Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

I was pretty good at scheming myself. If that was the way he wanted to play the game, I would be happy to take him on.
- Matt Wells

There’s more than a little scheming going on in The Nameless Dead, the fourth, and last, book in author Paul Johnston’s Matt Wells series. In his guest post yesterday, Paul gave a much better summary of The Nameless Dead (and series as a whole) than I possibly could, so do check that out for a more detailed setup. The short version…

Following their involuntary assassination attempt on the President of the United States, British crime novelist Matt Wells and his pregnant girlfriend, London Metropolitan Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Oaten, are being held by the FBI. As their activities were the result of a mind control experiment performed by a Neo-Nazi group, the FBI is working on deprogramming Wells and Oaten.

Of course things wouldn’t be any fun if it was that simple. So when bodies begin turning up killed in a gruesome ritualistic manner reminiscent of that Neo-Nazi group, the FBI gets the bright idea to use Wells’ programming to their advantage and turn him loose to hunt down the group’s leader, Heinz Rothmann, the man responsible for Wells and Oaten’s predicament. As you’d expect, things don’t quite go as planned. (more…)

The last thing Casey Woods wanted right then was another gut-wrenching case. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what she got.

What could be more tragic than having your twin sister kidnapped out of your shared bedroom when you were six years old? Having your own five-year old daughter kidnapped thirty-two years later. That’s the situation facing Judge Hope Willis, who goes to pick up her daughter from school one day only to be informed by those at the school that “she” already picked her up.

Given her high profile position as a judge, and her husband Edward’s as a controversial defense attorney with a prestigious firm, the local police and FBI descend on the case in record time. Not content with that, however, Hope calls in Forensic Instincts, a privately run organization that specializes in high profile and hard to handle cases.

Headed up by Casey Woods, a behavioral analysis specialist, the team also includes former Navy SEAL and FBI agent Marc Deveraux, and tech wizard Ryan McKay. Add to that mix intuitive – please don’t call her psychic – Claire Hedgleigh and retired FBI agents Patrick Lynch, who headed the investigation into Hope’s sister’s kidnapping thirty-two years ago, and Hero, an FBI certified human scent evidence bloodhound, and there is quite a full compliment of law enforcement on the case… but will it be enough to locate the missing girl before it’s too late? (more…)

“In my life I have experienced how humanity reacts in times of distress. I have seen the worst unfold before my eyes after warnings were ignored, after rational thought evaporated. I advocate extreme action because we face an extreme situation. Time is running out on human existence on this planet. We are entering the panic zone.” – Dr. Gretchen Sutsoff

In Wyoming a woman is involved in a car accident that claims the lives of her husband and infant, yet she distinctly remembers seeing someone rescue the baby from the car before she passed out. As police and medical personnel repeatedly assure her the baby died, she begins to question if she’s going mad… until she receives a mysterious phone call informing her, “Your baby is alive.”

A reporter in Brazil receives a phone call from an anonymous source claiming to have documentation on a shocking story with worldwide implications. The reporter agrees to meet the source at a restaurant, but before the information can be exchanged the restaurant is bombed and dozens of people are killed, including the reporter and her source.

An otherwise healthy man dies suddenly while on a cruise in the Caribbean, the manner of his horrific death exhibiting symptoms reminiscent of the ebola virus.

The Panic Zone, the second book from author Rick Mofina to feature investigative reporter Jack Gannon, finds Gannon summoned to Brazil by the World Press Alliance to investigate the bombing. Gannon uncovers a series of seemingly unrelated events that, upon piecing the puzzle together, he realizes are not only related but are part of a conspiracy that has potentially catastrophic consequences for the very existence of mankind.

Mofina has created likable, believable characters, thrown them into a conspiracy with life or death ramifications on a global scale, and lets the thrilling plot unfold over locales as far flung as Wyoming to Morocco to London to the Bahamas. The Panic Zone is rapid-fire, non-stop action that reads like an episode of 24, with Gannon playing the role of Jack Bauer and with stakes every bit as high.

If there was one thing I had learned in the U.S., it was the benefit of nailing your enemies before they nailed you. – Matt Wells

In Maps of Hell, British crime writer Matt Wells initially has a bigger problem on his hands than nailing his enemies… he has to figure out who he is first.

The book opens with Matt regaining consciousness in a tiny cell, naked, beaten and unable to recall who he is or how he got there. He’s taken from his cell repeatedly for bizarre, Clockwork Orange-esque sessions aimed at conditioning his mind… but to what end? Matt doesn’t want to stick around long enough to find out.

Taking advantage of a lapse in one of the sessions he makes a daring escape, during which he realizes that he – and many others – are being held and experimented on by a fringe militia group at a compound deep in the forests of Maine. His memory slowly returns while he’s on the run trying desperately to stay one step ahead of his militia pursuers. And they aren’t the only ones looking for him.

A series of gruesome murders have been occurring in Washington, D.C., with Matt’s fingerprints turning up at one of the crime scenes. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s also wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his girlfriend, British DCI Karen Oaten, who was in D.C. to meet with the Department of Justice.

Now, in addition to trying to stay one step ahead of the militia members tracking him, Matt also has to decide whether to go to the authorities and trust them to believe his story, or try on his own to solve the puzzle of his abduction, his girlfriend’s disappearance, and why he’s being framed for murder.

Maps of Hell is a truly frantic and engaging read. It is decidedly unnerving to be thrust into a world where the narrator, normally the reader’s guide, himself doesn’t know precisely what’s going on. And author Paul Johnston has captured Matt’s fear and confusion in a way that’s so vivid it’s almost palpable:

When I came round, I didn’t have a clue where I was. My head was ringing with strange sounds and I saw a blur of colors and shapes. Gradually my vision cleared, but my ears were still filled with discordant voices. There was a foul stench in my nostrils. I tried to move, but my arms and legs were confined. I looked down and saw that I had been tied to a wheelchair. I was wearing paper clothes again. I felt a twinge of alarm and glanced around. What I saw wasn’t reassuring.

Having read the previous two books in the Matt Wells series is not required in order to enjoy Maps of Hell. In fact, not having done so could arguably enhance the experience as the reader would truly be discovering everything for the first time right along with Matt as he struggles to understand who he is and what’s happening to him.

Author Paul Johnston consistently produces books that manage to take a familiar premise and completely turn it on its ear, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Maps of Hell. If you’ve not read anything by Johnston before, grab a copy of Maps of Hell and begin your journey into the mind of one of the most creative – and criminally under the radar – thriller writers working today.

Maps of Hell is available from Mira (ISBN: 978-0778327783).