A Novel About a Vietnam Sniper in the Phoenix Program
The second book of the series, ‘A Soldier’s Heart — Combat in Vietnam’, When Brady Nash realizes his foster brother may have been murdered in Vietnam, he is compelled to join the military in order to find the truth. Unwilling to explain to his one true love, Lacey Coleridge, why he is joining the army, Brady leaves her angry and grief-stricken. Disavowing their relationship, Lacey turns away to pursue a country music career in Nashville. Only time will tell if she can totally abandon the man she loves, or if Brady will ever return from Vietnam.
A product of the rugged mountains around his Tennessee home,
Brady Nash develops something he calls ‘the Gomorrah principle’ to become a sniper of legendary proportions as he faces life and death metered in elements of elevation and windage through a riflescope.
Eventually, through his inquiries and his reputation as a sniper, he attracts the attention of a CIA advisor and is recruited to special operations, supporting the Vietnamese National Police. Only then does Brady realize he is no longer the hunter, but the hunted. Caught in a web of espionage, drug dealing, and assassination, his search for the killer has put him on the same hit list as his foster brother.
A Reader’s Review of The Gomorrah Principle
5.0 out of 5 stars I Would Give It 10 Stars If I Could!
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2021
Reminiscent of the work of author James Lee Burke, Rick DeStefanis puts you right in the story, making it come alive with such detailed description and realism. The action and the narrative never stop, immersing the reader in the scene through the eyes of a young soldier, circa 1967 Vietnam. Reading The Gomorrah Principle took me on a sensory journey, as I walked the streets of Saigon, pushed my way through the shadows of a rain-soaked jungle, and felt the heat of a Napalm strike rolling up a mountain slope. I felt I was right there in Vietnam with these boys-turned-men. Well done, Mr. DeStefanis!
The author’s military experience (his bio says he was a paratrooper) shows in the character development as well as battle scenes written in a manner unparalleled by anything I’ve read to date.
When Brady Nash receives a cryptic letter after his foster brother is killed in Vietnam, he wonders if it had been something more than a standard battlefield death. Brady then enlists for the same training and lands in a similar unit in Nam, where his skill with a rifle earns him notoriety. Once opportunity presents, he uses a three-day R&R pass to go to his brother’s old Special Operations Group to ask questions. This immediately raises red flags with a rogue advisor, and Brady soon finds himself a similar target.
Some brilliant Hollywood producer should snatch The Gomorrah Principle up and make it into a blockbuster movie. It’s that good! Being the daughter of a soldier, and the mother of another, I enjoy a well told war story, and this is indeed that. I also have great respect for the author because he tells the whole story, including the girl back home, along with the one in-country working with the South Vietnamese government. Those story lines add depth and intrigue, thus pushing this novel well beyond a simple ‘war story.’
If you want an absorbing page-turner written as realistic historical fiction you may find this story fits the bill. I loved it!