Burping Frog Publishing Forums

[Jack Allen]

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 Glodowski, Bookwatch Magazine
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

If you like your books to open up like a blockbuster movie with almost thirty pages of nonstop car chase, boat chase, plane chase, superman fist fights, foot chases, gun fights, etc, then Jack Allen’s “Change of Heart” is for you.

We never learn too much about the protagonist, Josh McGowan, during this relentless activity except that he works for U.S. Intelligence and he is super cool. He is smashed and dashed all over his body, steps into a men’s room “Cleaned himself up and went out.” Out to rescue an attractive Russian KGB spy wanted for interrogation by the evil Colonel Mironov, who really has other plans. This proves to be Josh’s almost love interest, but more shoot-em up will get in the way, as well as a husband.

The other cast of characters enter in a rather expected march but have a certain comfortableness to their presence especially for loyal spy novel readers. The second set of gun battles, confrontations and killings comes at the end and sets up the next books in this energetic new series.

Joan Albarella, author of “Agenda For Murder” and “Called to Kill”from Rising Tide Press
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

The Return of the American Hero

“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. Recommended.

Marc Ruby, Amazon.com’s Top 100 Reviewers
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

Very Highly Recommended

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 Mironov 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 her 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 with 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.

Cindy Penn, Senior Editor of WordWeaving.com
Amazon top 50 reviewer, and eBook Specialist for Midwest Book Reviews
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

Everyone Loves A Hero!

Change of Heart is a first novel by Jack Allen, and it is the first book in a new series of spy thrillers about main character Joshua McGowan, a Navy Intelligence operative. Look out 007!

While in the middle of an assignment, Joshua receives a call from the person in charge and he is told that he has been reassigned to an important, new mission. He’s told that he must leave immediately. So, in the middle of the night, he’s off to Russia to pick up beautiful Valeria Konstantinova, a former KBG spy. The request came from former KBG officer and leader of an underground Communist Party, Colonel Mironov--he wants Valeria set free.

Difficulties and strange occurrences happen on and off during his trip to Russia, but nothing a spy isn’t used to, and when Josh finally arrives in Russia, he finds an old friend, CIA agent, dead, and Valeria. Stuck in the middle of the Sea of Othosk in a tiny dinghy, the two get to know each other a little better. Josh finds himself traveling from one part of the world to another, starting in the United States of America, he then goes to Russia, then off to Japan and next, Iraq. Things get out of hand, when Valeria shows her true colors, he finds that he’s fallen in love with her, Mironov’s men kidnap her in Tokyo, plans go arwry, and if that isn’t enough, there’s a direct order to kill Josh.

The mystery and thrills start from the very first page, and continue until the very last page. Jack Allen’s book Change of Heart is for people who like action-packed, page turning text, full of suspense, hair-raising shootouts, dramatic rescues, and adventurous works of fiction. Mr. Allen’s book is full of vivid, thrilling, and edge-of-your-seat writing. His characters are well defined; the setting is scattered all over the world, giving the reader a taste of everything, and his general story idea is superb. I loved reading every page. This reviewer looks forward to reading more works by Jack Allen, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series featuring Joshua McGowan.

Jennifer LB Leese, ASTORYWEAVER’S Book Reviews, www.geocities.com/ladyjiraff/aswbr.html
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

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.

Jonathan Lyons, author of “Burn”, a Science Fiction Noir
BookSense Pick! | 2000 Frankfurt Awards nominee
Dream Realm Awards nominee | Spectrum Awards Nominee
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

Debut Spy Novel Is Great Entertainment

Joshua McGowan of U.S. Naval Intelligence is not a popular man. This is sad, really, because he’s personable and friendly with a great sense of humor -- a great guy to hang around with as long as you don’t mind the fact people keep trying to kill him.

When Admiral Katherine Filmore needs someone to bring in a former KGB agent who allegedly knows the whereabouts of a much-sought-after renegade scientist, she won’t settle for anyone but Josh. Valeria Konstantinova was trained to use her considerable sex appeal to compromise high-level Soviet diplomats, and the CIA has snatched her from a Russian prison on the advice of her former boss, Colonel Mironov. It’s a simple enough job, right?

Wrong. First Josh is delayed getting to his destination by a territorial Air Force commandant. Then the F-14 taking him there crashes into the ocean in a storm. Then the ship carrying him to rendezvous with the escaped agent is sunk by a Russian warship -- but you get the idea. And that doesn’t even take into consideration Mironov’s secret agenda, one item of which is making sure Josh McGowan dies. Indeed, this particular mission gives new depths to the term “SNAFU”.

Jack Allen’s talent for telling a hard-paced, first-class action tale is evident on every page of this novel of the spy who just wants to do his job. His protagonist is a complex, multi-dimensional character who still remains intriguingly mysterious no matter how much we know -- or think we know -- about him. Most of the secondary characters don’t fare as well, falling mainly into genre stereotypes, but that just allows us to take them at face value and focus on the best part of any good thriller -- the action.

As for Mr. Allen’s plot, it has more twists and turns than a country road, with success always dangling just out of reach, and his descriptions of locations and technology add just the right amount of realism to the settings and events.

The only serious flaw in this otherwise adrenaline-inducing and well-composed novel is the poor quality of the copyediting. There are times when the incorrect use of the past tense makes the chronology of events difficult to follow, which in turn forces the reader out of the action while he or she tries to figure out what happened when.

That aside, Change of Heart is a novel well-worth reading and one that will leave action-adventure fans hungry for more.

Elizabeth K. Burton, The Blue Iris Journal
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com

[Jack Allen]

“Change of Heart”, by Jack Allen, is a non-stop thrill ride you can recommend to anyone loves a well-crafted action novel. No “boring parts” here at all! Not to mention any names, but I can easily think of half a dozen other authors writing in this genre who ought to read “Change of Heart” and take a writing lesson from it.

Rita Moran, Apple Valley Books, Winthrop, Maine
_________________
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
jallen@burpingfrog.com