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Mark Terry's latest thriller in the Derek Stillwater series finds Stillwater challenged both by being part of a working group, the Special Terrorism Activity Response Team (START), and by al-Qaeda, which is targeting major US cities prior to election day. Word of the attacks on US soil stems from a botched raid in Pakistan. One of the laptops found in Pakistan provides clues to the al-Qaeda plans. However, once on the scene, things don't go as expected. Mayhem ensues across the country as bombs start exploding. The START groups work to beat the clock and hunt down the next bomb (at least one of which is assumed to be nuclear). While the counter-terrorism teams are spread across the US in major cities like Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC, the two major candidates are crisscrossing the country campaigning. Everyone is on edge as the bombs start going off earlier than expected based on the gathered intelligence. All this leads Stillwater to conclude that something else entirely is going on, but what? In addition, Stillwater is a rogue operator, not a team player. With the clock ticking and so many unknowns, he comes to experience just as much angst from working with federal and local law enforcement as he does his underground sources of information, who are constantly placing him in danger. It all makes for a very exciting thriller, with unexpected plot turns, constant action, and a very big personality in Stillwater, who comes with his own baggage. There's bombing, blackmail, CIA connections, Pakistani politics, and much more to drive the story forward. There's plenty of pause for thought, too, as readers come to understand just how vulnerable our open society can be. Author Mark Terry makes good use of the Los Angeles area to play out the drama, and he creates credible characters, particularly the family drawn into the mastermind's central plot. What Terry does so well is create realistic scenarios. Despite planning, the unexpected happens, both on the part of the terrorists and those fighting to prevent the attacks. Missed opportunities lead to death and destruction, instead of finding everything neatly wrapped up as in lesser writers' hands. Even the character of Stillwater himself is not always omniscient or likeable, but readers believe in him and want him to succeed. In THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS, Terry has given readers just want they crave in a thriller: good plotting, realistic circumstances, and engaging characters. § Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, May 2011
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