Review in Idaho Statesman
🔗 http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/06/02/2599993/third-book-in-detective-series.html
Mike is the author of the three books in the Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery series: Big Sick Heart, Deviations, and The Broken Saint.
<p><strong>KURDISH SCAVENGERS UNCOVER A CACHE OF NERVE GAS IN IRAQ AND OFFER THEM TO KURDISH FIGHTERS IN TURKEY. THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS BEDLAM ALPHA TEAM MUST SECURE THE WEAPONS BEFORE THEY CAN BE USED.</strong></p><p>"<strong>You must swear by Allah never to say a word of what I'm going to tell you. </strong><strong>This is the most important secret. Ever!"</strong></p><p><em>In their daily struggle for survival, Iraqi Kurdish scavengers uncover a cache of chemical weapons. They offer the weapons to fellow Kurdish rebels in Turkey and Syria to assist in their quest to free an imprisoned leader and create a unified homeland. After receiving a tip from an unlikely source, the newly formed Special Operations Bedlam team is called to arms! </em></p><p><em>Travel with Craig Cameron and his international team on their covert operation as they weave their way through war-torn regions seeking to locate and recover the weapons before they can be used to cause irreparable harm and instigate a world crisis. </em></p><p><em>The odds are stacked against them. Can they manage to keep their operation hidden and prevent further clashes before it's too late?</em></p><p>"The Kurdish Connection--a compelling read. A story of friendship, danger and intrigue."--<em>Ann Everett, Amazon Best Selling Author.</em></p><p>..". Randall's authentic voice adds a powerful push to keep a reader turning the pages." --<em>Janet Taylor-Perry, author of The</em><em> Raiford</em><em> Chronicles, The Legend of</em><em> Draconis</em><em> Saga, and April Chastain Intrigues.</em></p><p>"Topical - Engaging - Intriguing - Powerful ... A real page turner."--<em>Rikon Gaites</em><em>, author of Mummy's Little Soldier and Darius</em><em> Odenkirk</em><em>.</em></p><p>..". Randall Krzak brings his wealth of experience living in this troubled part of the world and his military knowledge to bear in this exciting story..."--<em>John L.</em><em> DeBoer</em><em>, author of When the Reaper Comes.</em></p><p>..". a journey full of history, suspense, intrigue, and action...a MUST READ for all!"--<em>Les Stahl, Retired</em> NSA Executive.</p><p>..". Readers need to fasten their seatbelts for a fast-paced tale made believable by a writer who knows what he's writing about."--<em>Preston</em><em> Holtry</em><em>, author of the Morgan</em><em> Westphal</em><em> mystery series and the</em><em> Arrius</em><em> trilogy (forthcoming).</em></p><p>"A behind the scenes story, ripped from today's headlines deepening the reader's understanding of an ancient strife ... filled with the sights and smells of the market place and secret meetings, the reader is admitted to the secret heart, the desperate longings of those that must fight and win, or see continued subjugation by their masters..."<em>--Oliver F. Chase, author of Camelot Games, </em>Levant Mirage, Blind Marsh, and Marsh Island.</p>
The Broken Saint began with this question: how would Detective Ryan Miner, a serious Mormon, react when he learned that the main suspect in a murder case is a fellow member of the LDS Church? How would it affect his relationship with his partner, Detective Karen Seagate, whose views on whether one Mormon would lie to another boil down to, "If he breathes, he lies"?
<p>With Broken Saint, author Mike Markel demonstrates why he is one of the rising masters of the detective mystery, his easy-reading style and compelling characters pulling the reader from page to page and chapter to chapter.</p> <p>Broken Saint begins with a depiction of murder that is both compelling and revolting and then hands the story to detective duo Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner, both of whom are familiar to fans of this series. Seagate is at her most subdued in this book, having, at least temporarily, contained her inner demons. (I would not expect her equanimity to last for long given her predilection to work outside the regulations.) Instead, it is her straight-laced Mormon partner, Miner, who must confront challenges to his assumptions about faith and his expectations about those who hold positions of power and influence in his church and his community.</p> <p>Throughout, Markel displays the wry humor that is his trademark, depicting weather, people, and institutions with equal measures of affection and sardonic amusement. The Seagate-Miner series has legs, and I, for one, happily expect to see it continue for some time.</p> <p>--Dennis Meier</p>