Review of Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy

[Olga Markova]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy" by Ralph R. "Rick" Steinke.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy by award-winning Ralph R. "Rick" Steinke blends political thriller and crime mystery with a sprinkle of clean romance. The story transports us to Rome. We witness the theft of three Michelangelo paintings valued at hundreds of millions of dollars from the church of San Luigi de Franchesi. Nine months before this theft, Lieutenant Colonel Jake Fortina was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Rome as an Assistant Army Attache. Jake and his wife Sara, an Italian Carabinieri officer, were looking forward to this stunt in Rome. But they were yet to know that this assignment placed them at the doorstep of a new mission to combat a major threat to global security, in which the stolen Michelangelo paintings would play a major role.

Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy by Ralph R. "Rick" Steinke is one of the most entertaining and memorable political thrillers I read recently. Shadowing Jake and Sara on their mission, I enjoyed revisiting Rome, and I am grateful to Ralph for this atmospheric deja vu experience. I liked how Jake and Sara navigated the maze of tensions and ambitions in the international political arena. But most of all, I liked the intrigue that connected Michelangelo’s relics to a nuclear threat.

I listened to the audiobook, so I cannot comment on the editing quality of the printed edition. As for the audiobook quality, talented Duke Holm did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life and enhancing each character's personality with a distinctive voice and accent. I was particularly impressed by Duke’s perfect command of spoken Italian!

This book was enjoyable and memorable. The audio production was flawless. I disliked nothing in this novel. So, I happily rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

As I look forward to my reunion with Jake Fortina in other novels of the series, I highly recommend this awesome novel to political thriller and crime mystery fans. As a word of caution, a graphic torture scene may trigger sensitive readers.

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Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
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