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John Gilstrap

Biography

John Gilstrap

John Gilstrap is the New York Times bestselling author of award-winning action novels, including the Jonathan Grave thrillers and the Victoria Emerson series. A master of action-driven suspense, he's touted as one of the most accomplished thriller writers on the planet, and his books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He is the recipient of an International Thriller Writers' Award for AGAINST ALL ENEMIES and a two-time ITW Award finalist. He also won the ALA Alex Award for NATHAN'S RUN, which was optioned for film by Warner Bros.

A nationally recognized weaponry and explosives safety expert, John Gilstrap frequently speaks at conferences, events, clubs, youth programs and military bases. He is a former firefighter and EMT with a master's degree in safety from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in history from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. John lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

John Gilstrap

Books by John Gilstrap

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

One-time congressional representative Victoria Emerson has received a request from the deposed president of the United States --- come to the bunker at Hilltop Manor, where the remnants of the U.S. government have been imprisoned. A ruthless band has seized power, leaving civilians to die of starvation and untreated injuries. The self-appointed leader, Roger Parsons, plans to punish the former rulers for thrusting the country into Hell Day, the devastating war that changed the world in just a few hours. Victoria is reluctant to leave Ortho, the West Virginia town she has developed and defended. But as a born leader, she feels the call of duty. Forging her way through a landscape terrorized by local warlords and desperate scavengers, she arrives at Hilltop Manor to find a powder keg of battling factions.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Henchmen of a vicious drug syndicate have snatched 10 missionaries in a remote area of Venezuela and are holding them for ransom. The high-priority rescue op comes as a personal plea from FBI Director Irene Rivers, who has a very special interest in one of the hostages. The mission is strictly off the books, and there can be no international incident. Just get in and get out --- and keep the precious cargo safe. With his key operatives Gunslinger and Boxers, Grave infiltrates the enemy camp. Right away, the rescue mission morphs into something far more dangerous --- not just to Jonathan and his team, but to the whole world.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

One-time congressional representative Victoria Emerson has become the leader of a small town in West Virginia, where it’s a struggle just to provide food and shelter. Progress is encouraging, until one morning her son sounds the alarm “Blue Fire!” --- the code phrase for imminent danger. A renegade band of National Guardsmen wants to take over the town and steal its resources. They have the firepower to eliminate anyone who puts up a fight. But Victoria swore an oath to defend her people. It’s time to tap into the traditional American values of courage, ingenuity and patriotism --- and fight fire with fire.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Hostage rescue expert Jonathan Grave and his fellow special-ops veteran, Boxers, are hunting in Montana when shots ring out, and they realize they’ve become the prey for assassins. In the crosshairs of unseen shooters, cut off from all communication, with the wind at a blood-freezing chill, the nightmare is just beginning. Because Jonathan and Boxers aren’t the only ones under fire. Back in Fisherman’s Cove, Virginia, Jonathan’s Security Solutions team is fighting for their lives too. A vicious onslaught is clearing the way for a much bigger game by eliminating anyone in the way. If Jonathan and Boxers can make it out of the wilderness alive, the real war will begin.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

West Virginia Congresswoman Victoria Emerson has always put the needs of her community before the power games of Washington, D.C. Then an Army officer appears on her doorstep, deploying the code words “Crimson Phoenix” --- meaning this is not a drill. The United States is on the brink of nuclear disaster. The major will escort her to a secure bunker. She cannot bring her family. A single mother, Victoria refuses to abandon her teenage sons. Denied entry to the bunker, the family somehow survives the unthinkable. In the aftermath, the nation is in chaos. Against this total collapse, Victoria creates a new home in a small Appalachian mountain town. The community she builds around her shines like a beacon in a dark wasteland. Now she must defend it with her life --- to give hope to a new America.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

El Paso, Texas, is a battleground. It’s an open market for Mexican drug cartels to sell their wares. It’s also a destination for teens looking for fun. Venice Alexander’s 13-year-old son, Roman, was there on a school trip. Now, he and a fellow student have vanished without a trace. Assuming the kidnapping is retaliation for his past incursions against Mexico’s underworld, Jonathan Grave leads his covert operatives to rescue their teammate’s son. But the trail Jonathan follows leads him down unexpected paths where he ends up in the crossfire of a deadly vendetta.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Two boys are abducted while being driven to Resurrection House, the school that hostage rescue specialist Jonathan Grave founded as a sanctuary for children of incarcerated parents. Their mom, Connie Kendall, is awaiting trial on drug smuggling charges. Prosecutors want her to testify against the brutal Cortez Cartel to help bring down their ruthless operations. If she cooperates, she’ll get an easier sentence. But with her kids in the grip of the cartel, her lips are sealed. As Jonathan and his team of skilled operatives close in on the kidnappers, they realize that their enemies aren’t just hell-bent on selling drugs. Rival factions have even deadlier agendas. The clock is ticking on an attack that could kill thousands in a single breath. And it’s almost zero hour.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

