coolreads# End of Days @definitelybooks

End of Days
Author: Brad Taylor
Publisher: Head of Zeus
ISBN: 9781838937812

In this riveting action-packed thriller from New York Times bestselling author and former special forces officer, Brad Taylor, Pike Logan must stop a deranged killer hell-bent on starting an international conflagration.

When a paragliding trip over the picturesque mountains of Switzerland results in the brutal murder of the former head of Israeli intelligence engineered by a Shia militia member, Mossad brings in terrorist hunters Aaron and Shoshana to investigate. But the duo need help to find out who is behind the attack and what the attackers are planning next. And Aaron and Shoshana know exactly who to call.

Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill have been trapped in Charleston, South Carolina during COVID-19, so when Aaron and Shoshana show up on their doorstep with Israeli passports and a new mission, they jump at the chance to assist their friends. Besides, Pike and Jennifer are in the midst of preparing for their wedding and Shoshana is their bridesmaid.

So armed with fake Israeli passports (since Americans can’t travel abroad), they follow their friends to Rome, assisting in their investigation. The story takes a turn, though, when American officials start winding up dead, and Pike and the Taskforce gang realise that there’s something sinister in the air.

These killings of key members of the American and Israeli governments are claimed by Keta’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-funded militia group operating in Iraq. But something isn’t adding up, and Pike, Jennifer and the two Mossad operators are determined to find the real assassins before more people are murdered.

They then stumble upon the trail of a serial killer loose on the streets of Rome who is connected to the earlier murders and follow the evidence which lead them to the exalted Knights of Malta. At the same time, they must also wade deep into the contentious religious and political fractures of Israel and the greater Middle East.

It seems the deranged terrorist is intent on drawing both the United States and Israeli into a war with the rest of the Middle East, in an attempt to usher in the Apoloypctic events foretold about in the book of Revelation. To stop him, Pike, Jennifer, Aaron, and Shoshana must connect the dots and make sense of things before it’s too late, and with the end days rapidly approaching, there’s little room for error.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, it’s once again up to Pike Logan to save the day - and this time, he’ll have to pull out all the stops. Aided by his boss George Wolffe, head of the top-secret unit called Project Prometheus aka the Taskforce and working in tandem with the US President, Logan and his team track their killers from Switzerland to Italy to Lebanon and then to Israel, where the final showdown takes place.

With End of Days, Taylor does a good job constructing a chilling tale set in the midst of the COVID pandemic. He bridges the recent past and the present with relative ease, carefully revealing why the American forces who fought in the Iraq War still have reason for trepidation. The result is a story that doles out both suspense and political insight with equal measure.

Like most books in the Pike Logan series, this 16th volume will definitely make readers sit up and pay attention because Taylor’s insider knowledge makes everything here seem all too plausible. He reminds us of what potential horrors may still await, and why it is little wonder that governments must be ever vigilant regarding any and all potential time bombs that appear on their radar.

By the way, the members of Taskforce manage to make it back in time for Pike and Jennifer’s wedding ceremony.