Potomac Fever : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A SHOCKING YET COMPELLING READ
Review: As up to the minute as the latest CNN news report and as chilling as reading your own obit, Potomac Fever by the pseudonymous husband/wife team of Diane Henry and Nicholas Horrock (Blood Red, Snow White, 1992) is part psychological thriller, part savvy political commentary, and all can't-put-down, spine-tingling drama.

This Washington based, suspense driven tale has everything - a compelling opening, an unexpected finish and in between violence, sex, race, betrayal, conspiracy - all held together by crackling dialogue and authentically drawn characters.

For starters, we witness the sadistic beating of homicide detective Cal Terrell, an honest experienced cop with a love of horses and the Chesapeake. Cal has been ambushed by masked thugs at his stable/home. Years on the Washington scene have taught him what he didn't want to know: evil does exist.

As Cal lies in a hospital's intensive care unit he mentally replays his investigation of the murder of nubile Mary Jeanne Turner, a 19-year-old dining room hostess in a posh club. Her cocaine stoked body, distinguished by a "B" branded on her posterior, had been retrieved from Chesapeake Bay.

Cal and his partner, feisty, gorgeous, tough Bobbie Short, misnamed because she's about 6'1" in heels, were also ordered to investigate shootings outside the youth oriented Reggae Club. What on the surface had appeared to be random acts of violence, perhaps gang related, turned out to be a heinous plot designed to force residents to sell their property to Virgil James, a wealthy black realtor and compatriot of Washington's black Mayor, Martin Cameron.

James, it seems, has been dating Mary Jeanne who has a penchant for interracial relationships and, as we later learn, has also become the Mayor's main squeeze. We suspect that perhaps James is providing cover for the married Mayor's liaisons, and we learn that James is trying to accrue property for rich and questionable Harry Moray, who wants to transform downscale D.C. areas into profitable luxury condos.

Moray is a lobbyist, a power broker with easy access to the President. A former senator, he "saw that the opportunities in Washington were in a different direction, that the rewards of government were not in governing."

Add to this mix of nefarious no-gooders Vivian, Cal's ex-wife, a glamorous TV journalist now married to Edward St. Denis, the President's counsel. She tries to rekindle any old sparks lying dormant in Cal's heart and loins. Why?

Blend in Nathaniel Bench, Cal's former partner and now proud to be Washington's black police chief - somewhere along the line he lost his spine and mastered double speak. He's busy throwing roadblocks up in Cal and Bobbie's investigations.

The possibility and plausibility of the authors' inventive story line make this tale more chilling than a sci-fi epic. Combine that with non-stop action ignited by an insider's edgy narrative and you have Potomac Fever - a shocking yet compelling read.

Rating:
Summary: A great suspenseful story
Review: For a book that I happened to see sitting on a shelf in a bookstore, and never heard of the author (or, in this case, authors), this book exceeded my expectations. I found the story line compelling, keeping me guessing on what the next twist was going to be... or was there going to be anther twist???

Up until the time the story unwound, it still kept you guessing what was coming next, for the unexpected but really shouldn't have been too surprising finish.

Definitely a good read if you like suspense novels.

Rating:
Summary: Readable nonsense
Review: I bought this book after reading rave reviews in the dailies... after I finished I thought... say what? This book starts great, seems to finish in the middle, then launches into a vast conspiriacy centering around wicked republicans taking money from south american drug lords. Uh huh.

I then read the jacket... the authors are reporters and obviously called in some chits for positive reviews.

So, read it in the same spirit we read many thrillers -- enjoy the fast, spare pace, but suspend disbelief if you want to finish it.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I'm not sure how I ended up with the paperback version of this book. It was probably in a group of books packaged together that I bought in a discount store. And it's probably been sitting around the house for a year or more, and I just read it last week.

I thought it was EXCELLENT. I couldn't put it down, and now I'm loaning it to friends at work who also read a lot.

I'm the type of person who just plain loves to read & I came to amazon.com looking for more titles by this author. This book hooked me from the start, and I must admit that I skipped some of my housework to KEEP READING.

THANK YOU to the authors, and keep writing! because I'll be looking for more!


Rating:
Summary: This "Thriller" is Tired...
Review: Those who can't get enough of the "conspiracy at the highest level" genre of thrillers will want to add this to their reading lists, but the average reader is likely to grow exasperated with this overblown mess, which is stuffed with every push-button issue under the sun. Sex, race, class, drugs, corruption, homosexuality, shadowy operatives, high-power lobbyists, shady real-estate deals, professional athletes, hit teams, public relations, the White House, it's all been crammed into the plot. At a certain level one has to admire the husband-wife authorial team for managing to leave no stone unturned in their attempt to craft a gripping tale. However, all the "ripped from the headlines" plotlines won't help if the story is told in awkward prose with cheezy dialogue by cardboard characters in a confusing mix of flashback, flashforward, and present tense narration. The plot is too convoluted to recap here, but basically everything is driven by one homicide detective with a dogged determination to pursue justice in the face of high-level opposition. It's a tired character type, and there's certainly no new twists to it here. Indeed, there's no a single character that brings anything fresh or new to the mix, you've seen 'em all before, and here they are again, running through the paces. If you want to read crime stories set in the real D.C.-not the imaginary world of movers and shakers-check out any of George Pelecanos's books, like Right As Rain. They'll show you the real city, whose crimes are much more banal, and much more tragic than the foolishness in this tired "thriller".