FBI counterterrorism agent
Nathan Donovan has seen it all. Assassinations, bomb removals, hostage
situations. Yet his Marine days and sixteen weeks at Quantico did
nothing to prepare him for watching his son die. Plagued with guilt he
can’t admit, Nathan pours himself into his work. Then the JTTF (Joint
Terrorism Task Force) is called to a not-so-typical murder at an art
gallery, and Nathan’s thrust into a deadly cat-and-mouse game involving
fleas, fireworks, bubonic plague, and Sato Matsushita, a revenge-filled
bioweapons scientist. Nathan reluctantly joins forces with an
elderly Chinese British citizen named Li who seems to know more about
the investigation than the FBI does. Is his narrative about Sato
Matsushita true? Can Li be trusted? Even more reluctantly, Nathan is
forced to work with his ex-wife Macy, an expert in the psychology of
terrorism. The trio gradually piece together the picture of a man with
a personal vendetta against the U.S.--a vendetta born on a day few can
forget: August 6, 1945–the bombing of Hiroshima.
When the FBI discovers a ship possibly
carrying Matsushita and a lethal strain of bubonic plague is nearing
New York Harbor, the JTTF frantically searches for a way to stop it.
Soon they realize there’s only one option. They must board the ship.
And there’s no man more qualified for that job than Nathan Donovan. Can
they intercept it before time runs out?
Tim Downs has penned a straight-from-the-headlines thriller in Plague Maker.
And while the story is primarily Nathan’s, Downs also weaves flashbacks
involving Sato Matsushita and Li throughout the novel. Time jumps have
the potential to drag a plot, but in this case they embellish it,
giving readers key characterization scenes which take place in 1940's
Asia and help us understand why and how the present day storyline is
important.
Readers of Downs’ previous books Shoofly Pie and Chop Shop
(labeled the “Bugman novels” and featuring forensic entomologist Nick
Polchak) will be pleased to see Nick again as he makes a cameo to dish
out entomological details in his usual dry, humorous fashion. But Plague Maker
is bigger and better than either of the Bugman novels. Downs has
mastered the art of including enough details to teach without bogging
down the story, and he hasn’t neglected his trademark wit, either. And
unlike the Bugman novels, Plague Maker’s spiritual message is clear, though definitely not overdone.
Devoid of many thriller nuances like cardboard personalities and limited characterization, Plague Maker is a novel that can proudly be shelved beside any Crichton or Clancy–and hold it’s own.
To read C.J. Darlington's bio, visit our About page.
Copyright C.J. Darlington. All rights reserved.
