JL Levy

The Harmon Singer Adventure Series

The Calm Before The Swarm

The Calm Before The Swarm

A daring raid at a high-tech robotics lab results in the theft of a prototype drone device nicknamed the Swarmbot. The culprit, a vicious arms dealer with designs on cornering the market for the technology of terrorism, must be stopped at all costs.

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See No Evil

See No Evil

In Hanoi, MIT physicist Mai Tran comes home from her grandfather’s deathbed carrying a secret buried since 1972 — a working blueprint for an invisibility device. The people who have been hunting it for fifty years just found her.

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The Calm Before The Swarm

The Calm Before The Swarm

A daring raid at a high-tech robotics lab results in the theft of a prototype drone device nicknamed the Swarmbot. The culprit, a vicious arms dealer with designs on cornering the market for the technology of terrorism, must be stopped at all costs.

Enter Harmon Singer… the unconventional, insubordinate, and rarely sober former operative who the CIA turns to when plausible deniability is paramount. From the streets of Vienna to the frigid Baltic Sea, Singer tracks the Swarmbots throughout Europe, picking up new enemies and also a few allies along the way. Will he stop the Swarmbots in time to prevent a catastrophe the likes of which the world has never seen?

Available on Amazon — Paperback & Kindle — 5.0 ★ (10 reviews)

Field Locations

NEW YORK, USA──────Operations base — Suds On Huds
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY──────Initial field operations
LAKE BALATON, HUNGARY──────Arms dealer compound
VIENNA, AUSTRIA──────Stephansplatz — Surveillance
TRAVEMÜNDE, GERMANY──────Baltic coast — ferry incident
LVIV, UKRAINE──────Airport — Swarmbot attack

Reader Reviews

★★★★★
A real page turner!
“The Calm Before the Swarm has all the elements you want in an action adventure thriller, including humor and romance. Judging by this one I’m eagerly looking forward to the next!”
— Gail L.
★★★★★
Funny, Fun and Fast Paced
“Does a great job creating likable characters you want to root for. The author adds humor at key places giving it a James Bond/Mitch Rapp feel. Moves fast and allows the reader to feel like they are part of the action.”
— Adam
★★★★★
Read the whole book in one evening
“The descriptive language puts you right there in the scene. The riveting storyline makes you root for the good guys, cheer and laugh. Amazing read!!”
— Kim Waters
★★★★★
Fantastic first adventure
“A fast, enjoyable read that captures some James Bond magic mixed with Tom Clancy-esque realism. A fun journey through Europe that sets up an intriguing backdrop for an enduring series.”
— Derek Winters

See No Evil

See No Evil

In Hanoi, MIT physicist Mai Tran goes to say goodbye to her dying grandfather and comes home with the secret he buried half a century ago: a working blueprint for a device that bends light around solid matter and renders it invisible. The plans should have died with him. The people who have been hunting for them since the end of the Vietnam War have other ideas, and they have just found the woman who is now unwittingly carrying them.

Harmon Singer is an ex-Special Ops warrior turned off-books fixer for a shadow CIA unit that calls him when a problem cannot survive being acknowledged. He flies into Hanoi expecting a quick extraction. What he finds is a Russian oligarch with a private army, a viable invisibility technology, and a deadline three days out: a hit squad heading for the G7 summit in London that nobody on the ground will be able to see coming.

Field Locations

HANOI, VIETNAM──────Hospital — kidnapping — extraction
BOSTON / CAMBRIDGE, USA──────Safe house — MIT lab
NEW YORK, USA──────Suds On Huds — Brighton Beach
BANGKOK, THAILAND──────CIA safe house — staging
CONSTANTA, ROMANIA──────Black Sea — SEAL training op
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN──────Invisium mine — hotel rooftop
SPRATLY ISLANDS──────South China Sea — oil rig
LONDON, ENGLAND──────G7 Summit — Westminster Hall

Suds On Huds

Hudson Street, Lower Manhattan. The sign is scratched, the windows blacked out, the door sticks in July. Inside, Mickey pours your drink before you sit down. Grandpa Joe hasn’t moved since Tuesday. The back corner table has hosted more classified briefings than most government facilities.

