Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book in Eric Rickstad’s Remote series, I’m happy to say that the sequel, Remote: The Five, absolutely delivers. Tense, gripping, and relentlessly suspenseful, this second installment picks up the pace and plunges even deeper into the chilling world of remote viewing and genetic manipulation.

Once again, we’re thrown into the cat-and-mouse game between the FBI and the enigmatic killer known as Q—The Tableau Killer—who has escaped custody and left more bodies in his wake. Trained from childhood by the shadowy organization Stargazer, Q possesses the terrifying ability to see distant places and hidden truths. His mission to uncover the truth about what was done to him and his fellow test subjects drives him to extremes, including capturing an entire family to force a public confession.

FBI Agent Lukas Stark returns, teaming up with Agent Jayla King and enlisting the help of another remote viewer, Gilles Garnier, in an urgent effort to stop Q before more lives are lost. The stakes are higher, the tension sharper, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding Stargazer’s gene-editing experiments add even more layers to this fast-paced thriller.

Rickstad’s writing is as compelling as ever, and the blend of science fiction, psychological intrigue, and action makes for a truly addictive read. If you loved the first book, like I did, this sequel won’t disappoint. I’m already looking forward to the next chapter in this intense and thought-provoking series.

Definitely read Remote: The Six first. It gives a good background for what is going on here. I was excited to read the second book in this series and felt let down. I am going to continue if there is a third book but I hope it's better than this one.

At only 240 pages it felt really long. Agent Stark and Garnier (a consultant) get another investigator in Agent King and they need to decipher what is going on within the agency as their boss's retirement comes out of nowhere and then he is murdered.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Okay, so Remote: The Five has a killer concept...literally. Remote viewers? Psychic surveillance? A villain who can see you coming before you even move? That premise had me fully in.

The book kicks off fast with Q (aka the Tableau Killer) escaping and going full vengeance mode. The idea that he and the others trained by Stargazer can tap into any location, any person, anywhere in the world in real time? Creepy and cool. I loved how that upped the stakes...it’s not just about catching a killer, it’s about figuring out how to stay ahead of someone who sees everything.

But I’ll be honest...while the concept was wild and fun, the execution felt a little uneven. The pacing dragged in spots, and some of the plot threads got a little muddy with all the characters, tech, and double-crossing. I kept waiting for that one big moment to hit hard, and it kind of… didn’t. The tension just wasn’t as sharp as I wanted it to be.

That said, the world-building is super cool, and if you’re into secret organizations, psychic warfare, and morally gray characters chasing each other across the country, there’s a lot to enjoy here. Definitely a solid read for fans of high-concept thrillers, even if it didn’t totally stick the landing for me.

I’m still curious to see where the series goes next, but this one didn’t fully hit the mark like I hoped. Still worth picking up if you’re already into the Remote universe.

I have not (yet) read Remote: The Six, so I was a little behind in the background and some finer points, but that did not lessen my enjoyment in the least. The action kept my attention, the characters were well developed, and the writing is as good as any I've read by Mr. Rickstad. All in all, this is a top-notch thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC of Remote: The Five.

I loved this book, the second in the series. It picked up where the first book left off and ended on a cliffhanger with many issues unresolved leading me to believe there will be a book #3! This series is an interesting mix of science fiction and epic thriller that keeps you invested. Eric Rickstad writes in such a unique way. His stories have such relatable characters and plots that you feel as if you are in the story.

Remote: The Five by Eric Rickstad is a gripping, cinematic thriller.
A fast-paced book that I had a hard time putting down. I was drawn in from the beginning, wanting to know more.
Rikstand's writing is sharp and cinematic, painting vivid images that transport readers into the heart of the action.

The first book in this series, The Six, combined elements of crime fiction, science fiction, and horror through a mixed narrative structure. The story was left open-ended, leading to anticipation for the sequel. In the follow-up, the author, Rickstad continues to develop characters such as FBI agent Lucas Stark and 'remote viewer' Gilles Garnier, adding another FBI agent, Jayla King, to the cast. While some aspects of the plot revisit themes from the initial book, these are limited. As with the first installment, this book concludes with unresolved mysteries, indicating that the series will continue. Although this story can be read independently, familiarity with previous books may enhance understanding.

