Todd Moss has written a series of adventure/thriller/mystery books based on what he knows best; The US Department of State and international relations. The protagonist character is Jud Ryker, a State Department Official and academic who has been appointed to head a crisis unit of the State Department. The Golden Hour begins with Jud's families long awaited beach vacation being interrupted by a coup in Mali. Good gripping story, I want to read Moss's other books now, maybe even some of his non-fiction serious work. Too many surprises that could be spoiled to give more detail in a review. ( )

Another type of book that I do like to read is international suspense novels. I was intrigued by this book due to the author's background. Well the author does lead a lot of his extensive knowledge to this book. Which I did like as it was very authentic. Not just fiction. Yet what I found lacking was the character development/personalities. I did not find the characters and what the whole coup was about that interesting. Thus I struggled to try and stick with this book. I did get about a third of the way and put the book down. Only due to the uninteresting characters and too much talking. If the talking had lead to more action as well then I could see myself sticking with this book despite the characters as the storyline would have grabbed me more with the faster pace. ( )

Pretty good espionage story with enough twists and turns to keep your interest. Some of the characters could have been developed a little more but otherwise a nice weekend read. ( )

The African country of Mali undergoes a coup in which a general takes over. Judd Ryker is an American diplomat charged with returning the original president back to office. Judd's mentor taught him a concept know as the "golden hour" which deals with the idea that the longer the new government is in power the harder it is to unseat it. Add to the mix the daughter of a U. S. Senator has been kidnapped in Mali and may be in the hands of terrorists and needs to be rescued. Many twists, turns and surprises in this fast paced novel of political intrigue. ( )