Sphere of Influence

Rating:
Summary: Fast moving and action packed
Review: So you think Bill Gates is the richest man in the world? Perhaps he's gathered the world's largest legitimate fortune, but how do we know that there are not shadowy underworld figures whose wealth makes the Gates' billions seem like small change?

FBI agent Mark Beamon believes in the existence of such people, and what's more thinks they are linked to the CIA, terrorist organisations, the Mafia and huge drug cartels. When a rocket launcher suddenly appears in the deserts of Arizona or Nevada, a young agent which the disgraced Beamon helped train is put on the case. To help her investigation, Beamon goes underground taking on a persona of a terrorist himself. About there things start to go wrong.

Another agent is killed, the Mafia man Beamon was working for is arrested, and the CIA is stirring trouble with the world's heroin suppliers, trying to distance themselves from the rocket launcher. Beamon then encounters the enigmatic Christian Volkov, perhaps the richest man in the world, perhaps not. To keep his cover, Beamon becomes manager of Volkov's heroin business. As events unfold, Beamon discovers Volkov has far superior intelligence sources than the combined US agencies, commands an enormous underground economy, and despite his criminal interests, is a highly cultured, well meaning person. He also finds the CIA has been hiding a lot of it's dealings from it's own government, and is not in control of heroin trafficking whatsoever.

The story throws up a number of moral dilemmas, like is a crime still a crime if it is committed to prevent a larger crime, or is the policy of "any means necessary" justifiable in conducting a nation's foreign affairs. The conclusion of the story is a little unexpected, but shows one possible solution to these dilemmas.

Rating:
Summary: Rebel FBI Agent
Review: SPHERE OF INFLUENCE By Kyle Mills

I do not have time to write reviews on books on which I am neutral or do not like. I liked this book. Kyle Mills writes a good up-to-date adventure story about a rebel FBI agent who is not an FBI agent at the end of the tale. Mark Beamon who put the truth ahead of his job, and who was drinking and smoking himself into an early grave is a good believable lead character. He reminds me of people I have known in the past. Mark did not appear to fear death too much or anything else. His mind was made for thinking and he was afraid he was loosing his edge at that.

TV stations start getting videotapes from somewhere in the USA. They show a primitive rocket launcher, which is in the hands of terrorists somewhere in the States. The FBI immediately have almost all of the people terrified of where the first rocket will land, in a supermarket, schools, shopping malls in what State? When, is the next frightening question?

Beamon had ... off most of Congress and embarrassed the Washington elite with a too honest investigation and was about to be sacrificed on a tromped up charge. When a new president was elected and he had support again and was given an office in the field--one more dinosaur that would not disappear immediately.

He contacted Laura Vilechi, an old friend in the FBI for information about the rocket launcher and unofficially joined her effort to find it. This took him, Mark to places in the world that he would just as soon have never seen, and people like General Yung in Laos. Yung was a murdering sociopath the king of drug trafficking in his part of the world.

The FBI had in affect fired Mark, and he was working with a powerful mystery man, Christian Volkov whose primary income aside from his many legal businesses was from drugs. He was a citizen of anyplace and everyplace in the world and for the people who wanted him impossible to find. But he found Mark and developed a liking for him.

Mark helped Laura find the rocket launcher with the aid of Christian Volkov and the CIA, and the unwilling aid of the Mob. Mean while he got himself in so deep with Christian Volkov that the FBI tried to find him because he was embarrassing them'it's an interesting book. If you like books about the FBI, CIA and drugs in our modern world read it and do yourself a favour.
Roger L. Lee

Rating:
Summary: Kyle Mills is a Quality Read - Interesting & Well-Written
Review: Sphere of Influence is the fifth novel by Kyle Mills and the fourth he has written about his main character, Mark Beamon. While readers of Mills' previous works will know what Beamon brings to a story, the strength of Sphere of Influence is its plot and storylines, which include many topics currently in the news. These include terrorism, drug-smuggling, and more. References are made to the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, and the World Trade Center. The realistic description of people and events adds to an already exciting and believeable story. Kyle Mills has penned his best novel yet and shows no signs of falling into the trap of mediocracy that plaques many writers at this stage. This book is good enough that new readers will be looking for his previous works.

Also recommended: Rising Phoenix, Storming Heaven, and Free Fall by Kyle Mills. Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp novels including Transfer of Power and Separation of Power.

Rating:
Summary: Give it the heave-ho .......
Review: The biggest problem in this book is the plot. This story rarely revolves around the Plot - Threat of a Rocket inside the US. Instead it meanders around everything other than the main plot. It seems the author had decided to write about specific scenes and later came up with a plot that was made to fit around the scenes.
When I finished reading this book I recollected a classic story in our country. A Student , for his essay in an Exam, reads about Trees. Instead the Essay in the Question Paper asks about cows. He proceeds to write everything about Trees and ends the essay by writing that a cow can be tied to the Tree.

The only factor going for this book is it goes at a brisk pace...

Rating:
Summary: strong espionage thriller
Review: The CIA is supporting Al Quaeda in its bid to take over the heroin trade in the Golden Crescent. It's leader Mustafa intends that the money brought in by the sale of heroin in the United States will be used to buy weapons to be used against the people of America. The CIA believes that Yasin's methods would interrupt the drug supply and allow the Asians to become the new supplier to the US, therefore diminishing or eradicating Al Quaeda's power base.

Unfortunately, things don't go according to plan and Al Quaeda is able to smuggle a missile launcher and an unknown amount of missiles into America. They are threatening a reign of terror not seen since September 11th and only one man can stop them. Mark Beamon, SAC in charge of the Arizona Branch of the FBI, goes undercover. He risks his life, his career, and his reputation to remove the threat from American soil.

