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CRASHERS (AUDIO)
by Dana Haynes, read by David Ledoux
Macmillan Audio, June 2010
Unabridged pages
$39.99
ISBN: 1427212155


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

A jetliner carrying more than a hundred passengers crashes near Portland, Oregon. A team of investigators known collectively as the Crashers is immediately assembled from around the country under the auspices of the National Transportation Safety Board. It is the job of these men and women to determine the cause of the crash and to ensure that this sort of crash never happens again.

The reader, meanwhile, already knows that the crash was caused by something done by a man on the ground. Then we go to Los Angeles where a team of Irish terrorists is plotting something serious, presumably another plane crash. At least one FBI agent finds out and begins investigating them through a lovely informant.

This is similar to most thrillers in that the author jumps from one event to another, from one group (the good guys) to another (the bad guys). This ratchets the tension higher and higher as the reader is left with a cliffhanger to go to another series of events which will also lead to a cliffhanger.

The story is really quite predictable although there are a few twists. Because we know very early who did it, the mystery is whether they will succeed and most readers will suspect the answer to that one. So the chief interest comes from how the bad guys will be stopped and how close they will come to their goal.

The characters are fairly two-dimensional. "Tommy" Tomzak, is an "aw shucks" sort of guy, unassuming but very competent who will most certainly uncover the solution just in time. Kiki Duvall, the voice recorder specialist, and Tommy have worked together before and clearly there is some attraction between them. The head terrorist is smooth but tough beneath the surface and violent at times. These and the others are standard characters and you could find them in any number of thrillers.

What makes this book interesting are the details of the crash and the investigation. The way these Crashers go about their job is extremely absorbing. The investigation is meticulous and thorough. The position of each body is marked and recorded. Every bit of debris is also marked and recorded. These tedious jobs are essential to understanding what happened. The investigation can take months. Ultimately the airplane is reassembled inside a hanger or other large building and studied. This information was really intriguing and I have no reason to believe it is not accurate.

Unfortunately the book then moves from an investigation to a chase in a wounded plane in order to stop the bad guys. It is a very close-run thing and our stars barely succeed. It is a bit much to believe that these dedicated and painstaking scientists turn themselves into dashing heroes with nearly superhuman powers who can fly and shoot and survive a terrible crash.

There is a great deal of description of the crash, the aftermath, and most importantly the debris left after the crash including human body parts. The squeamish may find these scenes rather difficult to take. The fact that one is listening to these details makes them even more vivid and graphic. It is impossible to skip over the descriptions as one might in reading the book.

The reader, David LeDoux, is very good. He is smooth and does not intrude himself into the story. He is quite good with accents, especially Irish. He uses slight voice changes to distinguish the characters from one another and maintains the pace of the story quite well.

All in all this follows the pattern of most thrillers and little stands out with the characters, the story, or the plot. But the subject matter is most interesting and merits the time spent listening to this well-read book.

§ Sally Fellows is a retired history teacher with a M.A. in history and an avid reader of mysteries.

Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, December 2010

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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