Dead Aim

March 24, 2003
Heavy on verbs, light on adjectives, Johansen's latest fast-moving thriller offers lots of cinematic action, if not much to contemplate or savor. On assignment at a dam collapse in Colorado, photojournalist Alex Graham overhears a conversation between the conspirators who caused the collapse, which they disguised as an act of nature. When they realize that Alex has heard them, they go after her, and soon Alex's friend, Sarah Logan, is wounded in an attempt on Alex's life. Sarah's husband, John, a billionaire with political connections, believes he must hire someone to keep Alex safe. His contact is a man called Galen, a shadowy government operative, who in turn contacts Judd Morgan, a former military assassin who's been deep undercover. Knowing that Alex won't leave the dam mystery alone, and wanting to keep his own wife out of harm's way, John authorizes Judd to kidnap Alex and take her to a safe location. Alex persuades Judd that the dam collapse was a deliberate act, and that more sites are slated to be destroyed. The two team up to learn the identities of the conspirators, who appear to have ties to the FBI and the CIA, as well as to an assassin called Runne, who has his own agenda, and a Central American terrorist ring. There are chases and narrow escapes aplenty as Alex and Judd save the country—including the president himself—from violent mayhem. Some of the characters in Johansen's crowded cast remain murky, but the nonstop action and slick plotting won't disappoint. Major ad/promo.

December 1, 2002
Daring photojournalist Alex Graham concludes that a natural disaster she's been shooting is really a mass murder.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2003
Post-9/11 security is put to the test in Johansen's latest thriller. Photographer Alex Graham has worked hand-in-hand at disaster sites with search-and-rescue teams, and the tragedy in Arapahoe Junction, Colorado, is no exception. A dam collapsed on the town, and during the rescue, Alex inadvertently finds out that the tragedy was not a natural disaster but part of an evil plot. The police and the FBI find it hard to believe an earthquake did not cause the accident but take Alex seriously enough to offer her sanctuary in a safe house, which she refuses. Soon the tables turn, and she's the chief suspect in the tragedy. Her only hope for staying alive and uncovering the truth is Judd Morgan, an ex-operative wanted by the CIA. Crisscrossing the country in an effort to prevent further tragedies, they try to stay one step ahead of the law and the assassins hunting them both. Johansen's latest heroes get help from characters introduced in " No One to Trust "[BKL S 1 02], and readers will stay up all night reading this cat-and-mouse chase, a reminder that terrorists are not necessarily foreigners.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)