From Publishers Weekly
In this spookily timely new thriller by Nance (
Pandora's Clock;
Skyhook), human fiddling with nature triggers a series of earthquakes that may result in a 100-foot tsunami aimed at the heart of Seattle. Wealthy developer Mick Walker has sunk a hundred million dollars into a world-class resort on tiny Cascadia Island. What Mick should have known and refuses to believe is that his island is situated directly over a massive fault line. Seismologist Dr. Doug Lam attempted to halt the building of the resort, predicting that the pile drivers and explosives used in the construction could trigger a major earthquake and the resulting tsunami. As Mick and hundreds of his friends and supporters pour onto the island to celebrate the grand opening, the earthquakes begin. Dr. Lam's girlfriend, Jennifer Lindstrom, chief pilot and president of a helicopter business, supplies the aviation angle that all of Nance's books are built upon. Her skill and courage prove pivotal as the earthquake disaster begins to unfold. Nance, an expert in many areas, has written a previous nonfiction book on earthquake concerns (
On Shaky Ground), and he builds suspense to a fever pitch in this all-too-credible nail-biter.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
For readers who are still counting, this is Nance's sixteenth novel. It concerns one Mick Walker, a millionaire real-estate developer who hopes to get even richer when his resort casino, hotel, and convention center open on Cascadia Island, off the coast of Washington. Enter Dr. Doug Lam, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who believes that centuries of tectonic pressure will cause an eruption and destroy the island. Lam's sweetheart, Jennifer Lindstrom, owns a helicopter company and is scheduled to fly some of the guests to the island's opening. But the Pacific Northwest starts to vibrate with the first tremors, resulting in earthquakes and a huge tsunami off the coast, endangering hundreds of tourists and residents. Nance, as usual, offers a small amount of sex ("Jennifer had been balancing on one leg and pulling on her pantyhose when an impressively strong earthquake shook the hotel") with lots of chaos. Like Nance's other novels, the ending here is no great surprise, but the author's countless fans won't care.
George CohenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
