Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: The impression from the description on the back of the book is of a fast paced search for answers; bomber threatening to strike again in ten days, obsessive search for clues. This book had none of that.My biggest problem with the book was the complete lack of a sense of time. They have ten days to figure out who the bomber is yet events that take place in the book are frequently those which would take much longer (ie: the owner of the airline selling his house to make payroll? in less than a week? and his having to move out immediately?). In fact, I thought that whole plot point was forgotten about until late in the book when it's noted the deadline was the next day....
Rating: 
Summary: A fine balance between character and technical detail
Review: There are some books --The Name of the Rose comes to mind-- which absolutely drench you in arcane detail. A page is fascinating. A chapter is interesting. An entire book leaves you comatose. Other books --pick almost any one of today's "adventure writers"-- are full of action but feature characters who seemingly are taken off a shelf somewhere, like Campbell's Soup. And then there are the books full of character... well, you presume they are, but since nothing ever happens you can't be sure. Thayer's "Terminal Event" finds a wonderful balance among those three elements. The action is compelling, the technicalities interesting and germane, and his characters are appealing and real. Joe Durant, his daughter, Wayne Ray, the FBI agents --they are all well-drawn and each advances the story line. Linda Dillon, arguably the central character, even if the book is told from Durant's point of view, is fascinating but, frankly, is a bit much. The only reason I didn't rate this book 5 stars was her over-the-top assaults on credibility (to say nothing of civil rights) while arresting Fahey and Dietz or disrupting the shipping carrier's offices. Still, even Linda Dillon is a refreshing change, for all her ramboism: here is someone in a story who actually has morals, beliefs and prejuidices, and acts on them... we could watch one million Hollywood movies and never see anything like it. There are a couple of irritating editorial lapses --for example, when Joe Durant interviews the "Lady in the Hat" in her limousine, she's described as wearing a pants suit, but in the next paragraph she's adjusting her hemline-- but those are minor. The relationship between Durant and Linda Dillon is particularly well handled --a growing, believable intimacy, but with the clear understanding that there's a line which can't be crossed, not because the author chooses not to but because the character won't allow it. This book made me want to read more of Thayer --a rarity these days, believe me-- and I recommend it to all of you. I'd be interested in hearing from others who've read it. FJB
Rating:
Summary: A fine balance between character and technical detail
Review: There are some books --The Name of the Rose comes to mind-- which absolutely drench you in arcane detail. A page is fascinating. A chapter is interesting. An entire book leaves you comatose. Other books --pick almost any one of today's "adventure writers"-- are full of action but feature characters who seemingly are taken off a shelf somewhere, like Campbell's Soup. And then there are the books full of character... well, you presume they are, but since nothing ever happens you can't be sure. Thayer's "Terminal Event" finds a wonderful balance among those three elements. The action is compelling, the technicalities interesting and germane, and his characters are appealing and real. Joe Durant, his daughter, Wayne Ray, the FBI agents --they are all well-drawn and each advances the story line. Linda Dillon, arguably the central character, even if the book is told from Durant's point of view, is fascinating but, frankly, is a bit much. The only reason I didn't rate this book 5 stars was her over-the-top assaults on credibility (to say nothing of civil rights) while arresting Fahey and Dietz or disrupting the shipping carrier's offices. Still, even Linda Dillon is a refreshing change, for all her ramboism: here is someone in a story who actually has morals, beliefs and prejuidices, and acts on them... we could watch one million Hollywood movies and never see anything like it. There are a couple of irritating editorial lapses --for example, when Joe Durant interviews the "Lady in the Hat" in her limousine, she's described as wearing a pants suit, but in the next paragraph she's adjusting her hemline-- but those are minor. The relationship between Durant and Linda Dillon is particularly well handled --a growing, believable intimacy, but with the clear understanding that there's a line which can't be crossed, not because the author chooses not to but because the character won't allow it. This book made me want to read more of Thayer --a rarity these days, believe me-- and I recommend it to all of you. I'd be interested in hearing from others who've read it. FJB
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous page turner!
Review: This book was gripping from the start. Thayer does a great job at detailing crash sites and the remarkable actions of the NTSB. The relationship with the female FBI agent adds an interesting dimension, without the typical tacked on love story feel, and certainly without the expected happy ending. It is an easy read, and I was also baffled by the nearly complete inaccuracy of the description on the back cover (there is never any suggestion of pilot error). However, if you can put aside the expectations of the story his publisher is advertising, this really is a great story.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous page turner!
Review: This book was gripping from the start. Thayer does a great job at detailing crash sites and the remarkable actions of the NTSB. The relationship with the female FBI agent adds an interesting dimension, without the typical tacked on love story feel, and certainly without the expected happy ending. It is an easy read, and I was also baffled by the nearly complete inaccuracy of the description on the back cover (there is never any suggestion of pilot error). However, if you can put aside the expectations of the story his publisher is advertising, this really is a great story.
Rating:
Summary: great idea fall short of exciting
Review: This could have been a good book, in fact, instead of reading this one, pick up Michael Crichton's Airframe. The problem is in the pacing, the dialouge and in whoever proofread this book. I only read to page 116 before I thought I would dry heave, and I had discovered four typos. Shame, shame, whoever you are. Regardless, the dialouge is incredibly fake and boring. When I put the book down I had no clue who Joe Durrant was, and the feamale FBI agent was so one dimensional it made me cry. The final straw for me was a scene that took place in a Sun Valley ski lodge, with Durrant and the FBI woman having a discussion about Joe's daughter and deceased wife. Thayer almost abusively tangos you into the next predictable event. Joe says he's going home to his daughter, and Linda says, you won't have to, she's right behind you. Oh, please. I take great pride in never putting a book down and enduring to the end, but it would have taken an act of God to keep me turing the pages of this flawed dud.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Why did I read this book? I have at least a dozen waiting to be read on my bookshelf that have got to be better written and more interesting. As I reached the last 15 pages, where the mystery was to be revealed, I realized that the explanation was as likely to be as uninteresting as the many false leads that lead up to it were. I skimmed through the last few pages to make sure I was right. I was. I thought that the book would be interesting, as it deals with an NTSB investigator, the folks that investigate plane crashes. The details about how they work were interesting, but I am not sure how accurate they are. At the beginning of the book, where a little bit about air traffic control is mentioned, the general picture is right, but details are wrong and terminology is used incorrectly. I am left wondering if the information about the NTSB is similarly sloppy. The other reasons to read a detective story, engaging plot and interesting characters are entirely absent. The plot involves a sequence of stereotypical "bad guys" that come under scrutiny by the FBI. The characters, including the main character, are similarly flat and simple. Although the NTSB hero has lost his wife in the crash, and at moments maudlin sentiments are trotted out, for most of the book he is a guy thoughroughly enjoying his job and tagging along after the FBI as they engage in Friday night TV type escapades. If you want good reading, look elsewhere. If you want to learn about the NTSB, look elsewhere. I can't think of a reason to recommend this book.
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