Hawke spins his international counter-terrorism tale at a breakneck pace starting with the 1999 shoot down of a U.S. super-secret stealth military jet in Bosnia and a terrorist plot to use the plane’s technology for nefarious purposes. From there, and over the course of the 10 years after the crash, the action shifts to various international terrorist strongholds, with each playing supporting roles trying to stop the terrorists.
When U.S. Special Forces attempt to retrieve the plane and the military technology, they are ambushed and killed. However, paratrooper David Gray luckily survives because Ari Cohen, a member of the Israeli spy agency Mossad (on “loan” to the U.S. intelligence community) is sent in to help the Americans and guides him to safety – forming a life-long friendship. Gray and Cohen are drawn into the conspiracy involving Iran, Russia, the Mob and a web of intrigue involving a more than 200-year-old secret American society sworn to protect America called The Eyes of Athena.
Hawke’s writing excels, especially during the book’s many action sequences. The dialogue in the novel is both crisp and tense but also humorous at times making for a captivating read that should now be mentioned in the same breath as genre masters – Daniel Silva, Brad Thor and Tom Clancy.
THE EYES OF ATHENA is just what a mystery/espionage novel should be – quick, action-packed and full of intrigue.
~ IndieReader.