It is always a pleasure to discover a mystery series author whose work keeps getting better with each new book. The Ninth Day (Harper: Sept. 27, 2011) proves that such is the case with Jamie Freveletti, creator of the Emma Caldridge series.
Freveletti’s first Emma Caldridge title, Running from the Devil, received both a 2010 Barry Award for Best Thriller and a Thriller Award for Best First Novel. The Ninth Day, the third title in this series, continues Freveletti’s successful technique of placing appealing characters in dangerous surroundings and chronicling their subsequent actions with unrelenting suspense.
Biochemist and ultramarathon runner Emma Caldridge’s appeal comes both from her personal courage and her constant ingenuity. In Running from the Devil, she put these traits into action against Columbian guerrillas; in Running Dark, Somali pirates. In the Ninth Day, Emma must draw on all her resources when she is taken prisoner by Mexican drug lord Eduardo La Valle.
La Valle believes that U.S. government agents have sprayed his marijuana crop with a herbicide. The plants die, and anyone nearby falls victim to a flesh-eating disease that kills them also within nine days. La Valle intends to get his revenge by shipping several loads of the diseased plants to U.S. cities. One of his destinations is Washington, D.C.
Learning that Emma is a chemist, La Valle gives her a chance to save her life by finding an antidote for this disease. Emma’s efforts to help herself and her country take her back into the United States, guarded by La Valle’s men. Unfortunately, the actions she must take there – including breaking into a research lab – result in her becoming a target of the both the police and the FBI.
Although Cameron Sumner and Edward Banner, Emma’s colleagues from the Darkview security firm, are once more on hand in to provide timely assistance, the resolution of The Ninth Day depends primarily on Emma Caldridge. Fortunately, Jamie Freveletti has created a character who is clearly up to the task.
FTC disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by HarperCollins.
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