In an era defined by shifting alliances, relentless technology races and deepening mistrust in institutions, these geopolitical thrillers feel ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. When the smallest spark can ignite global war, only the few — whether from the military or any number of alphabet agencies (or a well-trained rogue operative) — stand between order and anarchy.
From high-altitude rescues and Arctic standoffs to covert White House operations and sun-scorched deserts, these thrillers deliver pulse-pounding action and razor-sharp intrigue, all the while reminding readers why vigilance and understanding in an age of invisible threats have never been more vital.
- “Tom Clancy: Executive Power” by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson: What happens when the president’s greatest threat is his own son? DIA officer Kyle Ryan disappears amid a West African coup, leaving behind a cryptic warning that thrusts President Jack Ryan into the center of a covert crisis. Rather than dialing up the military, the president assembles a shadow task force — with no legal paper trail — to stop an illicit arms deal that could redraw global alliances. Packed with political back-channel maneuvering, high-octane extraction missions and a father’s impossible choice, “Executive Power” is a white-knuckle ride through the corridors of power where every secret is weaponized.
- “Night of the Bear” by Richard Hess and Alan Cockrell: By turns cinematic and claustrophobic, this thriller plunges you into an F-15 cockpit moments before disaster. Pilot Mark “Suds” Matthews, frustrated with the red tape of the US Air Force, is ready to leave his job and fly his final route, but fate — and a covert Russian plot — has other plans, and his latest flight may prove to be his most important yet. Meanwhile, when portable nuclear weapons go missing, maverick FBI agent Darryl McCormick sets her eyes on an evangelical pastor in the president’s inner circle — a man who’s hiding much more than anyone would suspect. Here’s a novel that fuses tense aviation detail with geopolitical subterfuge, keeping you on edge long after the midnight scramble ends.
- “The Lions of Lucerne” by Brad Thor: When the U.S. president vanishes during a Utah avalanche — along with his Secret Service detail — Scot Harvath trades protocol for pure instinct. He teams up with a Swiss attorney on a frigid mountaintop chase, dismantling a ruthless cabal thread by diplomatic thread. From D.C. backrooms to Alpine ridges, Brad Thor delivers a pulse-quickening hunt where every ally could be an assassin and one wrong step means free-falling to your doom.
- “Falling Angels” by John H. Thomas: He survived betrayal at 10,000 feet — now he’s fighting a threat that comes from beyond this world. After being left for dead in Afghanistan, former Army Ranger Maxx King uncovers a conspiracy involving extraterrestrial tech fused with a bioweapon called “Thunderbird.” From sand-blasted valleys to corporate labs under Alaskan ice, King’s only allies are a tight-knit team and the woman he can’t afford to lose. John H. Thomas spins a globe-hopping, heart-pounding odyssey that redefines what “high-stakes” really means.
- “Blood and Treasure” by Ryan Pote: Lost relics, modern terror, zero margin for error. Ex-special ops pilot Ethan Cain is hired to locate the Ark of the Covenant in Mozambique’s deadly backcountry; but what he unearths isn’t divine, it’s diabolical. Hunted by mercenary armies wielding stolen drone technology, Cain partners with a brilliant defector whose secrets could save — or doom — the world. Think Indiana Jones meets Jack Ryan in a downtrodden wasteland where every legend has a terrified heartbeat.
- “The Terminal List” by Jack Carr: Revenge has a name: James Reece. Back from Afghanistan to discover his platoon slaughtered and his family murdered, the Navy SEAL lieutenant constructs a ruthless playbook for payback. As he methodically dismantles the shadow network that betrayed him, Reece blurs the line between hero and vigilante. With each chapter, the tension ratchets higher — because in this war, the home front is the deadliest battlefield of all.
