By Order of the President

Delta Force Major Carlos Guillermo Castillo, West Point graduate, pilot, and Desert Storm veteran, pursues Somalian terrorists. Their agents have hijacked a Boeing-727 in Angola and are suspected of turning it into a bomb. Their target: the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Dennis Boutsikaris seamlessly switches accents, from German to Middle Eastern, then Spanish and southern European, to define characters. Military and navigation systems jargon will delight the military minded. Agency infighting among the CIA, FBI, FAA, and other bureaus post 9/11 keep the friction at a high pitch. This well-done action-adventure begins a new series for Griffin. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2004
Proving himself solidly in control of cutting-edge military material, Griffin bases his new series not on wars past but on today's murky exigencies of terrorism and international political intrigue. Army Maj. Carlos Guillermo Castillo, whose Spanish name belies his fair-haired, blue-eyed appearance (he had a German mother), is working as a special assistant to the secretary of homeland security. Because of post-9/11 concerns, when a Boeing 727 is hijacked from a remote airport in Angola, it becomes a top priority for the U.S. government. Vicious infighting between several agencies results in a snafu that leads the U.S. president to assign Charley Castillo to use the search for the plane as an excuse to launch an investigation into the internal workings of all the government agencies and personnel who need to cooperate in terrorist situations. Griffin is more interested in military procedure than in blood, sweat and derring-do, and he resists no urge to meander through scores of pages of backstory to round out the many characters who will be series regulars. In the end, there are a few bodies to account for, but its' the meticulous investigation that leaves readers standing on the tarmac waiting for Charley Castillo and his newly minted band of can-do compatriots to touch down and carry them away again on a new adventure. (Jan. 2)

Forecast:
Those who love Griffin's stories of past wars will take to this new series based on present and future conflicts.

In post 9/11 America, all intelligence arms of the government are committed to sharing information and working cooperatively in the war on terrorism. Or, are they? In mid-2005, a 727 is hijacked from an African airport and disappears. The FBI, CIA, and other agencies jockey for position as they scramble to be first to find out what happened. In frustration, the president turns to an outside investigator to determine the truth, and Charlie Castillo, the latest W.E.B. Griffin leading man, takes center stage. Dick Hill does a top-notch job presenting a huge cast of charters from far-flung corners of the globe. His narration truly captures the ebb and flow of emotion as Castillo and his colleagues race to save the Liberty Bell. The Liberty Bell? Griffin and Hill are a great match, and this story is a heck of a ride. T.J.M. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine