Acclaimed thriller author Bill Schweigart joins The Crew Reviews to discuss DIRTY 20 — his audacious new crime novel that game masters The Sopranos into a head-on collision with Dungeons & Dragons!

Tommy Fugue never wanted any part of the family business. But when his father — aka Big Al, aka King of the Denver Streets — hands him a "summer job" laundering money online, Tommy figures he can list a few fake projects on the crowdfunding site FunFunder, pledge them with zombie accounts, and clean a dirty $20,000 in time for college in the fall. There's just one problem: the throwaway tabletop RPG he mocks up using his mother's old artwork goes viral. Pledges rocket past $650,000 — and Tommy now has to actually deliver a real game while navigating his father's capos, a crew of unforgettable misfits, and a criminal underworld where failure means something a lot worse than a bad review.

Bill takes us inside the genre-bending architecture of DIRTY 20 to discuss the craft of welding gangster fiction to high fantasy, what tabletop gaming taught him about narrative tension, the dark humor that powers the book, and how a former Coast Guard officer ended up writing the most original crime novel of the year. We also dig into family, loyalty, and what it means to discover you're capable of more than the people around you ever expected.

Watch now! Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments!

Praise for DIRTY 20:

"Dark and brutal, enchanting and immersive… a masterfully crafted crime/fantasy novel blend with a cutthroat game of loyalty, betrayal and survival at the center. Bill Schweigart delivers an epic tale that promises to be unlike anything else you've ever read." —The Best Thriller Books

"Schweigart's knack for fleshed-out characters and knowledge of the ins and outs of the RPG world combine for a unique, memorable read that I couldn't put down." —Alex Segura, New York Times bestselling author of SECRET IDENTITY and ALTER EGO

"A sharp, funny tale of crime, gaming, and high fantasy. Fans of crime fiction, TTRPGs, and budding romance: DIRTY 20 will keep you glued to the page." —Stephen Schleicher, Major Spoilers

Praise for Bill Schweigart's earlier work:

"A vicious otherworldly creature terrorizes a neighborhood in Schweigart's swift and breezy suburban creature feature." —Publishers Weekly on THE BEAST OF BARCROFT

"Hell-Yeah-Here-It-Comes, no-holds-barred, epic action… another solid story from a writer whom fans of King and Koontz are sure to enjoy." —SciFi and Scary Book Reviews on NORTHWOODS

ABOUT BILL SCHWEIGART: Bill Schweigart is the author of THE GUILTY ONE and "Women and Children First," a story co-written with James Patterson in THREE DAYS TO LIVE. He is also the author of The Fatal Folklore Trilogy — THE BEAST OF BARCROFT, NORTHWOODS, and THE DEVIL'S COLONY — as well as the nautical thriller SLIPPING THE CABLE and the romantic comedy RUNNING LIGHT. A former Coast Guard officer who drew on his experiences at sea for his early fiction, Bill currently serves as a branch chief at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife and daughter, who — along with their monstrous Newfoundland and a confederacy of cats — provide him with all the adventure he can handle.

Purchase your copy of DIRTY 20: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/789624/dirty-20-by-bill-schweigart/

And if you want to learn more about the guys from The Crew Reviews or see additional author interviews, visit us at https://www.thecrewreviews.com

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Bestselling and award-winning author Nick Petrie joins The Crew Reviews to discuss THE DARK TIME — the ninth riveting installment in the acclaimed Peter Ash series!

This time, war veteran Peter Ash heads to Seattle at the request of his girlfriend, June Cassidy, to protect an investigative reporter who's received a chillingly specific death threat. But what begins as a favor quickly spirals into a firestorm of violence. When the reporter is targeted and her daughter's life hangs in the balance, Peter finds himself hunted by a shadowy organization with plans that could plunge the country into chaos. Even with June and his best friend Lewis racing to his side, this fight may be more than Peter can handle — with catastrophic consequences if he fails.

Nick takes us inside the story, the craft, the blue-collar grit that fuels his writing, and the deeply human themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and what happens when technology's promise turns dark.

Watch now! Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments!

Praise for THE DARK TIME:

"Propulsive, intense and anxiety-inducing… equally entertaining and contemplative." —Best Thriller Books

Praise for the Peter Ash Series:

"Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Peter Ash is the real deal." —Lee Child

"Petrie has a preternatural talent for ratcheting up suspense." —The New York Times Book Review

"Nonstop action at a machine gun pace. If you aren't reading Nick Petrie, now is the time to start." —C.J. Box

ABOUT NICK PETRIE: Nick Petrie is the bestselling and award-winning author of nine novels in the Peter Ash series. Before he published a word, Petrie worked as a roofer, carpenter, remodeling contractor, and freelance building inspector — hands-on experience that lends his action sequences a grounded, tactile realism readers instinctively trust. His debut, The Drifter, won both the ITW Thriller Award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel, and was a finalist for the Edgar and Hammett Awards. He received his MFA in fiction from the University of Washington and a Hopwood Award for short fiction from the University of Michigan. A husband and father, he lives in the Milwaukee area.

Purchase your copy of THE DARK TIME: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711824/the-dark-time-by-nick-petrie/
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Mark Greaney is back on The Crew Reviews to discuss THE HARD LINE — the fifteenth explosive installment in the legendary Gray Man series!

