Allegiance: a Border War Thriller (Book #3) (The Cruz Marquez Thrillers) [Kindle Edition]

Derek Blass (Author)

Book Description

How far would you go to save your loved one?  Would you abandon all allegiances?  Would you break all the rules?

From Derek Blass, the bestselling author of the first Cruz Marquez thriller Enemy in Blue, comes the charged follow up installment. 

"Hard hitting...be prepared to have your gut wrenched and your heart broken, as there are no winners in this relentless border war." -Rachelle Ayala, Author of Michal's Window (5/5 stars)

"A fast-paced, action filled thriller." -B.Burton, (5/5 stars)

"Realistic, gritty, well done." -Shannon Mayer, Author of the Sundered series (5/5 stars)
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Who do YOU pledge allegiance to?

After exposing one of the most notorious rings of police corruption in history, lawyer Cruz Marquez planned on starting a new life south of the border.  That plan unraveled when an extremist group of Minutemen captured and tortured him and his wife.

The Minutemen aren't his only problem.  Cruz will have to navigate the waters with Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, Los Punos, to escape the grips of the Minutemen.  But, will he just find himself indebted to an even worse master?

Find out as Cruz is forced to spell out his allegiance.  To his country, to his freedom, or to cold, hard vengeance.  Will Cruz pledge allegiance to do right, or will he do anything to serve up revenge?

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If you enjoy the action and suspense of a James Patterson book, combined with the raw grittiness of an episode of Border Wars, then Allegiance is your next thriller!

** Looking for Derek's highly rated bestseller?  Just search for Enemy in Blue.  It's where the Cruz Marquez thrills started!

Product Details

• File Size: 557 KB
• Print Length: 318 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Rogue Books, LLC (April 24, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007XE1QX6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,290 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, Hard Hitting and Poignant Tale April 26, 2012

By Clare Chu TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Whichever side you are on about the immigration debate, Allegiance hits you in the gut. Set in the borderlands of Arizona, in the frontera between the US and Mexico, Allegiance tells of the invisible war between migrants, militia, and drug mafia. Loyalties shift with the sands of the desert as Cruz Marquez, the activist lawyer finds himself imprisoned by a cruel and sadistic tyrant.

The story draws a complex thread around the debate, intertwining the poignant story of El Santo with the abused drifter, Tyler, and the mafia boss, Tzompantli, whose rite of passage was the fire beard, a network of burn scars where his beard would have been.

The action escalates when the unlikely alliance hits the militia compound with nonstop fighting, tension and violence.

Hard hitting, Allegiance includes bad language, worse attitudes, and gruesome images. Be prepared to have your gut wrenched and your heart broken, as there are no winners in this relentless border war.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, fast paced, five stars! April 29, 2012

By Sweet Falene

Format:Kindle Edition

Allegiance was the first book I've read by Mr. Blass and I must say, it took my completely by surprise with both the intensity and the strong prose. From the very beginning where we are introduced to an eclectic and sometimes creepy cast of characters, , "Allegiance" takes off like a formula one race car, barely breaking for the curves in the road.

With writing reminiscent of John Grisham, Blass takes the reader through the world of illegal border crossing, torture, and fast paced action that will make you sit up and take notice. I found the development of Cruz's character particularly well done as he went from (trying not to give away the spoilers here) his life as he knew it, through extreme torture and then the person he came out the other side as, and where that brought him by the end of the book. Realistic, gritty, well done.

To the very end, "Allegiance" pulls you under, Blass' talent is obvious and I have no doubt that he'll be around a very, very long time.

For readers of John Grisham, this is SO your next fix!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Action Packed Thriller - A Must Read April 28, 2012

By Shari Barham

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Derek Blass has another hit with Allegiance! In this follow up to Enemy in Blue, follow Cruz Marquez in this action packed, riveting page turner. It works nicely as a sequel but also can be enjoyed as a complete standalone book on its own. Well written with a fast paced story you will look forward to reading at every opportunity. This is one you don't want to miss.

More About the Author

Derek is an author and trial attorney in Denver, Colorado. He has first and second chaired trials ranging from medical malpractice with surgeons to the detention of alleged illegal immigrants.

