Ground Zero [Paperback]

Bonnie Ramthum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2000

When a computer War Game at a high-security military complex ends in the brutal death of a programmer, a homicide cop and a CIA analyst follow a trail of clues through a maze of international intrigue and treachery-and learn that one murder was only the beginning.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though it begins as a promising locked-room mystery, Ramthun's debut novel tdiverges into a gadget-heavy techno-terrorist thriller. When a female war-gamer at a top secret air force base is murdered while testing the ballistic missile defense system during a global war game, Colorado Springs homicide detective Eileen Reed is sent to investigate before government officials can arrive to cover it up. The murder is a puzzle and Reed is stumped, but there are bigger problems looming. Somebody at the base is selling secrets to a rogue spy, and CIA analyst Lucy Giometti is hot on the trail of Fouad Muallah, a wacked-out Arab terrorist who plans to involve the U.S. and Russia in a nuclear war that will leave him emperor of a worldwide Islamic regime. The murder victim, the spy and the terrorist are all connected, but it takes a long time to get to the heart of the case and the body count rises as Reed and Giometti try to figure out the links between them. Veteran cop Reed has loads of suspects with motives for the murder, but she is distracted by her emotions, falling for a prime suspect. When she misses the biggest clue to the killer's identity, the reader suspends belief in her ability as a cop. Giometti, however, is a hoot. Pregnant, sassy and brilliant, she stuffs her face with Twinkies and beef jerky, and lets nothing, especially the top brass, get in the way of her pursuit of Muallah. Former Defense Department war-gamer Ramthun's overwhelming use of computer and space technology and bureaucratic procedure bogs down and dilutes her otherwise well-conceived tale of murder, espionage and terrorism. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

It's a computer age spin on ye olde locked room mystery that newcomer Ramthun trots out. This particular locked room belongs to Terry Guzman, a war-games programmer at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springsand the lethal screwdriver sticking out of her gorgeous back belongs to one of her seven colleagues. No one else would have had the opportunity. And, of course, it's not immediately apparent to Detective Eileen Reed how any of them, lacking keys, lacking ectoplasm, could have passed through Guzman's thoroughly locked door. The crime occurred during a hush-hush, high-tech game, featuring all manner of anti-everything defense systems. The suspicious seven (the ``gamers'') were each supposed to be pushing buttons in individual computer rooms while virtual enemies mounted furious attacks on virtual US. But one of them hated Guzman enough to plan and commit a very unvirtual murder. Actually, all of them hated Guzman, Detective Reed ascertains almost immediately, since the late programmer was one of those despicable people for whom gratuitous cruelty is an end in itself. Time for Detective Reed to buckle down to serious ratiocination. If she can answer the how, she feels, she'll know the who. Soon, however, there are additional questions, equally perplexing. Could Guzman's murder be connected to a sudden spate of other murders, in turn connected to the nation's defense effort? The CIA seems to think so. Well, then, is a cover-up in the works? Smart, plucky, Detective Reed sifts, sorts, and solves her case with such commendable efficiency that she even has time for an affair of the heart. Brisk and businesslike until about the three-quarter mark when it slows down, mostly for the sake of the goopy love story. On balance, though, a creditable debut. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425176320
• ISBN-13: 978-0425176320
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,499,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bonnie Ramthun is a Colorado wife, mother, and mystery novelist. Her novels for adults include Ground Zero, a thriller published by G.P. Putnam, Earthquake Games, a 2000 Colorado Book of the Year nominee, and The Thirteenth Skull. The White Gates, her middle grade mystery published by Random House in 2008, is a Junior Library Guild Premiere selection and was a finalist for the Missouri Truman Award. She is a former chapter president of Mystery Writers of America, a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and former war gamer for the Department of Defense.

There are two cherished compliments that Bonnie Ramthun has received for her writing.

A reader wanted to know if the childhood events that happened to Eileen Reed in Earthquake Games had actually happened to Bonnie as a child. She considers this a high compliment - she made a lonely Wyoming car crash and an abandoned child so real that her reader thought it actually happened.

The second compliment was when a reader wrote her a letter and praised The Thirteenth Skull, Bonnie's third Eileen Reed book. The reader loved the novel and hated the villain so much that she thought he should have died more slowly. Bonnie will never forget this compliment either, for it means that she created a character so evil and so hateful that the reader wanted him to die...harder.

Bonnie's favorite stories are the ones where ordinary people are placed in world-changing events. The people who live in her stories are fictional, but she tries to make them so real you want to have coffee with them. Or kill them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and engaging, January 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ground Zero (Hardcover)

Of the last forty mysteries and thrillers I've read, this is easily the best. Bonnie Ramthun combines intellectually interesting War Games tension with emotionally engaging characters. The Colorado Springs setting is literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for Everyone, March 4, 2001

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ground Zero (Paperback)

This is an accomplished first novel that deftly combines a "locked room" mystery, espionage, war games and intrigue. I came to this book in a dubious frame of mind 1) I'd just read a really bad "first" novel 2) I had doubts about a woman author doing espionage. 3) Spies can be boring. I was pleasantly surprised on all counts.

Ms. Ramthun uses a fast intercut method of whizzing us from D.C. to Colorado Springs to the Middle East and the wilds of Russia without dropping the ball or our interest. The characters are interesting, life-like and have recognizable human traits. The drop dead gorgeous girl is not a cardboard cut out; she is also pregnant, has morning sickness, and is becoming compulsive about beef jerky, Twinkies and moon pies.

In spite of the many threads in the story, it was easy to follow. My interest intensified as the plot developed, and I found I was in the "can't-put-it-down" mode. (My favorite reading stance). The war games are so well described; even this novice knew what was going on.

The book was a real pleasure and I am looking forward to Ms. Ramthun's next novel. I'd bookmark her if I could.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars locked-room with a techno twist, December 30, 1999

By 

bookstealth "bookstealth" (Northern Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ground Zero (Hardcover)

Neat setting and premise for a mystery: a war gamer gets murdered during a simulation exercise in an isolated, top secret military facility. The rarified world of defense strategy is well drawn, with the techno elements explained vividly and in context of the plot. The characeters are fairly well delineated. Some of the gamers/suspects are the most developed. The female (civilian) detective suffered a bit from stereotypical "instant love" for a hunky suspect, straining credibility and bogging down the action a bit midbook. Not a major flaw; the grafting of the romantic subplot was just less smooth than the rest. The solution to the locked-room puzzle was handled deftly, and the final chapters were truly gripping. (No spoiler, but the actual "whodunnit" and "howdunnit" become crucial elements in a much larger, tenser plot development.) All in all, a nifty, unusual read. The author is one to watch.