SUDS ON HUDS EST. WHEN IT MATTERED

PERSONNEL ON FILE — SELECT A RECORD TO VIEW

SNH-001CIA (OFF-BOOKS)
CLASSIFIED
HARMON SINGER
ALIAS
“HARM”
ROLE
Team Lead
STATUS
• ACTIVE
6'2" // BROAD BUILD // DARK HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-002FREELANCE / ALLIED
CLASSIFIED
ALIZ LENKE
ROLE
Intelligence & Soc. Engineering
STATUS
• ACTIVE
5'7" // HUNGARIAN // DARK HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-003CIA DIRECTORATE
UNCLASSIFIED
GALEN LEDBETTER
ALIAS
“G-MAN”
ROLE
CIA Handler
STATUS
• ACTIVE
6'1" // HEAVYSET // GRAY HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-004LITTLE THINGS ROBOTICS
SENSITIVE
OLIVER LEE
ALIAS
“OLLIE”
ROLE
Engineering & Technology
STATUS
• ACTIVE
5'11" // SLIGHT // BLOND HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-005MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SENSITIVE
DR. MAI TRAN
ROLE
Physicist / Scientist
STATUS
• ACTIVE
5'4" // PETITE // BLACK HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-006U.S. NAVY / SEAL TEAM
CLASSIFIED
CMDR. ANTOINE LEBEAU
ALIAS
“AUNTIE”
ROLE
Navy SEAL Commander
STATUS
• ACTIVE
6'1" // POWERFUL // EBONY SKIN
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-007U.S. NAVY / SEAL TEAM
CLASSIFIED
LT. RAMON RODRIGUEZ
ALIAS
“REFRY”
ROLE
Navy SEAL
STATUS
• ACTIVE
5'10" // WIRY // OLIVE SKIN
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-008SUDS ON HUDS, LLC
UNCLASSIFIED
MIKHAIL LEVIN
ALIAS
“MICKEY”
ROLE
Proprietor
STATUS
• CIVILIAN
6'5" // LARGE // DARK/GRAY HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-009SUDS ON HUDS, LLC
UNCLASSIFIED
LEELEE
ROLE
Waitstaff
STATUS
• CIVILIAN
5'5" // SLIM // MULTI-COLORED HAIR
▶ OPEN FILE
SNH-010[REDACTED]
UNCLASSIFIED
UNKNOWN
ALIAS
“GRANDPA JOE”
ROLE
Fixture
STATUS
• PERMANENT FIXTURE
ELDERLY // WHITE HAIR // GLASS OF WHISKEY
▶ OPEN FILE

Harm's Armory

Weapons don't win operations. The right person holding the right weapon at the right moment does. This is a partial accounting of the tools that have been in those hands.

