The Persian Project

This novel, written under Irv Sternberg's pen name Mark Irving, completes the Clint Jagger series of international thrillers. It features Clint Jagger, the indomitable and determined Special Ops veteran of Vietnam.

Readers of the previous Clint Jagger books, Deadly Passage and Sakura's Stratagem, know of his ventures involving the English Channel tunnel and a rogue Japanese mission to Mars. The Persian Project tells more of Clint's background—and how he wound up working for the National Security Agency.

Set in the late 1970s, it's a more personal look at Clint, who thinks he has escaped his wartime demons by settling in a quiet town high in the Colorado Rockies. Then his former commander asks him to undertake a secret mission in Iran—an adventure that surpasses anything he faced in Vietnam. The prequel also introduces Clint's first wife Sheila Stone, and his Vietnam buddy, chopper pilot Buck Hilliard.  Read an excerpt ...

Deadly Passage

Writing as Mark Irving, Irv's debut novel introduces Clint Jagger, a Special Ops veteran of Viet Nam now with the National Security Agency, who is assigned to protect the vice president of the United States at the official opening of the English Channel Tunnel.  Teaming with Superintendent Simon Light of Scotland Yard, the pair pursue a former East German intelligence agent determined to wreak havoc.

Sakura's Stratagem

In a sequel to Deadly Passage, Jagger uncovers a terrifying plot masterminded by a xenophobic Japanese industrialist seeking glory and revenge for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.

"...takes off with a jolt and doesn't touch down until it reveals the new dangers of international intrigue...a compelling page-turner (written) with authority and confidence." 
~ Stephen White, New York Times bestselling author

Neptune's Chariot

Rated A- by the Rocky Mountain News

Neptune's Chariot is inspired by a true event, a story so compelling that when I first heard about it I knew I had to write a book. As a former journalist, my initial instinict was to write it as it actually happened, a factual nonfiction book. 

I began extensive research into the sea-faring details of the period,  the lives of the main characters, the great ship-building ports of Boston and New York, and  anchorages in San Francisco, Honolulu, Foochow and London. I learned fascinating things about clipper ships and the dangers of rounding notorious Cape Horn. 

But, in the end, my research wound up in a dead-end, stopped abruptly by lack of necessary information, such as the ship's log, which had simply disappeared. Ultimately, I decided to fill in the blanks from my own imagination, converting the book to a novel. Read more ...

I hope you enjoy your voyage!
~ Irv Sternberg

"Sternberg hits his literary sweet spot with this imaginative throwback set on the high seas circa 1885. Demonstrating a well-researched knowledge of maritime mechanics, he carves out a story that harkens back to the innocence of tales like Treasure Island. Ultimately, the novel serves as a rollicking, retro seafaring adventure."

                                                                             - Blue Ink Reviews

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"Cheers to Irv Sternberg for giving us a female hero of such glowing courage. The things he describes in such a convincing and large hearted way, moved and amazed me. What a rip-roarer!"

~JOANNE GREENBERG, author

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

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"An exciting tale, wonderfully written. With the storyteller's eye for just the right detail, Irv Sternberg captures both the adventure aboard a 19th century clipper ship and the heartfelt longings of a young woman. Neptune's Chariot is the best kind of historical novel—one that evokes the past in such a way that it becomes real and immediate, as if it were still unfolding."

~MARGARET COEL, author

The Girl With Braided Hair

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"Recalls Patrick O'Brian's best work in its depth of nautical detail ... a breathless, high seas adventure with a woman at the helm."

~ STEPHANIE BARRON, author

The Jane Austen mysteries

No Laughing Matter

EVVY Award winner of the Colorado Independent Publishers Assn.
Harvey Award winner of the Colorado Authors' League

Comedy meets murder in the Mile High city

Aging comic and widower Izzy Brand finds a new reason to face his empty life when his closest friend and owner of a comedy club dies after a mugging in a Denver alley. Izzy's search for the killer leads him into an underworld of white collar crime, commercial greed, and politics, as well as troubled street people and runaway teens, all in a city usually known for idyllic mountain views. Through his commitment to justice, Izzy learns what it means to take risks, avenge a crime and, coincidentally, find love along the way. No Laughing Matter is a suspenseful regional mystery warmed by the laughter of Jewish humor.

See five-star reviews on Amazon