Jodie Larsen, author of "Deadly Company," "Deadly Silence," and coauthor of "Sisters & Secrets," scaled the corporate ladder as a CPA before making the leap to writing suspense. "Deadly Rescue," Larsen's third solo novel, proves that my comment in a review of her previous work is true "No holds-barred suspense . . . Larsen can hold her own with the likes of Michael Crichton and Patricia Cornwell."
Just as she's done with her previous works, Larsen extensively researched the technology for "Deadly Rescue." Readers will appreciate this as they get deep into the novel.
"From the corner of his eye the killer glanced at the specially modified briefcase, confident his unique weapon was secure. Lightning bolts, he thought. Silent, powerful, and visible only for a few deadly seconds. If they worked half as well on human flesh as he expected, the painstakingly carved molds would almost certainly be used again."
The weapon worked as well as "the killer" expected. Two United States Senators might have testified to this except that would be impossible considering the men's jugulars and windpipes were pierced as each icy bolt found its target.
Larsen leaves the so far unnamed killer to introduce readers to Rae Majors, the protagonist of a story designed to shock all Americans. This story of corporate lies, fatal greed, and one woman caught in the ultimate trap, does indeed shock the senses and causes one to consider what goes on behind the closed doors of Corporate America.
Rae Majors lost her husband in the Oklahoma City bombing and spent four years rebuilding her life. She completes her education and receives her degree in Geology, and now she's landed the perfect job with RESCUE. RESCUE is a large environmental corporation committed to saving the earth's resources.
What she does not know is that she has stepped into a nightmare world of corporate intrigue. Rae with all her bright hopes, shares her ideas for HDR technology, an ecologically friendly source of energy. The proverbial fly in the ointment is PetroCo, a giant oil company who wants desperately to keep this alternative fuel from the public. In truth, PetroCo and its president Chuck Kelmar, will go to any lengths to see that this technology never reaches consumers.
Kelmar has set a plan in motion with the help of an insider at RESCUE to sabotage any new alternative fuels or other technology that might endanger PetroCo's bottom line.
Readers meet the staff of RESCUE, Inc. Ashe Freeman, head of RESCUE's Geothermal Exploration Department, befriends Rae and works with her at a well site in the Anadarko Basin. These two become more than friends, but their relationship is an added attraction, not the main thrust of the plot. Nathan Greenwall, head of RESCUE is an idealist who believes he can make a
difference as he strives to save America's environment. Brada Stevens, head of RESCUE's Research and Development Department, grew up with Nathan. She is brilliant, brutal, and fanatically zealous. Nathan's secretary, Dinell Blanchard, is pretty, 50, and a bit too curious for her own good.
The other main player is the mysterious killer, Harvey Walters. Here is an antagonist who presents quite a paradox. His motivations surprised me, but were totally credible.
Larsen's forte is the plot. She creates a sizzling plot that reads like this morning's news. No need to suspend disbelief, because you recognize truth when you read it. The subplots are well drawn and each one enhances the main plot. I saw no weak characters: Larsen knows how to take you inside each of them so you feel comfortable in their skin. Well, maybe not Walter's skin . . .
Dean Koontz might love to claim this fellow as one of his own eerie characters.
In the past eight years as a book critic and reviewer, I've found only two new novelists who can keep me turning the pages and who entertain and inform me, Larsen is one of the two. I recommend "Deadly Rescue" as a suspense thriller sure to escalate Americans' awareness of the dangers to our environment.
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(Jones is a published writer & literary critic)
