Unrelenting Peril
Gary D. McGugan
Independently Published (2019)
ISBN 9781999565602
Reviewed by Sheri Hoyte for Reader Views (8/19)

“Unrelenting Peril” is the final book in the Multima corporate intrigue series by Gary D. McGugan. It’s a ruthless battle for corporate dominance, and with billions at stake it’s a show-stopping dramatic conclusion to a brilliant trilogy.

The executives at Multima Corporation encounter their biggest challenges yet in “Unrelenting Peril,” and the new CEO at the helm, Suzanne Simpson, has her work cut out for her. Suzanne and her leadership team continue to do battle against The Organization, a crime syndicate dedicated to taking over Multima Corporation, no matter the cost. Contending with forces persistent and merciless, Suzanne must bring her “A-Game” to her every waking moment. While planningMultima Corporation’s successional climb to the top of the business world through a joint venture,Suzanne Simpson must outwit and outmaneuver her adversary to block a hostile takeover attempt.

First, the characters – and I can’t emphasize this enough: ALL of the characters in “Unrelenting Peril” are well-developed, multidimensional and intriguing – from the CEO and chairman of the board, to the crime boss, to the administrative staff and housekeeper. Readers easily develop crystalclear mental images of any given character’s physical description, behaviors, attitudes, and innerthoughts, along with a sense of how they will react to any given situation.

THEN McGugan spices things up a bit and has a character do something, well – out of character, as he remolds that character into an exciting new personality, i.e., the good guy becomes a bad guy, or vice versa.

Also, as a woman who enjoys the particular drama and intrigue provided in the environment of the corporate atmosphere, I was pleasantly satisfied to find a number of females in key executive positions at Multima Corporation. Kudo’s to McGugan for adding diversity to his stories andsuccessfully rising to the challenge of creating effective authentic characters of the opposite sex –not an easy thing to achieve. Whether it is in the context of sleeping with someone to obtain information, successfully chairing a board meeting or firing a long-time seasoned executive in order to protect the corporation’s image and reputation - the Multima women are fierce!

As to the story itself – “Unrelenting Peril” is another amazing ride. With a number of conflicts involving different characters and businesses, including the FBI, The Organization, and several international corporations, McGugan does a magnificent job of not only sustaining a high level of realistic drama but also escalating conflict and tension, building at a pace that guarantees the reader will not be able to put his books down once they start reading. He takes reasonable circumstances and adds a bit of the extraordinary to create layers of excitement that enhance the overall entertainment value.

One thing is clear - Gary D. McGugan knows how to write top caliber stories. Some authors write predominately character-driven books, while others drive their stories through enticing plotlines. McGugan does both, and with equal excellence – no small feat, especially in keeping a series exciting and suspenseful with escalating intensity.

I highly recommend “Unrelenting Peril,” along with the entire Multima series. In fact, I suggest readers consume all of the stories sequentially in the order they were written: “Three Weeks Less a Day,” then “The Multima Scheme,” and finish with “Unrelenting Peril.” While it’s definitely not necessary, as each of the stories stand quite capably on their own – do yourself a favor and get the set. I can honestly say this is the best trilogy I have read in quite some time and I am really going to miss the characters of this series – kind of like saying goodbye to old friends.