Review: The Shimmer by David Morrell

Santa Fe, New Mexico police officer Dan Page tries hard to forget the violence that he sees in his everyday life, keeping as much of it from his wife, Tori, as he can. It is a total surprise to him when he returns home one day to find her gone, a note she left says that she is going to visit her mother, who lives 800 miles away. She never said a word about the trip to him, why she would abruptly leave like that is a mystery.

He tries not to worry about it, but after two days she still hasn't arrived at her mother's and no one has heard from her. He is beginning to be frantic and files a missing persons report. When a Sheriff from the small Texas town of Rostov calls, Dan fears the worst. But he says that Tori is fine, though he won't give any other information. He insists that Dan must come to Rostov and see for himself what is going on.

When Dan arrives in Rostov, he is confronted with a mystery that has intrigued and frightened people for hundreds of years. The strange Rostov Lights are a phenomenon that occur out over the badlands, on the mesa towards the Mexico border. They appear at night, hover and shine, changing colors and size, merging into one another and breaking apart again. But not everyone can see them. Those that can are transfixed, caught by their beauty, like Tori. Those that can't see them are either disgusted or annoyed, sure that the viewers are making it all up. Sometimes reactions are completely unexpected.

While Dan talks to Tori and begins to unravel the reasons that she left and why she stopped in Rostov, outside events overtake the couple and they are swept into a violent maelstrom, which is caused by the lights. Putting their own problems aside, they join forces with the local police to try to uncover the source of the lights and the reason they sometimes incite uncontrollable behavior or worse in the people who see them.

This book is non-stop action from the first page, I couldn't put it down. I was intrigued by the premise, the author based the story on lights seen in the real life town of Marfa, Texas. They occur in other places in the world, too: Norway, Thailand and Australia all have areas where similar lights are seen. The phenomenon has never been explained, though there are lots of theories. David Morrell took the fact of the lights and built an intriguing story around them. Part action, part suspense, part mystery, and a taut thriller, The Shimmer has it all. I really enjoyed this fast-paced book!

David Morrell has been called the father of the modern action novel (he created Rambo, after all). You can find out more about him and his books at his website and more about The Shimmer at http://www.shimmerbook.com/ .

The Shimmer is published by Vanguard Press, ISBN 978-1-59315-537-7

Review: Red Sea by E.A. Benedek PLUS a Guest Post by the Author!

The unthinkable has happened. Again. Four airplanes in different parts of the world are blown up in mid-flight. As soon as word comes in, Israeli operatives are forming a task force. None of their aircraft were involved but it is in Israel's best interests to keep on top of what is happening in the world of terrorism.

Israeli agent Julian Granot is part of the team, called in from retirement because of his expertise and connections. He soon convinces a young American aviation reporter, Marie Peterssen, to look into one of the service locations for aircraft video equipment. Julian suspects that terrorists have been working for the equipment shop.

As Marie is drawn further into the investigation, the trail leads her to Baghdad where she meets FBI agent Morgan Ensley. Finding their interests are in common, the two investigate the terror network in Iraq and the one man who seems to be the key to it all. The plot is far bigger than it seemed at the beginning and the lives of millions of people are on the line as all three race to stop a plot whose outcome would change the world.

To me, this book was absolutely chilling. (The echo of 9/11 never fades for me, I am constantly faced with that reality because the industry I work in lies at the heart of the events of that day.) The author has painted a scarily realistic scenario that will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you wondering about security measures and hoping that we have sharp people on the job. It's a great read, the characters are smart and likable and the personal backgrounds are interesting.

Welcome to the author, Emily Benedek, who sent me this fascinating guest post about writing this book:

People have asked me what inspired me to write RED SEA. My inspiration was meeting a source for a Newsweek story I'd written soon after 9/11.The man was an expert in airline security, and we met several times in New York after my story had come out. Why did he want to meet me? This was a man who liked developing sources. That was his job and his habit. Also, he had some measure of trust for me because he'd made a request of me during our interview for the Newsweek story, a request I had honored.

