The Second Son

A Thriller (Chase Burke, Book 1)

By: Simon Gervais, Ryan Steck

Narrated by: Joe Knezevich

A pulse-pounding yet soulful espionage thriller for fans of Brad Thor, Jack Carr, and Mark Greaney, delivering plot twists so explosive, it took two top suspense writers to pull it off.

Soldier-turned-sommelier Chase Burke may have traded his rifle for bottles of wine, but violence and conspiracy aren’t through with him yet. First, his intelligence analyst brother is killed in a covert op gone wrong and branded a traitor. Then a brutal ambush at the restaurant where Chase works leaves the woman he is romantically involved with—a congresswoman—clinging to life.

Scrambling to clear the family name and protect his secret love, Chase teams up with NYPD Detective Alice Doyle, a single mother fighting battles of her own. Together they uncover a powerful criminal syndicate whose unscrupulous influence sweeps the globe—and strikes painfully close to home.

As elite mercenaries close in, Chase is dragged back into the dangerous world he thought he’d escaped. Facing a mother losing her memory and a past that never forgets, he fights to win a zero-sum game where trust can be lethal. But when all seems lost, an unlikely ally could help turn the tide…

©2025 by Simon Gervais Entertainment, Ltd. and Ryan Steck. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“From the opening page to the last, this book is a relentless force of non-stop action and thrills.”—firstCLUE Reviews

Good Cliffhanger

A few leaps of faith and a lot of setup of pieces in the right spot needed for series continuation. Could turn out to be really well done if the follow ons aren’t rushed thru.

Great first novel

Definitely intrigued and looking forward to book two. The most interesting character? The mom. How did the two sons come out of that womb? Maybe the authors can fill that gap with background stories. Lots of surprises scattered throughout the book. The politician has a wooper for a future storyline. Great job!!!

When is the next one?

Great story. It’s refreshing to read something I hadn’t come across before. First time reading these authors and I’m excited for more!