THE MOONPOOL by P T Deutermann
P T Deutermann’s novels are unique. They are thrillers that touch on major issues but manage to stay personal to the people involved. Take THE MOONPOOL, his latest story. The plot involves a possible security breach at a nuclear power facility. There is the chilling possibility of radiation leakage. That kind of scenario strikes fear in the hearts of us all. In this book however Deutermann takes it to a personal level regarding his main character Cam Richter who faces one perilous happening after another.
Cam Richter, who has been the focal point of other Deutermann stories, is an ex-cop who runs a private investigative office. At the start of THE MOONPOOL one of his employees has been killed. She died of radiation poisoning. Cam goes to Wilmington, North Carolina to try to find out what happened to her and why. There is a nuclear power plant in Wilmington and it is thought that the radiated liquid which she inadvertently drank might have come from the “moonpool” located at the plant.
Richter is a smart, physically adept individual. However he gets into one jam after another. He is always being surprised by the bad guys he is chasing. This failure to be perfect endears him to the readers and makes the story more believable.
The cast of supporting players in this novel are also fun to read about and fun to follow. Each character seems to have a distinct personality and adds just one more layer to the story. Even the villain when he/she is revealed is multi-faceted.
Deutermann has picked a scenario that scares us to death. Saying there is a possibility of a radiation spill being caused by terrorists or other means, is enough to send us running for the hills. But he balances this information with a description of all the safeguards in play at one of these facilities and that alleviates the fear.
In giving a lot of technical information about one of these plants, Deutermann runs the chance of boring his readers; but he assimilates it into his story in such a way that the reader learns without being aware of the teaching impact. That is a difficult balance but one that Deutermnann is able to pull off.
THE MOONPOOL is one of Deutermann’s most intriguing and exciting novels yet. He grabs you with a murder in the first few pages and then spends the rest of the story solving the crime. In between there is a lot of action, a lot of information, and a lot of reading suspense.
Pick up THE MOONPOOL and spend a few hours with Cam Richter as he tries to solve a crime while staying safe from people who are on a crazed mission of destruction.
THE MOONPOOL is published by St Martin’s Press. It contains 292 pages and sells for $24.95.