Durham had been a disaster. Everyone on Raven's team had been seriously wounded, and now Josie, the woman he loves and a major American asset due to her paranormal abilities, is in a drug-induced stupor at a medical facility. Wracked with guilt over his inability to have adequately anticipated and prepared for the danger, Raven is recuperating at the remote private estate in California known by the resident staff as "the Ranch." However, when his boss, Dr. Goldfarb, wants him to extract Josie quickly and quietly from her hospital, he doesn't have to be asked twice. Although he doesn't know it at the time, the mission will be the crucial first step Raven will need to take to redeem himself in his own eyes.
Raven's path will not be an easy one, though. Forces are at work that seek both to eliminate Josie as well as the President of the United States. The first attempt on the President's life has left him dying from poisonous mushrooms, a situation that is being kept top secret. After meeting with him, Raven barely makes it on time to help foil the plot against Josie, an encounter that leaves three dead bodies in its wake. To keep Josie safe, save the President, and eliminate an ominous threat that Josie can see on the horizon called "the Abyss," Raven and his allies will have to circumvent politics and skirt the law in a war against Hamas kill teams, Muslim infiltrators, Black Panthers, and powerful, highly connected individuals who are experts at pulling the strings of terror.
In this riveting and suspenseful sequel to Raven's Run, the author not only reunites the protagonists from his last novel but also reintroduces characters such as the tough Marine General Mike Mikelson who was featured in one of Trudel's previous books. Yet it is Raven and Josie who are at the heart of this story and who form one of the most interesting romantic pairings in the thriller genre. Raven is a trained killer but also a patriot, a man on the order of the late Vince Flynn's character Mitch Rapp who will stop at nothing to destroy those he sees as a threat to his friends and country. In contrast, Josie abhors violence and is even physically and psychically sickened by it. Even guns disturb her. Josie's contribution to the team is as a remote viewer, a person who can through extra sensory perception sense people, objects, and, in Josie's case, future events from a great distance. Somehow the two manage to discover common ground, to blend darkness and light into a unique union in their relationship. It is also interesting to see how John Black, a character from Trudel's first novel, God's House, evolves over time in the author's works.
Probably the most striking thing about Trudel's book is his deft blend of fiction with recent history and modern politics. Taking a stand against the policies of liberal American lawmakers, he uses his narrative as a blunt instrument to strike out against contemporary issues such as the Iran Nuclear Deal and rules that potentially hamper the government's ability to successfully combat terrorism. The result is an engaging and entertaining thriller that neatly incorporates current events.
