Red Star Down is the first book I’ve read by D.B. John, and it definitely won’t be the last. I read this thriller in just over a day — and if I didn’t need sleep, I’d have devoured it in one sitting. It’s that gripping. This is an intricately researched and masterfully plotted story that brilliantly balances high-stakes international tension with razor-sharp, often laugh-out-loud observations of global political gameplay. I was fully transported into the volatile battlefield between Putin, Trump, and Kim Jong-un, and found myself racing through the pages, emotions pinging wildly between dread, disbelief, hilarity and heartbreak. Jenna is a powerhouse of a protagonist — smart, gritty, and emotionally complex. Her dynamic with Eric, a North Korean spy embedded within Trump’s administration, crackles with tension. The stakes feel sky-high as they navigate a treacherous world in an effort to protect Lyosha, Stephen, and Soo-min. The twists are relentless, the pace exhilarating, and the portrayal of real-world political figures and power plays is so sharply observed I kept bursting out laughing in disbelief. D.B. John has pulled off something extraordinary: a thriller that is both deeply intelligent and thoroughly entertaining. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year — insightful, fast-paced, tense, and unexpectedly hilarious in its truth-telling. I honestly wanted to start all over again the moment I finished the last page. Highly recommended for fans of heart-racing political thrillers with substance. More, please!

A spy thriller where each page is smoke and mirrors. A North Korean machiavellian plot called the seed programme attempts to kidnap adults , impregnate them by Koreans and programme the offspring to infiltrate Europe and America intent on influencing and manipulating those in high office. to create a situation of chaos and turmoil in world orders. The chief protagonist, Jenna her sister a rescued but traumatised victim of the seed programme is intent on unearthing the perpetrators at whatever cost. Using real characters such as Trump and Putin, interweaved with a number of seed programme progeny who have successfully infiltrated high office the reader becomes immersed in a rollercoaster of intrigue, violence and torture . In this war of attrition it is often impossible to differentiate which side the key players are on, notwithstanding the self interest and agenda each individual brings to the emerging crisis with the clock slowly ticking towards Armageddon. A 5* read that was impossible to put down. The author has successfully written a storyline that is completely of this moment in time and all the more terrifying because it could possibly be the reality of this moment in time and history we are currently living in. An amazing book with the probability it will be snapped up for future movie.rights.

This is an excellent fast-paced thriller. Set in 2017, the corrupting power of Trump, Putin and Kim Jong-Un sets the backdrop for an intense political, spy thriller. This is a well-written and well-researched book. Right from the start, the reader is thrown straight into the thick of the action. Despite the length of the book, this was a surprisingly quick read. Highly recommended.

"Red Star Down" is the follow-up to DB John's prescient book "Star of the North", and once again the author seems to have anticipated and captured real-world events and wrapped them in a tense and high-voltage thriller. Set in 2017, and again featuring Jenna, a career CIA operative, who seems destined to encounter eastern spies and agitators, it follows her as she battles with agents of Russia, North Korea and beyond. It's full of spy tropes - dead-drops, defectors and moles and doesn't stop for breath once. Fast moving and intense. The research here is impeccable, the plotting and writing is first-class, and for those who enjoy real life people and events incorporated into a novel, this is just what they want. There's fascinating insight into what happens behind the headlines, and there's plenty of human interaction, even some black humour. Not to be missed.

A brilliant novel set in the time of Donald Trumps first presidency and based around actual event . It is a story about espionage at the highest level and moves along a good pace. The settings in the USA, Russia and North Korea are slowly tied into one overall story with a CIA agent Jenna Williams as the thread that holds them together. This is a long book over 600 pages but well worth the time taken to read it. The best espionage thriller I have read in a long time I hope there is more to follow from this author. I would award more than 5 stars if I could.