Tipping Point

In David Poyer's Tipping Point, the 15th installment in the Dan Lenson military thriller series, this novel would take you to the high seas with realistic fiction about the brink of war. Back home, Captain Dan Lenson is taking the heat from his past wartime actions with his crew on the USS Savo Island ship, and faces a grueling tribunal meeting with Congress. His wife Blair is campaigning for a hot seat in Congress and needs his support. On the water, he runs the ship on dangerous waters and deals with compelling trouble in hostile land. First it started with a complaint from one of his female crew members being attacked and assaulted by an unknown assailant in night. That started a probe and a long-dragged out discussion with everyone on board. Then everyone's feeling the crud in the ship as they lose one of their own overnight from an unknown airborn disease. While under the weather, Dan does his best to helm his boat and prepare to stop another world war between India and Pakistan. With everything going on, they help out the country of Maldives take care of disaster relief from a tidal wave and China hacks into their systems to bring the USA to a standstill. More complaints of attacks come pouring in, the crew is sick with the crud, and Dan needs some serious downtime. In the end, they prepare to buckle down and strike against Pakistan for a war, while a storm's brewing inside of his ship and more fielded complaints to stop an unknown perpetator in their tracks.

This was a fabulous installment in the military thriller series. It deals with real life and current events with the war that's brewing outside our country right now. The dialogue was real reastic in maritime and naval terms, since David Poyer was a retired veteran of the Navy himself. Dan Lenson is a very likeable and personable character, in which it made me care about him and how he handled his crew on and off his ship. He obviously cares for Blair and for his daughter Nan from a previous marriage.  Though he could be hot-headed, he knows how to be in charge and handles all types of things. I liked how he had a diverse crew of female and male members of all races and nationalities. The vast locations from the China Sea to the Indian Ocean and the Maldives made it very picturesque and alluring on and off the ocean for various settings. This would take you on a wild and intense journey with non-stop action, drama, suspense, and plenty hints of mystery.

Will you be ready to reach the tipping point of war today?