz from learning a lifetime of memories have disappeared in a raging house fire. And so it is for Tom Dugan, rolling though the London night, the woman he loves in the taxi beside him. Life is good by any measure — until his phone rings, alerting him to the arrival of two old Russian friends with a very big problem. Dugan’s attempts to help his friends rescue an innocent girl from the Russian mob plunge him into a world he’d scarcely imagined, endangering him and everyone he holds dear. A world of modern day slavery and unspeakable cruelty, from which no one will escape, unless Dugan can weather a Deadly Crossing. less