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FLY BY NIGHT
by Ward Larsen
Oceanview, November 2011
312 pages
$25.95
ISBN: 1608090299


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

This action-packed thriller will grab readers from the beginning and keep them engaged in the story until the end. Author Ward Larsen has created a likable lead protagonist in his latest book, FLY BY NIGHT, part of a Jammer Davis series. Davis is a former US Air Force pilot turned National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigator. In this novel, ostensibly he is sent to investigate a crash by a Sudanese cargo company (FBN Aviation, whose employees have nicknamed it "Fly by Night").

In fact, Davis's real task is one assigned by the CIA: to determine whether a missing drone that has crash-landed in the Horn of Africa is being held there. Reports have suggested that the drone may be in the hangar of FBN Aviation. Once Davis has arrived in the Sudan (and is nearly immediately assaulted by a rogue cab driver and his gang), he soon finds that the story of the crash and that of the missing drone are connected.

There are plenty of hostile forces trying to stop Jammer Davis from doing his job, from a fellow Air Force pilot (now chief pilot and scheduler at FBN) to the owner (an imam with untoward political designs) to local army forces who skim international aid project shipments coming into FBN for their own benefit.

Author Ward Larsen has not only created a great lead character in Jammer Davis, he takes readers into the heart of a pilot's life, particularly those fly-for-hire independents who work at places like FBN Aviation. For those who love flying, there is much to enjoy about this thriller, but even with little or no background on the subject, this is a heart-racing ride that will entertain most readers.

Some background is given to Davis, and he does develop a relationship with an Italian doctor working for the United Nations at a minimalist local hospital near the cargo company. Unlike many other books of its genre, however, Larsen makes this relationship work for his plot, and does not overload the story with extraneous (or distracting) romantic details.

From the setting in the Sudan to his character development, Larsen offers just the right touch to make the thriller work. Although the ending is overly dramatic, the last scene takes it all down a peg with a good YouTube reference by Jammer's daughter. All in all, this is a very engaging novel, with everything working to aid the storytelling. For most new readers, FLY BY NIGHT send them scurrying to find more work by Ward Larsen.

§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, October 2011

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