The Red Hotel opens with testimony before a congressional committee stressing the necessity of shared information between the intelligence community and hotel chains for the safety of their customers. This scene alternates with scenes of a terrorist bombing at a hotel in Tokyo. Dan Reilly, the VP-International for Kensington Royal Hotels, departs Washington for Tokyo to assess the damages to their hotel. After viewing the devastation and the number of fatalities, Reilly submits a plan to the home office to deter future attacks. Gathering a panel of security consultants that includes a former CIA official, a former FBI official, a military strategist and the owner of a company of mercenaries, they outline security upgrades for the hotels. These are based on threat levels, with a red hotel being in imminent danger of attack.

The Tokyo attack is tied to Russia’s plan to return to its’ former greatness under the rule of President Nikolai Gorshkov. As a young KGB officer during the re-unification of Germany, Gorshkov felt betrayed by his superiors and is now in a position to not only exact revenge, but to also test NATO’s ability to defend its’ members borders.

Dan Reilly’s background includes time in military intelligence and a position with the State Department. Having a contact within the CIA, he is able to discover the identity of the Tokyo bomber and his ties to Moscow. Reilly is resourceful, analytical and a capable adversary to Gorshkov and his plans.

Ed Fuller has the experience with an international hotel change and his co-author, Gary Grossman, has written some engrossing thrillers. Together they have produced a thriller that throws you right into the action and the tension builds to a final confrontation that will leave you breathless. In the closing acknowledgments this is revealed as the first book in a new international thriller series. This opening story will have you anxiously awaiting more.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Beaufort Books for making this book available for my honest review.

Red Hotel is a great spy thriller with a plot ripped from today's headlines combined with insights into the hotel industry. A great read!

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.