Mose Haley was an engineer, but in a few short months, he will have his FBI badge . . . and his revenge.

Two weeks ago, Mose was designing highway curves that safely carry minivans loaded with three kids and a dog doing 70 miles per hour. Now he is standing next to hot ammunition casings holding a standard issue Glock 23 handgun with the slide locked back and the barrel smoking. Two weeks ago—before the people he loved died—was a lifetime ago.

The attack on Manhattan, Kansas, dubbed Little 9/11 was the first. Officer Sam McGuire was there when it happened, shaken like everyone else on that day. The day he witnessed the collapse of a two-mile dam. Also, the day Sam saw the blonde in the park. The fit woman, jogging with an AR-15 and a pistol. He has questioned her and questioned her again. He has gone to ground zero and rummaged through the debris. Sam is a good cop, but he cannot piece it all together. He needs help. He needs an engineer.

Mose wants to believe he has the grit for the job, but he is a rookie. He has never had to face rooftop gunfire or defuse a bomb in a playground with sweaty hands and a paperclip. 

Mose Haley has never been tested . . . until now.

Excitingly Different!

I love a book with a gripping story which teaches me something I didn’t know – and this one fits the bill!

Mose Haley is an engineer who takes pride in his job – and in doing it right. When a local disaster occurs, there is talk that it wasn’t the accident it seems to be. The collapse of a dam in Manhattan, Kansas – referred to locally as ‘Little 9/11’ – killed a lot of people. Officer Sam Maguire was there that day and he knows something isn’t right – he just can’t prove it … yet. What he needs is an engineer and Mose is his man; things happen fast and he goes from helping Sam to being fast tracked into the FBI; he’s fit and believes he has what it takes to do the job, but he’s just an engineer . . .

This is an author entirely new to me and I wasn’t quite sure where it was all heading, but it didn’t take me long to get really involved and I soon found myself deeply engrossed. The engineering side of things was described in an interesting but easy to understand way – without treating the reader as an idiot, always a bonus. I wasn’t exactly sure where it was headed, which made it all the more exciting! This is a well-written novel, with great character development, close attention to detail and I really enjoyed it. I don’t think either the title or the cover would have attracted me but, trust me, this is well worth a read. Mose is a very likeable character and I really hope to read more about his time with the FBI – this would make a great series! If you enjoy a thriller but are looking for something with a new angle, this is one I’m very happy to recommend. 4.5*

My thanks to the author for my copy; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Tags: thriller

• Format: ebook, paperback
• Size: 308 pages
• Publication Date: 13 April 2022
• Book Links:
• https://www.amazon.co.uk
• https://www.amazon.com
• https://www.goodreads.com

Author Details

Michael Stewart came here to listen to the Cranberries and write books . . . and he’s all out of Cranberries.

But seriously, that is not all he does. In Stew’s spare time he earns Nintendo world records, including such classics as Back to the Future. LGN never sounded so good. His father always told him as a kid, “Stew, if you’re going to break a world record, do it in style.”

Stew resides amongst the tallgrass of the Kansas prairie with his beautiful wife and six kids. Yes, you heard that right, she is truly beautiful. They enjoy 8-bit video games, Chiefs football and long walks on the beaches of Kansas. Stew looks young for his age and blends right in with his five boys; looking for him in their family photo is like reading a Where’s Waldo book.

“I’m not going to say my books are better than Where’s Waldo, but I’m not going to not say it.” – Michael Stewart

Oh, and if you like holograms, check out Stew’s TED Talk, it’s about holograms and fuel tax . . . I know right, that lazy topic again, but this time it’s from the perspective of an engineer, so you know it will be hilarious.

He eats apples in one bite, like a horse.

• Website: http://humpdayhoopla.blogspot.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/humpdayhoopla
• Ted Talk: https://youtu.be/_U1mE1GproY
• Amazon bio: https://www.amazon.com/author/stew