Review: Devil Wind: A Sammy Greene Thriller

• Authors:   Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid
• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: Oceanview Publishing (April 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933515899
• ISBN-13: 978-1933515892

From Publishers Weekly

 

Set in the waning days of 1999 in Los Angeles as fierce Santa Ana winds fuel massive wildfires, Shlian and Reid's second thriller featuring feisty on-air radio host Sammy Greene (after Dead Air) suffers from a lack of credibility. Sammy's estranged father, real estate tycoon Jeffrey Greene, is involved with Neil Prescott, a crooked U.S. congressman, who's plotting with CIA operative Albert Miller to shift the political climate. In particular Neil wants to ensure "the election of a president who favored a much more aggressive approach against the enemies of America and her Saudi brothers," by causing a dirty bomb explosion and toppling buildings through the use of a device called a resonator. A confusing plot, too many coincidences, and an emphasis on Sammy's romantic problems mark this effort as "thriller lite" and of interest mostly to those who are looking for plenty of pluck in their heroines and lots of tugged heartstrings. (Apr.)
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Product Description

 

 

Outspoken, brash New Yorker Sammy Greene needs a second chance. Fired from her job as a Washington TV producer, her midnight to 3 am show "Sammy Greene on the LA Scene" at a small progressive radio station soon has Sammy ruffling the feathers of a popular Orange County Congressman. And everyone is listening.December, 1999. 10 days before the new millennium. Already on edge with Santa Ana "devil wind" fanning fires threatening to engulf the city and Y2K looming, Sammy's callers imagine Armageddon - the perfect setting for a rogue CIA operative to manipulate fears as cover for his deadly plot.A young woman's burned body identified as the wayward daughter of old friend, Gus Pappajohn spurs the ex- campus cop to join Sammy in what may be a murder investigation, along the way exposing the seamy underbelly of Tinseltown. If Sammy's not careful this time, someone will make sure she's off the air for good.

About the Author

 

Deborah is a physician, healthcare consultant, and author of five award winning medical mystery/thrillers, three co-authored with her husband, Joel. Linda is a physician-broadcaster-author and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA. Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid are also authors of Dead Air, which won top honors in the Thriller category of the National Indie Excellence 2010 Awards.


My Review

I have not read the first novel in this series by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid, Dead Air.  Devil Wind can easily be a stand alone novel.  This book features Sammy Greene who is a radio talk show host working the midnight shift in Los Angeles.  It is the turn of the millennium, December 1999.  The Santa Ana "devil" winds are blowing and fanning fires in the hills above Los Angeles.  There is political corruption and murder in this fast paced story.  Sammy's long lost father also makes an appearance as a wealthy real estate developer.  


A good thriller but I found it almost too fast paced at times as there were many intersecting story lines.