This time, the world's deadliest assassin isn't hunting anyone. He's the one being hunted. When a legendary killer codenamed Whetstone comes out of retirement with a deeply personal vendetta — targeting Court Gentry and everyone he's ever loved — the Gray Man faces his most dangerous adversary yet. With safe houses burning, intelligence officers being picked off, and powerful enemies pulling strings from the shadows, Court must fight on every front to protect his family, both blood and chosen.

Mark takes us behind the scenes of the story, the research, the cloak-and-dagger tradecraft, and the deeply personal themes of family and loyalty that set THE HARD LINE apart from anything he's written before. Don't miss this one!

Watch now! Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments!

Praise for THE HARD LINE:

"Greaney proves that his mega-popular Gray Man series, now fifteen books in, is still firing on all cylinders." —The Real Book Spy

"Fun for fans of fictional mayhem." —Kirkus Reviews

"The Hard Line is the answer to every Gray Man fan's prayer that this series continue on for a long, long time." —Best Thriller Books

ABOUT MARK GREANEY:
Mark Greaney has a degree in international relations and political science. His research for the Gray Man novels has taken him to more than thirty-five countries, and he has trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. With Marine Lt. Col. Rip Rawlings, he wrote the New York Times bestseller Red Metal. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority. His first novel, The Gray Man, was made into a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans.

Purchase your copy of THE HARD LINE:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786216/the-hard-line-by-mark-greaney/
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#MarkGreaney #GrayMan #TheHardLine #TheCrewReviews #CourtGentry #ThrillerBooks

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Our Longest Interview Ever—And One of Our Best

What happens when you sit down with a man who's lived a dozen different lives? You get the conversation of a lifetime.

Meet Ryan Pote—Navy helicopter pilot, special operations veteran, federal investigator, SCUBA instructor, oil company director, bartender, musician, and now thriller author. In this extended interview, we dive deep into the extraordinary experiences that shaped one of the most fascinating people we've ever had on the show.

From countering drug cartels in Central America as part of a joint special operations task force to serving as a search and rescue pilot for the US Navy Experimental Test Wing and NASA, from researching biofuels in Hawaii to investigating prototype military programs as a federal agent—Ryan's life reads like the thriller novels he now writes.

We also dive deep into his highly anticipated debut thriller Blood and Treasure (releasing July 22, 2025)—a mind-bending story that begins with the International Space Station going dark and blood floating in zero gravity, then crashes into the Indian Ocean where a treasure hunter discovers the sole survivor. It's a premise that could only come from someone who's actually been inside classified operations and understands how the unthinkable becomes reality.

This isn't just an author interview—it's a masterclass in adventure, service, and the kind of experiences most of us only read about in books. Ryan's journey from bartender to biofuel researcher to special operations pilot to federal investigator to novelist proves that truth really is stranger than fiction.
Don't miss this one. It's our longest interview to date, and there's a reason we kept the cameras rolling.

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New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg joins the Crew to discuss The Beijing Betrayal!

In this explosive finale to the Marcus Ryker series, a catastrophic attack on U.S. soil sets off a deadly global crisis. As China’s shadow war pushes the world to the brink of nuclear disaster, Ryker races against time to stop an unthinkable catastrophe. Will he succeed—or is this truly the end?

Joel takes us behind the scenes of the action, the real-world threats that inspired the story, and what’s next after this thrilling conclusion. Don’t miss this fascinating conversation!

🔥 Watch now! Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments!

Praise for Joel C. Rosenberg:

"Rosenberg delivers a thriller so chillingly real, it feels like tomorrow’s headlines. A masterclass in geopolitical suspense." —CE Albanese, The Crew Reviews Podcast

"A relentless, high-stakes ride that cements Rosenberg as one of the best in the genre." —The Real Book Spy

“Few people understand the scope and scale of change in [the Middle East] better than Joel C. Rosenberg.” —Mike Huckabee former governor of Arkansas

“Joel Rosenberg is masterful!” —Brad Thor #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Rosenberg’s imagination is a tumultuous place where Middle Eastern geopolitics combine with devious minds.” —Kyle Mills #1 New York Times bestselling author

Purchase your copy of THE BEIJING BETRAYAL:
https://www.tyndale.com/p/the-beijing-betrayal/9781496437990

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New York Times bestselling author and former special forces officer Brad Taylor ups the ante and goes all in talking his latest edge-of-your-seat Pike Logan thriller, DEAD MAN'S HAND.

DEAD MAN'S HAND:
To finally end the war between their nations, a rogue band of Ukranian partisans known as the Wolves teams up with members of Russia’s military intelligence to assassinate Vladimir Putin.

But Putin is aware of the traitors in his midst and assigns the loyal commander of the Russian National Guard to root them out. It’s a mission Victor Petrov is expected to undertake after he prevents Sweden from joining NATO—by assassinating a deputy minister of foreign affairs.

After receiving intelligence about the threat in Sweden, the United States sends Pike Logan to identify Petrov’s target—only for him to get caught in the crossfire between Putin’s agents and the Wolves. When the smoke clears, Pike makes no effort to stop the Wolves on their ultimate mission, believing it just, until he discovers that their operation has unimaginable consequences.

For Putin is preparing a devastating endgame: activating the Dead Man’s Hand nuclear response that will launch Russia’s missiles in the event of his death. . .

Learn more about Brad visit: https://bradtaylorbooks.com/

Purchase your copy of DEAD MAN'S HAND:
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/dead-mans-hand-brad-taylor?variant=41048743641122

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