Without Sanction (Matt Drake Thriller Book 1)
Don Bentley
Berkley Pub
March 3rd, 2020
Without Sanction by Don Bentley is part spy thriller and part political thriller, combining espionage with military action. In addition, the plot shows not only the infighting between agencies, but the infighting within agencies and cabinet positions.
In this debut novel, Bentley uses his personal experience to enhance the plot. Serving for a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot, while deployed to OEF, he earned a Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” for valor. After his stint in the Army he joined the FBI, focusing on foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, and ending his career with the FBI as a member of their elite SWAT team.
The main character in the novel, Matt Drake takes on some of Bentley’s thoughts. After retiring as an Army Ranger Drake becomes an operative for the Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA. He is battling demons that include survivor’s guilt, PTSD, tremors, nightmares, anxiety, and depression. He became a broken man after his asset and his family was killed along with his best friend badly injured. Now he is assigned a mission to extract a chemical weapons expert, code named Einstein, who is believed to have created a particularly effective new poison. Having to return to Syria, where the botched operation originated, might enable Drake to live with his demons. The mission is expanded when the President asks his help in rescuing a paramilitary officer.
The sub-plot shows the petty political infighting within the highest reaches of government. The President’s Chief of Staff is angling to roadblock a CIA director who has political ambitions of her own, with Drake’s mission falling right in the middle of this elaborate political scheme. These exchanges between heads of intelligence departments and White House members created the feeling of playing a game of chess, where every move was strategic and tense. Readers see President Jorge Gonzales as someone who puts country over ambition and has to delicately handle the infighting.
This thriller has a lot of political drama, with Drake’s desire for redemption at the center of the plot. The debut novel shows how Bentley is a talented rising author. Readers should anxiously wait for the second in this new series.
Elise Cooper: Can you talk about your personal experiences?
Don Bentley: When I was in Afghanistan there was one mission that went wrong. I was the air mission commander for an operation to rescue four SEALs pinned down on a mountain top in Afghanistan in 2005. One of the helicopters I was charged with protecting was shot down. I examined what happened and broke it down into three phases. Phase 1 had me thinking what could I have done differently. Phase 2 had me wishing that I could get that moment back. Phase 3 I had survivor’s guilt that I was alive and those I was supposed to protect are not.
EC: Did this influence you in writing your protagonist Matt Drake?
DB: Yes, he wrestled with that also. He is trying to seek redemption and atoned for something he thinks he inadvertently caused, the death of his asset and family. Then he had to face his biggest failure by going back to Syria where it happened.
EC: Why make Drake a DIA case officer?
DB: I drew from my FBI experience. While there, I ran and recruited sources, which are what the intelligence community calls assets. The job entailed convincing another person to work for me against their best interests. A relationship always seems to develop and there is the fear of asking someone to go into harm’s way on my behalf.
EC: You also made Matt an Army Ranger?
DB: I worked in a business company that was staffed with those from the Special Service community, many from the Army Ranger regiment. The Rangers have a creed that still means something, even when they are no longer serving. It guides their life. The Fifth Creed says that they will never leave a fallen comrade in the hands of the enemy. I brought this to light in the story. I think the government makes a bargain with those that serve and their family. Although it cannot guarantee that someone will come home alive; yet, they will come home one way or another. This moved me so much, I made it the theme of the book.
EC: Can you describe the President in this book?
DB: I am a huge Vince Flynn fan. In his books he chose a Democrat to be the President even though many of his readers are Conservative in nature. The President was shown in a good light. My President has those qualities, having the nation’s best interest at heart.
EC: How would you describe Matt?
DB: He is a quiet professional. A normal man who fiercely loves his country and has done exceptional things for it. I think he is unassuming.
EC: Why give an asset the Einstein name?
DB: It is his code name. He is a scientist in a sterile lab and sometimes is ignorant of the real world. I wanted a scientist at the top of their game that would have no idea about the practical part.
EC: How would you describe Charles, the chief of base in Syria?
DB: A typical bureaucrat. The men/women at the tip of the spear risk their lives and most of the time do not have the spotlight and do not want to be recognized. 99% of the time the nation does not know of the job they did. Just look at the WWII code breakers that no one knew about including their families until their death. The opposite is the other side, people like Charles. These people are only concerned about their careers. They could not care about the overall mission and only want to further their petty little kingdom.
EC: Why the setting in Syria?
DB: Syria is a crazy place where some of the worst actors are duking it out. There are proxies of Iran, Islamic Fundamentalists, Turkey, and Russia. It is the perfect storm where everything that is wrong with the world is in this one country. For Matt, to attune he needs to go back to hell and for me Syria is pretty close to hell.
EC: You made a reference to the Eagles rock group?
DB: I have always been an Eagles fan. My first duty assignment out of flight school was in South Korea. There is not a lot to do during down time. I bought a guitar and started to learn to play. Their songs have simple chord structures, which a beginner can fumble their way through. This is how I learned and this is how Matt learned to play the guitar. The first song I learned on the guitar was “Tequila Sunrise.”
EC: Do you still play the guitar?
DB: Not very much. But since the quarantine two of my children have picked up my guitar. In the two weeks we have been side-lined my daughter has surpassed my ability.
EC: What are your favorite thriller authors?
DB: I am honored to have the same editor as Tom Clancy, Tom Colgan. The Hunt For Red October was one of the first thriller novels I have read. I also enjoy the John Corey series by Nelson DeMille. I would give anything to write his funny and witty dialogue. Vince Flynn has been a great influence.
EC: What about your next book?
DB: It is titled The Outside Man and will be released in 2021. Matt’s PTSD does not have the same prevalence in the next story as he learns to manage it. The book will delve into the Russian threat.
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