Wolf Trap by Connor Sullivan

President Angela Buchanan was just an inexperienced member of the House. But she and her husband had a vision. A Green vision. And when Bobby learned more about the potential of thorium molten salt reactors (it’s a real thing. Look it up) to replace fossil fuels, their political future took off. Other countries started following her lead and started building their own reactors. Being the elected member of the duo, Angela rode the wave into the political mainstream. Even to the point of people whispering that she’s the perfect candidate for a new green age. As her star blossomed, Bobby died suddenly of a heart attack. The resulting sympathy vote propelled her to the top of the ticket and then the White House.

Over her first 3 years in office, she continued to push the thorium initiative at home and abroad. Estimates that 7 reactors worldwide would effectively make fossil fuel a minor fuel source. President Buchanan put forth an international accord that would show which countries would follow her green plan. The first to publicly boast support came from an unexpected source – Saudi Arabia.

The current king is in failing health. The eldest son, a Kingdom fighter pilot, was killed maybe 8-10 years earlier when his jet was brought down by Iran. The next in line when the King finally dies, Raza bin Zaman, is a UK-educated moderate who doesn’t want to see the Kingdom lose its preeminence in the energy field. He and President Buchanan have formed a mighty alliance dedicated to getting the rest of the world on board. So far, around a dozen countries have joined in and dozens of others are lining up to sign the accord.

Brian Rhome is getting by driving a ski cat at a Montana ski resort. Once a group leader for the CIAs Ground Branch (the Agency’s paramilitary arm), Brian has become a recluse. When some intel on the leader of Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula was deemed unreliable, Brian bullied his team into acting anyway. Brian’s entire team was wiped out in an ambush sending Brian into the mountains to deal with his emotions that are rapidly circling the drain.

Things are about to get interesting:

1.     Signing of the Green Accord will be broadcast internationally

2.     A Saudi strike force raids a Yemeni convoy transporting captured Saudi soldiers

3.     Ground Branch contacts Brian with rock solid intel that the AQAP leader (who led the extermination of his team) will be exposed at a wedding in Yemen.

4.     Not everyone in the US is as interested in the Green Accord as is the President

A complex, layered international plot is underway. A plot whose genesis dates to Reza’s brother’s death. If all the plans come together as planned, two outcomes will result. First, the Green Accord will be squashed. Second, the US and Iran, where tensions have always been on edge, will be in an all-out war.

In many fields, like sports and entertainment, there exists a pattern sometimes called a Sophomore Slump where an auspicious debut is followed by a less than spectacular 2^nd effort. Sullivan’s debut novel, 2021’s Sleeping Bear, was an out-of-the-park home run. When I learned (from our good friends at Emily Bestler Books) that Sullivan’s next book was due in the first quarter of 2023, I was both excited and a bit cautious (that sophomore slump thing). 

Have no fear. Sullivan’s 2^nd effort not only exceeds the quality, tension, and breathless pacing of Sleeping Bear, it grabs hold with a series of secondary plots, code names, back-stabbing and unforeseen twists that drags us through the White House, CIA, FBI, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Switzerland before finally returning Rhome to the mountains of Montana.

Sullivan can no longer be thought of as a 1-time flash on the pan. With two solid, and I do mean solid, efforts, I’m adding Sullivan to my power rotation of must-read authors. Plan ahead for this one boys and girls. Set aside a few days when you won’t be disturbed. Hell, even if you are disturbed, you’ll probably shoo them away with a terse, ‘NOT NOW!’

Thanks again to the good folks at Emily Bestler Books and Atria Books for the advance reader copy. Made my day.

If you are interested, I close with one sad thought – It’s not available until March 14, 2023. That’s 4.5 months so mark your calendars.

ECD