Emily Benedek Red Sea

Red Sea

Emily Benedek

St. Martin's, Sep 2007, $24.95

ISBN 9780312354916

The American Airlines plane flying from Paris top Boston explodes; at about the same time the British Airways jet containing a class of students heading to Madrid explodes; finally also at about the same time as the other two incidents a Cathay Pacific aircraft going from Hong Kong to Singapore explodes. Three commercial jets terrorized in flight resulting in over seven hundred people dead.

As the world panics and assumes a Mid East Jihads in action probably issued by Al Qaeda connections, Israel brings out of retirement former secret agent Julian Granot, whose expertise is aviation, to investigate the calamities. Aviation Monthly journalist Marie Peterssen asks Julian for an interview; he agrees as he sees her as a source to furthering his inquiries into who is the Bin Laden mastermind and financier behind this precise assault. Unbeknown to Julian is that his long time enemy Islamic extremist Mansour Obaidi is the genius who brought the world to its knees for a 9/11 like blow. However, he has no time for glory or for Granot as he awaits a ship carrying a vast amount of dirty explosives reaching New York Harbor.

This exciting thriller soars from the opening sequence of the three jets exploding and never slows down until the final confrontation between the two adversaries. The entertaining story line is action-packed as the audience anticipates a High Noon showdown once the two opponents are revealed by author Emily Benedek. Besides DOT acting more like Katrina FEMA, the ending is a disappointment as Ms. Benedek insures a sequel over a clear finish. Fans will enjoy this exciting tale.

Harriet Klausner