MOUNTING FEARS
Stuart Woods
Putnam Adult
Thriller
ISBN: 9780399155475
In Stuart Woods’s latest novel, MOUNTING FEARS, President Will Lee is facing a tough re-election bid, while serious surgery looms for Vice President George Kiel, who steps down from his spot on their party’s ticket. Lee’s wife, Kate, is the CIA director and receives grave news about a Taliban threat in Pakistan, with a nuclear warhead reported missing. Juggling both foreign and domestic issues requires Lee’s full attention.
Political turmoil enhances his personal struggles when situations rapidly deteriorate. When Kiel dies, Lee must appoint a man who will serve as current vice president and will uphold the party’s political advantage in the approaching election. California Governor Marty Stanton holds the right credentials for the job but confesses in private that he and his wife will be divorcing. He denies the possibility of either having had extramarital affairs, and a clean confirmation appears in order.
However, the FBI background search on Stanton uncovers questions with no easy answers. Did his Mexican mother really give birth in a San Diego hospital? How does political favoritism play into the hiring of a bright, young California lawyer in the Attorney General’s office?
Troubles compound when an American journalist is found murdered in Panama City. A photograph on the dead man’s body reveals the image of a rogue CIA agent who had declared revenge against Kate. Agent Teddy Fay had been certified “dead” by the agency but had reappeared alive twice before. Assistant Director Lance Cabot and cohort Holly Barker gear up to discover the truth. If Fay is living, what is he up to? Barker visits the editorial offices of the National Inquisitor, flashing FBI credentials in the face of editor Willard Gaynes. Gaynes confirms that the dead reporter’s assignment had been to interview Fay in Panama. Barker leaves the office with copies of the photo and her FBI ID card, court order and search warrant.
Stuart Woods stuffs plot complications with sufficient detail to satiate the reader’s appetite for adventure. Primary Washington characters possess qualities that make them believable, and telephone conversations between the president and foreign leaders lend reality to troubles written into the plot. Like in earlier Woods books, Cabot and Barker are problem solvers in MOUNTING FEARS. Both enter the pages with sleuthing skills one can visualize in contemporary government.
Minor characters drift across the pages and spice up the plot line. A sexy Hollywood actress campaigns for her boyfriend’s life sentence for rape and murder to be commuted, contributing one million dollars to the Democratic National Committee to fatten her cause. President Lee still has another obstacle shoved before him when the Senate confirmation hearings for Stanton commence. While the domestic scene reeks of political turmoil, matters both in Pakistan and Panama boil.
Cabot’s agenda is to protect his boss and her husband from political fallout that Fay may instigate. At times, the international Taliban threat seems to fade in importance to the president’s homeland problems. Late in the book, a third-party candidate emerges in the person of Reverend Henry King Johnson. When the man becomes an assassin’s target, intrigue intensifies.
Before the ink has dried on its final words, MOUNTING FEARS sees its issues resolved. When one is a chief executive, minor characters carry out orders to eliminate problems. The villains retain their tarnished personalities, despite a reader’s cry for justification. This is a quick, exciting story, full of suspense, anxieties and personalities in chaos. Woods has crafted a fresh addition to his collection of bestsellers.
--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
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