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Dr. Dave Richards works for the CDC and his job there is held tenaciously as one of the higher ups doesn't like his style. His friend and supervisor , Dr. Root, sends Dave down to investigate Arkansas where a case of botulism has been reported.
When Dave arrives in Arkansas, he is also confronted not only with the botulism, but another family has contracted bubonic plague. The two families show signs of this being a forced inoculation and Dave knows that a terrorist cell has formed in order to bring bio-warfare to the USA.
Following procedure he calls in the FBI to help handle the case while he begins to track down the source of the diseases. Their greatest fear has occurred, a white sleeper is amongst the muslim terrorists and it could be anybody!
FBI agent Paula Mushari, is an arabic muslim and many in her department don't trust her. When she is assigned to this case, she is unsure how to proceed and follows Dave's leads and the two go traipsing about the country seeking the culprits involved with this crime. During their journey, another family is reported to have contracted rabies and with three separate diseases it soon becomes apparent that a test is in play with these people's lives.
Ben Curran is an orphan whose parents were killed by the authorities in a sting to capture his father, who was a known white supremacist with the Knights of the White Order. Ben bides his time and plans on seeking revenge for the death of his parents. When he stumbles upon a terrorist cell after fleeing to New York, he feels his prayers have been answered and God has chosen him to be his messenger of doom.
Mr. Smith is a ghost with the CIA, meaning, he does not exist. He alone believes that Dave is on the right track and encourages and enables him to continue his search for the culprits. When Dave's boss, the arrogant and impossible Lussier, removes him from the case in order to be the star of the show, Mr. Smith points Dave in the right direction and together Dave and Paula race against time to save the world from utter destruction.
This is a fast-paced read without too much to bog you down in the linguistics. Dave and Paula are likeable characters, although you have to wonder at times, how Paula became a FBI agent, she hasn't much in the way of instincts.
Dave was always talking about his ability to find the truth hidden in plain view, but for the most part, he either stumbled upon the information or was pointed in the right direction. I would've liked to have seen more of Dave's natural abilities, but I felt that if it wasn't being pointed out to him, he'd have missed the whole show. I also felt that there wasn't any real investigation in the whole set-up, the whole lot of them just blindly stumbled here and there and everything seemed to work out for all involved.
Such as how Ben Curran was identified, I mean, come on! Some dude, Ryan Conley from the ATF, who was lead investigator at the cabin when Ben's parents were killed, HAPPENED to sit at a desk of another individual who, unrelated to the cabin incident, had a picture of Ben and Conley was able to positively ID Ben. That was just too easy and I found most of the evidence and clues provided were shared in this same matter. I like my clues and evidence to be more intellectually shared and not so cut and dry and blind fool stumbling.
The premise behind the plot is a bit clichéd and not enough background information was given on the CDC, the authors assumed that folks know what and how the CDC work, but a bit more information on their involvement in the USA's political diplomacy since 911 would have been more beneficial.
This wasn't a bad read and I would love to read more about the people involved and with how the book ended you get the feeling that these characters haven't been retired forever. This is definitely a book about action rather than character build-up as the reader is zipped from one incident to the next without any real information connecting the situations together.
However, it's a good read, the flow is disrupted in places but overall, you could have this easily read in a few hours. If you are looking for something to pass your time without too much bog down, then you will enjoy this book!
SYNOPSIS:
When Arkansas experiences a wave of rare fatal diseases, the CDC sends disgraced doctor Dave Richards to investigate, and he knows this is the case that could save his career. When he teams up with FBI agent Paula Mushari, Richards thinks he may have found the person who can help him find the answers. But as they dig deeper, they begin to get a sinister glimpse into what they are dealing with-a vengeful sect, led by the son of a late white supremacist, intent on destroying a nation. As Richards fights to save his job, he and Mushari must race against the clock to prevent a plague of catastrophic proportions.
** Disclosure: I did not accept any compensation from the sponsors other than review copies, my views are my own, reviewed by me..as I see it~!! **
