Broker of Lies by Steven James begins A Travis Brock Thriller Series.
Travis Brock works for the Pentagon under Colonel Clarke as a high-level redactor. His eidetic memory will prove to be a necessary asset as he makes it personal when he takes on the discovery of who set the fire to his house that killed his wife Sienna. A year and a half later with the facial and other scars to prove he survived the fire that took the life of his wife who he tried to rescue but couldn't, he's no closer to finding out who set it when an unusual FOIA request arrives on his desk from Homeland Security and Red Team leader Nathan Lassiter. What he sees is an impossible acrostic, and in order to understand it he needs to contact a member of the Red Team who's been taken into custody at the airport.
From this moment on, as is typical in the stories of Steven James, the complex mystery is slowly revealed by introducing the many players in their tangle of agendas. Brock and the Red Team member (Flower Girl) wrestle their way out of a dangerous situation but find themselves in even more danger while being deemed potential traitors and terrorists. The only thing they've been able to know for sure is they need to get to Tennessee for a particular conference about the fragile position of the nuclear power plants in the USA, their potential for being hacked, and what is necessary to eliminate that danger. What they find at the conference is nothing but more real danger and trouble, especially when they're separated to tackle different aspects of the multiple problems.
Broker of Lies begins as a mystery, laying the background and the trail for the hunt which turns out to be multi-faceted. Along about Chapter 16 or so, the story morphs to a thriller as James elevates the threats and clarifies who's leading the packs of villains. He concludes the chilling journey with an ugly twist I didn't see coming. Better readers than I might've figured it out, but it wasn't until just before the reveal that I got it. Will be waiting for the second in the series, and, like Brock will be, I'll be hoping for justice.
Father, you've gifted and blessed Steven James immensely. Please continue to give him what he needs to continue to do what you've called him to do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.