The Research Behind HAMMER: How I Built a World of Cartels, Intelligence Operations, Politics, and International Crime

Writing a thriller is about more than creating a fast-moving plot and a compelling protagonist.

The action may keep readers turning pages, but the world surrounding that action has to feel real.

When I began writing HAMMER, I knew I wanted the story to move beyond a conventional revenge thriller. Jack “Hammer” Garrett’s journey would take him from the Texas Hill Country to Mexico, Bulgaria, Washington, D.C., South Africa, and other locations around the world. Along the way, he would encounter cartel operations, political corruption, intelligence networks, international criminals, and people who operate in the shadows.

That meant I had a lot of research to do.

Research Before Writing

One of the biggest lessons I learned while writing HAMMER was that research isn't something you simply do after you've written the story.

For me, research became part of the writing process.

I wanted to understand the environments my characters inhabited before putting them on the page. If Jack was moving through a particular city, I wanted to know what that place looked and felt like. If a criminal organization was operating across borders, I needed to understand the basic realities of how international crime works.

And if government agencies or intelligence personnel appeared in the story, I wanted their actions to feel grounded in the real world.

Of course, HAMMER is fiction. I wasn't trying to write a textbook on intelligence operations or organized crime. My goal was to create a believable foundation on which I could build an entertaining thriller.

That distinction was important.

Researching Cartels and Organized Crime

Cartels are a fascinating, and frightening, part of the modern criminal landscape.

For HAMMER, I researched the structure and behavior of organized criminal organizations, particularly those involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, kidnapping, and cross-border operations.

I wanted to understand how these organizations function beyond the stereotypical image of a drug cartel.

Organized crime is ultimately about networks.

Money has to move. People have to communicate. Routes have to be established. Corrupt relationships have to be maintained. Information has to be protected.

And trust can be a very dangerous commodity.

Researching these subjects helped me create criminal organizations that weren't simply collections of stereotypical villains. They became interconnected networks with competing interests, internal politics, vulnerabilities, and agendas.

That made the story much more interesting.

It also reinforced something I already understood about thrillers:

The most dangerous enemy isn't necessarily the person holding the gun. Sometimes it's the person who controls the information.

Intelligence Operations and the World of Espionage

Another major area of research involved intelligence operations.

I wanted the intelligence elements of HAMMER to feel plausible without turning the novel into a technical manual.

That required studying how intelligence organizations gather information, analyze threats, develop sources, protect sensitive information, and operate in environments where they don't necessarily know who they can trust.

I became particularly interested in the idea of information asymmetry.

One character may know something another character desperately needs to know.

Someone may be watching without being seen.

A seemingly insignificant piece of information can suddenly become extremely important.

Those concepts are perfect for thriller writing because they create uncertainty.

The reader knows that something is happening, but doesn't necessarily know who is behind it, who can be trusted, or what will happen next.

That uncertainty became an important ingredient in HAMMER.

Politics and Power

Because HAMMER reaches into Washington, D.C., I also spent considerable time researching American politics and the relationship between political power, money, influence, and international interests.

I wasn't interested in writing a political essay.

I wanted to explore a much simpler question:

What happens when people with enormous power have something to lose?

Washington provides a fascinating backdrop for a thriller because decisions made in offices thousands of miles away can have consequences around the world.

Political influence doesn't necessarily look like a dramatic confrontation. Sometimes it happens through relationships, favors, money, information, pressure, or carefully chosen alliances.

That gave me another layer to work with.

Jack Garrett is a man accustomed to solving problems physically. The political world operates differently.

You can't always punch your way through a problem.

Sometimes the person standing in your way is protected by an entire system.

Firearms and Authenticity

Firearms are another area where research matters in an action thriller.

Readers who know firearms will notice when an author gets the details wrong.

I wanted the weapons, terminology, handling, and general mechanics in HAMMER to be credible.

That meant researching different firearms, ammunition, capabilities, terminology, and the practical realities surrounding their use.

And, I asked real world Operators, who had been in the sh**, to review my writing for accuracy!

But there's an important difference between knowing about firearms and writing an action scene.

The purpose of research wasn't to overwhelm the reader with technical specifications.

It was to make the scene believable.

When Jack encounters a weapon, the reader shouldn't have to stop and wonder whether what they're reading makes sense.

The technical details should support the story—not become the story.

Geography: Making the Locations Feel Real

One of the most enjoyable parts of researching HAMMER was geography.

The story takes readers across multiple countries and continents, including:

• Texas Hill Country

• Fredericksburg, Texas

• San Antonio, Texas

• El Paso, Texas

• Marfa, Texas

• Washington, D.C.

• Sophia, Bulgaria

• Apodaca and Nuevo León, Mexico

• Limpopo Province, South Africa

• Johannesburg, South Africa

• China

Geography isn't just about putting the correct city name on a page.

It's about understanding distance, terrain, climate, architecture, roads, neighborhoods, borders, and the overall character of a location.

A Texas ranch feels different from downtown Washington.

A Mexican industrial area feels different from the Texas Hill Country.

Johannesburg feels different from Sofia.

Those differences can become part of the story.

For a thriller, geography can also create tension. A remote location can isolate a character. A border can create an obstacle. A major city can provide anonymity. An unfamiliar country can put a character at a significant disadvantage.

The setting isn't simply where the story happens.

The setting becomes part of the story.

International Crime

Because Jack's journey extends across several countries, I also had to consider how international crime operates.

Criminal activity doesn't stop at a national border.

Money crosses borders.

People cross borders.

Information crosses borders.

Weapons and drugs cross borders.

And criminals often exploit the differences between legal systems and jurisdictions.

Researching international crime helped me think about the complexity of a story that doesn't remain in one location.

A decision made in one country can create consequences in another.

That interconnectedness became one of the central characteristics of HAMMER.

Balancing Research With Fiction

Perhaps the biggest challenge was knowing when to stop researching.

There is always another article to read, another documentary to watch, another location to investigate, or another technical detail to understand.

At some point, you have to write the book.

That's where judgment comes in.

I didn't want HAMMER to read like a research project. I wanted the research to disappear into the story.

Readers don't need to know everything I learned.

They simply need to believe what they're reading.

If I've done my job correctly, the research becomes invisible.

You aren't thinking about the research.

You're thinking about Jack.

You're wondering who he can trust.

You're trying to figure out what's really happening.

And you're turning the page because you need to know what happens next.

Research Makes Fiction More Believable

Writing HAMMER reinforced something I believe about thriller writing:

The more believable the world, the more freedom you have to push the story.

A thriller can be larger than life. It can take a character across continents and put him in extraordinary situations.

But the foundation needs to feel real.

That's why I spent so much time researching cartels, intelligence operations, politics, firearms, geography, and international crime.

I wanted Jack Garrett's world to feel like a place that could exist just beyond the headlines.

The story is fiction.

But the world around it needed to feel authentic.

And ultimately, that's what research gave me, the confidence to take Jack Garrett from a quiet ranch in the Texas Hill Country and throw him into a global conflict involving some very dangerous people.

The research built the world. The characters brought it to life. And the story took over from there.

HAMMER is the first installment in the Jack Garrett series—a fast-paced action, espionage, and crime thriller built around revenge, survival, and an international conspiracy.

Some men are born to fight. Others are made by circumstance. Jack Garrett was forged by loss.