Drop By Drop: A Thriller [Format Kindle]

Keith Raffel, as he will tell you, has lived in two worlds (actually three, as we will get to in a moment). One was in Silicon Valley, where he worked for a high-tech firm and later was instrumental in setting up another company that was a pioneer in the field of "cloud" computing. His first two novels, DOT DEAD and SMASHER, were heavily informed by those experiences. Raffel's second world is one in which he lived decades ago, a continent across and a world away from Northern California, when he worked in Washington, D.C. for the Senate Intelligence Committee at the elbow of such luminaries as Barry Goldwater, Ted Kennedy and a gentleman named Joseph Biden.

It is this experience that provides the grist for DROP BY DROP, Raffel's latest novel (and an eBook original), which in turn is a manifestation of his third world, where he is one of our smartest contemporary thriller authors.

DROP BY DROP leaves Silicon Valley behind for the academia of Washington, D.C., though it is a precipitous journey for Sam Rockman. A professor at Stanford University, Rockman is content in his job and marriage until a horrific airport bombing leaves him a widower. He wants nothing more or less than revenge upon those who took his wife from him, and when he receives an offer to work for the minority chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he jumps at the chance. The mood of the country matches Rockman's, and there is a movement afoot for a Constitutional amendment to enable the current president, a war hero, to stay in office for a third term to handle the crises at hand.

There is also a legislative move afoot to permit the CIA to operate within the United States. Rockman has the opportunity to assist in shepherding this legislation through the Senate, despite the reluctance of his boss to take so strong a step. When nuclear materials, ostensibly stolen from Russia, are strewn across Interstate 95 in Florida, the call for action becomes even stronger. The fact that Rockman, in spite of himself, is also becoming attracted to Cecilia Plant, his counterpart in the opposing political party, only further complicates matters. Yet Rockman, revenge-minded as he is, finds that things aren't entirely adding up in Washington, especially when top-secret files wind up on his doorstep. And when he and Plant travel to Russia to determine how the nuclear materials unleashed in Florida were stolen, they leave with more questions than they started with.

Meanwhile, the country marches toward major changes that could affect it far beyond the current crisis. Rockman is faced with a choice: Should he go with the flow, which may well provide him with the revenge he seeks? Or should be stand athwart history yelling halt? A series of explosive events mark the book's conclusion, making it one of this year's more interesting offerings in the thriller genre.

DROP BY DROP, as with Raffel's previous novels, offers a generous mix of interesting characters and complex, smartly-navigated plotting that result in a fast-paced read and satisfying ending. With regard to the characters, Plant almost steals the book from Rockman; if Raffel would see fit to bring her back in a future work, I certainly wouldn't object. Those who loved Raffel's prior excursions into Silicon Valley will find his treatment of Washington, D.C. enjoyable and worthwhile as well.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Drop by Drop is truly an amazing thriller that gets you were it counts - your gut. Mine was twisted in knots as I read through the pages with a speed like I've never seen before. Keith Raffel, the author, knows how to bait his hook to keep reeling you in until you realize you're finished with the book.

The emotions of the main character, Stanford professor Sam Rockman, was dynamic and well written. For some of the emotions he goes through after the death of his wife may make you cry. I sniffed a few times.

However, it wasn't the chilling emotions that kept me hooked it was the plot itself. It was full of twists and turns. I never could guess what was going to happen next and that's a good thing. If I figure out who has done what halfway through the book I'm no longer interested in the story.

I also like the fact it's a political thriller. I haven't read many thrillers that deals with fictional politicians and Keith made them seem so real. He had me thinking about so many things after reading his work.

This is a MUST read thriller that will keep you on the edge of suspense.

Raffel makes good use of his own Washington experience as counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee to write a twisty thriller that makes us feel like a Beltway insider. A college professor, bent on revenge after his wife's death in a terrorist attack, is drawn to support a gung-ho president. But neither the good guys nor the bad guys are necessarily what they seem. Recommended.