Bart and Allison Allen have been married for a year and still haven’t had time for a proper honeymoon. Every time they try, they get interrupted by a case to solve through Anastasia, the anti-terrorist division of Interpol run by Allison’s parents. But this time, Allison’s got her plans worked out. She and Bart are vacationing in New Orleans, staying in a nice hotel in the French Quarter. She has a special evening all mapped out – dinner at a lovely restaurant, a romantic stroll – just perfect. Until the phone rings.
It’s Jack, Allison’s father and the brains behind Anastasia. He needs Bart and Allison, and he needs them now. Sure, he apologizes for ruining their vacation, but that doesn’t take out the sting when he tells them that he needs them in the private Lear jet within hours. It has been discovered that terrorists have infiltrated the country and left wedges of a puzzle with different key persons, and Bart and Allison must find all the wedges to help stave off a disaster that would affect the entire nation, as several Air Force bases are being targeted for bombing. Behind it all is Osama bin Laden, and it’s rumored he has come to the country himself.
To top it off, Allison is still having nightmares about her experience being stalked by Raven, the ruthless assassin who chased her all over the country. All she wants is a chance to feel safe, but now the danger is greater than ever before, not only for herself, but for all the inhabitants of a continent.
The amazing thing to me about this book is that it was published shortly before the bombing of the World Trade Center, and yet Lynn Gardner places Osama bin Laden as the mastermind and illustrates his ruthlessness. While she didn’t guess exactly what he’d do, she did conjecture his power and ability to strike the nation, as well as his desire to do so.
(This book was published by Covenant in 2001.)
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