Sunday Salon: Review of The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina

5 stars!

Gripping and mesmerizing from the very first chapter, Rick Mofina’s latest thriller explores a chilling conspiracy that is guaranteed to get your heart pounding.

A car crash in Wyoming, involving a young couple and their baby, sets The Panic Zone into rapid motion. The next day, a reporter in Brazil gets a call to meet an unidentified woman at a café; the woman claims to have a news story, and the documents to back it up. The reporter and her photographer friend have no idea what they’re walking into, and the resulting chaos sends World Press Alliance reporter Jack Gannon across the globe in search of the truth. But the truth is more shocking than anyone could fathom.

A twisted scientist gathers a secret group of conspirators and puts into action a horrific plot that threatens the very existence of mankind, proving once again that science can be a deadly plaything if it falls into the wrong hands. From human experimentation without consent, to a killer virus constructed from some of the world’s deadliest toxins and a unique delivery system that will chill you to the bone, The Panic Zone will keep you turning the pages.

With a storytelling talent comparative to Michael Crichton and Robert Ludlum, Mofina expertly weaves the plot with intricate, terrifying and believable details. The Panic Zone is excellently researched and the clearly defined chapters show alternating points of view as only a master writer could achieve. Another Mofina masterpiece―one I can’t recommend enough.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of The River
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Sunday Salon: Review of Vengeance Road by Rick Mofina

Vengeance Road is a suspenseful ‘hold-your-breath’ ride, with twists and turns at breakneck speed

5 stars

Jack Gannon, a reporter for The Buffalo Sentinel, investigates the brutal murder of one prostitute and the disappearance of another, a woman who had picked herself off the street and cleaned up her life. The investigation points to one suspect—hero cop Karl Styebeck, a man with a secret past brimming with violence. Then there’s the mysterious blue rig that haunts the highways. How is it connected to Styebeck and the victims?

As Gannon digs deeper, he risks losing everything—his career, his reputation and his future. With help from Adell Clark, a former FBI agent turned PI, Gannon gets the inside scoop on the murder investigation. But this puts Gannon and Adell in jeopardy of losing more than their jobs.

Author Rick Mofina has crafted the kind of protagonist that readers will yearn to read more about. Jack Gannon is tough but flawed, and he’s like a pit-bull who won’t let go. In some ways, he’s emotionally disconnected, but the disappearance of his own sister years ago, pushes him onward. I hope the author continues with this character and his back-story. I’d love to see a series!

I think this is my favorite Rick Mofina novel yet! Vengeance Road is a gritty, top-notch thriller, with glimpses of evil thrown in to keep you turning those pages. Mofina’s former career as a crime reporter keeps the writing concise and descriptive, the characters well developed and defined, and the dialogue true and believable.

Vengeance Road is a suspenseful ‘hold-your-breath’ ride, with twists and turns at breakneck speed. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a heart-pounding race against time.

You can read an interview with Rick over at Mystery Fanfare.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author of Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Six Seconds book video trailer

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the novel Six Seconds by fellow Canadian thriller author Rick Mofina. It is a 5 star novel and I highly recommend it.

Rick's book video trailer for the UK version of his novel is now on YouTube. Check it out and leave him some comments and votes. :)



Six Seconds is available January 2009 in the US and Canada and April 2009 in the UK.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
Canadian suspense author
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Sunday Salon: SIX SECONDS by Rick Mofina

I recently had the pleasure of reading and reviewing an ARC (advanced reading copy) from a fellow Canadian author. Those of you who have accepted the challenge of reading 13 Canadian books for the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge, should really add Six Seconds by Rick Mofina to your list.

Six Seconds by Rick Mofina

5 stars!

ISBN-10: 0778326128; 13: 978-0778326120
Publish date: January 1, 2009
Paperback; 496 pages; $6.99
Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Recommended for: those who enjoy rollercoaster-like suspense thrillers

Six Seconds is so taut with tension you won’t be able to put it down

Hold your breath while reading the latest thriller by Canadian author Rick Mofina. The opening prologue of Six Seconds will give you chills and sets up the novel for a relentless, mind-blowing resolution.

Samara is an Iraqi nurse who witnesses the brutal slaying of her husband and young son. Overwrought with grief, she is easily influenced by a terrorist group and becomes a willing pawn in an assassination plot. Samara manipulates Jake Conlin, an America contract driver suffering from post-traumatic distress, and convinces him to leave his wife and take his son to start a new life with her in Montana. Little does anyone know, she’s planning on ‘going out’ in a blaze of glory―and she plans to take others with her.

When Maggie Conlin discovers her husband and son have disappeared, she teams up with Corporal Daniel Graham of Canada’s RCMP. He’s investigating the strange disappearance and subsequent murder of an American family holidaying near Banff, Alberta. Clues lead him to the small town of Blue Rose Creek, California, where the Conlins reside and where he meets Maggie. Fighting his own dark shadows from the past, Graham decides to help Maggie locate her missing husband and son.

In a terrifying novel that sweeps across countries and continents, Six Seconds is a story of war, vengeance and terrorism. It explores the war in Iraq and its damaging affect on everyone involved―from soldiers to terrorists to the innocent―and the repercussions that are felt long afterward. It’s also the story of painful loss, guilt and redemption sought by people who are worlds apart and separated by culture and personal beliefs.

I’d recommend Six Seconds to anyone who enjoys rollercoaster-like suspense thrillers. Reading this novel is like watching a ticking time bomb. You know it’s going to blow; you even know where and when, but all the while you’re praying for some form of divine intervention. Rick Mofina has chosen a timely topic and added intriguing characters to the mix, creating a novel that is taut with tension, complex and disturbingly convincing.

You can pre-order Six Seconds on Amazon or get it January 1st, 2009, from your favorite bookstore.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
critically acclaimed author of The River
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Sunday Salon: I received an ARC from Harlequin/MIRA

Today's Sunday Salon post is not a book review--not yet anyway. A week ago, I was contacted by author Rick Mofina, who asked me if I'd consider reviewing his newest thriller SIX SECONDS.

I was then contacted by MIRA, a division of Harlequin, and arrangements were made for me to receive an ARC--advanced reading copy. I take this as an honor. Publishers don't like to give ARCs to just anyone.

The ARC arrived 2 days after I said yes. I can't say much about Rick's book yet--other than it is a fast-paced thriller. I'm 2/3 done, so by next Sunday you'll get to read all about it.

I've only read one other Mofina novel so far--Every Fear. You can read my review of it HERE.

Rick is a fellow Canadian author, so if you're participating in the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge, please consider any of his thrillers. You'll love them!

For more information on Rick Mofina and his novels, please visit:
http://www.rickmofina.com/

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
Canadian suspense author
http://www.cherylktardif.com/