Steve Stratton’s excellent third Shadow Tier thriller, Caribbean Harvest, takes readers on an exciting, adrenaline-fueled ride through the gritty underworld of international drug cartels and the high-stakes game of global politics, on par with the sort of reading adventures one might expect from Steven Konkoly or Robert Ludlum.
El Chapo is a wanted man, but that’s nothing new for the infamous drug lord who’s proven difficult to keep behind bars. And now that he’s on the run again, El Chapo is looking to setup shop somewhere new, where he can further grow his empire.
Shifting to Shadow Tier HQ, located in MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, readers meet back up with Lance Bear Wolf, A Crow Indian by birth who served in the US Army special forces before heading up the off-the-books government agency he now works for. Wolf, who has a long and painful history with various drug cartels, is going over the latest intel from the DEA and CDC with his wife and partner, Elle Parker, which suggests that users are moving away from marijuana and cocaine at an alarming rate and instead going for more hardcore street drugs like heroin, which has been known to be laced with fentanyl. “It’s killing users,” Elle says, to which Wolf agrees. Frustrated, Wolf knows that there’s a higher profit margin for heroin and that evil men like El Chapo don’t care what their product does to the people using them.
For Wolf, his obsession with El Chapo is no secret. Those closest to him, including his wife, their team members, and even his blood brother, General Carlos Gonzalez of the Mexican Special Missions Unit, know that Wolf has a near-unhealthy drive to bring El Chapo down once and for all. But to do that, Wolf will need to find him, and any and all intel coming in suggests that Mexico is no longer the safe haven for El Chapo that it once was, which means he’s moving under the radar elsewhere, though where is anyone’s guess. Wolf suspects the drug leader will target Venezuela or Cuba—and soon, he has proof by way of an intercepted message that puts El Chapo in the Sugar bowl of the world.
On the one hand, knowing El Chapo is in Cuba is a huge break, especially considering that Cuba has taken a harsh stance on drug trafficking. Without a clear and dedicated infrastructure in place, it will be harder for the drug lord to slip away and disappear once they move in. On the other hand, they still need to confirm the intel is legit, not to mention pinpoint the man’s exact location. Of course, there are other factors driving the hunt, too. Like a sitting president who thinks capturing El Chapo will look good for their party during the mid-term elections. Wolf, though, doesn’t care about the political optics. For him, this remains personal, but as he and his team set out for southern Cuba, they’ll soon learn that a few surprises await them . . . and that not everything is quite what it seems.
As a game of cat-and-mouse commences, Stratton takes readers on an exhilarating journey that proves to be more than just a chase—it’s a race for justice and a battle of wits and wills that keeps readers guessing until the very last page.
Mixing a well-crafted plot with blazing-fast pacing, Steve Stratton shows early and often that he really knows his stuff. There’s a little Pike Logan in Wolf, and not only because, much like Brad Taylor, Stratton tells most of the story from his hero’s first-person perspective. Wolf is an operator who carries demons with him wherever he goes, formed from a lifetime of war and hardships that have left him somewhat jaded. He’s driven, loyal, and cares deeply for the men and women around him. He puts his team’s needs above his own and generally tries to do the right thing. That said, when the switch inside him flips, watch out, especially if you’re a bad guy. To that end, Stratton balances action with thought-provoking themes, making his latest effort both informative and entertaining. Not only do the gunfights dazzle, but so do the locational descriptions, all of which lead to a high-powered final act that’s not to be missed.
Book Details
Author: Steve Stratton
Series: Shadow Tier #3
Pages: 367 (Kindle)
ISBN: 978-0593548189
Publisher: Pratton Media
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor in addition to running TRBS. He is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, and TED BELL’S MONARCH. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.