Permanent Interests [Kindle Edition]

James Bruno (Author)

Book Description

"Readers of Silva, Forsyth and Ludlum will enjoy this taut political thriller in which corrupt White House officials sell out to the American and Russian mobs to re-elect a weak President Corgan at all costs. American ambassadors and Russian spies who get in the way are killed. Diplomat Bob Innes falls into this conspiracy of political intrigue and murder and becomes the target of hired assassins and Russian mafia hitmen. He and Lydia, a beautiful Russian escort to powerful men, work with the FBI to bring down the President's men and the Russian mob's Godfather. Al Malandrino, a colorful New York mob boss, becomes their unexpected ally. PERMANENT INTERESTS authentically captures political intrigue, greed and treachery in the highest levels of government. And it all comes crashing down in face of relentless pursuit of the truth by the system's would-be victims."

Editorial Reviews

Review

A frightening story that gets you thinking, what if . . . --Tim Green, the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen highly successful suspense novels

From the Inside Flap

A self-centered, blue-blooded Secretary of State, an arrogant White House Chief of Staff and a smug, sexually vulnerable National Security Advisor sell out to the American and Russian mobs to re-elect a weak President Corgan at all costs.  American ambassadors and KGB officers who get in the way are killed. 
Diplomat Bob Innes stumbles into this conspiracy of political intrigue and murder.  He and a young aide to one of the slain ambassadors, Colleen McCoy, become the targets of hired assassins and Russian mafia hitmen.  On the run, they seek to expose the deceit and cover-ups.  And they fall in love.  With Lydia, a beautiful Russian escort to powerful men, they work with the FBI to bring about the downfall of the President's men and the destruction of the Russian mob's Godfather.  Al Malandrino, a colorful New York mob boss, becomes their unexpected ally.  The quick-paced action takes place in Moscow, New York, Washington, San Francisco, New Orleans and Bangkok.
The story climaxes with a plot to assassinate a popular presidential rival, known as  the "Cajun Kennedy."  Written by a former insider, PERMANENT INTERESTS authentically captures political intrigue, greed and treachery in the highest levels of government.  And shows how it all comes crashing down in the face of relentless pursuit of the truth by the system's would-be victims...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 510 KB
• Print Length: 394 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1430300426
• Publisher: Bittersweet House Press; 2 edition (August 24, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001O9BPJQ
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,441 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Permanently Entertaining! January 3, 2007

By Paul Berg

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Permanently Entertaining! The most frightening thing about this can't-put-it-down page-turner is that a lot of it could be true! It's about a Faustian pact between a corrupt White House and organized crime. Italian mafiosi get worn down by the up-and-coming Russian mob; American ambassadors are assassinated; a compromised NSC chief goes crazy. And it turns out from his bio that author James Bruno himself is steeped in both milieus: the State-Pentagon-CIA permanent bureaucracy of nerds and buck passers as well as the New York Italian-American hangouts where men in sleek suits pass money from palm to palm with no need to even whisper omerta. History shows, and you've gotta figure there's still some overlap in these two equally hardball worlds of American power, and sure enough, here are the denizens, backstabbing, blackmailing and scheming against each other and through it all extracting more and more blood.

The Washington scenes are totally convincing, as mediocrities and the terminally pompous meet and meet and decide nothing except to continue their pointless meetings, the stultifying "interagency process." The New York scenes, with the Italian mob painfully coming to grips with the competitive ruthlessness of the Afghan War-trained Russians, are unbeatable ("You lose because you become soft, like rest of American society...Now mafia exists only in movies. This will not happen to us.") So much mafia fiction these days reads like twice reheated Mario Puzo or worse; who can believe a word of the dialogue? This one is different ("We got Beaver Cleaver working at Gangsters R Us. He'll get in the way....") When the Italians and the Russians meet at "Pironi's," a classic New York Little Italy joint, every word and every action is plausible; you come away feeling you've been there, maybe you even want some of that tiramisu the wiseguys hog down as they bluff out their respective turfs.

