Rogue is Book One in An American Ghost Thriller Series by J.B. Turner.
Rogue might be the most unusual novel I've ever read. It's dark, the anti-hero is a psychopath, not because he was meant to be "that" way but because he was re-created to be exactly that. Successfully. If you're unfamiliar with Project MK-Ultra (not the 90's band), the story might just seem like a vicious take on "natural" assassins who follow orders without a conscience and actually get a thrill from murdering people.
However, Turner uses a subtle approach to gain a bit of sympathy for his character (Nathan Stone) by giving the reader periodic history of his childhood with his older sister. It isn't pretty. And those who recruited Stone for the wet work went to the "ultra" extreme when he was in a boating accident and "died". Not only did they revive him, "they" remade him physically, emotionally, and tactically to make him a killing machine they could dispatch to wherever they wanted for whomever they wanted dead.
There's no easier way to describe the "they" in this story than to equate it with "the cabal". A secret group who wants to control the world's political scene, conduct, and actions and will not tolerate those who don't play along with their money, their power, their demands, their domination. They have people in their tight circle who have compiled a list of those who need to be "neutralized" because of opposing actions, belief systems, compliance issues. The decisions for what follows must be unanimous, and they've got one of their best handlers directing Nathan Stone.
But when the list is leaked from a secret CIA file, and their intentions become exposed, there is panic when "things" go haywire. And when Nathan Stone discovers their intentions for him, everything and everyone is threatened.
Rogue is so contemporary, more so than probably most people care to admit. Some of the reviews were killer in a totally negative way. One-stars asking why an author would even attempt to justify an anti-hero like this one, a complete psychopath, vowing never to read another one in the series or even to read another J. B. Turner novel! Others criticized the weaponry used saying the depictions were impossible.
Unlike some reviewers, I wanted to like Nathan Stone, but the cabal in this story did in fact make him into a unique and unappealing psychopath with one soft spot: his sister. Again, it's hard to deny the MK-Ultra factor in this story which basically boils down to man's inhumanity to man and wanting the ultimate control over others by a small "elitist" and evil group.
Can I recommend this novel to you? I cannot. It's dark from start to almost the finish. But here's the thing, because of the world today: it's believable.
Profanity present.
Father, you've told us that one day you will have had enough and will put an end to all of this. In the meantime, you continue to reach out to your creation, longing for them to repent and turn to the sacrifice made on their behalf by your Son. You see hearts beneath all the actions. May your creation reach out to you in great numbers before you say it's over. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.