Move over M. Night Shamalan, John Cathcart has arrived!

Airline Captain and new widower John Carter casually mentions the name of an acquaintance at a bar in Grenada. This simple act throws him into the middle of an international plot filled with mad business men, beautiful and intelligent Latinas, governmental alphabet soup groups and bad guys of all persuasions. Like Cary Grant's character in Hitchcock's North by Northwest, everyone but John seems to know what's happening - but in the end, he must take the situation in hand and solve the puzzle that his life has become.

DELTA 7 is a flashy new entrant into the crowded world of literary mystery and intrigue. Author John Cathcart's first chapter describing the attack on Libya by the USAF in 1986 is a breathtaking hook. The chapter ends with, "Captain John Carter was now a combat veteran." The parenthetical second chapter follows a young Columbian boy from the moment that he is kidnapped by revolutionaries through his introduction to battle and ending with, "Carlos Hernandez was now a combat veteran." With these first fourteen pages, the author establishes himself as a clever and intuitive novelist. 

Then he takes you on a wild ride through the complex and violent under-society of Columbia. The chapters are basic one or two scene presentations - a series of flipping perspectives, action sequences, and romantic interludes. This stylistic device gives the book a sense of movement and direction - like a spinning aircraft that generates excitement even though it's really controlled by the pilot. It also is an excellent technique for dropping clues that the reader picks up intuitively. When at last the tale unfolds and the good and bad are identified, the real surprise at the end is satisfying because the reader knew it all along but just didn't know she knew it. 

This book will appeal to those who enjoy Hitchcock movies, Ken Follett stories, cold beer, spicy food and hot women. Highly recommended! 

Joyce Faulkner 
Author of award-winning novel IN THE SHADOW OF SURIBACHI, award-winning collection of short stories LOSING PATIENCE, a humor book FOR SHRIEKING OUT LOUD 
Coauthor of SUNCHON TUNNEL MASSACRE SURVIVORS 
President of Military Writers Society of America 

This is a globe-traveling tale of espionage, romance, and intrigue. John Carter, a former U.S. military attaché who long ago left the business, unsuspectingly finds himself neck deep in trouble over mistaken intentions. His friends disappear and die, and Carter tries to find reasons. Old military contacts that used to join him in the fight against the international drug trade are hard to locate or are recently killed. He searches for help at the National Security Agency, Pentagon, and Southern Command Headquarters. Carter is not aware that resurfacing pegs him as a potential threat to a huge international drug smuggling operation, but he senses powerful players within the highest chains of command may play for both sides in whatever is going down. Who can he trust? What is actually happening? Delta 7 reveals the answers in this Colombian based thriller. The author's real-life expertise provides an accurate portrayal of Latin American cultures/history, as well as an authentic peek at the multi-faceted take down operations required to interdict and confiscate large amounts of drugs and money across continents. Author John Cathcart weaves together the intricate detail of this novel like a tapestry. The book is beautiful - complete with a surprise ending. Delta 7 gets my highest recommendation!

Review by Rob Ballister, author of "God Does Have a Sense of Humor"

Former military attaché John Carter's friends are disappearing without a trace, and he's worried he might be next. Most of his contacts from his attaché days seem to be connected somehow with some major drug dealings, and the only ones he can trust are already dead. With his girlfriend Gloria, who has some secrets of her own, John tries to get to the bottom of the mystery before the drug lords get to him. 

John Cathcart's first book, DELTA 7, is a well-written and fast moving story heavily influenced by Cathcart's own career as an Air Force pilot and a defense attaché. The author weaves an intricate story that spans two countries, developing a host of believable characters and creating a very plausible story. And when he finally wraps it up, he does so with a pleasant, unexpected twist that makes it that much better. 
The book is well presented, though be prepared for a smaller font. The chapters break up the book nicely, and there is plenty of dialogue to keep the story moving. Fans of law-enforcement and counter drug works will enjoy this book. Well done to the author. 

John Cathcart takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride through Columbia's drug empires and FARC revolutionaries, with Lt Col John Carter, USAF retired, as your guide. Intrigue, double-cross, murder, beautiful Latin ladies, and, oh yes, the mafia. 

Carter's adventure begins when he makes an innocent inquiry to a bar tender in St, Georges, Granada. An inquiry that draws Carter back into his former life as assistant military attaché in Columbia and drug enforcement, and sends him searching for answers in Columbia, Miami, and Washington, DC. 

The author weaves a complex and realistic plot centering around a major drug shipment. He also paints a troubling and vivid picture of how the huge amounts of money generated by illegal drug sales can corrupt officials, police, and the military, including America's military. The story ends with a twist few will see coming. 

It always a pleasure to read a well written and plotted story penned by a person who has been there and done that. Will John Carter have more adventures? I hope so.