Whenever you see the name Steve Berry attached to a book, you can get set for a fast-paced, well-written and fully researched thriller of the best quality. RED STAR FALLING, the second installment in his Luke Daniels series (which he writes with Grant Blackwood), is no exception.

Luke Daniels is intricately tied to Berry’s Cotton Malone series. Not only is he a member of the same top-secret group as Cotton --- Magellan Billet --- he also is the son of former U.S. President Danny Daniels, who appears in those books. I love the continuity and the worldbuilding, and this new tale harks back to the Cold War struggles between the US and Russia.

"RED STAR FALLING is so full of intrigue and suspense that it instantly becomes another Steve Berry classic.... Berry and Blackwood are a formidable pair, producing a timely, politically driven thriller filled with high-octane suspense from start to finish."

The very interesting prologue is set in 1584 during the rule of Russia’s first tsar, Ivan the Terrible. The specific ties he will have with this complex plot has to do with Ivan's secret library, which plays a valuable role in the narrative. In the present day, we find Luke on a mission in Lisbon, Portugal, when he hears from Sean Fernando, the head of a former CIA operation called Sommerhaus. Since Fernando is not Luke’s favorite person, he is suspicious. That is, until Fernando mentions the name John Vince --- the one-time director of a project that Luke worked on who has long been presumed dead. Fernando informs him that Vince is very much alive and spending time in a Russian prison. It is up to Luke to track him down and free him.

RED STAR FALLING quickly becomes a race, almost like a scavenger hunt, with rival groups seeking the same things. Opposing Luke in his mission to get to Vince is former Russian President Aleksei Delov. After meeting with current Russian leader Konstantin Franko, he acknowledges that they do not have the same visions for the direction of their country and decides to hatch a plan to destroy the Kremlin in order to put Russia back on the right track. Delov only has about four months to live, so the clock is ticking on his scheme that requires his head of security to acquire what he needs.

The item in question is the Red Star, which initially was part of a Russian satellite program and later became used as targeted bombs. There is now just one Red Star remaining, and Delov wants to drop this major weapon of mass destruction on top of the Kremlin, wiping out the entire Russian government regime. Meanwhile, Luke has teamed up with Danielle Otero, whose family emigrated to Russia from Spain in 1938, as they both have heavy interest in rescuing Vince.

Vince is being held in a top-secret prison located on a remote island in the White Sea. He and Danielle must infiltrate Russia without any backup other than remote technical assistance and manage a near-impossible extraction.

RED STAR FALLING is so full of intrigue and suspense that it instantly becomes another Steve Berry classic. He already has shown off his knowledge of Russian history going back to his debut novel, THE AMBER ROOM. Berry and Blackwood are a formidable pair, producing a timely, politically driven thriller filled with high-octane suspense from start to finish.