Customer Reviews

The Firefly

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Book marketing today is a funny business. There are many books out there with a "thriller" designation attached to their title and quite often; they aren't a thriller on any level. Then there are those books that should have the designation and for whatever unfathomable reason, don't. Those books may not have the designation but should because they are in fact, thrillers. "The Firefly" by the always very enjoyable P. T. Deutermann is a glaring case in point.

After the tragedy of 9/11, Retired Secret Service Agent Swamp Morgan was recalled to active duty, as were hundreds if not thousands of agents and investigators throughout the various federal law enforcement agencies. Swamp is now operating out of a small segment of the large umbrella organization known as the Department of Homeland Security. Swamp is assigned to investigate a strange fire at a local medical clinic as inauguration day fast approaches.

Six weeks ago, a large fire burned at a private clinic specializing in plastic surgery killing two doctors and two nurses. All the bodies, badly charred, were found in an operating room that clearly had just been used for surgery but there was no sign of the patient. The case becomes stranger as the fire burned much hotter than it should have and from all appearances seems to indicate arson. Could the missing patient have done it and if so, why? Then part of a medical transcript of a patient record is found and not only were some possibly illegal activities going on at the clinic but there is some sort of threat to the President. Swamp is tasked with evaluating the information and he is to determine whether the threat is real or not. If not real, it is a firefly and in Washington terms, slap it back down in the grass where it belongs.

Swamp begins to investigate and soon begins to discover evidence-circumstantial and coincidental in the eyes of others-that leads him to suspect this is no firefly but the real deal. Despite public statements to the contrary, control of turf and power still rule the day in Washington and as Swamp pursues his theory as tasked, he begins to lose allies and make powerful new enemies along the way. Those in power sending him out to investigate don't seem to care that he might be right and begin to openly question his judgment. They seem convinced that he is wrong but what if he is right?

This 387-page novel is classic Deutermann. This ninth novel of his features his usual high caliber tight writing with interesting characters and plenty of action. Then there is his ability to lay out the characters and the entire situation and then in a few short pages, flip everything over into a new direction before doing it again and again.

Much like Robert Ludlum did in his early novels, Deutermann creates a world where reality is far different from the perceived illusion. By coming up with wheels within wheels and multiple agendas by almost everyone else but the main character, one never really knows who the players are for real all the way to the last page of his book. In this case, make sure you set aside enough time to finish the last 100 pages in one reading because it is one heck of an intense roller coaster style thrill ride.

This is a competent, entertaining action yarn that effectively conveys the panic that the author ascribes to the Secret Service during the runup to a presidential inauguration - assuming that there is such panic. Dispatched by a Saudi entity to rain destruction on the inauguration is a villain who, interestingly, admits that he isn't the most brilliant operative around. He makes up for this by being quite ruthless. But you have to feel for the guy somewhat in that his preparation for the task at hand has involved his undergoing a protracted course of plastic surgeries to totally alter his facial and sexual appearance. This includes having inflatable boobs installed under his skin. As the story progresses, it becomes pretty apparent that he could have accomplished any identity confusion his assignment calls for by donning wigs and other detachable prostheses. But the plot is heavily involved with a sneaky plastic-surgery clinic that would have been unnecessary had our bad guy relied solely on makeup and fake hair.

This novel could be improved by pruning the dialogue scenes about 25 percent. I rather quickly began to feel I was hearing every word that our protagonists have to say about every perhaps mundane point, when in many instances, all we need to know is the gist of their ruminations.

"Firefly" is a thriller that draws you in with the first chapter and doesn't let go until the surprisingly chilling ending. It provides a frightening-to-think-about terrorist plot against the U.S. government; a likable and savvy retired Secret Service agent as a protagonist; an inside look at the unbridled power of government agencies in post 9-11 America; and action that rachets up each chapter. If you really want to bring Deutermann's words to life, listen to the unabridged audio. Didn't think anything this year could surpass the suspense of "The DaVinci Code," but "Firefly" did it for me.

This story is goofy. I kept reading because I had heard some good things about it. Here on Amazon, when I picked it up, this book had a five star average. I don't know who was reviewing Firefly, but it was a complete waste of time and I hope that you heed my words here.

Firefly is not the worst book that I have ever read. But it's hard to swallow some of the actions that the characters take here. First of all, you have this killer who is gunning for a large terrorist strike. Standing in his way is this single woman who might know something about him. The first half of this book deals with the killer playing cat and mouse with the woman, and she manages to elude his efforts time and again. He could have just offed her and the story would have been over. But instead he draws out the endeavor in a seriously stupid manner. The lady also is dumber than a pile of bricks... she goes on the run and the story just keeps on from here.

This is my first Deutermann book, and though I expect that in the future I will read this author again, Firefly makes it so that it will be a few years from now before I do so. And the main reason I will probably pick up Deutermann is because I will have forgotten that I had despised this piece of trash.

I have read all of Mr. Deutermann's novels and this is the best one to date. Great plot, gripping story and believable characters make for an exciting, quick paced read. The plot is very timely in this post 9/11 world. At first the ending seemed a little preposterous, but after thinking about it, I can see something like that happening.

I look forward to Mr. Deutermann's next novel.

I am a big fan of Deutermann's previous novels. This one was not an easy read, but I decided to invest the time in it since I am such a fan. After struggling through 400 odd pages I finally got to the "twist". It was so far fetched I stopped reading it with only 40 pages to go until the end. I have never invested so much time in a novel and not finished it. That's how bad this book is. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.

Pretty good thriller, though its by no means a quick read.

I found the ending (which I won't spoil) to be very unbelievable and far-fetched. I love a good twist, but this one seemed too fantastical.

Also, there's far too many abbreviations to keep track of- OSI, PRU, and so on. I kept having to flip back to remember what each agency abbreviation stood for.

Beyond that, it's pretty good, and pretty engrossing. There are some parts that are a little clunky, but for the most part, it's good. I like the characters, in particular Connie Wall and Jake Cullen.

The ending was so bad I felt insulted. The first 80% of the book was a 3-star. I am a chronic reader, so I read a 3-star without complaining. When the surprised ending was revealed, it was like walking into a brick wall. The surprise was bad, but the chapters after the surprise were worse.

Retired Secret Service Agent Swamp Morgan is sent to handle a potential 'firefly' case involving the murder of several doctors and nurses at a plastic surgery clinic. Apparently the doctors are in the habit of taping their patients while they are recovering from surgery and blackmailing them with the details at a later date. During one of the recovered transcripts a suspicious transcript surfaces about a bomb plot. Could it just be the ramblings of an unconcious man, or something more sinsiter?

This story starts off a bit slow with the killer targeting the doctors and nurses. But the character, Swamp is likeable and methodical in his detective work. The middle section involves Connie, a nurse who was off-duty the night of the murder and her struggle with being bait for the killer.

I'm giving this 4 stars just because the ending was really goofy. I can't give it away, but... Well... It was a gotcha type ending you are either going to like or loathe.

I listened to this book on CD with Dick Hill reading. First, Mr Hill is one of is not the best book reader out there; especially with Frank Muller not reading anymore so I figured it must be a decent book if he was the reader. I was really impressed with how the book was written and the detail, action, ect. Definitely a MUST READ!