Then the good guys, including an ex-Marine who hires on as security for the mafia don, and a beautiful Russian escort to powerful men confront forces apparently too strong to resist: the U.S. Government plus two, make that three, rival mobs. But then...read the book. I guarantee you will finish with that eerie feeling of roman a clef; you may never again be able to watch Washington bigshots on Sunday morning talk shows without feeling they are all on the take, or worse. Read more ›

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars the best part was the price February 19, 2011

By Robert Arning

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've gotten about half way through and I don't think I'll continue. Cardboard characters, cheesy dialog and a low thrill level. Oh, well.

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Just didn't get it. February 26, 2011

By T. Howlin VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I almost never put a book down without finishing it, no matter how bad it might be but I made an exception here. I read 20% of the book and other than some poorly written murder scenes, absolutely nothing was happening and the story had yet to touch on the supposed plot as described on the jacket. Probably the most ponderous 100 pages of text I've read in a long time. Shallow characters, no real protagonist identified other than the generic "mafia" of various countries. I really wanted to like this book as it had been recommended by one of my favorite authors, J.A. Konrath, and I thought for sure it would be a home run instead of a DNF. I've really got to start learning to download the free samples for Kindle books before rushing into just purchasing them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining December 23, 2012

By J. Kopchok

Format:Kindle Edition

Had a good time reading this well constructed story. Good political thriller. Book had all the elements I look for to keep my interest.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining. May 19, 2011

By MED TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The mobster doesn't usually prevail and you wouldn't usually be glad he did ... but Bruno weaves a tale that has some hard-to-believe elements but all in all is quite entertaining.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read -- well paced with characters that are believable and engaging August 18, 2011

By KonaMike

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I started reading this book a couple of weeks ago, then got really busy and finally got back to it this week. Once I started reading again, I couldn't put it down. I hope that the author has more novels on the way. If so, I will definitely read them.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Permanent Recommendation! February 24, 2011

By Gwen Dreyfuss

Format:Kindle Edition

I don't have too much new to add that the other reviewers haven't covered, except to say that this exactly how I like them - full of political intrigue, simmering throughout, and had me turning the pages constantly.

If you like Brad Meltzer, William Tyree, Andrew Britton and the like, try this.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It! September 29, 2011

By R.Nichols

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wow, what a surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I stepped out of my normal genre a bit and I'm glad I did. I am now going to read Chasm. I will keep you guys posted.. My advice is give James Bruno a shot, you could do much worse.. Thanks James for a great read

More About the Author

James Bruno is the author of three bestselling political thrillers. He has been featured on NBC's Today Show, SiriusXM Radio, in The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, and other national and international media. His spy-mob thriller PERMANENT INTERESTS and CHASM, a thriller about war criminals, have landed simultaneously on three Amazon Kindle Bestseller lists, including #1 in Political Fiction and Spy Stories. They were joined by TRIBE, a political thriller centered on Afghanistan. HAVANA QUEEN, an espionage thriller set in Cuba, is due out in June 2013.

Mr. Bruno served as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State for twenty-three years. He previously worked as a military intelligence officer and as a journalist in New York. The author is currently a member of the Diplomatic Readiness Reserve, subject to worldwide duty on short notice. Mr. Bruno holds M.A. degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and Columbia University, and a B.A. from George Washington University.

His assignments have included Cuba, Guantanamo Naval Base (as liaison with the Cuban military), Pakistan/Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Washington, DC. He has spent ample time at the White House and has worked in a presidential protection detail with the Secret Service overseas. He also knows the Pentagon, CIA and other foreign affairs agencies well. Mr. Bruno is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers.

Based on his experiences, James Bruno's stories possess an authenticity rarely matched in the political thriller genre. If you like taut, suspense-filled thrillers written by someone who has actually been at the center of the action, read James Bruno's books. You will not be disappointed!