When Diplomacy Fails by Michael Z. Williamson

I'm sorry to say that When Diplomacy Fails is probably the least remarkable of all of Williamson's stories set in the Freehold universe. The only thing I can think of is that it's meant to be a transitional  book, getting things ready for some new, politically twisty and explosively good action in his next novel.

Shortly after successfully protecting Caron Prescot from multiple assassination attempts, earning her gratitude and, in Aramis' case a bit more, Ripple Creek gets an assignment to protect Bureau of State Minister Joy Highland as she goes on a diplomatic tour on a very troubled planet. A willful bureacrat used to getting her own way turns out to be just as challenging to protect as a headstrong young heiress, and given the sheer number of political and religious factions on Mtali there are plenty of folks who would be happy to see her dead, including some factions within the UN who see her as a threat to their candidate for the top spot in a coming election.

There are plenty of gun battles, a kidnapping, and Elke gets to blow stuff up a lot, so the action doesn't drag at all, once the stage is set. I just don't feel as if the characters were developed more thoroughly, the plot had no major twists, and I just felt as if it wasn't up to Williamson's usual standards.

Rogue by Michael Z. Williamson

Rogue is the sixth book in the Freehold series, and continues the tradition of action and adventure established early by Williamson. We return to the story of Kenneth Chinran, from The Weapon. Chinran has been psychologically damaged by his experiences in the war against Earth, and has disappeared from everyone's radar with his and Deni's daughter, Chelsea. He has been working as a male escort occasionally and running his own machine shop for a variety of clients, until he is discovered by Naumann again after he thwarts a robbery attempt at a local pizza joint in a manner that is an unmistakeable trail to someone with his skills.

Naumann recruits him, reluctantly, to track down and eliminate a former member of the team he took to Earth, who is now accepting independent assassination contracts. The political fallout that would ensue if it was discovered that an ex-military specialist from Freehold had gone freelance would be a bad thing. Chinran and his sexy sidekick, Silver, that Naumann assigns to help him, travel to the planet Caledonia, where they are in time to disrupt Randall's assassination of a prominent economist, but fail to stop the second attempt or capture the rogue agent.

They head off to Mtali in hot pursuit, and are unable to fulfill the mission there, then to Nova Rossia where Randall keeps one step ahead of them making mob hits, then to Earth, scene of Chinran's original crimes. Eventually the trail leads back to Freehold, and a final confrontation. Lots of blood, bodies and inventive assassination methods in this one, and perhaps some peace for Chinran's tormented soul at the end, leaving Williamson to move on to the focus on his Ripple Creek characters.