This book grabbed me from the beginning and would not let go. This book had so many angles going on that there was no way anyone could put them all together. You've got an ex-Secret Service man who commits suicide; you've got someone going around and putting two bullets in people's heads that have absolutely no connection; you've got assassinate attempts and a brand new kind of explosive. Oh, and people are being murdered every day. Reeder steps in knowing his friend did not commit suicide - who...

Excellent and outstanding book.Fall in love with these authors writing style, have four pages of notes. Real page turner, now I can sit back and stop grinding my teeth. Reeder is trying to find out why his friend died, Rogers is investigating murders in DC. They come together again find the answer. Unstable next-generation plastic explosives, 3-D printing.

This was a solid 4 stars to me.This is set in the near future, perhaps 20 years from now. Left and right wing political parties have grown farther and farther apart and one of the characters is a multi-billionaire who is a proponent of "common sense" and a centrist view of where the country should be headed politically. The FBI and former secret service agent, who is now head of his own security firm, are investigating execution style murders of victims who seem to have no connections. Are these...

I sure do like these conspiracy stories. Very intriguing and surprising. Great narration (audible review).I really like Joe Reeder's character a lot. I also like Patti Rogers. This was a good mystery and some killings. I don't want to say too much here because I don't want to give away any spoilers. The story line and plot is good, there is a lot of dialogue and the story is well written and easy to follow along and not be confused. There is always something going on so it's not full of filler n...

An okay effort by Collins and Clemens. Started out as a pretty good political thriller. The end game seemed, to me at least, a bit contrived.Like most of the Collins books, this one moves right along. There are a lot of references to the first Reeder/Rogers novel, Supreme Justice, that reading it first is almost required.

So, the second book had the same people as the third (which I read first) and some of them die in the third book so this was kind of crazy to me to read about people who were already dead. You really can’t read the third book then go backwards. If there had been three different stories with three sets of characters it would have been better. I think this might have been my favorite one of the three. The mystery lasted longer than the others’ did and at 89% they still didn’t know who the blond ki...

On one hand, it was good to read this immediately after the first book in the series, for the purpose of continuity. On the other hand though, it might be too much, too soon. I tend to favor my first statement; most probably because I can't keep still if I know there is a sequel that is accessible to me.So, Reeder and Rogers were at it again. All well and good, but as I am not an expert, I couldn't comment on the plausibility of their skills. Thinking on the lines of logic, yes, it's likely that...

I read this booking using Amazon Prime.I read this book right after I finished Supreme Justice which was the first book in the series. Joe gets involved in this because one of the individuals that he worked with while in the Secret Service was killed shortly after he had tried to call Joe. Joe began working on trying to find out who was responsible for killing his friend. While doing so, he began to see similarities between his case and the cases that Patti Rogers who was leading a task force fo...

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.This novel is your standard "former national hero secret service agent who took a bullet for the president-of-the-future receives a phone call from his friend who needs to talk, but before they can talk his friend dies in mysterious circumstances leading said agent to uncover a possible serial killer who turns out to be part of a giant conspiracy" story.It's full of your typical thriller cliches like...- Dea...

Spoilers aheadMax Allan Collins is back! Return of the MAC! What it do? What it is.Partnering with co-author Matthew Clemens, Collins returns to the immediate future with the sequel to his Goodreads acclaimed novel Supreme Justice. Dubbed “Reeder and Rogers #2”, this thriller follows intrepid investigators FBI agent Patti Rogers and people reading expert Joe “Peep” Reeder. Peep Reeder. I’ll never get sick of that.Right off the bat: Fate of the Union is a huge improvement over Supreme Justice (cl...

When a fellow former Secret Service agent and personal friend is found dead in what appears to be a suicide shortly after leaving an urgent message on Joe Reeder's phone, Reeder is naturally suspicious. Asking FBI agent Patti Rogers for help, he begins to look into the case. Meanwhile, Rogers and her team are also looking into a series of seeminly unrelated professional looking murders. As both investigations progress, it becomes clear that the cases are related - and that there's a far-reaching...

FATE OF THE UNION is the second novel—after SUPREME JUSTICE (2014)—featuring former Secret Service Agent Joe Reeder and current FBI Agent Patti Rogers written by Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens. Reeder is popularly known as an American hero—a notion he chafes from—for saving the lives of a President and a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In retirement he operates a successful investigative and security firm, and, as the story opens, Joe is concerned by a voicemail from a former Secre...

Fast Easy Read, but Too Easily Forgotten Strengths:• Good writing, fun to read• Descriptions embedded to not detract from story • Although second in series, could be a standalone novelWeaknesses:• Slow first 40% • Too many flat characters cluttered early chapters • Plotline too predictable • Cliches and trite phrases okay for character dialogues but not for story narrative Great escape read that once past early chapters moves quickly to a focused end. Need to read first novel before this one if

"Fate of the Union," the second in this series by Collins, was an enjoyable read. At times the story felt contrived, especially the threat to those close to main characters and the down-to-the-wire resolution. I do like the development of the Reeder and Rogers characters as a team, however would like to see a bit more of who Rogers is. There are times she feels like nothing more than an accessory to Reeder. My favorite part of Mr. Collins' books are the quotes he uses to begin each chapter: some...

4.5 starsThis book just really clicked for me! Fate of the Union is a fast paced thriller where characters, chemistry and plot flowed almost perfectly together. I listened to the audio book and the narrator does a good job with the story and characters.I really cruised through the book. I like it when that happens. The first book was pretty good. In Book 2, Reeder and Rogers play off each other much better. The other supporting characters and bad guys are equally well developed. Reeder is asked

Would have liked to give this 4.5 stars. It certainly is a page turner and there are lots of interesting twists. The ending wasn't as developed as I would like and there was what seemed like a lot of necessary clothing descriptions.

Political thrillers are not usually the first books I pick up in the crime genre, but when I do and the book is as great a read as Fate of the Union, I begin to wonder why my reticence. The action is full of the suspense that I crave in books, and the characters are wonderfully drawn, with interesting flaws and quirks. Max Collins and Matthew Clemens have certainly won me over with this second in their Joe Reeder series. I plan to quickly go back and pick up the first, Supreme Justice. Joe Reede...

My first Max Allan Collins book - and it was a good one, although I understand from some reviewers that the previous book in this series, Supreme Justice, is even better. I'll try it soon. This is a fast paced mystery/thriller based on ex secret service Joe Reader and his pretty young compatriot, Patti Rogers. There's a whole cast of characters that are well introduced and developed, and a good story well told to combine to keep you turning pages.I didn't think it was a great book, though. At th...

My only experience with Max Allan Collins, prior to reading the first book in this series, Supreme Justice, was a few issues of Batman from the mid 80's. I wasn't terribly impressed, but I didn't see very much of his run. I was impressed with Supreme Justice. It had an interesting plot, and it's slightly dystopian near future setting was interesting. So, when I got offered a special on this one, I picked it up. Honestly, I didn't know he'd written anything else with these characters...that's ho...

Another incredible adventure ala Reeder and Rogers. Smooth sailing in this one, the writing is so crisp and fast-paced. I know page-turner is overused as a descriptor, but it's a genuine page-turner and I can't think of a better way to say it. Great writing, cliffhangers around every corner, and really just everything a good suspense novel should be--including a completely believable, yet unbelievably clever, plot that will leave you open-mouthed. I never outline storylines in reviews as I disli...