He was a fascinating person who told amazing stories. After a few meetings, he asked me if I would consider writing a book about airline security--he was convinced at the time that Washington would not do the right thing by its air passengers. I had already written three non-fiction books and I knew what was involved. I was intrigued. So in our next meeting, I put down a tape recorder and switched it on. For the first time, he was much less open in his conversation, and I immediately snapped off the recorder. I realized right away that the kind of insider information he had would very hard to triple-verify -- what I would have to do for a non-fiction book. So I asked him if he thought it might be easier to tell his story as fiction instead. "Maybe" he said. "Maybe."

We continued to meet and I found out more about him--he had been a commando and then a commander in Israel's most elite special forces unit and an operator for Israel's security service in Europe. He was a very senior operator and a very intelligent person.

I began to create characters in my mind--of a retired Israeli commando with a heavy past, an American female journalist with something to prove,and a maverick (excuse the term) FBI agent. I had spent a year following an FBI agent for a story, so I knew something about how that agency was run. All the threats in the plot, all the operational details are correct and based on as much detailed and intensive reporting as if the book had indeed been non-fiction.

The safety of seaports has been a huge concern of American security officials--and for good reason. Millions of sea containers enter our ports every year, almost none of which get inspected. I decided to put an attempt to attack one of our seaports in the book, and then I had to find experts who could tell me what took place on ships--how they were laid out, what the threats were and how much bribery and criminality was involved in the sea trade.

I felt when I wrote RED SEA that Americans were being very naive about the threat of terrorism. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration, by using the threat for political ends, by launching a senseless war in the name of counter-terror, and by trying to abridge Americans rights, has made it much harder now to talk about terrorism. Because now Americans are frustrated, angered, and confused about it. Unfortunately, the threat remains. I tried to show how a very smart and experienced person thinks about and fights terror. And how two principled, brave people try to learn fast and help out. I also tried to show the weaknesses in the American system, which I'm afraid are accurately drawn.

I am now working on the next book--Marie, Morgan and Julian are back together again, this time trying to interfere with Iran's development of the bomb.

Thank you Emily! And my thanks, too, to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in this tour! Here are the other stops that are scheduled:

E.A. Benedek’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Tuesday, October 21st: Jenn’s Bookshelf
Wednesday, October 22nd: Rough Edges
Monday, October 27th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Wednesday, October 29th: Michele - Only One ‘L’
Monday, November 3rd: Right Truth
Wednesday, November 5th: Dark Party Review
Monday, November 10th: The Sleepy Reader
Thursday, November 13th: Should Be Reading
Monday, November 17th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Red Sea is published by St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-35492-3

Order Red Sea from Amazon

Review: The Darker Side by Cody McFadyen

Meet FBI Agent Smoky Barrett:

"The current title for my position is NCAVC coordinator. NCAVC stands for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. It's headquartered in DC. Each Bureau office has a person in charge of NCAVC activities for that geographical area. Death's representative, so to speak. In Podunk that might be a single agent who also carries numerous other responsibilities. Here in Los Angeles we rate a full-time coordinator-in-charge -me- and a multi-agent team. I guess serial killers are like the rest of us: they enjoy the sunny California climate."

On a commercial airline flight to Washington, DC a young woman is murdered in her seat and covered with a blanket. She is found at the end of the flight and FBI Agent Smoky Barrett and her talented team are called in and assigned the case. They must be circumspect, the victim has ties to a political powerhouse and presidential candidate. Before long a second body is found in Los Angeles, seemingly unrelated to the first, and they find themselves on the trail of a serial killer.

When video clips of the victims start showing up on the Internet the pressure in on to catch the nutcase committing the murders before a media firestorm erupts. Turns out the killer knows a very deep secret about each victim and feels that he must make them confess their "sin" before he kills them. How does he select his targets? How does he know their most intimate secrets? And how are they going to track him down before he strikes again?

The plot of this thriller is fast paced and smart, the characters are intriguing and likable. Smoky Barrett has been through the ringer on previous cases and her personal losses have been high. Despite all she has been through, she is a survivor and is excellent at her job. She is complex and interesting and I can't wait to read the first two books in this series, Shadow Man and The Face of Death.

The Darker Side is published by Bantam Dell. ISBN 978-0-553-80694-6.

Cody McFadyen was kind enough to stop by my blog on October 1 for a fascinating guest post, go check it out!

Visit Cody McFadyen's website here.

Many thanks to Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours for including me in the tour!

Order The Darker Side from Amazon