One on One with Jeff Abbott

Sandra Ruttan:  TRUST ME focuses on terrorism, with terrorist acts occurring on U.S. soil  The book references 9/11.  As a nation, has America gotten over 9/11 or is it still difficult to integrate or reference the events of that day in works of fiction?

Jeff Abbott:  I actually think of terrorism as simply the backdrop to TRUST ME. To me, the book is about a young man who was desperate to understand why people do evil things--and in trying to answer such an unanswerable question, discovered his own great capacity for good and self-sacrifice. The book is really about Luke Dantry and his quest for the truth about his father's death and what kind of life Luke is going to have as he discovers the truth about his family and his own life.

I was also very interested in having him be a psychological profiler of extremists; we've seen so many well-done profilers who focus on serial killers; having a profiler who's trying to find and stop the next Timothy

McVeigh is a new kind of hero in suspense fiction.

That said, no, I don't think we're over 9/11. It's difficult still to refer to it, although TRUST ME is much more concerned with domestic extremists taking a quantum leap in their planning to do violence. I think any of us writers who reference 9/11 feel a responsibility to deal with it sensitively and carefully. It qualifies as one of the most awful moments in our lives.

SR:  The threat of terrorism is still a serious concern to most Americans.

Was it hard for you to gain access to any of the information you needed to write this book?

JA:  No, not really. We are talking more openly about terrorism--especially the psychology of terrorism, which is Luke's interest--than we ever have before.  There is a great deal of public information on how terrorism is spread, financed, and how we are fighting it.

SR:  Did you monitor or participate on any discussion boards as part of your research?  If so, were you concerned about possibly being monitored by authorities?  (And if yes, what kinds of precautions did you take to protect yourself?)

JA:  There are 50,000 websites with extremist and terrorist content. Some forums have over 30,000 members. Over 50,000 videos (both for propaganda and technique) have been posted. Hamas, in Gaza, has even started their own film studio for DVD and online propaganda and training. I did monitor some discussions on a variety of extremist sites. There is anonymizer software that allows you to visit without your IP address being recorded. If I was monitored by the authorities, I had a legitimate reason to be there so I wasn't concerned.

SR:  What was the most disturbing thing you learned from your research for TRUST ME?

JA:  It used to be that the psychological process of going from anger to violence among extremists required a lot of face-to-face indoctrination. McVeigh wandered the country for three years, speaking with others who shared his anger, hardening his position, before he pulled the truck up in front of the Murrah building. Now much of the techniques and indoctrination can be done via the web; there doesn't have to be a physical link between an extremist group and its adherents. We saw this with the London 7/7 bombers--they were inspired by al Qaeda, but had no direct ties to it. What we're seeing is the start of the franchising of terror.

As well, the use of this online material doesn't have to be limited to people who are part of that group. Say Hamas posts a video on how to build a particularly effective bomb. That information could be used by an eco-terrorist in New Zealand who wants to target a corporation; a paramilitary group in Colombia who wants to take out a judge; or a drug lord in LA who wants to dispose of a rival. We're seeing the creation of a global library of violence.

SR:  How secure are we, as individuals?

JA:  I think we are pretty secure but there are holes in the system. This isn't news to the bad guys. Water treatment plants and routes to them, for example, are prime targets due to large amounts of chlorine, and that plays a role in TRUST ME. We're worrying about airports more than seaports, which have much higher levels of unmonitored traffic. I'm not a fearmonger—my books are much more about hope and courage than gloom--but we do need to be aware of where our vulnerabilities are.

SR:  What precautions do you take in your regular activities online?

JA:  I don't give out a lot of personal details. That usually suffices.

SR:  Did you feel it was risky to address domestic terrorism?  Do you think people have a harder time understanding domestic terrorism or foreign terrorism?

JA:  The Cold War was scary, but that didn't stop Helen MacInnes or John LeCarre or Robert Ludlum from writing about it.

I think actually people have more trouble understanding domestic terrorism--why do Americans turn against Americans? I think that's a harder pill to swallow for some. But that was also a good reason to make Luke a profiler, to help understand how people move from simple anger to murderous violence.

SR:  A friend of mine once said that if terrorists really wanted to eliminate us, they could do serious damage easily.  He asked why terrorists don't attack hospitals and schools and transit systems where hundreds and sometimes thousands of people would be, essentially, sitting ducks.  TRUST ME made me think of his comments a lot, although his focus was on foreign terrorism.  It seemed he thought foreign terrorists don't want to destroy the west - they want enough of it to survive to know that they won and we lost.  Would you agree?

JA:  No, not exactly. Terrorism doesn't seek victory. It seeks to eliminate confidence and faith in the infrastructure of society. If we feel that we cannot travel safely, conduct business safely, elect leaders safely, then the system is badly weakened. Terrorists don't necessarily want to run the state; they want to hollow it out, so they can operate with impunity and gain their goals.

SR:  Do you get nervous when you hear about food recalls now?

JA:  Not so much, as we tend to get a lot of information about specific recalls.

SR:  I felt, at times, this discomfort reading TRUST ME.  It wasn't about bumps in the night and monsters in the closet.  It was about pipeline bombings in Canada (and I spent several years living in Calgary) and bacterial contamination of food and other acts that are actually pretty easy to orchestrate.  Did you ever feel, with any of the content of the book, that you risked scaring readers so badly that they couldn't continue reading?

JA:  No, not at all. We need a sober assessment of the dangers we face. Not one that's fear-mongering, nor one that ignores the threats out there. The book has gotten great response from readers; I think they felt they learned something from it about a dark world they didn't know much about. And Luke is probably the most determined hero I've ever written about; the stakes for him are huge. But he's not a Jack Bauer from "24", he's an ordinary guy. And if a regular guy like him can make a difference, then things can be okay. I think TRUST ME is a lot more about our reasons to have courage than our reasons to have fear.

SR:  What's next for Jeff Abbott?

JA:  I'm working on a novel about an ex-CIA agent who owns really cool bars around the world; I'm having a lot of fun with it. Lots of international intrigue and action and I think a great cast of characters.

SR:  Have we seen the last of Luke Dantry?

JA:  I don't know -- I have already had several readers ask me to bring him back in another book. Which I love hearing! He was both a fun and heartbreaking character to write, if that makes sense. I never say never.

For more information about Jeff Abbott, visit his website.

Sandra Ruttan can be contacted via Sandra@sandraruttan.com