Darkness Falls (Mark Beamon #5)

Darkness Falls by Kyle Mills is his fifth book featuring Mark Beamon.

Mark is no longer an FBI Special Agent in Charge. He is now part of Homeland Security and really he is just biding his time to retirement. But like mozzies can find me in a crowd of thousands, all of the cases with the potential to end the world as we know it fall on Mark's desk.

When a new strain of bacteria interferes with the petroleum production in the largest oil field in Saudi Arabia and the leading scientist on the topic decline the invitation to investigate from the oil company - Mark is called in to collect Dr. Erin Neal from his home in the Arizona desert and escort him to the problem.

Because these bacteria exist in nature, the problem seems serious but not world-economy shattering until the same bacteria appears in Alaska's ANWR well. And when Erin looks at the data there is no doubt in his mind that someone purposely contaminated the well.

Now Mark Beamon is in charge of an investigation, that if not handled quickly, could turn us into the historical society from Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series.

Mills, Kyle. (2007). Darkness Falls. Philadelphia: Vanguard Press.

Burn Factor

Burn Factor by Kyle Mills is an FBI thriller with a twist.

Quinn Barry works for the FBI, but she is not an agent. She hopes to someday be an agent but currently works in computer programming. When creating a new search engine within the CODIS system - a system that collects forensic data from unsolved crimes all over the country - she discovers five previously unconnected murders.

After being transferred to another office for not being able to work out the "bug" that found the cases, Quinn goes over the code to see what the difference is between the original and her new code. She finds a sequence of DNA within the original code that system is told to ignore.

When she orders the case files to prove to herself that the cases are not real but a test that was never removed, she is shocked to find the brutal murder of 5 women.

Unfortunately, as soon as she orders the case files she can no longer be left to discover the truth. Someone is after her. No knowing who to trust she may put her faith in the hands of the wrong helper.

Mills is a master of the suspense novel. Burn Factor is one of his stand-alone novels, but does mention he series hero - Mark Beamon.

Mills, Kyle. (2001). Burn Factor. New York: HarperCollins.

Sphere of Influence (Mark Beamon #4)

Sphere of Influence by Kyle Mills is the fourth book in his series featuring FBI agent Mark Beamon.

Mark Beamon has done so well as an investigator with the FBI that he has been promoted to the Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office. He hates being the SAC. He misses the challenge of an investigation and is dreading the inspection that will analyze every thing done out of his office for the last year.

When a tape is released to the media showing a rocket launcher somewhere in the US desert, Laura Vilechi is assigned to find it before the threat can be carried out. She asks Mark for his advice and he gratefully jumps into the investigation. In fact, at one point he is so deep into the investigation that he is working for one of the most powerful criminals in the world.

Mills writes a complex, mesmerizing thriller that will have readers skipping work to finish the book. Beamon is a lovable wreck of a character with a sharp mind that picks up what others miss. This series is a must read for suspense fans.

Mills, Kyle. (2002). Sphere of Influence. New York: G.P. Putman's Sons.

The Second Horseman

The Second Horseman by Kyle Mills is a great heist book.

Brandon Vale is in prison for a jewel theft that he did not commit. He is not as upset as some wrongfully imprisoned people - after all, he did steal a lot of other stuff. But just about time he settles into a routine he is forced to escape.

He has no idea what is happening when a guard shoves him outside of the prison fence and puts a cell phone in his hand. He doesn't want to run but if he stands still too long he will be shot.

After following the directions from a voice on the cell phone, Brandon finds himself asked to help in a heist. The heist is great and includes everything a reader could want.

However, after the heist, the book continues on to a political plot that in its own right might be engaging but does not fit with the first half of the book. So if you want to read about a brilliant thief, read it but stop after they pull off the robbery.

Mills, Kyle. (2007). The Second Horseman. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Free Fall (Mark Beamon #3)

In Free Fall, Kyle Mills' third book staring FBI agent Mark Beamon, Mark takes his first private client. As he is currently on suspension from the FBI, he has some free time on his hands.

Tristan Newberry works a government agency, searching a warehouse for missing files. He has no idea who hired him or what he is looking for - only that there is a misfiled FBI file in the middle of a ton of Department of Agriculture files. When he finds the file, he wishes he had never read it - or stolen it from the warehouse.

When an old friend, Darcy, of Tristan shows up unexpectedly, he takes her up of her offer to blow off work and go rock climbing for few days. Getting out of town sounds like a safe plan. But when their camp is surrounded and they are transported to a house for "questioning," Tristan knows he should not have involved Darcy.

Their captors underestimate Darcy. As the world's best female rock and mountain climber, she has the strength to fight back.

Now Mark Beamon has been hired to find Darcy. But who hired him? Once again drawn into the world of politics - the world he hates - Mark must try to decipher the real motives behind the stories he is being told - before the other who are after Darcy find her first.

Mills, Kyle. (2000). Free Fall. New York: Harper Collins.

Storming Heaven (Mark Beamon #2)

In the second Mark Beamon book, Storming Heaven, Kyle Mills creates a new religion.

Beamon has been relocated to the FBI office in Flagstaff, Arizona. When a prominent business figure and his wife are murdered and their daughter apparently abducted, Mark and his new staff must fight the clock to find her. Kidnap victims' chances of survival decrease by 50 percent each day they are not rescued.

Along with settling into a new town and working on a high profile case, Mark needs to learn about the fastest growing church in the world - the Church of the Evolution - which is based in Flagstaff. Albert Kneiss (pronounced "nice") has convinced millions of people that he is the next visitation of the messiah. According to the new version of the Bible, Jesus came and delivered God's message (the New Testament) in a language that was appropriate for the time period. Kneiss is now here to update the message to humanity's new intelligence level, taking into account advances in science.

If Beamon goes up against the Kneissians in his investigation, he will have a hell of a fight. Most members are prominent in the community and in positions of power.

Mills, Kyle. (1998). Storming Heaven. New York: HarperCollins.

Rising Phoenix (Mark Beamon #1)

Rising Phoenix is the first book in the series featuring FBI agent Mark Beamon by author Kyle Mills.

Mark Beamon is known as the best investigator in the FBI. He is also known as the biggest pain in the but for a supervisor to work with. At the beginning of the novel he has once again upset the balance of power and is about to be demoted and reassigned.

But when a group calling itself CDFS - Committee for a Drug-Free Society - places adds in the nations most popular newspapers claiming that they are going to poison the drug supply, Mark is chosen to head the investigation.

When people start dying in large numbers, the pressure on Mark to find CDFS increases. He will either find them or become the scapegoat.

Mills, Kyle. (1997). Rising Phoenix. New York: HarperCollins.