The Righteous Arrows
Now available from Koehler Books
Who can you trust when a cold war heats up and conflict seems inevitable?
After collaborating to thwart nuclear war in The Able Archers, Kevin Cattani and his Soviet counterpart, Ivan Levchenko, developed a deep mutual respect—but in The Righteous Arrows they are working against each other. Cattani, despite serious misgivings, conducts a perilous covert mission inside a Soviet bunker and barely escapes with his life, putting himself on a collision course with Levchenko. Their ultimate confrontation comes on a battlefield during the brutal Soviet war in Afghanistan, where Levchenko issues the American an ominous warning that will echo for decades.
Foreshadowing the global war on terror, former Air Force Intelligence officer Brian Morra illuminates the stubbornly persistent rivalry between the US and Russia in this heart-stopping story of international espionage and war.
Reviews / Praise
“I highly recommend reading this book to share the unsettling reality of the gap between life inside the Beltway in the strategic community and what is going on in the ground around the world.”
—Robbin Laird, Defense.info (read full review)
“After his hugely successful novel The Able Archers, Brian J. Morra is back and so are the rich personalities from his first book. Cattani, Levchenko, and the red-haired major are all in fine form in The Righteous Arrows. The battlefield has moved from the nuclear cold-war threat to the shadow wars of Afghanistan but the suspense, excellence in writing and his ability to weave real word events and capabilities into a robust fiction story continues to set Morra apart. The Righteous Arrows is an exciting read.”
—General (ret) Doug Brown 7th Commander United States Special Operations Command
“Brian Morra has done it again. His main characters from The Able Archers return in this Cold War spy thriller, and Brian delivers a story that is both realistic and riveting. Readers will not be able to put it down!”
—Michael Morell, former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the CIA
“With vivid characters and a fast-paced plot, The Righteous Arrows takes the reader from the jungles of Cambodia and a Soviet nuclear command bunker in East Germany to the mountains of Afghanistan for the decisive battle of the Cold War. It is clear we haven’t heard the last from Kevin Cattani and Ivan Levchenko.”
—Michael Vickers, former CIA Operations Officer and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
—Tony Thomas, General (ret), US Army, 11th Commander United States Special Operations Command
“Brian Morra parleys his knowledge of military leaders in Russia and America into a spellbinding tale of how the CIA’s introduction of stinger missiles (righteous arrows) transformed the conflict between Soviet occupiers and Sunni Muslim forces in Afghanistan. The ease with which Afghan fighters could shoot down Soviet aircraft forced President Gorbachev to withdraw from the graveyard of empires and marked a critical stage in the decline of the USSR.”
—Ray Collins, author of The General’s Briefcase and Motive for Murder
“A cracking Cold War read! Buckle up for the ride as this pacy and accessible thriller takes you on a perilous mission to a nuclear bunker in East Germany and the brutal Soviet war in Afghanistan.”
—Ian Sanders, Founder and Editor of “Cold War Conversations”
—Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Double inductee (Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers) to the Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame and leading consultant to DoD and the Intelligence Community
“A gripping tale of espionage and international conflict, The Righteous Arrows delves into the complexities of trust and loyalty amid escalating tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. Brian Morra’s narrative vividly captures the high stakes of a world on the brink of war, where alliances are tested and the line between friend and foe becomes increasingly blurred.”
—Ted Kissel, author of Betrayal in the Casbah and Escape from Algiers