I would highly recommend for those FBI procedural fans, or even just the thriller fans. I can’t wait to see what Eric Rickstad has in store for us next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced copy of Remote: The Five for my honest review as well as Eric Rickstad for another great story.

Remote: The Five wasn't quite as good as the first in the series Remote: The Six. This is a true sequel. You could not jump into this second book and really know what is going on. It is a continuation of the story in book 1 and there is far too much information you would be missing out on. That being said I didn't find the story in The Five as interesting as the first. I felt like in The Six there was an overall crime thriller element that kept the story flowing and interesting. There was a crime element here but it didn't feel like the focus of the story. There was a lot of science that could be hard to follow at times. Overall I think the story could be a little hard to follow. With names as letters and remote viewing there is a lot going on at the surface level.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one turned the first book upside down! This is a great cast of characters. The plot is unique. There is a lot of suspense and surprises. I was glued to the pages. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the second in The Remote series by Eric Rickstad. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

FBI Agent Lukas Stark is now partnering with Agent Jayla King, both working with Gilles Garnier, a remote viewer who is able to see things that are distant and hidden. They are still on the search for Q, another remote viewer charged with killing families, who is on a mission to learn what the Stargazer program did to him and his 5 peers. The race is on once again.

You really need to read Remote: The Six before reading this one, but count me in for Remote: The Four! The first book in this series was non-stop tension; this one not as much but an intriguing look into the Stargazer program as Q discovers some important facts. I like these characters and feel for them and their families. This is part crime fiction and part sci-fi and I'm anxious for more!

Remote: The Five is the second book in Eric Rickstad's Remote series. I don't quite know how to describe it. Sci-fi thriller maybe? It continues the saga of the six remote viewers who have been sheltered and experimented on. Someone is kidnapping and murdering people, and FBI Agent Stark is in pursuit while trying to keep his own family safe. We learn more about the players, but there's still so much mystery about what is truly going on. I really look forward to the next in series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC.

I was looking forward to the continuation of this series and I am still very much invested. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as book 1, but it was still an overall enjoyable read as Stark & Garnier are still partnering up still trying to catch “Q.” They slowly begin to realize that they should not underestimate their enemies. I enjoyed the deep dive at the end that explained how deep this corruption goes, as extreme as altering human genetics.

Recommend for those that read book 1, and want to know how the series continues. This cannot be read as a standalone. Looking forward to book 3! Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Publication 🗓️ : 07.08.25

3.5 stars

The Five by Eric Rickstad is the second in The Remote crime series starring FBI Agent Stark.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Blackstone Publishing, and the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.




Series Background: (Contains Spoilers from Previous Books)
In the 1990's a government agency named Stargazer, used children for their special "program".  The children grew up together from a young age, and the agency developed their rather unique skills.   They became "remote viewers" and were used for surveillance from locations thousands of miles away a target.  There are only six left, identified by only a letter.  FBI Special Agent Lukas Stark has been hunting The Tableau Killer (Q), and is assisted by  Gilles Garnier (X), a remove viewer.




My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
FBI Special Agent Lukas Stark has partnered with Agent Jayla King to hunt The Tableau Killer (Q), who escaped custody.  Again, he needs help from remote viewer Gilles Garnier (X).

They are also trying to track down another of the six, a woman known as "S".

Garnier is not well.  His headaches are getting worse, and his remote-viewing is not working as well.  Both Stark and King are starting to doubt his abilities.

Q, on the other hand, is doing much better, and is determined to let the world know what was really going on in the Stargazer program, and what he and the other five have endured.  But not even Garnier believes him.  All Garnier sees is that Q killed all these families, including children, and almost killed Stark's wife and son.

Q has now captured one of the founders of Stargazer, as well as his family.  If the man makes a recording of what the program really entailed, Q says he will let everyone go.

Meanwhile, Stark's father has been released after 20 years behind bars for killing his wife, and having his eight-year old son help dispose of the body.




My Opinions:
This is an interesting series, but I can't really say too much about the plot without giving everything away.  By book three, more will be revealed.  Good Lord, now I'm sounding like a cliff-hanger.

The books are part crime fiction, and part science fiction.  The combination works very well to tell an interesting story.   They cannot be read as stand-alones.  Read the first book before this one!

