biological warfare thrills & spills

books:

	• Plague Maker Tim Downs Amazon Remainders Account, 2006 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Downs' best book yet!

FBI counterterrorism agent Nathan Donovan has seen it all. Assassinations, bomb removals, hostage situations. Yet his Marine days and sixteen weeks at Quantico did nothing to prepare him for watching his son die. Plagued with guilt he can't admit, Nathan pours himself into his work. Then the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force) is called to a not-so-typical murder at an art gallery, and Nathan's thrust into a deadly cat-and-mouse game involving fleas, fireworks, bubonic plague, and Sato Matsushita, a revenge-filled bioweapons scientist.

Nathan reluctantly joins forces with an elderly Chinese British citizen named Li who seems to know more about the investigation than the FBI does. Is his narrative about Sato Matsushita true? Can Li be trusted? Even more reluctantly, Nathan is forced to work with his ex-wife Macy, an expert in the psychology of terrorism. The trio gradually piece together the picture of a man with a personal vendetta against the U.S.--a vendetta born on a day few can forget: August 6, 1945-the bombing of Hiroshima.

When the FBI discovers a ship possibly carrying Matsushita and a lethal strain of bubonic plague is nearing New York Harbor, the JTTF frantically searches for a way to stop it. Soon they realize there's only one option. They must board the ship. And there's no man more qualified for that job than Nathan Donovan. Can they intercept it before time runs out?

Tim Downs has penned a straight-from-the-headlines thriller in Plague Maker. And while the story is primarily Nathan's, Downs also weaves flashbacks involving Sato Matsushita and Li throughout the novel. Time jumps have the potential to drag a plot, but in this case they embellish it, giving readers key characterization scenes which take place in 1940's Asia and help us understand why and how the present day storyline is important.

Readers of Downs' previous books Shoofly Pie and Chop Shop (labeled "The Bugman novels" and featuring forensic entomologist Nick Polchak) will be pleased to see Nick again as he makes a cameo to dish out entomological details in his usual dry, humorous fashion. But Plague Maker is bigger and better than either of the Bugman novels. Downs has mastered the art of including enough details to teach without bogging down the story, and he hasn't neglected his trademark wit, either. And unlike the Bugman novels, Plague Maker's spiritual message is clear, though definitely not overdone.

Devoid of many thriller nuances like cardboard personalities and limited characterization, Plague Maker is a novel that can proudly be shelved beside any featuring Crichton or Clancy-and hold it's own.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for Infuze Magazine

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I couldn't put it down!

This is the first book that I have read by Tim Downs and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has action, suspense, humor, wit and emotion. A great combo to me!

One thing that I particularly enjoyed was Mr. Downs ability to tell the story and not resort to sex and cursing. I am no prude and I know how to skim past stuff that is offensive to me, however, I did find it refreshing to not have to worry about it.

Overall a very fun and engaging read! Check it out!

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biological warfare thrills & spills

Rebeccasreads highly recommends PLAGUE MAKER as the latest multi-layed thriller from the "Insect Author" Tim Downs.

An FBI counterterrorism agent is contacted by an aging Chinese man with a story too terrible to ignore, of unspeakable tragedies & unthinkable evil, & old men with long memories.

PLAGUE MAKER is a first class hair-raiser about dead fleas & very live rats & what they carry, fake antique relics & camouflaged old ships, murdered men & WWII survivors, hostage negotiators & terrorist plots, young workaholics with broken hearts & stifled souls, as well as some fascinating history about biological warfare, all superbly mixed with heart-pounding action & delightful dashes of humor.

PLAGUE MAKER is also about revenge & forgiveness, & how different cultures tell their stories.

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FABULOUS

This is my first book by Tim Downs, but it won't be my last. PLAGUE MAKER was a fabulous read! Totally engrossing, interesting detail into bioterrorism and a wonderfully flawed hero and heroine. Even the secondary characters were fully developed and almost stole the show. I expected a great thriller, but got so much more with the way he superbly wove in the theme of the importance of forgiveness.

Unique Bug Twists

Tim Downs has once again taken the mundane and spun a story of terrorism sure to capture your imagination. This is one of the most unique books I've read in quite a while.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5

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