Derek graduated from Duke University and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He majored in English and Economics at Duke. In Colorado, Derek has served as the co-Chair of Mayor Hickenlooper's Denver Latino Commission, and was recently selected to serve as a co-Chair of the Denver Chapter of the Colorado Latino Forum. Derek was named as a Colorado Superlawyer "Rising Star" in 2010 and 2011, and was awarded the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association's 2010 award for most Outstanding Young Hispanic Lawyer. He is married to his wife Meranda, and has two uncontrollably terrible dogs (and one good one that isn't really his).

Visit his website at www.rogue-books.com. Check out his blog on writing at derekblass.wordpress.com. Friend him on Facebook. Follow him on Twitter (@DerekBlass). You can also email him at [e-mail]. Derek writes thrillers with a heavy dose of action. He is currently working on his next novel.


Why did you write this book?

Stories are often born from tragedy. Just look at all of the news inundating us on a daily basis. In my case, I came to Denver, Colorado in 2003. Pretty immediately, I got involved in the Denver Latino/a community by serving on Mayor John Hickenlooper's Denver Latino Commission. While on the Commission, we dealt with several cases involving allegations of police brutality. Just in the Latino/a community, Frank Lobato was shot and killed, Juan Vasquez was beaten to the point he suffered severe internal damages, and Michael DeHerrera was violently arrested for standing on the sidewalk. In the African-American community, Paul Childs was shot and killed by Denver police, and Marvin Booker was tazed while in custody in jail to the point that he died. These are the events that catalyzed me to write Enemy in Blue.

It should be understood that Enemy in Blue is not an indictment on all cops. There are certainly good cops. There's simply no room for ANY bad cops though. These people have the right to carry a deadly weapon and use it against us if they see fit. They have the authority to arrest us, thereby taking away our freedoms, based solely upon their discretion. So, they need to be held to a higher standard, and in many instances, they are behaving worse than normal citizens.

How did you come up with the title?

That's a fun question. There was one working title, that ended up not working by the time the book was done. Things change, A LOT, over the course of writing a book! Once it was apparent that a new title was necessary, I enlisted my wife and some of my readers to help me find a new title. Through countless brainstorming sessions, one of my readers came up with "Evil in Blue." I liked it, but not 100%. I was grabbing the mail one day, and "Enemy in Blue" just came to me. Funny how things happen!

How did you choose your genre?

Hard to explain, but I can see action in my head. Fight scenes. Car chases. Torture, kidnapping, etc. (Honestly, I'm not a violent guy in real life!) It was as natural to me to write thrillers with a heavy dose of action as it would be for Christopher Moore to write cheeky fiction.

What inspired you to be a writer?

I've written a lot since I was young, and started on many novels but never followed through to finish one. It's really a labor of love, and with a full-time job that I am committed to (attorney), it takes substantial discipline to keep writing. That being said, there is nothing more beautiful than writing a story, or more appropriately put, to having characters write a story for you. When I write, I'm just as surprised by their decisions as my readers. My characters drive my story and that is an amazing aspect of writing that everyone should try! If people are interested, I started a blog on writing a while back (www.derekblass.wordpress.com) that describes many of the fun, and tedious, nuances of writing.

With all the other thrillers out there, why buy Enemy in Blue?

It's a no nonsense book, full of action and entertainment. I wrote the book for my readers, not for myself. I promise you will be captivated by the action over the course of the book. At the same time, the book invites you to be introspective on issues of illegal immigration, police brutality, and political corruption. It's not just mind candy, but it's also not a book that will club you over the head with principles. From a purely cost/benefit analysis, both versions of the book are very competitively priced, and the Kindle version is less than a dang cup of coffee at Starbucks! I promise it will deliver more lasting enjoyment than that cup of joe!

Sequel possible?

Oh, yeah! I'm working on a book that involves several of the same characters right now--probably about 6-9 months from completing it. I'm also considering going back in time and writing a book about the antagonist (Sergeant Shaver) because he intrigues me and I want to dig deeper!