I still really like the characters.  Garnier, in particular.  Stark and King make a good team.  I'm not a real fan of Stark's wife.

The writing is good, suspense continuing to build throughout the story. Twists as well.

Anyway, I am definitely looking forward to the next in line.

3.25🌟 rounded down

After devouring Remote: The Six, I was very excited to dive into this sequel. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. It still had the same fast pace, but I just wasn't as captivated by this story. It could be because it focused less on Stark and Garnier this time. I find it confusing to have "The Six" referred to by just letters, especially when Garnier is also referred to as X. I wish they had real names, though I know what the letters signify and why they're important to the background story. Also, the huge revelations about Stark seemed to be just...glossed over? Perhaps I'll get more answers in the third book, which I will definitely read. I need some answers!

Recommended for anyone who enjoyed Remote: The Six.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC.

It is rare that I find books in a series cannot be read as a standalone but this is one of the books I would not recommend if you have not read the first one, Remote: The Six. The background on the Stargazer/Remote viewers, the history with Stark's father and Q's actions don't have enough context in this book for it to be a true standalone.

This one has less of Garnier (X) attempting to remote view and more about the viewers finding out about themselves, the program and their history. It gives context to Q's Tableau Killer murders in the first book and ties up a lot of loose threads while opening more for the next book. Some of it feels like filler that could have made the last book make more sense but likely needed context for the upcoming book. It also introduces King, another FBI agent which fills a hole I felt was in the original book of Stark working almost alone on a major case.

I had hoped that Stark would put his family first after all that happened but when he does, it seems to be at times that make no sense. Like a family have been kidnapped but he pops off for a couple of days with the family when he would normally be 24/7 on the case, but other times is doing very little as part of an active investigation and could be with him.

Like the last one, some mystery, sci-fi and horror mixed in, this one includes a lot more discussion of science and medical advancements. It also comes with a revelation about Stark that was just a casual mention of his thoughts. It is one that will turn everything in his life upside down so looking forward to that in the third book.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

I’d really enjoyed the first book in this series The Six, which surprised me with its mixed narrative: part crime fiction, part science fiction, and with a bit of horror in the mix, too. It’s not a mix I thought I’d enjoy, but the story was just so well told I was captured pretty much from the start. It had finished open-ended, so I was keen to gab the follow-up at the earliest opportunity.

I wasn’t sure how Rickstad would be able to maintain the level of reader engagement the first book achieved – the level of surprise, after all, would be much diminished. However, what he had also developed were really interesting characters in the form of FBI agent Lucas Stark and ‘remote viewer’ Gilles Garnier. Their own stories are a big part of the attraction here. This time around they’re joined by another FBI agent, Jayla King, who fitted in well.

Some elements here felt like a slight replaying of events covered in the first episode, but in all honesty, this was minimal. Once again, the tale ends with some significant elements unresolved, so there will most certainly be a follow-on book. That said, this story does stand up on it’s own, albeit you really do need to have read these books in order.

I was so excited to dive into Remote the Five after devouring Remote the Six- sooo good!!

Remote the Five picks up where Remote the Six left off. I was very engaged and patiently waiting for the ‘good stuff’. This book looks at the background and scary stuff people will do with scientific discoveries. It was interesting but not what I expected.

The ending just ended. Definitely a different feel than the first book and left me a bit disappointed.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This is the second in the Remote series that provides us with the same intense subject matter and also includes more backstory of The Program. It is a story so twisted it can only be the work of Eric Rickstad & we’d expect nothing less from him.

If you like dark, spine tingling, mess with your mind suspense / thrillers that are filled with sinister, complex characters, intense narrative and disturbing scenes, then this is the book for you.


The cliffhanger at the end sets up the next book nicely. I am waiting patiently for its release.

Favorite Line: “The acceleration of technology, AI — all of it felt as though humankind were on the brink of self-destruction.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing & the author for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley! This is my first read of this series and I didn’t even know it was a series. I will have to check out the others. It drew me in right from the beginning, making me laugh and be impressed by the antagonists of the story. What an amazing book

This is a great series and I was excited to get the second book thanks to Netgalley. This book gave great background and more perspective on the six and what they went through in the program. The storyline continues in the book perfectly and answers a lot of questions on who exactly is this program and what they really are about.