WHEN THE MOON IS RED

A widely circulated message on the internet threatens a terrorist attack on American soil in 30 days in this finale of a two-volume thriller series.

Duke Chancellor is an enigmatic billionaire and the head of an extensive private intelligence firm, the Chancellor Organization, a lavishly funded outfit that seems to rival the CIA in power and scope. He discovers that a menacing message accompanied by an Islamic State group flag has been posted anonymously on the internet, one so disturbing it demands investigation: “THE AMERICAN INFIDELS WILL DIE IN 30 DAYS WHEN THE MOON IS RED!” The details behind this threat are related by Rettew in a taut fashion. A Russian colonel, Viktor Kovalenko, reports that a nuclear missile for which he is responsible has disappeared, and he in turn vanishes. Chinese intelligence reports that an unscheduled flight from North Korea to Oregon transported a bag that may have contained a portable nuclear device, an item that was unloaded by two Middle Eastern men. Furthermore, it turns out that Askhat A. Karimov, a man with ties to the international drug trade, is responsible for the internet threat and may have a plan for a spectacular attack on the Hoover Dam. The author delivers plenty of action and suspense throughout the tale, offering a lot of intriguing details about the terrorists’ scheme and the nuclear weapon. But readers who are not familiar with the book’s predecessor, The Fresno Incident (2012), may find the story a bit confusing. Rettew conjures a legion of characters and seems more interested in their creation than their development—this is an implausible plot peopled by players who will remain inscrutable to many readers. In addition, the writing is sometimes hyperventilated, with each sentence competing to be more breathless than the last. Consider Kovalenko’s response to the terrorist threat: “How can life be so beautiful and rewarding, and then unexpectedly become so cruel and evil at arbitrary intervals? Why do I even wonder? I have no answers....I have no understanding....I have only unsettled rage!”

An action-packed but melodramatic terrorist tale.