The Bomb Maker

September 15, 2017

When half of the entire LAPD bomb squad is killed in a booby-trapped house, it is clear that someone is targeting the group. The authorities call in Dick Stahl, former soldier, cop, and retired bomb squad leader, to train replacements and hunt the killer. He manages to defuse several devices, frustrating the bomber, who kills occasionally just to keep in practice. The culprit is financed by a shadowy terrorist group and is constantly devising new explosives and methods of delivery. Stahl gets involved with a female squad member and is forced to resign, but he continues as a consultant even as the bombmaker gets more desperate. Things naturally build to an explosive climax in this tale filled with extensive bomb details and nerve-wracking suspense. And while the terrorist element seems strained and the ending a bit melodramatic, Perry (The Old Man) is a pro, this action-filled novel certainly supporting his considerable reputation. VERDICT In Perry's 25th thriller, the Edgar Award-winning author deftly and clearly explains topics unfamiliar to most readers while keeping the plot roaring along.--Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 23, 2017
An unnamed bomber wreaks havoc in this exciting if frustrating thriller from bestseller Perry (The Old Man). When a large cache of explosives blows up under a Los Angeles house, killing the 14 members of the LAPD Bomb Squad at the scene, Dick Stahl, a former bomb squad captain, takes over the squad on a temporary basis. On his first day, Stahl and his team must deal with an intricate car bomb, which he leads them in disarming. That evening, Sgt. Diane Hines, who drove Stahl to the site of the car bomb, arrives at his condo, where the two begin a relationship that grows over the course of the book. The detailed descriptions of the bomb maker’s devices and Stahl’s methods to disarm them are fascinating, but Perry puts considerably less effort into developing his characters. Stahl is annoyingly perfect, and his subordinates, who never attain his expertise, suffer in their careers as a consequence. The motives of the bomb maker and his mysterious backers remain vague. Still, action junkies will be rewarded. Agent: Mel Berger, WME.

November 15, 2017
Dick Stahl, owner of a private security company and former head of the LAPD Bomb Squad, is happy to be on his own, but that all changes when two bombs explode in a private house, killing 14 current bomb squad members. Summoned to take over the squad until the bomber is caught, Stahl quickly realizes that the man he faces is no ordinary garage bomb maker. Perry is in straight-ahead thriller mode here, constructing a gripping, clock-ticking plot, awash in fascinating details about bomb making and detection, but he takes his foot off the throttle just enough to give us glimpses into the personalities of the bomber, whose psyche is as unstable as the explosives he arms, and of Stahl, who has personal issues of his own, not the least of which is his dangerous decision to begin a relationship with one of the bomb squad members. Perry, known for his skill at balancing light and dark, comedy and tragedy, pretty much leaves the light side alone here, but readers won't have time to notice, so enveloping is the main story line.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from October 15, 2017
The Explosive Ordnance Unit of the LAPD battles a methodical bomber whose principal target seems to be them. The first device in the unnamed title character's campaign is so successful that it takes out the commander of the EOS and half his bomb-disposal specialists in a blast that, in retrospect, was clearly designed to do exactly that. Cowed and humbled, Deputy Chief David Ogden, commander of the LAPD's Counterterrorism and Special Operations Bureau, goes hat in hand to Dick Stahl, ex-soldier and ex-cop, the former EOS chief who left to found No-Fail Security. Reluctantly reunited with his old unit, Stahl is certain from the beginning about his adversary's modus: "predicting what a trained bomb technician will do to render the device safe, and turn[ing] that action into a trigger." In a series of sequences expertly designed to keep you up long past your bedtime, he enjoys a good deal of success by resolutely refusing to do what his instincts demand. Stahl thinks his return will be only temporary, but his unexpected affair with EOS member Sgt. Diane Hines makes him so determined to protect her that he can't leave the squad. Meantime, awkward complications pile up. TV news reporter Gloria Hedlund gets wind of the forbidden romance and won't leave it alone. The bomber is approached by terrorists who'd really, really like him to design some devices for a big day they have in mind--and, while they think of it, would like him to purchase them some AK-47's as well. And of course he keeps setting those bombs, some of which are detected and disarmed, others not. Perry (The Old Man, 2017, etc.) provides a hero worth caring about, a villain who stays one step ahead of him, and a supporting cast designed to keep up the nerve-shredding suspense. If the ending feels like a letdown, that's because this ultimate professional rivalry can't possibly continue forever.

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