Peter J. Marzano Peter J. Marzano

The Black Sea Gambit

by Peter J. Marzano

“Engaging! Another page-turner! Peter Marzano has arrived in the big leagues as a writer and rivals the best of the masters, including Nelson DeMille and James Patterson. Another Marzano novel, loaded with intrigue, mystery, twists, and historical facts. It follows the first three books in his series seamlessly. Excellent writing! His best yet!”

The Book

The Black Sea Gambit

The Black Sea Gambit plunges Interpol agent Brian O’Sullivan into a deadly race across Europe when his infant daughter is kidnapped and his love partner, Nina von Scholz, is taken hostage. Still recovering from a heart attack, Brian follows a trail from Rotterdam to Kaliningrad to Sochi, where the captives are held by ruthless operatives linked to Ivan Sokolov—a powerful FSB agent, art dealer, and Brian’s half-brother. As whispers of a covert Kremlin plot to seize Crimea emerge from the shadows of Gelendzhik Palace, Brian and Erick join forces with a new CIA team for a high-risk rescue aboard the oligarch-owned superyacht Catherine the Great. But every move draws him deeper into a world of deception, divided loyalties, and impossible choices, where one mistake could cost him his family—and help ignite a war. Fast-paced, emotionally charged, and steeped in international intrigue, The Black Sea Gambit delivers a tense, cinematic thriller about blood ties, betrayal, and the price of survival in the dangerous days before history turns.

✦

Praise for The Black Sea Gambit

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“Engaging! Another page-turner! Peter Marzano has arrived in the big leagues as a writer and rivals the best of the masters, including Nelson DeMille and James Patterson. Well done!” “Want a fast-paced mystery? The Black Sea Gambit, Marzano’s newest gem of his four-book series, is action-packed, enjoyable, and easy to read. “It’s another Marzano novel loaded with intrigue, mystery, twists, and historical facts. It follows the first three books in his series seamlessly. Excellent writing! His best yet!” “Interesting and exciting! Marzano‘s imagination offers suspense, plot twists, intrigue, unforgettable imagery, and action. Couldn’t put it down. What will happen in his next book?” “I found The Black Sea Gambit riveting. Kept reading and ordered our dinner in. I love the new characters, Giza and Oleg, and the tie to Staten Island.” “Inspired by his love for Nina and their new child, Brian O’Sullivan rebounds into a daring mission filled with unexpected challenges to avenge past wrongs by his antagonist, Sokolov.” “Marzano’s characters feel so real! It’s as if I’ve come to know them through the series. This newest story kept me on edge, and I thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion. Hoping for more.”

Peter J. Marzano

The Author

Peter J. Marzano

Husband, dad, grandpa, and friend!

Peter J. Marzano was born in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village to Irish and Italian immigrant parents. After his family moved to Staten Island in the early 1950s, he attended community college, joined the New York Telephone Company, and completed a four-year construction apprenticeship certified by New York State and nationally recognized.
At his father-in-law’s suggestion, Marzano moved into sales, beginning with Stromberg-Carlson telecommunications systems. During the next 45 years, he held senior sales and management positions at General Dynamics, United Technologies, and AT&T, then served as vice president of sales and marketing for an industrial company in Southern New England. His work took him throughout the United States and abroad, turning business travel into an enduring personal interest.
While working at AT&T, Marzano earned a master’s degree in management from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1997. He also earned certificates in Workplace Diversity, Negotiations, and Conflict Resolution. His master’s thesis examined alternative personality-type indicators and their potential to improve employee performance.
Marzano and his high school sweetheart, Kathleen, have been married for more than 50 years. They have four children and eleven grandchildren. His interests include family and wildlife photography, museum visits, and international travel. Drawing on his construction experience and drafting skills, he also designed and contracted three family homes.
Marzano was inspired to write by an incident following his father-in-law’s death in 2019. His debut novel, Litany of Sorrows, launched the Brian O’Sullivan series in 2021, followed by Search and Deception in 2022. The third book, Taken from Carinhall, won the 2024 International Impact Book Award and the Readers’ View Fiction Award. Every book in the series has also received a Pinnacle Achievement Award. The Black Sea Gambit, the fourth installment in the historical-fiction action-mystery series, was released in October 2026.
The Brian O’Sullivan series is available in e-book and audiobook formats; the audiobook edition of Book 4 is scheduled for release after February 2027. For more information, visit https://www.PeterJMarzano.com.
Marzano is grateful to the readers who have chosen to spend time with his books.