Kyle Mills is an enthralling writer of espionage thrillers on the same level as Tom Clancy and Dale Brown. The protagonist is willing to bend, even break the rules to keep America safe. A man who is willing to sacrifice everything he holds dear is a true hero and it is this reviewer's fervent wish that there other thrillers starring Mark Beamon in the future. SPHERE OF INFLUENCE is a must read for anyone who enjoys a great thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: From thriller writing to fantasy writing.
Review: The first half of this book is fine. The plot is interesting and Mills continues to develop Mark Beamon's character. Unfortunately the second half of the book is preposterous and the ending is ludicrous. It may be time for Mills to develop a new hero or heroine. With the background provided by this book any future novels featuring Beamon will be shelved in the fantasy section. A sad end for what was developing into a good series. Given the last half of this book, Beamon is no longer a believable character.

Rating:
Summary: Average thriller at best
Review: The Tom Clancy quote on the back cover reads, "Kyle Mills is fast becoming the new master of gripping and intelligent page turners."

Gripping and intelligent is where the wheels start to come off on this book. The plot comes down to the threat of a rocket launcher and 3 or 4 missile s smuggled into the United States via Mexico and the vague threat that these might have biological or chemical warheads. This situation puts the public in a deep panic and the economy in a tailspin. Furthermore, the rockets and the launcher are held by separate terrorist cells, and have to come together so that they can launch a rocket with a 12 mile range at a civilian target.

I guess the threat isn't all that credible in my mind. Saddam proved you don't need a fancy launching platform to send SCUD missiles into Israel so why do these terrorist need one? The bad guys never pull off a strike - so why is there such a tremendous panic?

Secondly, the plot has a whole raft of interesting characters. You have Mark Beamon (Mills' burnt FBI agent), a Russian gangster, a CIA nincompoop, a New York wiseguy, and your stock-in-trade fanatical terrorist. There is a lot of potential here, maybe enough for a couple of books.

Thirdly, Beamon goes so far out on a legal limb that the ending defies belief.

With all that said, Mills is a talented writer. The dialogue and story moves along. I just think he needs to recognize the Mark Beamon character has run its course and move on. He has shown us that he can be brilliant, but I think he needs new material.

Rating:
Summary: Average thriller at best
Review: The Tom Clancy quote on the back cover reads, "Kyle Mills is fast becoming the new master of gripping and intelligent page turners."

Gripping and intelligent is where the wheels start to come off on this book. The plot comes down to the threat of a rocket launcher and 3 or 4 missile s smuggled into the United States via Mexico and the vague threat that these might have biological or chemical warheads. This situation puts the public in a deep panic and the economy in a tailspin. Furthermore, the rockets and the launcher are held by separate terrorist cells, and have to come together so that they can launch a rocket with a 12 mile range at a civilian target.

I guess the threat isn't all that credible in my mind. Saddam proved you don't need a fancy launching platform to send SCUD missiles into Israel so why do these terrorist need one? The bad guys never pull off a strike - so why is there such a tremendous panic?

Secondly, the plot has a whole raft of interesting characters. You have Mark Beamon (Mills' burnt FBI agent), a Russian gangster, a CIA nincompoop, a New York wiseguy, and your stock-in-trade fanatical terrorist. There is a lot of potential here, maybe enough for a couple of books.

Thirdly, Beamon goes so far out on a legal limb that the ending defies belief.

With all that said, Mills is a talented writer. The dialogue and story moves along. I just think he needs to recognize the Mark Beamon character has run its course and move on. He has shown us that he can be brilliant, but I think he needs new material.

Rating:
Summary: Best Escapist Literature Available
Review: This is the first I have read of Kyle Mills' series on Mark Beamon, a worn-down, pushed-aside, and burnt-out FBI Agent. Based on this one novel, I'm going to find the rest and read them all.

The novel starts out a little slowly, giving new readers like myself a chance to learn about the characters. The opening situation is Mark being overwhelmed in a managerial job while the nation and his former co-workers are desperately searching for a rocket-launcher smuggled into the U.S.

Before long, Mark is undercover as a freelance assassin and unwittingly orchestrates the murder of Muslim terrorists by aging wiseguys, enhancing their escape by the judicious use of strippers along the route. Next thing you know, Mark has been employed by one of the world's largest crime figures, the mysterious Christian Volkov and the novel turns from crime thriller to espionage story.

The story is fast paced and kept me gladly the turning pages. I found myself rushing to get to the next twist in the plot as Mark surmounted his problems with the office, his superiors, his floundering lovelife, the stupid crooks, and the smart ones.

Rating:
Summary: A VERY standard conspiracy novel
Review: This is the third or fourth novel Kyle Mills has written with Mark Beamon as a main character. Mark's the best investigator in FBI history (everyone says so, about every fifty pages in this book) but he's been kicked up stairs to Special Agent in Charge in Phoenix. He makes a lousy supervisor, and is getting a review of his performance which is horrible, and will lead to his reassignment. One of his friends from Washington has a problem: she's investigating a case of terrorism in which some Al Quaeda extremists have smuggled a missile into the U.S. and are threatening to use it. She requests Beamon's help with an undercover investigation, and the result is that Beamon becomes Nicolai, a shadowy character who's part assassin and part organized crime kingpin. Another FBI agent is killed, and Beamon becomes Nicolai for more than a minute, and stays undercover, looking for who ordered his partner's death.

This is a pretty formulaic novel. It's very well-written, but the plot is so predictable and the villains are very easily identified. As a result, I didn't enjoy it as much as I might. I was wondering how he was going to end the story, but I will confess that again the ending was predictable and rather formulaic. Good writing, but lousy plot.