The Critical Element
(A James Becker Suspense/Thriller)
5th in Series
Mystery/Suspense
Self Published
Paperback: 326 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1491243572
E-Book File Size: 485 KB
ASIN: B00EARNQ2I

FROM AN AMAZON TOP 100 AND NOOK TOP 100 AUTHOR.

James “Beck” Becker has retired from a twenty-year career serving his country as a military intelligence operative and now practices law in his childhood hometown of Red Wing, Minnesota.  His wife, Beth, a retired CIA code-cracker, takes care of things at home. They have worked out a comfortable routine for their retirement. That is until the call comes call for a little of their expert assistance.

This time their help is needed just down the road with a unusual finding but it quickly turns into so much more. Rodney Holton,  a local farmer, comes to Beck for some advice regarding a “meteor strike” on his land. Beck knows Holton will do anything to make a buck so he is quite skeptical about this “meteor”.  But then the FBI comes to town and before they even get to see it the “meteor” disappears. This is just the tip of the iceberg as Holden’s cows start to get sick, and this so called “meteor” may have something to do with North Korean “weather satellite” that everyone thought was just a piece of junk floating in space.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
This is one of my favorite series. John Betcher just keeps getting better and better. I love these characters. This mild mannered retired couple, Beck and his wife Beth, kicking back on the porch enjoying the beautiful Minnesota views one minute, tracking down terrorists the next. This time the target is practically in their own backyard. Beth works her magic electronically with her computer and Beck tracks down the leads. A fabulous team. 

Betcher has a talent of writing stories the draw you in and don’t let go. He takes his characters and drops them into these unbelievable situations and makes you believe them. The world today is a dangerous place but those of us in the Midwest always feel pretty safe.  All of  Betcher’s books have that ripped from the headlines feel.  This one will have you looking at one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world in a whole new light and may have you rethinking your plans to about many places we travel without a second thought.

Suspense, thrills and chills. This book delivers all. It also includes a touch of humor that keeps all the drama from from getting overly intense. We also see a compassionate side of Beck surface more in this installment.  The plot and subplots are tight and perfectly paced. I highly recommend you grab this book today and escape into it as quickly as possible. My Beck fix has been filled for the moment. I can’t wait for the next adventure!

To find out more about this author and his books visit his webpage here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


The Exiled Element
A James Becker Thriller
4th in Series
Published by John L. Betcher
Available Now

Beth Becker takes the lead in this edition as she is called back into active service with the CIA. She is sent to Cairo, Egypt where there has been some trouble and her unique skills and contacts are needed. It doesn’t take Beth long to remember why she retired. All the office “politics”, backstabbing, lies and butt covering makes her want to turn around and go straight home. Ever the professional she sets about her tasks and knows the sooner they are completed she can return to Minnesota and her loving husband.

“Beck” is not sitting at home pining for his wife. He is helping Deputy Sheriff Gunderson (Gunner) prepare security for an important dignitary that is coming to Red Wing. Things do not go as planned due to the out of town security but Beck, Gunner and Bull will try to clean up their mess and not get themselves killed in the process.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
Betcher has done it again. A fantastic story with the ripped from the headlines feeling. Hang on to your seats, you will not be able to put this one down.

I love the characters, the dialogues they have will each other, and the little ways they always surprise us. The plot is tight, complex, and realistic. The settings described to make you feel you are right there. You know the author has done the research to make this story come alive. From Red Wing to Cairo and back again, it is a thrilling ride.

I have enjoyed this entire series and each one is better than the last. Betcher has a compelling writing style that takes this ordinary couple into extraordinary situations. I can see myself sitting down having coffee with Beck and Beth never believing how much danger they put themselves in. Retired, no way, I know these characters will be off on another adventure soon. I am anxiously awaiting.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


This post originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts June 18, 2011.

The Covert Element: A James Becker Thriller

Your Escape With A Great Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This post originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts May 18, 2010.

James (Beck) Becker and his wife Elizabeth (Beth) have retired from their high pressure lives as government operatives, Beck in military intelligence, Beth as a CIA code-cracker and moved back to Beck’s childhood home of Red Wing, Minnesota to enjoy some rest and relaxation.

