DEAD AIM by Iris Johansen
Each of Iris Johansen's latest novels seems to be linked by a character that has appeared in a previous story. It may have been a lead character or it may have been a supporting one, but the connection is there. In her new novel DEAD AIM the link is Judd Morgan, a fairly minor character in a previous book.
Judd and Alex Graham head up this story of death, destruction and intrigue. It starts out with Alex arriving in Arapahoe Junction, Colorado where a dam has broken and destroyed a town. People are trapped beneath the dirt and debris and Graham, a photojournalist is there to record the rescue efforts.
The tragedy is so intense that Alex forgets about the pictures and jumps in to help find the people. She works primarily with Sarah Logan and her search dog Monty in trying to find some of the missing people before it is too late. They make a good team and the effort only seals Sarah and Alex's friendship.
Before they leave the area Alex decides to take some pictures of the disaster area. While doing this she stumbles on some information which might indicate the "disaster" was not an act of God or an accident. There is an indication it was thew work of terrorists. This knowledge puts Alex and Sarah in jeopardy and causes John Logan, Sarah's husband to hire Judd to protect Alex.
Judd and Alex go into hiding so they can safely work on figuring out who the people were behind the incident at Arapahoe Junction. What they learn is earth shattering and promises more "incidents" of this type. It becomes a race against time for Alex and Judd to ferret out the "bad guys" and save the lives of many, many potential victims.
Johansen keeps the heat turned up on her plot and brings it to a boil as all of the elements converge in a final showdown against evil. Along the way she also manages to throw in a dash of romance, a smidgen of comedy, and a whole lot of suspense.
Iris Johansen is an easy writer to read. Her plots are straightforward and easy to understand. Her characters are clearly defined and easy to like. The good guys are good guys and the bad are bad. It couldn't be clearer if they were wearing black and white hats.
Iris Johansen has another winner in DEAD AIM. It is a wonderful read for her devoted fans and a good introductory book for those who are not yet under her spell. The storyline of good versus evil continues in this book and will go on and on for many more it is hoped.
DEAD AIM is published by Bantam Books. It contains 342 pages and sells for $24.95.