Joshua Hood is the author of many incredible thrillers including his latest release, The Guardian (Blackstone Publishing, 2023), the Robert Ludlum Treadstone novels, Warning Order and Clear by Fire.
We sat down with Josh to talk about his action packed new release, The Guardian, that takes readers on a white-knuckle, in-your-face action packed thrill ride. Infused with the author's own experience as a parachute infantryman, this high-octane thriller throws the reader deep into the African jungle on a rescue mission where nothing is as it seems.
TFx: Where did you come up with the idea for this book, and what can you tell us about the plot?
Hood: The genesis for what would become The Guardian grew out of a conversation that I had with my brother back in 2008. We were both fresh out of the army and with no other “skills” to speak of we were thinking about getting into contracting work.
At the time contractors with combat experience were making pretty good money in places like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the only problem was neither one of us wanted to go back to the Mideast, so our options were kinda limited. Somewhere during that conversation, my brother mentioned Sovereign Deed—a company that offered rescue services for their uber rich clients.
While Sovereign Deed ended up going bankrupt, the idea of a globetrotting rescue team stuck with me, and The Guardian was a chance to see how something like that would actually work.
TFx: How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
Hood: I've written 9 books and while it's hard to pick a favorite I can tell you that each one came with its own unique quirks and challenges. In The Guardian I wanted to move away from the purely military or espionage based books that I'd written before. I wanted to create a hero who wasn't just another CIA paramilitary officer or Special Operations commando—someone who's primary objective was to save life instead of taking it.
TFx: What draws you to writing in the thriller genre?
Hood: When I published my first book, I really didn't understand genres. I’d just come out of the military and had always heard that you were supposed to “write what you know.” I think I've stayed in the thriller genre because I like writing fast-paced books with lots of action and characters who straddle the gray zone between right and wrong.
TFx: How much research went into the writing of this book?
Hood: Quite a bit. It's really easy to say I want to write a book that is set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but without going there it's very difficult to get a sense of the place. A sense of how poor they are and the terrible conditions that pervade these illegal mining camps.
TFx: What is the significance of the title?
Hood: Travis Lane, the main character is an Air Force Pararescueman or PJ—a highly trained emergency trauma/rescue specialist responsible for rescuing downed pilots and injured servicemen anywhere in the world. Travis like the real world PJ’s live by their motto: “These things we do that others may live,” and his willingness to put his life on the line to save others made him the true definition of a Guardian.
Get Joshua Hood’s latest release, The Guardian, out now on Amazon
From the “master of action” (Publishers Weekly) and USA Today bestselling author of Robert Ludlum’s Treadstone series comes a new thriller as intense and fast paced as The Bourne Identity.
As a member of the elite Air Force Pararescue, Travis Lane abides by the motto “These things we do, that others may live.” After an injury forces him to consider retirement, he is blindsided when his brother-in-law is killed in the line of duty, leaving Lane as the sole support for his sister and the family farm they can no longer afford.
Desperate for something to help them keep the farm, Lane accepts an offer to join Broadside Solutions, a private company with specially trained military operatives who provide protection for clients all over the world. But it’s trial by fire when his first mission takes him to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to find and retrieve a kidnapped American in the middle of a densely forested jungle.
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