Rest and relaxation doesn’t last long as Beth gets a call from an old acquaintance begging her to help find his wife, who he believes has been kidnapped.  Katherine Whitson, a computer genius, has left her husband her car keys, credit cards, most of her belongings and a note saying she’s leaving him, but he doesn’t believe it for a minute.

Beth talks Beck into taking the case and it takes him on a route through Katherine’s personal and professional lives and into the inside the mind-bending world of computers and microprocessors that he doesn’t even understand.  He realizes he needs Beth’s help, and the help of some of their friends if he is ever going to find Katherine alive and close this case.

This is such a good book.  It is written at the perfect pace that keeps you turning page after page after page.  It is hard to believe this is the author’s first mystery novel.   The characters are wonderfully developed, my favorite character of the book is Bull, an American Indian, with some very special skills and a very dry wit.  The plot is one that may scare anyone who uses a computer, which today is everyone, when you realize this story can actually be true. Are machines running the world? Are humans THE MISSING ELEMENT?

There is also the wonderful love story of Beck and Beth and the perfect amount of humor to keep the story from getting to technical or heavy.  If you are a fan of Tom Clancy, John Grisham or Robert Parker, you will truly enjoy this book, but even if you a just a cozy mystery reader this is still a book for you.  I truly recommend you add this book to your Summer Reading Lists today!!!

About The Author

John L Betcher is a University of Minnesota Law School graduate and has practiced law for more than twenty-five years in the Mississippi River community of Red Wing, Minnesota. He has also been a long-time supporter and coach of youth volleyball there.

He has authored three feature articles for COACHING VOLLEYBALL, the Journal of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. His most recent article was the cover story for the April/May, 2009 Issue. His book on volleyball coaching philosophies entitled THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF VOLLEYBALL COACHING is available at www.johnbetcher.com and at amazon.com. He is also an active member and writing peer coach at the Agent Query Connect writer’s forum.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This post originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts July 13, 2010.

 A JAMES BECKER THRILLER

Al Qaeda plans to attack Minnesota’s Prairie River Nuclear Power Plant to remind everyone they are still very active and to get back in the international headlines.  They have recruited some homegrown anarchists to add to their terrorist forces, one of which is a Three Mile Island survivor with a huge grudge against the power plant, and two more with questionable education and background.

James “Beck” Becker is a former elite U.S. government intelligence operative who has retired to his childhood hometown of Red Wing, Minnesota just a few miles from the Prairie River Nuclear Power Plant.  After a university professor’s body is found along the shore of the Mississippi River, clearly murdered, “Beck” gets in on the investigation and all his instincts tell him, this dead body is just the start of something much bigger.  He is very concerned when he learns the professor’s assistant is missing along with what could be a very dangerous piece of lab equipment.  Later clues like a missing fertilizer truck and an international phone call only confirm to “Beck” that terrorists are involved and that something major is going to happen, but he can’t convince any government officials that a huge threat exists.  So with the help of his American Indian friend “Bull”, he tries to foil the plan on his own.

I am so glad John Betcher sent me this extraordinary thriller.  It is scary good!!  I say this because this fiction could easily become reality.  This could definitely be a “ripped from the headlines” story.  When I think of terrorist targets in the United States, I think of major cities, Washington D.C., New York, maybe Los Angeles, but this story takes place in my “backyard”, the Upper Midwest.  Also we know from history there are terrorists and their supporters here in the states, and this story brings them out front and center.  Yes, this story is fiction but it has all the details that make you realize this could really happen.  While this book entertains it also raises the readers awareness that there are people that want to hurt Americans.

I had the pleasure of reading, reviewing and interviewing the author after her sent me his first book, The Missing Element, and while I truly loved that book, I enjoyed this book even more.  This book is now tied with Harlan Coben’s CAUGHT as the best book I have read this year.  If you like a riveting, page turner this is definitely a book that should be in you hot little hands today.  Don’t wait, click the link below and order this book today!  You will not be able to put it down until you finish the last page and you will be thinking about the reality of it for a long time after you put this book on your keeper shelf.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”