Book Review – Sapphire Pavilion by David Grogan

I have received a free e-copy of the book Sapphire Pavilion by David Grogan to review. To find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Steve Stilwell’s former Navy JAG Corps buddy Ric Stokes has been jailed for possession of heroin in Vietnam. He was found in the same room with his traveling companion Ryan Eversall, dead of an overdose and in the company of a prostitute. Steve knows his friend is a straight arrow. Was he set up? If so, for what reason? Steve travels to Ho Chi Minh City in search of the truth.

In no time Steve is targeted by the people who framed his friend. A beautiful young American businesswoman insinuates her way into the case. Can she really help, or is she just a dangerous distraction? Ric and Ryan came to Vietnam in search of an Air Force transport plane that disappeared in 1968. The pilot was Ryan’s father. Before the heroin bust, they had located the wreckage. Ryan’s notebook, which Steve manages to obtain, spells out the exact location. Ryan’s widow has given Steve’s associate Casey another piece of valuable evidence, a file labeled “Sapphire Pavilion.” Someone is willing to go to any lengths to steal both the notebook and the file.

From Virginia and Texas to DC and Vietnam, powerful, all-seeing forces with unlimited resources are determined to bury the truth about Sapphire Pavilion. But they have grossly underestimated Steve Stilwell and his associate Casey, a former Army pilot who lost her leg in a helo accident. And the ability to inspire loyalty wherever you go can come in handy when danger lurks behind every corner.

Book 2 of the Steve Stilwell Thriller series, which began with The Siegel Dispositions.

The story starts in 1968 with a US air force plane taking off from an airbase in Thailand on a top secret mission. But it crashes after being hit by a missile from another unidentified plane. We then fast forward to Vietnam in 2000 where Ric Stokes has been mugged. Things get even worse when he gets back to the hotel and finds his room mate Ryan dead. A prostitute runs from the room. When the police arrive, they discover heroin in Ric’s suitcase and arrest him.

Back in the US, Ric’s wife Noriko comes to ask their lawyer friend Steve Stilwell and his new recruit Casey to help get Ric released. She says he has been set up. Steve travels to Vietnam whilst Casey pays a visit to Ryan’s widow, Angela in Texas. After a very brief meeting with Ric in the prison, Steve retrieves Ryan’s notebook from the hotel safe. And Angela lends Casey a file labelled “Sapphire Pavilion”, containing Ryan’s research into the disappearance of his father’s plane.

But both Steve and Casey are being watched. Steve is soon approached by Wendy Gallagher, and he realises she is pumping him for information. Things start getting dangerous and that’s all I’m going to say.

I did have to look up what JAG refers to and it is a Navy Advocate Judge, the role that Tom Cruise played in A Few Good Men. The author also had a lengthy career in this job before writing, so a familiar subject for him to base his story on. And he even visited Vietnam, a country he had never been to previously, for the purposes of research for his novel.

Sapphire Pavilion, published by Camel Press is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. A gripping story that had me on the edge of my seat. I shall certainly be adding David’s first book “The Siegel Dispositions” to my wishlist.

Plus I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a paperback copy of Sapphire Pavilion to 1 lucky winner. Open worldwide.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

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Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.