Presidential Deal

For those who like their adventure dark, their plots ingenious, and action rapid rat-a-tat, Les Standiford has shown he's your man. He doesn't disappoint in his sixth time out - Presidential Deal. In this pulse-pounding Miami based thriller builder/detective John Deal again takes center stage, this time finding himself the hapless victim in high-level terrorism so audacious that it burdens acceptance. Yet, despite the author's far-out premise, he draws his characters so credibly and paints scenes with such an authentic brush that it is all scarily believable. When Deal and his pal, retired homicide detective Vernon Driscoll, are peacefully cruising Biscayne Bay in a "forty-five-foot Bayliner with a flying bridge and a patched up hull," they spy what appears to be masses of bobbing debris. It is human flotsam - some 20 Cuban refugees tossed overboard by the scuzzy pirates they've paid to ferry them to the United States and freedom. For rescuing them Deal is to be awarded a National Medal of Valor. Rather than a Rose Garden ceremony, the presentation is moved to Miami so that President Frank Sheldon, in a reelection move, can meet with Jorge Vas, leader of the Florida emigre community. At the last minute, Linda Sheldon is called upon to substitute for her husband in presenting medals to Deal and the other awardees. Rather than a stars-and-stripes event to which the nation can look with pride, the country is shocked by a blood bath as terrorists disguised as Miami policemen strafe the honorees and the audience. When the smoke clears and the bodies are counted, the First Lady and John Deal are both found missing, an abduction planned by Angel Salazar, a soulless sadist whose loyalties are up for grabs but at the moment bought by " a group without a history, without a face." Spirited to an unknown tropical island the pair are tossed into a dirty raw cinderblock structure with a corrugated tin roof. Once there, the brutality they endure at the hands of their captors is not enough, the island is soon slapped by a tree crushing hurricane. Although earlier on Deal had said, "Tell them I'm not Arnold Schwarzenegger," he exhibits strength's that would surpass Arnie's as he saves Linda and himself from the storm. While all military and civilian investigators are searching for the First Lady, it seems that nobody cares about Deal save for Driscoll, who is convinced his friends and Linda Sheldon are being held captive together. Driscoll tries to track the suppliers of the contraband police uniforms by calling in some chits and using force on some underground characters he once knew. They, especially Ray Brisa, are standout characters, rendered with sharp and knowing pen. Of course, Deal and the First Lady are going to make it but what they have to go through to get there makes a first-rate thriller. Disturbing, frightening, grippingly suspenseful, Presidential Deal packs a walloping good read. - Gail Cooke

This exciting five-star novel revolves around an act of political terrorism: The daring and bloody kidnaping of the First Lady, Linda Barnes Sheldon, from the ballroom of a downtown Miami hotel. Protagonist and small-scale contractor, John Deal becomes involved in it - he is kidnaped along with her as he tries to rescue her. John Deal is not your normal action hero who can catch flying bullets with his teeth. He is an ordinary guy who tries to do the right thing at the right time. He was going to receive a Presidential medal for rescuing 19 Cuban refugees from the Gulf Stream. John Deal and First Lady Sheldon are whisked away in an off-shore racing boat and held captive on a remote Bahamian island. Standiford's ability to write page-turning action has given us a compelling novel. While Deal and Sheldon try to escape, detective Driscoll is following leads in Miami. Beyond that, Standiford has the ability to tell the story through the minds of his diverse characters. Even the scumballs are given a chance to add their brush strokes to the panorama: "Two A.M., a hot June night, humidity pumping in off an Atlantic easterly, so much moisture in the air, you ought to be half fish just to be able to walk around, or so Ray Brisa was thinking." A unique quality of Standiford's fiction is his daring -- daring to add a touch of humanity to thriller fiction. John Deal is not a James Bond, looking for adventure. He is more like the guy next door - a solid citizen with normal aspirations and Everyman's share of the world's woes. The charm of this book, and of the other books in the Deal series, is how he rises to the occasion and the depth of character that is revealed. And Linda Sheldon is more than the figurehead First Lady - she is rendered as a believable character. Particularly touching is the relationship that develops between John Deal and Linda Sheldon as they struggle to escape. Standiford knows his way around boats and the Bahamas, and he doesn't mind making the reader feel like being there: "In the distance, hovering over the Biminis, a towering bank of cumulus reflecting the last pink glow of the sun. Stretched out just ahead, the waters of Biscayne Bay. Going steely now. Soon to be indigo, along with night."