Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Amazon The Potential Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Book Publishers Network ISBN-10:  9781940598215 Type: Fiction Pages: 281 Copyright: March 12, 2014 ISBN-13: 9781940598260 Price: $2.99 (eBook) With the uncanny ability to take in all about him and size up the situation instantaneously, Chris Morehouse provides invaluable service as a chauffeur for the CIA in Bonn. Reacting from his usual instinct tempered with exceptional judgment, he saves the life of the US ambassador to Germany during a terrorist attack and gives the CIA further reason to prepare Chris for a greater role in the security of the United States. What’s a threat? What’s to ignore? With the uncanny ability to take in all about him and size up the situation instantaneously, Chris Morehouse provides invaluable service as a chauffeur for the CIA in Bonn. Reacting from his usual instinct tempered with exceptional judgment, he saves the life of the US ambassador to Germany during a terrorist attack and gives the CIA further reason to prepare Chris for a greater role in the security of the United States.   Should Chris, a British citizen, dream so big? Will he live long enough to make dreams a reality? Danger seems to follow him everywhere, even in his travels outside Europe. Does he have a wild imagination, as some in the FBI think, or is someone truly out to kill him?   In The Potential, David Davies ties together a plot twisting with terror, intrigue, and suspense spanning continents. From Germany to the Middle East to the United States, including the hallowed halls of Congress, justice struggles to leave its mark. Excerpt Day 1 July 1995, Bonn, Germany The three occupants of the white panel van remained mute. Only the low rumble of the idling engine floated in the air. All three sat, sweated, and nervously twitched, but each stared at the driver’s hand-held radio. Nearby a crane operator with the same radio sat idle in his cab as his load swung precariously in the wind high above the street. Another driver in a flatbed truck on a different road stared blankly into the distance occasionally checking his rearview mirrors for any unusual activity. The hazard lights of his vehicle flashed incessantly as traffic navigated around his stationary vehicle as he also listened to his radio. Minutes passed by, which seemed like hours to the waiting crew. In tight suspense, each member of the team played out his role in the operation and hoped everything would go to plan. Glancing at a watch, checking the scene ahead, all waited patiently for the mission to begin as the clock kept ticking. All three radios squawked simultaneously—the American national anthem. The target was on his way. *** The triangular shape of a folded Stars and Stripes flag lay on the lap of the United States ambassador to Germany, Winston Heymann, as he rode in the rear of his armored Cadillac in his two-car motorcade as it thread its way through the tight suburbs of Bad Godesberg. His left hand was placed firmly on the flag, and his right was supporting his chin as he gazed out the window contemplating life as an ambassador to one of Europe’s most influential and vibrant countries. The ambassador was heading to a cocktail party being held in his honor at the majestic Old Rathaus building in the center of Bonn following a hand-over ceremony of the old US embassy building to the German government. The event was short but significant in German-American relations post-Cold War, and Heymann, who had been an intelligence officer during the silent conflict, marveled at the changes in such a short space of time since the wall fell in 1989. As much as he would have liked to have been the ambassador to represent the United States in Germany during the first years of transition of West and East Germany, his role within the Department of State had prevented him from taking up an ambassadorship during the early years of reunification, but now, eight months into his new position as the number one American in the country, he was at last engaged in historical events. The occasion was attended by the oberbuergermeister (mayor) of Bonn, the buergermeister of Bad Godesberg, a small delegation of local functionaries, some former US diplomats who worked at the Bonn mission, and an even smaller leftover skeleton crew of US Marines. As the Stars and Stripes was lowered for the last time over Diechmanns Aue No 9, a Marine bugler played “The Retreat.” The flag, which now was securely in the possession of the ambassador, would be framed and mounted in the new, yet-to-be-constructed US embassy in the recently appointed capital of Germany, Berlin.

It's like reading a script for Die Hard
This fast-paced and well-choreographed book grips you right from the beginning and takes you on a very exciting ride! When I got to the first action scene - which wasn't very far into the book - I thought to myself, "it's like I'm reading the movie Die Hard". David does an outstanding job of taking one main story line, splitting it off into 4 different directions and neatly - and unexpectedly! - tying them together at the end. I literally could not put down the book for the last 60 pages!

A Fresh & Different Angle
The view from a driver's seat (literally) along with the main character sharing what he sees as he looks out at the world allows the reader a new and fresh perspective. The addition of a British character interacting with the American culture is also a nice twist. Then add the storyline which is interesting unto itself and you have a very fun tale to read. What was even more fun was how the reading toward the end, as events were climaxing, moved at a faster and faster pace; matching the pace of the action. I got to a point where there was no way I could put the book down. I had to finish it. In a sense it took me along on the same frantic pace as the characters, the same rush, and that just added more fun to reading the book. The lead character is quite interesting and I am looking forward to perhaps some more books in the future about that character. He is different from other leading characters but it is hard to explain how he is different. You have to read the book to capture that. Just read and have a wonderful adventure.

The Potential
Starts fast and maintains the pace of action without sacrificing the story line essentials. Backgrounds and characters draw you in, making the dramatic surprise twists all the more unexpected. The complex interplay of three letter government agencies and the political intrigue of nations are brought to life via a first person character view that is realistic and impactful to the reader. I read the whole book in just two sittings and hope the author delivers another book soon!