Tom Dugan Books In Order

Publication Order of Tom Dugan Books

Tom Dugan series by R. E. McDermott
Author R. E. McDermott writes the “Tom Dugan” series of thriller novels. The series began publication in the year 2011, when “Deadly Straits” was released. There are three books in the series, with the final novel being released in the year 2014, titled “Deadly Crossing”. The books are stand alone stories that end without cliffhangers and can be read in any order.

Tom Dugan is a very part-time CIA asset and globe-trotting marine consultant, and was just supposed to take some pictures in Chinese shipyards now and then. And also provide some discreet courier service under the guise of regular business travel. That is, until the Company was looking for a scapegoat, and things went horribly wrong.

“Deadly Straits” is the first novel in the “Tom Dugan” series and was released in the year 2011. When Tom Dugan, a very part-time spook and marine engineer, becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, and he is not about to take this lying down.

Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he is offered up the opportunity to clear his name by aiding the CIA snare their real prey, Alex Kairouz, London ship owner and Dugan’s best friend. Hesitantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex’s outfit, despite doubts that his friend is guilty. Once Dugan is undercover, his steadfast refusal to accept Alex’s guilt puts him at odds with his CIA superiors, but also with a gorgeous British agent with whom he is romantically involved.

A tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another one explodes in Panama while Alex lies close to death after a rather suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan gets framed for these attacks. Convinced these attacks are a prelude to a much more devastating assault and out of options, he eludes capture so that he can follow his final lead to Russia, just to be shanghaied as an ‘advisor’ to some Russian Spetsnaz unit working a suicide mission.

This takes the reader from the dry docks of Singapore to the London streets, onto the decks of tankers that slake the whole world’s thirst for oil, with stops along the way in Langley, Virginia; Panama; and Teheran.

The novel is richly spiced with details from the author’s thirty some years of building, sailing, and repairing ships worldwide. Exotic locales, spies, terrorists, and rogue governments make this a rather compelling read. There are loads of characters and intrigue to keep the reader engaged. There is non-stop action and covers a lot of ground. McDermott really knows about shipping and ships, and writes a complex plot with plenty of turns and twists.

“Deadly Coast” is the second novel in the “Tom Dugan” series and was released in the year 2012. Dugan believed that Somali pirates were bad news, but then it got even worse.

While Alex Kairouz and Tom Dugan struggle to ransom their crew and ship from murderous Somali pirates, things take a turn for the worse. A US Navy contracted tanker with a full load of jet fuel gets hijacked as well, not by your garden variety of pirates, but terrorists with connections to Al Qaeda, changing the playing field entirely.

With a potential connection between terrorism and piracy, which are now in play, the British and US governments order the halt of all negotiations for prisoner ships, and the enraged pirates ratchet up the mistreatment of the captive crews. One of his crewmen gets murdered right in front of him on a live video feed, so a frustrated Dugan takes matters into his own hands and begins his own rescue operation. And he winds up stumbling on something much more sinister: a rogue salvage operation for some long lost weapon of mass destruction.

Isolated at sea on an old tanker that was previously destined for the ship breakers, Dugan and his shoddily built small force of Russian mercenaries have landed themselves as the last line of defense between a horrifying bio-weapon and the world.

The book holds your attention and McDermott has written a creative tale that is based off of his research of the piracy issues and World War II. He is able to weave fact with fiction into an exhilarating tale that is tough to set down. Fans of the book enjoyed the characters and plot line. McDermott hooks you immediately with such excitement and danger.

“Deadly Crossing” is the third novel in the “Tom Dugan” series and was released in the year 2014. Human trafficking is all around us at all times, however when it touches those close to Tom Dugan, he helps his friends deliver their own sort of justice.

One phone call. It is a common enough event, sometimes annoying and sometimes welcoming, but it is seldom life changing. So we assume, anyway. However assumptions are rather dangerous things to make, and the reality is that we all live one phone call away from disaster. A cheerful ring away from hearing news of some tragic accident. A muted buzz from learning a lifetime of memories have vanished during a raging house fire.

So it is for Tom Dugan, as well, rolling right through the London night, and the woman he loves in the taxi with him. Life is good by any definition, until his phone starts to ring. This alerts him to the arrival of two old Russian buddies with a huge problem.

Tom’s efforts to aid his friends rescue the innocent girl from the Russian mob plunge him into a world that he had scarcely imagined, endangering both him and everybody that he holds dear. A world of unspeakable cruelty and modern day slavery, from which nobody is going to escape from, unless Dugan’s able to weather a lethal crossing.

There is great pacing, timing, and holds your attention throughout. It is well written with some likable characters who are easy to fall in love with and follow. The novel covers human trafficking, international intrigue, warehouses filled with drugs, and enough suspense to keep readers turning pages. McDermott’s vivid writing makes it easy to visualize everything that is going on.