Bullet in the Blue Sky

Bullet in the Blue Sky (which is also a song title by U2) is Bill Larkin’s second full-length novel about Deputy Kevin Schmidt, aka Schmitty, from Orange County, California. But this book opens with a dynamic chapter about Kira Boyd, the Director of the California Office of emergency Services. She was feeling pretty good about herself, and then felt even better when a massive earthquake measuring 8.8 struck Los Angeles causing widespread devastation. Because he happened to be in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time, Schmitty was directed by Deputy Chief Jenkins to head with a team from downtown L.A. to the Seal Beach to find Detective Gavin Shaw.

The order to find Shaw made no sense to anyone, especially considering that the city and all means of transportation and communication was a mess. In the midst of the earthquake damage was rioting and looting, as well as gunfire directed at anyone who seemed out of place. While citizens were scrambling to handle their own immediate needs, the criminals were taking advantage of the situation.

Have you heard of induced seismicity? No, me either. It means man-made earthquakes, and that was the premise of this book, a terrorist operation against both the U.S. and Russia in an attempt to suck them both into a war. This is an action-driven, fast-paced, plot-driven novel. Larkin’s depiction of the destruction of L.A. was impressive and believable. The main plot and all subplots are brought to a satisfactory conclusion. Kira Boyd’s role was fully explained. The secret relationship between Jenkins and Shaw was very believable. By the end of the book, the love interest of Schmitty and Officer Shawna Hogan was more fully developed and promises for more good action in future books.