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DEAD AIR by Charles Jaco

DEAD AIR

by Charles Jaco

Pub Date: June 1st, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42128-0
Publisher: Ballantine

First-timer Jaco, a former CNN reporter now with his own St. Louis-based radio program, is one among the many journalists lately turning to fiction—in his case, not with great success. Veteran TV correspondent Peter Dees suddenly finds himself in possession of explosive information involving an international conspiracy—at the center of which is none other than Saddam Hussein. It’s no secret that this figure out of the universal nightmare has been stockpiling weapons of mass you-know-what. But now Dees learns that a villainous American company has been working hand in glove with the Iraqi dictator, that certain senior officials in the US government have been steadfastly looking the other way, and that friends and colleagues Dees thought trustworthy are hiding agendas of a most nefarious kind. As for Dees himself, what he’s got is a disk containing enough hot information to incinerate a variety of ardently regarded vested interests. To lay hold of it, enemies shoot at Dees, beat him up, and attempt in various ways to suborn and corrupt him. But who is Peter Dees? What manner of man is he? Is “the big story” all he ever yearns for? In short, where is the fleshing out that might have distinguished him from any other standard-issue thriller-protagonist? These answers the author keeps to himself. Jaco collected the basic ingredients, mixed them in the pot, added dollops of gore, tinctures of clinical sex, stirred vigorously, and brought to a boil. And another potboiler is what we get. (Author tour)