Book #5: VANISHED
At an unusual Wednesday morning briefing, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked the Navy Special Investigation Unit (NSIU) to open a search into the strange disappearance of a top U.S. weapons scientist.
When the NSIU investigators looked into it, they found he had been working on a very special long-range rifle project, and thus, determined that he had most likely been kidnapped!
Ten days after his disappearance, he was found. Someone had dropped him off by the emergency room door of a hospital in Las Vegas; they then called the ER staff, told them where he was, quickly hung up, and disappeared without further comment.
The ER staff found him severely injured, unconscious, and in critical condition.
The investigation quickly exposed strange activities from the North Korean government.
They set up troop movements at the South Korean border, provided false identification for their officials to enter the USA, and supported active spying interests in American weapons development and activities. It opened the door for help from the State Department (DOS), the FBI, and Congress.
started as a simple kidnapping case became a major chase to find exactly how the enemy heard of the special project, stop them from getting an unauthorized trail of information, and end the international impact it could have.
ISBN
(International Standard Book Number)
Paperback 978-1-63945-299-6
Hardcover 978-1-63945-382-5
eBook 978-1-63945-300-9
Shown at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt, Germany, 2023
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Book Review - by: Workbook Press
VANISHED
VANISHED is a taut, high-stakes thriller that grips readers from its very first page. The story opens with an unsettling Wednesday morning briefing at the Department of Defense, where officials announce that one of America’s top weapons scientists has mysteriously disappeared. What begins as a puzzling absence soon spirals into a full-scale international crisis.
The Navy Special Investigation Unit (NSIU) is called in to lead the search, uncovering early clues that the missing scientist had been developing an advanced long-range rifle system—an innovation so powerful that it could shift the global balance of military power. The discovery raises the most alarming possibility: kidnapping.
Ten tense days later, the scientist suddenly reappears—left unconscious and severely injured outside a Las Vegas hospital. The manner of his return only deepens the mystery, suggesting the involvement of a sophisticated and well-organized foreign operation.
As the NSIU digs deeper, shocking intelligence points toward North Korea. The investigation exposes a covert network of espionage: troop movements along the Korean border, false identities used to infiltrate U.S. soil, and a focused effort to steal cutting-edge American weapons research. The stakes escalate quickly, drawing in the State Department, the FBI, and members of Congress as the team races to stop a catastrophic breach of national security.
Mr. Christie skillfully crafts a narrative filled with urgency, danger, and political realism. Blending espionage, military strategy, and investigative drama, VANISHED captures the tension of modern-day intelligence warfare and the fragile line between secrecy and exposure.
With crisp pacing and intricate plotting, the novel delivers an edge-of-your-seat experience reminiscent of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. VANISHED is not just a story about a missing man—it’s about the hidden battles fought in the shadows to protect innovation, security, and the fragile peace that holds nations together.
A masterful fusion of suspense and strategy, VANISHED stands as another powerful entry in Mr. Christie’s gripping series of global thrillers.