More of a 4.5
This was the first book by this author I have read and it was an enjoyable, thought provoking read. I liked the fact that it was inspired by real events (see author's note at the end), it was clear that the author had done much research and thought had gone into the plot.
This book could probably be summed up as the CIA & FBI's worst nightmare. The infiltration of not just the USA but more importantly the White House by North Korean & Russian operatives, add in the fact that Trump is President and it becomes even more of a horror story.
The autocratic regimes of Putin and North Korea are well drawn, the Russians, such as Putin are particularly menacing.
The only reason I deducted half a star was that it did get a little boring/"draggy" in places, especially at the beginning when Eric and Jenna were laying the ground work for the story/giving insight into their backstory and I just wanted things to move on.
If you like espionage/political thrillers this could be for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read.

This was an interesting book being loosely based on a series of real events (all nicely outlined briefly at the end of the book in what was a useful Author's note section).

Whilst reading the book I was a little frustrated with the first half of the book as it felt all unrelated and jumping about a bit with little action. This was however made up for in the second half of the book where all the different strands came together and there was plenty of action in between.

This book revolved around North Korea and it's leading family and Russia/Putin and also some emphasis on US government and Trump and a story was made out of different events and spies from all sides. With the context after the book it was an interesting read just be prepared for the slow-burn first half of the book.

4 stars from me.

This was a cracking thriller weaving in quite a bit of real events and involving real people including Trump, Putin and Kim Jong-Un in the story. It was quite a long book set over a long period of time. I'll definitely look at more of this author's works.

NET GALLEY ADVANCE REVIEW COPY 4*

D.B. John is a new author to me - I suspect this will not be the only book of his that I'll read and enjoy.

Back in the day I was a massive Clancy Jack Ryan fan, and I suspect that Mr John might have been similarly influenced.

This hefty volume (Amazon says over 670 pages) continues the global storyline genre with good humour, and interesting takes on real-life homelives for current global leaders, especially the Donald and his master blaster Vlad the Pale...

The book will be an excellent summer poolside read - three or four days of tanning with tall dark chilled drinks losing yourself in an engaging yarn full of crafty smiles, twists and fascinating plots.

I'm giving no spoilers other than to say be prepared to be engaged

D. B. John's "Red Star Down" is a timely, electric global thriller that skillfully incorporates current geopolitical tensions into an enthralling story. A spiritual follow-up to "Star of the North," this standalone novel drops readers into a high-stakes conspiracy that sweeps through North Korea, Russia, and Washington D.C.

The action begins with seemingly unrelated events: a mysterious poisoning in Kuala Lumpur, the murder of a Russian intelligence officer, and the inauguration of a new US President. Three interesting characters are hurled into the storm: Jenna, a haunted CIA operative; Lyosha, a fearless Moscow student; and Eric, a North Korean spy inserted into the White House. The author deftly weaves their own adversity with a larger, incendiary international threat, evincing a sharp insight into espionage and power games. "Red Star Down" is a fast-moving, highly developed, and enormously rewarding read for followers of modern spy novels.

An informative and eye-opening espionage thriller with some fictionalised elements that still rang true and very sadly very close to the current political state of affairs. Although the novel occasionally dragged for me (how many chases can you realistically have?) the author does penetrate the mind of well-seasoned spies and cold-blooded double-agents alike. I also felt the portrayal of world leaders and dictators to be eerily accurate. I will keep an eye out for the author when I am next in the mood for something of this genre. I particularly enjoyed reading of Jenna’s plights, and immersing myself in some of the exotic and closed-off locations the action takes place in. Some pleasant plot twists are present, too!

How do I put into words how good this book is?

It is remarkable, thats the best word to describe it

We have Trump, Putin and Kim Jong-un as 3 main leads and a host of other powerful characters all involved in a web of lies, deception and spycraft set in Trumps first term in office

The author makes it clear it is fiction in the lengthy ( and also fascinating ) acknowledgements but set within real life events and ‘happenings’

Every single world was important and formed part of this truly invigorating book

The intimate look at life in North Korea, Russia and America and the lives of the leaders and the power they yield was like nothing have read before

I wanted it to be double, triple length such was the amazing story telling by this author ( will be reading his 3 other books asap ) that didn’t falter in its excitement once, even for a second

My favourite book this year and in my top 3 books ever

A truly powerful read

A fast-moving and insightful take on current events, all wrapped up in a 5-star thriller.

"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.

