Goodreads Summary:
Dick Wolf makes his literary debut with this tense, driving thriller reminiscent of the classic The Day of the Jackal, an extraordinary tale filled with the ingenious twists and high-wire suspense we have come to expect from this master storyteller.
Days before the July Fourth holiday and the dedication of One World Trade Center at Ground Zero, an incident aboard a commercial jet over the Atlantic Ocean reminds everyone that vigilance is not a task to be taken lightly. But for iconoclastic New York Police detective Jeremy Fisk, it may also be a signal that there is much more to this case than the easy answer: that this is just the work of another lone terrorist.
Fisk—from the department’s Intelligence Division, a well-funded anti-terror unit modeled upon the CIA—suspects that the event might also be a warning sign that another, potentially more extraordinary scheme has been set in motion. Fluent in Arabic and the ways of his opponents, Fisk is a rule breaker who follows his gut—even if it means defying those above him in the department’s food chain. So when a passenger from the same plane, a Saudi Arabian national, disappears into the crowds of Manhattan, it’s up to Fisk and his partner Krina Gersten to find him before the celebrations begin.
Watching each new lead fizzle, chasing shadows to dead ends, Fisk and Gersten quickly realize that their opponents are smarter and more agile than any they have ever faced. Extremely clever and seemingly invisible, they are able to exploit any security weakness and anticipate Fisk’s every move. And time is running out.
My thoughts:
I know Dick Wolf from the credits of Law and Order. This is his first novel that I am aware of and it is actually pretty good. I am definitely not the demographic this book is aimed toward, but I won't hold that against the book. I think my Dad is likely who they want to pick this book up.
Dick Wolf's character development is pretty great, but that isn't shocking when you look at what he is famous for. I would say I was drawn into this story pretty quickly and really wanted to know what would happen next. I liked that each character had a distinct voice and they never got confusing. Even later in the book when someone new was introduced everything flowed really well. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, so it becomes really hard to put down in the middle of a chapter or section. I stayed up late a couple times trying to get to a good stopping point.
**SPOILER ALERT**
I was disappointed that Fisk's love interest was killed by the final terrorist. I think she played off of Fisk rather well and I liked the balance that was there with her. I hope in the next books there are characters that balance out Fisk's very heterosexual male stereotype. That is actually the only complaint that I have about the character Jeremy Fisk, he is a little too much what you expect an Intel officer from NYC to be, there were not any surprises to his character. I like a little quirkiness or oddball behavior from someone so stereotypical, to mix things up a little bit. Perhaps that is my lack of love for the genre coming out a little bit.
I would recommend this book to Older Dudes and Younger Dudes who like Grisham or Clancy. I would say this is a good read for women as well, just be aware it wasn't really written with anyone other than Straight White Men in mind.
While writing this review I was listening to Madonna.
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