Community Reviews
Ok, full disclosure here! One of the reasons I requested this book was because of the series name. I know, so stupid, but I love national and state parks and a terrorist group running around blowing up statues and icons at national parks? I just knew it was going to be a good read. I was right!!!
The book summary lays out the premise for the primary storyline of the bombing of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty that results in the statue falling down. While Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Parks Service was initially in charge of the site, he loses it pretty quickly (less than an hour) to FBI Agent Gina Delgado. However, while Gina is busy with setting up a tactical command center, Michael meets a kid, Danny, who is looking for his parents. Michael soon discovers that Danny can identify the bombers. Michael takes responsibility for Danny and doesn’t immediately turn him over to Gina, because Michael suspects that that the bombing was probably an inside job, a suspicion that Gina also holds. None of this is a spoiler since it’s revealed really early in the story.
There are also secondary storylines with one being that Ethan Turlidge, the Secretary of Interior, hates Michael’s gut and does whatever he can to make life miserable for Michael. Turlidge is still angry that Michael married his daughter, Allie, who was a park ranger when Michael met and married her; Allie was later killed while trying to apprehend a poacher. There is another one where an environmental activist, Lantry, a member of the Lakota Sioux nation, is tracking a shipment of chemicals that are known to be used to destroy their lands and the environment.
Most of the story revolves around investigating the leads that Danny’s video provides. There are more bombings, at various other national parks and historical sites, as well as an attempted bombing that Gina and Michael foil by locating the bomb before it goes off and having it defused, which pisses the bombers off. It’s well into the second half that storylines all merge and Gina finally realizes who the bombers are and what their motivations are and what their endgame is going to be resulting in an explosive ending of military proportions.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed read with intense, Kindle gripping scenes that kept me reading last night well passed my bedtime on a work night because I simply could not go to sleep until I knew how it ended. I also really liked how each chapter started with some history and trivia on all the various national parks, locations, and historical statutes/icons. I love learning stuff like that. This was an amazing start to a new series and Landau definitely has a new fan. I look forward to the next installment.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #LeaveNoTrace
The book summary lays out the premise for the primary storyline of the bombing of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty that results in the statue falling down. While Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Parks Service was initially in charge of the site, he loses it pretty quickly (less than an hour) to FBI Agent Gina Delgado. However, while Gina is busy with setting up a tactical command center, Michael meets a kid, Danny, who is looking for his parents. Michael soon discovers that Danny can identify the bombers. Michael takes responsibility for Danny and doesn’t immediately turn him over to Gina, because Michael suspects that that the bombing was probably an inside job, a suspicion that Gina also holds. None of this is a spoiler since it’s revealed really early in the story.
There are also secondary storylines with one being that Ethan Turlidge, the Secretary of Interior, hates Michael’s gut and does whatever he can to make life miserable for Michael. Turlidge is still angry that Michael married his daughter, Allie, who was a park ranger when Michael met and married her; Allie was later killed while trying to apprehend a poacher. There is another one where an environmental activist, Lantry, a member of the Lakota Sioux nation, is tracking a shipment of chemicals that are known to be used to destroy their lands and the environment.
Most of the story revolves around investigating the leads that Danny’s video provides. There are more bombings, at various other national parks and historical sites, as well as an attempted bombing that Gina and Michael foil by locating the bomb before it goes off and having it defused, which pisses the bombers off. It’s well into the second half that storylines all merge and Gina finally realizes who the bombers are and what their motivations are and what their endgame is going to be resulting in an explosive ending of military proportions.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed read with intense, Kindle gripping scenes that kept me reading last night well passed my bedtime on a work night because I simply could not go to sleep until I knew how it ended. I also really liked how each chapter started with some history and trivia on all the various national parks, locations, and historical statutes/icons. I love learning stuff like that. This was an amazing start to a new series and Landau definitely has a new fan. I look forward to the next installment.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #LeaveNoTrace
