Surface Tension by Mike Mullin

He races bikes and is doing very well at it.  That means he practices a lot and he has several routes he takes.  He sure never expected to run into a bunch of trucks on the back road he was on.  What's worse is he saw something they didn't want him to.  He's hurt, left for dead, but survives.  That's not the end of them trying to murder him...

Tanglewood and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published May 8th.

What's most terrifying about this story is that the terrorists are home grown.  They come from all walks of life including the cops and the FBI.  How they can stay hidden is by killing anyone with knowledge and that's why they are after him.  It doesn't matter that he has amnesia and can't remember what happened.

They are young and old and in between.  One of them uses his daughter at the beginning.  Then he uses some young men.  He even gets involved himself.  But he doesn't realize the teens are not dumb and they know how to fight back.

This is a tense read with a lot of drama.  Some of the players end up dead, but not all.  There will be more in this series.  Mr. Mullin makes you sit up straight and keep reading.  He's real good at scaring you with situations that could possibly become real.  I hope not.

Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

Alex and Darla survived the ashfall.  They even made it to his Uncle's home and he got reunited with his sister.  But his parents weren't there; they'd gone back for him...

Tanglewood and Net Galley let me download an ebook of this story for review (thank you).  It will be published on October 14th, so make a note on your TBR list.  If you haven't read Ashfall yet, grab that one now and get ready for the second book in the series.

Alex is determined to go after his parents.  He knows what the world is like out there, and he fears for their lives.  He's right to worry.

The people in this disaster-racked world are not nice.  Some of them are cannibals, some are power mongers, and some are just plain greedy.  The vegetables are gone, the ashfall killed them.  Seeds now have value but money doesn't. Women have become commodities.  It's an ugly world that Alex has to travel through.

What really makes this series for me is the relationship between Alex and Darla.  They were thrown together in the first book and all their relationship does is grow stronger.  I'm especially impressed with her mechanical ability.  My high school test said I could be a secretary or a mechanic; I became a finance director.  I can empathize with Darla's abilities and trying to make something out of what's left on the farms.

These books won't bore you.  Some of the tale is grotesque, but it fits the story line.  Their story is not done yet.  There has to be at least one more book.  I'll be watching for it.

Happy reading.

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

What if Yellowstone Park did erupt and cover us with ash?

Tanglewood and Net Galley shared an ebook of this story with me for review (thank you).  The book has been published and is now in its second printing.  This is especially impressive because the hardcover was just published October 14th.

At the time Mt. St. Helen's blew, I was living in Chehalis, Washington.  We were 100 miles away from the volcano and I became personally acquainted with the ashfall.  I'm allergic to sulphur, so I almost died until the smell quieted down.  We had our home to dig out, a city to dig out, and vehicles had cover their air filters to keep the ash out of the engines.  My dog cried and hid from it.  It was awful.  So the premise of this book got my attention.  And Mr. Mullin does an excellent job of creating a realistic environment after a disaster of that magnitude.  I was impressed.

Alex is thrilled to be left home alone while his parents and sister go to visit his uncle for the weekend.  He can be a computer nerd all weekend and hang out with his friends.  But when half the house collapses, he has to dig himself out, and then it burns, he's wishing he had some company.  He goes to stay with the neighbors, but looters come through and people end up dead.  Soon he's on his own.

He makes up his mind to walk to his uncle's house since cars can't get through the ash and most are ruined from trying to drive in it anyway.  On his journey, he meets both good and bad people.  Disasters always bring out the nature of the beast, even in humans.

One of the things I found most scary in this story was the FEMA camp.  That should be a safe place, shouldn't it?  

I hope we never have to deal with a disaster of this size.  I will never forget the ash from Mt. St. Helens.  You can still find it when you plow ground up in Washington.  It never goes away...

This story won't leave your mind soon, either.

Happy reading.