Marine One

Starred review from March 9, 2009
Bestseller Huston (Secret Justice
) grabs the reader by the lapels with the opening sentence of the first chapter of this outstanding thriller: “If my radio alarm had gone off, I would have known the president was dead.” During a violent thunderstorm, President James Adams takes off in Marine One from the White House for a supersecret meeting at Camp David. A few miles out, the helicopter begins to disintegrate and plunges to the ground, killing everyone aboard. The helicopter's French company, WorldCopter, hires Annapolis attorney Mike Nolan to defend it against charges of criminal responsibility. Mike soon finds there are a number of possible culprits to pin the crash on, including the rabidly conservative Marine Corps pilot and the mysterious men who were awaiting the president at Camp David. Mike powers the case forward, even though the government warns him away and assassins attempt to kill him. This is nonstop legal suspense at its best.

April 15, 2009
When the President is killed in the crash of the Marine One helicopter, while en route to a mysterious meeting at Camp David, the world wants to know why. Mike Nolan, former marine helicopter pilot and lawyer, is tapped by the chopper's French manufacturer to protect them from claims of liability as initial suspicion points at them. But the more Nolan digs, the more he finds. Was it sabotage or mechanical defect? The pilot hated the President; so was it an assassination? Why was the President so desperate to get to Camp David in the first place that he would go during a terrible storm? Why are State Department goons threatening anybody who tries to find out about the secret meeting? And why are people close to Nolan winding up as dog food? Literally. Equal parts thriller, mystery, and legal procedural, Huston's sixth novel is a gripping and fast-paced read. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 1/09.]Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2009
Adult/High School-What was President James Adams thinking when he insisted that Marine One, the presidential helicopter, fly him from the White House to Camp David in a torrential thunderstorm? Who was he meeting? Was the fatal crash an accident or sabotage? Was the president's wife having an affair with Marine One's pilot, who was quite vocal in his dislike of Adams? As Mike Nolan, trial attorney and Marine Corps Reserve helicopter pilot, explores the crash site, more questions come to light, and this fast-paced story doesn't slow down until all of them are answered. Sophisticated teens who regularly turn to adult best sellers for satisfying reading will not be disappointed, nor will those looking for a mystery with political intrigue, courtroom drama, and international controversy. Huston is a solid storyteller and brings it all to bear here."Joanne Ligamari, Twin Rivers United School District, Sacramento, CA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2009
This gripping thriller opens with a bang: Marine One, the official presidential helicopter, crashes, killing everyone aboard, including the president. Mike Nolan, an attorney whos also a helicopter pilot, is hired by the manufacturer of Marine One to defend the company against a wrongful-death suit filed by the First Lady. Mike knows that he will have to find out what caused the crash, whether it really was a defective copter or if there is some other explanation. The problem is, the list of potential other explanations is very short, and all of them could put Mikes own life in jeopardy. The author smoothly combines the political-conspiracy and courtroom-drama formats, and he nicely explores the storys fundamental moral quandary: If Mikes client made a defective product, is he defending the people who killed the president? The book has echoes of Michael Crichtons Airframe, which was about the investigation of an incident involving a commercial jet, but this isnt a technothriller so much as a political thriller with technological overtones. Either way, it works just fine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)