Ward Larsen
Oceanview
November 1, 2011 / 978-1608090297
Suspense/Thriller
Amazon
Reviewed
by Dennis Collins
It’s no coincidence that Franklin, Bates, and Noble Airline,
affectionately known as “Fly By Night Airline” was formed
shortly after the disappearance of a top secret United States military
drone over the Sudanese desert in Africa’s horn. Fly By Night
is the sole occupant of a remote airfield. Stories circulating in
international intelligence circles suggest that the missing drone
may have crash landed in the desert, been recovered, and is now
housed in a secure hanger owned by the fledgling airline.
When one of FBN’s old DC-3 cargo planes is reported to have
crashed in or near the Red Sea, the International Civil Aviation
Organization is called upon to investigate. The CIA seizes the opportunity
to sneak in a hand-picked trouble shooter as the official investigator.
“Jammer” Davis, former fighter pilot and recently retired
NTSB accident investigator, will be the man. Davis is known as an
unorthodox loner who uses questionable methods but regularly gets
extraordinary results. He has a reputation for coloring outside
the lines and almost always improvising.
On his arrival in Sudan, Davis is greeted by a trio of thieves
who try to lure him into a trap but he’s able to turn the
tables on them. The situation sets the tone for his visit and the
tension never subsides.
Jammer’s primary mission is to determine if the missing drone
is actually in the hands of people with questionable motives, but
he must make his cover convincing by at least going through the
motions of investigating the crash of the cargo plane. He suspects
that the disappearance of the drone and the plane crash could be
related and that clues to connect the two could be found in the
wreckage of the airplane which all radar data tells him rests at
the bottom of the Red Sea.
But what about the drone? Were there some sinister plans for that?
If it were just a matter of some third world government holding
it for ransom, surely there would have been some contact and demands
by now. If the craft was not too seriously damaged, it could be
airworthy. Drones themselves are not complicated craft, it’s
the sophisticated guidance systems that make them dangerous.
The man in charge of the airline is a disturbing Imam who goes
by the name of Rafiq Khoury, a man who Jammer sees as a person capable
of sinister motives.
Author Ward Larsen has one of those lyrical voices that keeps the
story moving and entertaining. His own background as a fighter jet
pilot comes through in his description of the aerial scenes as well
as the general information about flight and all the hardware that
finds its way through the skies. I loved this book.
Reviews
of other titles by this author
The
Perfect Assassin
Fly
by Night
Stealing
Trinity
The
Perfect Assassin / Assassin’s Game
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