Thirty students from a Houston private school vanish during a field trip while at the same time a herd of cattle on a nearby ranch are literally eaten to the bone. We don't know how or why but given that this is a Jon Land thriller you can be sure that they are connected. Strong Light Of Day is Land's seventh book in this series about Caitlin Strong, a female Texas Ranger who usually shoots more bad guys in one book than the entire cast of The Expendables does in three movies.
I spoke with Land on the phone recently and he thinks this is the best book in the series and one of the reasons is that it's a departure from his previous plots. "The real villain of this book is something that Caitlin can't kill with a bullet. The story is about agro-terrorism -- an attack on the world's food supply," said Land.
Calum Dane, a Texas oil billionaire, has a plan to bring down the US economy - and kill millions in the process - by working with Russian extremists still mired in the Cold War. Land has a knack for creating heavies, and Dane is like a power obsessed Bond villain bent on world domination. Caitlin Strong and her usual ensemble of heroes and anti-heroes make use of solid detective work and lead the reader through a real police process that culminates in an exciting climax, all of which is interwoven between past (1983) and present day. What makes a great thriller is not knowing what's going to happen, so I'm being careful not to reveal too much in order to avoid a plot spoiler.
I've found that great fiction writing always comes from the truth and facts have continually been Land's method for sourcing his plots. "This all started with an article in The New York Times about a genetically engineered pesticide," said Land. "A big part of what a thriller writer does is try to anticipate threats that haven't happened yet," he added, citing authors Thomas Harris (Black Sunday) and Tom Clancy (Dead or Alive) whose books have foreseen real acts of terrorism. We often predict what may come or imagine what could be and they are often in the form of novels. During Land's research he learned that during the Cold War the Russians had been experimenting with methods of wiping out crop systems as an alternative means of attack.
People are frightened of Iran and nuclear bombs but I really don't think that kind of attack is as likely as something else that doesn't require the technology of an atomic bomb. Land mentioned in our discussion that in the past the US government has consulted thriller writers for insights into potential terrorist threats, and it's a good thing they're on our side.
Everything in Strong Light Of Day is absolutely possible and that's what makes it such a compelling read.