Linda's Latest List

The sequel to Pest Control, written way back in 1997, finds our hero Bob Dillon, his wife and daughter, and Klaus (the main hit man from Pest Control), living in a remote part of Oregon under new identities. As in Pest Control, Bob is attempting to find an environmentally friendly way to exterminate bugs by experimenting on a genetically altered superbug that will attack and kill household creepy crawlies. Unfortunately, like in Pest Control, his mistaken identity as an “Exterminator” or hit man still chases him. Presumed dead by their enemies, Bob and Klaus are outed when the government takes interest in their work and recruits both to create a killer flying bug armed with spider venom for use by the military. They move to L.A. and mayhem follows. A CIA operative, a priest on a hunger strike, some militant Christians who want to bring on the apocalypse, a Bolivian drug lord and the assassins he sends to kill our heroes, and a possible movie deal propel Bob, Klaus, Bob’s wife and their super-smart daughter to the brink of annihilation. But they have a clever plan! Read The Exterminators and find out how they manage to crawl-or fly like a killer bug- out of this mess. If you have not read Pest Control, I recommend doing so, but it is not necessary for following this plot. I read it long ago and forgot most of the tale, but Bill inserts enough backstory to bring us along on the rollercoaster ride that is The Exterminators. Perfect for fans of the Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey brand of hilarious, twisted humor and mayhem.

–LNT

Also in Trade Paperback.

I let my husband read Impact first because the cover had a fiery ball of flames hurtling toward earth and I thought, oh yeah, another apocalyptic meteor collision. Call Bruce Willis and full speed ahead to save the world. But my husband said, “Hey, this is great. I think you’ll really like it.” Blast it. Right again! Impact IS a blast! We’ve got three scenarios. First up is former CIA operative Wyman Ford, last seen in Blasphemy, checking out radioactive gemstones mined in Cambodia. Over in Maine, college dropout and frustrated astronomer Abbey Straw spots a meteor landing near one of the many small islands near her home. She wants to cash in by selling fragments on e-bay, so she and girlfriend Jackie begin a search for the impact crater. And then there’s the angry red planet. Gamma rays from Mars? Mark Corso, a Mars mission technician at the National Propulsion Facility gets hold of some very classified and dangerous data. How do these three occurrences tie together? Well, I’m not telling, so you’ll have to read Impact to find out. There are several reasons why I loved this story. The two women searching for the impact make a great team. While they are hunting down the point of impact, a psycho who wants in on the action, even though he doesn’t know what the action might be is chasing them! Wyman Ford kicks ass over in Cambodia in a totally moral way. And the mysterious gamma rays along with a High resolution NASA image revealing a feature hidden in the depths of a crater on Mars reveal some unique surprises about this Impact.

--LNT (and hubby Jan Tonnesen)