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One
Mile Under,
by Andrew Gross, is a thriller and mystery all rolled into
one with the long-awaited return of Ty Hauck. On the surface
it is a murder mystery, a "who done it," but there
are also the interesting aspects of energy independence, and
it will remind readers of the Old West stories when farmers
battled over land rights. As with most of his books, there
is the feature of how someone's life can change in a brief
moment.
The plot pits farmers against an energy company that supports
fracking and needs the town's water rights. But there is more
to this struggle when Colorado whitewater guide Dani Whalen
finds a dear friend, Trey Watkin, dead. After finding her
friend, her life changes from enduring the dangers of nature
to avoiding dangerous men. Although Trey's death is ruled
an accident, she believes it to be murder. Getting nowhere
with the local police chief, Wade Dunn, who also happens to
be Dani's ex-stepfather, she threatens to make her suspicions
public. This is when Ty, wearing his white hat, comes into
the story since Dani is like an adopted daughter. He does
not hesitate to get involved to find the killers. The suspense
ratchets up from here as Dani and Ty risk their lives to pursue
justice.
Although the theme of the book is cover-up, redemption, and
vindication, the important issue of energy independence is
explored through fracking and horizontal drilling. Readers
will be taken on a journey, feeling a part of the scene as
they whitewater down the rapids with Dani, take a hot air
balloon ride, and consider the positive and negative points
of fracking. The culprit is not energy independence, but individual
bad guys who are consumed by greed and power.
Gross commented, "I did a lot of research regarding the
technology and resulting environmental impact. If I had to
take sides, I would be for it, with environmental oversight.
We must consider the long-term strategic goal of energy independence,
which outweighs the environmental risks. I tried to present
this within an action packed story. People in Colorado were
comfortable and saw the energy companies as being good citizens."
The supporting character, Dani, stole the show. She is smart,
pretty, funny, and has a take-no-prisoners attitude. Gross
is able to make her a very sympathetic character through her
vulnerability. On the other hand, Wade Dunn is a character
who seems to have lost his soul. While charming on the outside,
he is weak-minded and over steps the line by not doing what's
right. He appears to be a self-destructive person.
Gross based "Dani on a Wyoming white-rafting guide for
my family. She was self-reliant and totally in control. I
had this infatuation with her because she was tough as nails.
I always wanted to write her as a character. But in this book,
I must say that I enjoyed writing Wade more than anyone else.
I also wrote in a soldier wounded because I wanted to give
back to the military since I was someone who grew up during
the Viet Nam War. I wanted to create someone who would elicit
overpowering compassion and respect."
One
Mile Under is an informative and thrilling story. Its
characters are well developed and its plot, with its many
twists and turns, is suspenseful and creative.
Gross gave a heads up about his next book, which will be more
of a historical novel. Gross examines his Jewish roots, as
he based a character in the book on his father-in-law, who
left Poland before the start of WWII and later found out his
entire family did not survive. The theme of the book will
include how to handle grief and survivor's guilt.
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