Deadly Vibes - Budetti, Peter

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Résumé :
In incidents dubbed The Havana Syndrome, U.S. government personnel around the globe are being struck down by sudden bursts of intense pressure and noises reverberating in their heads. Suspicion grows that the Russians are behind the episodes but a Russian mole dupes U.S. Intelligence Agencies into downplaying the outbreaks. The FBI deploys cybersleuth Will Manningham to investigate a Havana Syndrome event in Palermo. His wife, Sally, comes with him as cover, but the trip threatens to tear their marriage apart when Will becomes infatuated with a mysterious beauty they encounter in their travels. Unknown to Will, the woman is a Russian defector sent by the CIA to seduce a Russian kleptocrat suspected of being behind the attacks. Will intercepts Russian communiques and is stunned to learn that the Americans injured in Havana Syndrome episodes were cannon fodder for tests of a deadly new cyber weapon. The Russians are primed to the conquer the Western Democracies by bombarding North America and Europe with intense radiofrequency waves from outer space. Mingling with naval officers from a Russian submarine at a Bunga Bunga party, the voluptuous CIA agent discovers that an attack is imminent. She alerts Will, but her identity is exposed and Russian mercenaries hunt her down. Overcoming suspicions about the woman's relationship with Will, Sally teams up with the agent in a firefight for their lives. Working feverishly, Will improvises a potential counter-program, but he is too late to stop the submarine from launching missiles carrying the deadly weapons into orbit. The West prepares to retaliate against the Russians with weapons of mass destruction if Will's makeshift approach fails. As American and European leaders watch via satellite images, the first missile bursts up through the waters of the Mediterranean....

Biographie:
Peter Budetti is the author of five novels inspired by real events, personal experiences, and his imagination. He is married and has two grown children, seven grandchildren, and one Pekingese-mix rescue doggy. He loves to write from his office that overlooks an idyllic lake in Arkansas....

Sommaire:
My years dealing with fraudsters, criminals, and complicated systems in my professional life shaped the world of Deadly Vibes. I've always believed the best thrillers are the ones that make readers say: Wait... could this actually happen? That's exactly what I wanted with Deadly Vibes. The details may be fictionalized... but the mindset behind the story comes from very real observations. When I started writing Deadly Vibes, I kept coming back to one unsettling thought: What if the most dangerous weapons are the ones nobody can prove exist? That question became the heartbeat of this novel. The deeper I researched Havana Syndrome reports, the more I realized this story needed to feel frighteningly plausible. This isn't fantasy. It's fiction rooted in real fears, real technology, and real geopolitical tension. And honestly-that's what makes it terrifying. One thing I learned working in bureaucracies was how easily truth can disappear inside bureaucracy. Evidence gets buried. Investigations stall. Politics overrides reality. That tension between truth and power became one of the most important themes in the book. Deadly Vibes is about espionage and global threats, but it's also about relationships under pressure. Cybersleuth Will Manningham and his wife and colleague Sally are trying to survive a dangerous mission... while also trying to survive each other. Sometimes emotional conflict can be just as explosive as the action scenes....