Enemy at the Helm - by Mark Dickson (Paperback)

About the Book

The United States is in crisis.

Book Synopsis

Pacific Book Awards - Best Thriller

Literary Titan Silver Book Award

BookFest Second Place Winner

American Legacy Book Awards Finalist

2026 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award Winner for Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist Genre

The United States is in crisis.

All the major US ports have been rendered inoperable by the simultaneous sinking of large vessels in their choke points, thus halting the bulk of global trade. At first, the president thinks he has been given a gift. He always thought the United States got the raw end of the deal in international trade because of the spineless behavior of his predecessors. But with the resulting shortages of everything, he soon realizes that people in extreme situations behave irrationally, and he struggles to stay afloat himself.

Tom Jensen, a young hippie devoted more to surfing than to working, is improbably caught in the middle, drawn to fight back against the unseen forces driving the global disaster. Joining his FBI agent uncle and others working to uncover the terrorist plot, he gets an international adventure he never saw coming.

Enemy at the Helm is the provocative and engaging first installment of a new thriller series full of terrorist activity, conspiracies, and the military operations and other, less-expected efforts to stop them. This fast-paced story will keep you turning the pages and leave you eagerly anticipating the next episode in the series.

Review Quotes

"Reading Enemy at the Helm is like watching a master weaver pull a single, overlooked thread that causes an entire, intricate tapestry to unravel; it serves as a stark reminder that the strength of the whole depends entirely on the integrity of its most vulnerable connections." -AuthorsReading.com

"Enemy at the Helm is an absolute masterpiece-a literary action thriller that intertwines suspense, intrigue, and real-life survival in the first of what I hope are many sequels. I can see Mark's own personal training and preparation for situational awareness and survival throughout this thrilling page turner. Enemy at the Helm and any other work written by Mark Dickson will have a permanent place on my bookshelf." -Larry "The Bearded Black Cowboy" Stevenson, cofounder and trainer at 3-D Martial Arts and Tactical Defense and author of From the Inside Out

"Could a coordinated attack cripple supply lines around the globe? Enemy at the Helm delves into the sinister world of international conspiracy, strategic sabotage, and the chilling consequences of disrupting vital global supply lines, with a cast of diverse characters and a plot that keeps you guessing until the final page." -Dale Goodwin, host of the Survivalist Prepper podcast

"The scope of the novel is truly global, with the investigation stretching from the jungles of Venezuela to the secretive ports of North Korea and the radicalized neighborhoods of London. Dickson masterfully balances the bird's-eye view of the National Security

Council's response with the tactical, "boots on the ground" reality of the investigators. The author's background as a surgeon adds a layer of technical realism to the medical emergencies and tactical engagements described throughout the book.

Without revealing the final resolution, the novel serves as a sobering reminder of how interconnected and fragile our modern existence has become. It is a story of resilience, exploring how individuals find their "true calling" when the world as they know it disappears.

Reading Enemy at the Helm is like watching a master weaver pull a single, overlooked thread that causes an entire, intricate tapestry to unravel; it serves as a stark reminder that the strength of the whole depends entirely on the integrity of its most vulnerable connections."

-AuthorsReading.com