America is under fire. One by one, simultaneous terror attacks have left the country reeling. The perpetrators are former Special Forces operatives working for ISIS. Jonathan Grave and his team are called to go undercover and eliminate the traitors. The assaults are rehearsals for extreme disaster. A plot codenamed Retribution. One terrorist is willing to talk --- for a price. Grave’s only resort is to slip into a dark web where everything can be exposed. Where the rules of engagement do not hold. The bombs have been set, and Grave is the one being hunted. Unless he can save himself first, a terrorist plot of unimaginable scope will become history’s deadliest disaster.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

An island paradise held hostage. A band of dangerous killers unleashed. A sinister plot that could push the superpowers to the brink of war. For Jonathan Grave and Gail Bonneville, the Crystal Sands Resort has become the ultimate flashpoint. Their mission: defeat the attackers before more lives are lost. Their only hope is Grave’s partner Boxers, but he’s hundreds of miles away. Grave may be without weapons, but he’s never without resources. That’s when he’s most lethal --- when he will strike fast, hard and without warning.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

The mission: Drop into the Mexican jungle, infiltrate a drug cartel’s compound and extract a kidnapped DEA agent. But when Jonathan Grave and his partner, Boxers, retrieve the hostage and return to the exfil point, all hell breaks loose. Ambushed, abandoned and attacked on all sides, their only hope of survival lies inside a remote orphanage where innocent children have been targeted for death. Even if Grave can lead his precious cargo to safety across a hundred miles of treacherous jungle filled with enemies, he can’t shake the feeling that something bigger is at play: a vast conspiracy of international power players who take no prisoners --- and leave no survivors.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Nicki Janssen’s days are numbered, but she refuses to accept her fate lying down. Defying her father and doctors, she hits the road with a pocketful of cash, a bus ticket, and a romantic fantasy of riding off with her childhood crush. Handsome, dangerous Brad Ward is facing a different kind of sentence. Sent to prison for felony murder, he has escaped and rekindled his relationship with Nicki. But when Nicki’s father joins forces with a deputy sheriff, the search for the runaways ignites a manhunt --- a blistering chase that accelerates with every stolen car, every act of violence.

by John Gilstrap - Adventure, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Barista Ethan Falk chases a customer into the parking lot and kills him. He tells police that years ago the older man abducted and tortured him. Then Ethan's story takes an even stranger turn: he says he was rescued by a guy named Scorpion. Of course, there is no record of either the kidnapping or the rescue, because Scorpion --- Jonathan Grave --- operates outside the law and leaves no evidence. As Grave struggles to find a way to defend his former precious cargo without blowing his cover, he learns the dead man has secrets that trace to an ongoing terrorist plot against the heart of America.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Jonathan Grave finds it hard to believe that a fellow combat vet has gone rogue, killing American agents and leaking sensitive intel to hostile foreign interests. With black ops assassins on the trail of his old friend, Grave sets out to get to him first. He finds far more than he bargained for --- not only the wily operative, but evidence of a conspiracy so dangerous and far-reaching that an unthinkable tragedy is in motion. Grave and his elite team of specialists must expose a deadly high-level secret --- and do it in time to avert a catastrophe of historic proportions.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Assassins have eliminated a Chechen scientist who's been working as a double agent for the U.S. government. The feds know who to call: Jonathan Grave and his elite rescue team. Their mission: find the dead man's teenage son, who's on the run --- and off the grid --- with crucial information that must not fall into the wrong hands. There's one problem: the boy's bodyguard is a security specialist with unusual talents, and she's not giving up without a fight.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A bus full of teenagers on a church mission are held hostage, and the ransom demands are explicit: deliver three million dollars --- with zero involvement from law enforcement --- or all captives will be executed. Rescue specialist Jonathan Grave must face the chilling possibility that someone within the U.S. government has a deadly secret to protect --- one that could jeopardize national security like never before.

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Thriller

Caught in the crossfire of a random attack, rescue specialist Jonathan Grave spies a gunman getting away --- with a mother and her young son as hostages. To free them, Grave and his team must enter the dark heart of a nationwide conspiracy.