Red Empire: Rogue Team International #5    by Jonathan Maberry Order:  USA  Can Griffin, 2026 (2026) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson Jonathan Maberry writes a variety of genres from his dark Kagen the Damned fantasy series, to the zombie horror of Dead of Night and chilling, over the top Joe Ledger thrillers. Red Empire continues the latter stories, with Ledger (now part of Rogue Team International, headquartered on Greek Omfori Island) threatened once more by old enemies. Ledger has changed over years and close personal losses. He muses in the cemetery 'Do not threaten me with death. For ... everyone I ever loved is down there in the kingdom of shadows.' There, a very strange old man sneaks up on him and his white shepherd Ghost - his nemesis, Nicodemus, bringing 'news and tidings', and a message for Mr. Church, who leads Rogue Team International. It seems that this time, the bad guys have bioengineered the bacteria that spread bubonic plague in the Middle Ages. The story moves back and forth in time to show Nicodemus' role in what led to this. Ledger begins to wonder what Church is hiding. His quest for answers and to stop a new plague takes him to Transylvania, Bulgaria, Greece and finally London, England. Tension, action and betrayals escalate, and plague cases rise, with no antibiotic efficacy found. Of course, we know that Ledger will stop a pandemic, but how many more close to him must he lose to do so? Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews