Dagger Quest
by Edward HochsmannPublish: Jun 07, 2022Series: Cutter Kauai Sea AdventuresThriller Action & AdventureBook Overview
An aging Coast Guard patrol boat is all that stands between the world and nuclear annihilation!The world is on the brink of war, with NATO mobilizing to counter a Russian threat to Poland and Lithuania and leaders openly discussing war options. In the midst of the crisis, a Russian bomber collides with a U.S. fighter off Florida causing the accidental launch of a nuclear-tipped Kinzhal (Russian for "Dagger") hypersonic missile.
A Coast Guard cutter on a routine patrol finds a drug-laden sailboat smashed and adrift north of the Florida Keys. The boat’s damage is from a near miss by the Russian missile which has not harmlessly flown deep into the Gulf of Mexico as initially thought, but crashed somewhere in the Keys.
The Coast Guard crew is in a race against a vicious and powerful international crime syndicate to find and recover the Russian nuke before its discovery can trigger a nuclear war.
Exploring the friendship and teamwork of a typical ship's crew, in the face of unexpected and hazardous challenges, Dagger Quest provides a fast-paced, taut story - excellent fare for both sea adventure and military thriller fans.
Self-Publishing Review:
"Submerging readers in the octane-fueled action of America’s coastal military, Dagger Quest by Edward M. Hochsmann is a highly entertaining cross between a seafaring adventure and a high-stakes military drama.
"When a suspected drug-running ship is found destroyed in Cuban waters, Ben Wyporek, the Executive Officer of a Coast Guard cutter, is plunged into an international quagmire of missiles, secrets, and organized crime. Though the nuclear premise is exciting enough, the more interesting tension of the novel comes from the richly penned cast, with their interpersonal struggles, romances, bruised egos, and conflicting philosophies of leadership. The relationship between Sam and Ben, CO and XO, is both paternal and fraternal, underpinning the strong themes of sacrifice, duty, and friendship that drive this novel forward.
"At a time of wildly unstable geopolitics, this novel will hit home for contemporary readers. While some of the elements smack of pulp fiction drama, the authenticity of the prose and the detailed technical writing makes readers forget this isn’t a direct account of an international incident. Hochsmann also captures the pace, attitude, hierarchy, and seriousness of life on board a cutter, evidence of his own law enforcement experience in the Coast Guard."