WEAPONS ON FILE — SELECT A RECORD TO VIEW

WPN-001SIDEARM
CLASSIFIED
GLOCK 17
OPERATOR
SINGER, H.
STATUS
• ACTIVE ISSUE
FIELD ISSUE // SUPPRESSOR-COMPATIBLE
▶ OPEN FILE
WPN-002BLADE
CLASSIFIED
CARBON STEEL STILETTO
OPERATOR
LENKE, A.
STATUS
• ACTIVE CARRY
PERSONAL CARRY // NOT LOGGED
▶ OPEN FILE
WPN-003IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE
CLASSIFIED
IMPROVISED INCENDIARY
OPERATOR
SINGER, H.
STATUS
• EXPENDED
FIELD FABRICATED // ONE-TIME USE
▶ OPEN FILE
WPN-004MELEE // IMPROVISED
CLASSIFIED
ANTIQUE BOAR SPEAR
OPERATOR
SINGER, H.
STATUS
• NOT RECOVERED
RECOVERED ITEM // FIELD USE
▶ OPEN FILE
WPN-005LONG GUN // ASSAULT
CLASSIFIED
CLOSE-QUARTERS ASSAULT CARBINE
OPERATOR
LEBEAU, A. / RODRIGUEZ, R.
STATUS
• ACTIVE ISSUE
MILITARY ISSUE // SOF CONFIG
▶ OPEN FILE
WPN-006LONG GUN // PRECISION
CLASSIFIED
PRECISION SNIPER SYSTEM
OPERATOR
SQuIRT TEAM
STATUS
• MISSION ASSIGNED
FIELD ISSUE // MISSION SPECIFIC
▶ OPEN FILE
WPN-007WATERCRAFT // IMPROVISED
CLASSIFIED
COMMANDEERED SPEEDBOAT
OPERATOR
SINGER, H. / LENKE, A.
STATUS
• RETURNED (DAMAGED)
CIVILIAN ASSET // FIELD REQUISITION
▶ OPEN FILE

Ollie's Workshop

Oliver Lee's operating principle: assume everyone else has already failed, then start from scratch. The technology in these files was built, adapted, or reverse-engineered under that assumption. Some of it changed everything.

TECHNOLOGY ON FILE — SELECT A RECORD TO VIEW

TECH-001AUTONOMOUS DRONE
CLASSIFIED
SWARMBOT DRONE SYSTEM
DESIGNER
LEE, O. — LITTLE THINGS ROBOTICS
STATUS
• PROTOTYPE — COMPROMISED
TOP SECRET // DARPA ORIGIN
▶ OPEN FILE
TECH-002ACTIVE CAMOUFLAGE // WEARABLE
CLASSIFIED
INVISIBILITY BATTLESUIT
DESIGNER
TRAN DUC MINH (1972) — SOVIET ADAPTATION
STATUS
• ENEMY DEPLOYED
TOP SECRET // FOREIGN ORIGIN
▶ OPEN FILE
TECH-003RARE MINERAL // POWER SOURCE
CLASSIFIED
INVISIUM CRYSTAL
DESIGNER
NATURAL OCCURRENCE — TIEN SHAN MOUNTAINS
STATUS
• ENEMY CONTROLLED
SECRET // CONTROLLED MATERIAL
▶ OPEN FILE
TECH-004ELECTROMAGNETIC BURST DEVICE
CLASSIFIED
MAGNETIC DISRUPTOR
DESIGNER
LEE, O. / TRAN, M. — CIA LANGLEY
STATUS
• ACTIVE — MINIATURIZATION IN PROGRESS
TOP SECRET // CIA LAB BUILD
▶ OPEN FILE
TECH-005SURVEILLANCE // AUDIO
CLASSIFIED
LASER MICROPHONE
DESIGNER
COMMERCIAL ORIGIN — MODIFIED FOR FIELD USE
STATUS
• DOCUMENTED ENEMY USE
SECRET // TRADECRAFT
▶ OPEN FILE
TECH-006AEROSOLIZED COMPOUND // OPTICAL
CLASSIFIED
THE MIST
DESIGNER
TRAN DUC MINH (FORMULA) — SOVIET PRODUCTION
STATUS
• ENEMY SUPPLY — FORMULA SECURED
TOP SECRET // HAZMAT
▶ OPEN FILE

About the Author

JL Levy

JL Levy was born and raised in New York and that remains a huge part of his DNA. He is a technology futurist and enjoys writing as a way to envision how technological advances could affect the world. He’s also a big fan of books where things blow up and the hero gets the girl.

Fans of Clive Cussler, Jack DuBrul, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and David Baldacci would likely enjoy his books.

JL Levy currently lives in the Atlanta area with his family. See No Evil, the second Harmon Singer adventure, is dedicated to his father Michael, a Vietnam veteran whose service inspired part of the story.

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