Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: Demaris: Protocol
AUTHOR: Brian David Randall
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 670 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2025
BLURB:
Surviving this mission may mean losing each other . . . or their lives.
In the summer of 1992, Trey Carter—Southern, evangelical, and deeply closeted—accidentally outs himself at a pool party. This spirals him down a dark path and into the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency, but Trey’s skills are in football and gymnastics, not guns and espionage. He’s not the first twenty-one-year-old to make a mistake but maybe the first to fall involuntarily into a dark ops protocol.
Special Officer Rick Morgan’s blood is boiling. The CIA has plucked Trey from his normal life, threatened to disclose his sexual orientation, and forced him to join their covert unit, just as the Marines had done to him. Every time he looks at Trey, he feels both an unwavering commitment to their mission and a deep, unfamiliar urge to . . . do something to the muscular young man. Protect him? Seduce him? Love him?
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ivan Dimitri is on the verge of selling secrets to the highest bidder. The CIA is tasked with containing Ivan and activates their protocol to prey on the engineer’s secret desire for young men. With Rick by his side, Trey prepares for a life-or-death mission, but there are mounting doubts if he can pull it off, and if a civilian can survive the Demaris Protocol.
Based on true events.
**See this title’s page on RiptidePublishing.com for content warnings.**
REVIEW:
Notes: Please, please, please read the content warnings before you read this book. There are some scenes in this book that might be traumatic or triggering for some people.
This is the debut novel for Mr. Randall and was based on his real-life experiences. Which wow, kudos to you Mr. Randall for surviving these events. I am always a little leery of debut authors, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although, I will preface this with, I was really confused on several occasions throughout the book. By the end of the book though all was made clear.
The world building for this book was very well done. The world of the 1990’s was the main focus of the book and the homophobia that existed at that time in the alphabet agencies was brilliantly detailed. We also get an insider’s look at how the CIA trains its personnel and exactly what it takes to become an elite agent.
The character development was also well done. I enjoyed the time taken to detail each of the main characters lives, backgrounds and experiences. Mr. Randall also took the time to flesh out all of the side characters as well, which I really appreciate. I especially enjoyed the supportive group of coworkers that he created for Rick and Trey. As this environment took place in the middle of the AIDS epidemic, it was hard to find acceptance and tolerance.
For a debut novel, this book was well constructed and executed – even if I was a bit confused at the beginning. It all came together in the end, which was the point. The plot was crafted from real life events and draws you in eventually so much, you want to get tot the end of the book to see how everything is resolved. You will find that this story is definitely more of a suspense thriller than an MM romance story. Although, you do get some sexy time scenes along the way. Rick and Trey are a very dynamic couple, especially with the emphasis on their age differences, but this story is really all about the mission these men have been tasked with.
Will Trey survive his training? Will Rick survive Trey’s training? Will they complete their mission? Will you be possibly traumatized if you don’t heed the content warnings? Well, you know I’m not going to spoil this for you, except to say – yes you will be a bit traumatized if you don’t heed the content warnings. You’ve been warned, go forth and accept the mission to read this book, if you dare…
I recommend this story and feel you should get to your favorite eBook purchasing site and grab this one up. I am very interested to see what Mr. Randall comes up with next.
Till next time…
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
