Pilots Die Faster

Rating:
Summary: Realistic portrayal of Carrier Life apres Tailhook!
Review: C.W. Morton presents a startling, explicit, and at times grisly view of Navy life aboard a modern day aircraft carrier. Her novel lacks nothing in realistic descriptions; equal to Tom Clancy in her grasp of nuance and detail. Protagonist NCIS agent Bud Wilson deals with very real but unexpected aspects of criminal investigation detail on a day by day basis as he carries on a homicide inquiry on slain pilot Gina Worthington. While tracking down skinhead saboteurs intent on mayhem, investigating suspicions of espionage abord the carrier, Bud becomes a character who's life becomes our own through each page turn - reliving the rush of attack jet flight, life in the Hanoi Hilton, right to the startling conclusion. A good read, an engrossing page turner, and a super beginning to a Bud Wilson series!

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a top mystery by a fascinating new author.
Review: Fast paced and fascinating, this book is definitely at the top of the list for both mystery and military fans. The author weaves a complex tale, full of well-rounded, believable charcters. What makes it unique is that it takes place on a nuclear carrier. The details of life on board, both the good and bad, are obviously based on extensive personal experience. Not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a top mystery by a fascinating new author.
Review: One of the most realistic and gripping military fiction novels I have ever read. Commander Morton is to be compared to Tom Clancy in the way she brings the reader into the heart and soul of a military environment, although I believe that she is better at it. This is a book that should be a must-read for any one who enjoys a good mystery as well as a superb military fiction novel. I for one am looking forward eagerly to her next novel.

Rating:
Summary: A good read from a good author
Review: Pilots Die Faster is your basic detective who dun it set aboard a navy aircraft carrier. The protagonist is Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Special Agent Bud Wilson; a former A-4 pilot that still has never forgot his flying days, nor the two years that he spent in the Hanoi Hilton.

The biggest item on Special Agent Wilson's to-do list is to solve the murder of a female F-14 pilot named Gina Wilson who is found floating down in the bowels of the aircraft carrier. As with nothing in life, it is not easy, the squadron has closed ranks to all outsiders and the list of suspects starts at about five thousand sailors and Marines and about two hundred civilian contractors.

A Flight Surgeon, Dr. Carol Benning and an Airman Fernandez a gang kid from the barrio begin helping Bud Wilson in his pursuit for the real killer and the list of suspects begins to narrow and before long, Wilson is engaged in a deadly cat and mouse game the forces the killers hand.

As this book was being published, I had the opportunity to meet Cynthia Ann Mobley AKA C.W. Morton on the old Prodigy Classic Books & Writing Bulletin Board. I am so grateful for that chance internet encounter because otherwise I would have missed this book.

It is a fast-paced read and gives the reader an excellent view into today's modern aircraft carrier. I found myself constantly guessing wrong as to the killer's identity and was satisfied with the way the events unfolded and the ending.

The book is an excellent read for those who like who-dun-its and for the military techno crowd. The book did not receive a large circulation, however that does not diminish it's standing as a good read.

Rating:
Summary: No pilot can fly through a murky soup like this
Review: Special agent bud wilson investigates crimes onboard an american nuclear aircraft carrier, the site of many a patriotic movie or Discovery Channel documentary, and an unlikely scene for a murder. Wilson is a bit of a corpse himself, a one time driver of attack jets until an unlucky mission over Vietnam led to a stint as a POW. Suffice it to say that Wilson is now a spectator to other Top Guns. When one of these top guns, a female F-14 pilot, is found dead in the bowels of the mighty carrier, Wilson springs to action - but remains a corpse. Wilson's job is complicated by the fact that an aircraft carrier is is less a ship than a floating city, with a milliuon places to hide and small illegal communities that breed or mask sinister agendas.

It's an awesome premise for a book, but it doesn't quite work because author Morton never solves the mystery - only reshapes it like a lump of clay that never had a form of its own to lose. Charachters never reveal their secrets, they emote feelings which is supposed to stand in for dialog - but doesn't. That actually works for some charachters who have a lot to feel angry about - like sailors who take the dirty jobs that keep the carrier steaming or surface officers who were failed aviators never freed from their dreams of mach two glory. But other charachter seem unlikley reservoirs of resentment, like the victims' squadronmates - the fighter drivers who should be on top of the world - are the ones who should be attracting the most suspicion, if only because of their proximity to the dead flier. Morton keeps things opaque, drowning the mystery in darkness. I gave up trying to care who the murderer was - dark souls in a dark world are no great discovery.

Rating:
Summary: No pilot can fly through a murky soup like this
Review: Special agent bud wilson investigates crimes onboard an american nuclear aircraft carrier, the site of many a patriotic movie or Discovery Channel documentary, and an unlikely scene for a murder. Wilson is a bit of a corpse himself, a one time driver of attack jets until an unlucky mission over Vietnam led to a stint as a POW. Suffice it to say that Wilson is now a spectator to other Top Guns. When one of these top guns, a female F-14 pilot, is found dead in the bowels of the mighty carrier, Wilson springs to action - but remains a corpse. Wilson's job is complicated by the fact that an aircraft carrier is is less a ship than a floating city, with a milliuon places to hide and small illegal communities that breed or mask sinister agendas.

It's an awesome premise for a book, but it doesn't quite work because author Morton never solves the mystery - only reshapes it like a lump of clay that never had a form of its own to lose. Charachters never reveal their secrets, they emote feelings which is supposed to stand in for dialog - but doesn't. That actually works for some charachters who have a lot to feel angry about - like sailors who take the dirty jobs that keep the carrier steaming or surface officers who were failed aviators never freed from their dreams of mach two glory. But other charachter seem unlikley reservoirs of resentment, like the victims' squadronmates - the fighter drivers who should be on top of the world - are the ones who should be attracting the most suspicion, if only because of their proximity to the dead flier. Morton keeps things opaque, drowning the mystery in darkness. I gave up trying to care who the murderer was - dark souls in a dark world are no great discovery.