I really enjoyed this spy thriller from D. B. John, a follow on from Star of the North, which I loved, but somehow didn’t get around to reviewing.
The story is set in 2018 and told from three points of view. Jenna a CIA agent, who I knew from the previous book, Lyosha, a Russian student, and Eric a North Korean spy working in the White House.
This was a just as good Star of the North, and me hooked right from the beginning, as I followed the three characters through the twists and turns of the plot. I liked Jenna and Lyosha and hoped good things would come their way. Eric Rahn was a very good villain, a really nasty character, who deserved everything he got!
The author’s note at the end was really interesting as he mentioned how real events inspired this latest book.
Highly recommended if you enjoy contemporary global spy thrillers.

The real-life characters and events move at a fast pace- from a North Korean man poisoned at an airport, to the assassination of a Russian intelligence officer in Washington and a teenager who stands up to Putin on a Russian TV show with Putin. All strands are neatly woven with Jenna, a CIA operative and Eric who is a shady character working in the White House but not for the U.S. President. This spy thriller is a clever and compulsive read. It is rooted in current affairs and merges the complexity of geopolitics into a fantastic read. A proper thriller that is so compelling.

I really enjoyed this spy thriller.
Jenna is a CIA agent of mixed Korean/African American heritage. Her twin sister was kidnapped and held in North Korea and rescued by Jenna, giving her legendary status.
Set in 2017, the story is about undercover North Korean and Russian spies infiltrating America, and includes a lot about the politics of that time, and the diplomatic relationship between Trump, Putin and Kim Jong Un. There are several strands to the story, it's well written and gripping. I couldn't put it down.
There are lots of good characters, I particularly liked Jenna, Lyosha, Anya and Mira.
Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for this Ebook ARC in return for an honest review.


4.5 stars

Red Star Down is Spy thriller set in an up to date political background with true real meetings but with a imaginative events that unfolded due to these meetings

Took me sometime to get into this book as the first half of the book the author Really wanted the us to get the backgrounds of all the main characters and why they did/do the things that they where doing/done, but the second half of the book i ate up.

D.B John really made me feel connected with the characters and really made me route for some of them and the rest well will just have to read the book and find out.

Would definitely recommend if you love thriller, mystery reads.

A political spy thriller is not my normal go to genre, but the synopsis intrigued me and I thought Let’s give it a go!
I was not disappointed. This novel was well crafted with lots of information, twists and some great characters.
It is not a quick read and in parts I had to concentrate hard on the plot, but overall this was a book I would recommend.

This is a really outstanding spy thriller cleverly using recent political events with Trump’s first administration dealings with N Korea and Russia. A female CIA officer is the star of the show with secret plots by both the N Koreans and Russia to infiltrate the highest levels of American Government and business. Never ending action racing across Malaysia,Korea Russia and the USA all superbly blended together with one particular bad guy close to Trump as an adviser. Wonderful stuff…recommended!

This is my first book of this author but I very much enjoyed it.
The author is clearly very passionate about international affairs. I very much enjoyed the layering of real world events and fiction to draw us into the story.
After a little research I found that this story, with the seed bearing programme, is building on previous work by the author. It’s an intriguing concept with a basis in truth which is equally fascinating and terrifying.
I will admit that I found it hard to get through this book because it is very dense. I know this will appeal to a lot of fans of the classic spy and political intrigue writers like Le Carre, and rightly so.

I thoroughly enjoyed this intense political thriller set during Trump’s first administration and creating a tense fictional background to the summits Trump held with Putin and Kim Jong-un. The crossover between fiction and reality had a very nebulous border which made this a fascinating read.

Apparently a sequel so I’m going to have to hunt the first volume down now. This was a high stakes thriller and commanded my complete attention while travelling across Europe by train. Fabulous female protagonist. More of this sort of thing!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. 5* from me for this one.

A cleverly crafted plot, managing to intertwine fiction with real-life political events with feeling too contrived. The story moves at great pace, with lots of twists and turns, and remains exciting to the end. How refreshing to have a female agent at the centre of action, especially as she is so central to the story.

The reasoning behind Donald trump meeting north Korea leader and his relationship with Putin.
A very interesting, informative and fascinating story about behind the scenes in international politics and the various agencies involved.
It may be fiction but it doesn't take much imagination to believe that this book is the truth.
I really enjoyed this book

An excellent fast paced and intelligent spy thriller built around Trump's summits with Putin and Kim in his first administration. The author has an astute perspective on the personalities of these three autocrats and builds a compelling story involving a North Korean plant within Trump's inner circle and an American female spy. Though a sequel to an earlier novel, this book can be loved as a standalone work, Highly recommended.

With a little nod towards James Bond, this spy thriller was excellent.

Weaving fiction with plausible real-world figures the three autocrats, Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin and set in 2017 the book is exciting with Jenna some sort of action girl escaping from all sorts of trouble. Shame she fell into the 'JD' trap?

Other minor characters all add to a plot that keeps the reader guessing. A lot of multiple povs which I will forgive this time as the whole story and the author's writing is superb.

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House UK Vintage for the chance to read and review.