Customer Reviews

The Moonpool: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was pleased to see that Deutermann is back to form after the disappointing Cat Dancers and the satisfying-but-stereotyped Spider Mountain. In the third Cam Richter novel, the retired detective gets sucked into strange events at a Wilmington nuclear power plant.

And it's so nice to read a book about nuclear power by someone who has done his homework! No "Oooh, those atoms are SCARY" nonsense about meltdowns and China syndrome and so forth.

I still have problems accepting Cam's magical German shepherds, Frick and Frack... my willing suspension of disbelief doesn't go that far. But this is a solid thriller that was well worth reading. Enjoy!

Cam Richter, first introduced in Cat Dancers, is a retired sheriff's detective. He has formed a private investigation business staffed solely by ex law enforcement officers. One of these officers is on assignment in Wilmington N.C., doing an investigation for a client involving a cheating husband. While on that assignment she drinks a bottle of radioactive water and dies. Richter and two of his associates go to Wilmington in an attempt to find out just what happened to her. The story takes off from there. An over zealous chief of physical security and a chief of technical security who also wants to know how this occurred. Given the nature of the danger of radio active material and the war on terror, the chief of technical security is very concerned about the image of the nuclear power plant.

Throw in the typical (novel portrayal) FBI agents and the Para Military physical security personnel and you have the beginnings of a good story. Add an antagonist who collects deadly snakes and this gives some cliff hanger chapter endings.

Deutermann makes his protagonist believable. He gives him enough errors in judgment to be realistic. The author has also done enough research into the workings of a nuclear power plant to make the plot interesting.

The nice thing about using a recurring character is it allows for character development. The bad thing is, in the case of most novels, it leaves the reader knowing that no matter how tough the situation is, the hero will win the day.

While this novel features Richter, from two other novels, there is only one character in Moonpool who was featured in a previous novel. And, she has a very minor role. One can read this novel and not feel lost by not having read the first two.

All in all, this is a very entertaining read.

I was amused to read in a previous review that the author had "done his homework" about nuclear power plants. If his homework was done, it was probably done by someone else, because the author has only the vaguest ideas about the operation or construction of a BWR power plant. I've worked in one for over 25 years, I think I would know the difference. In fairness, the operation of such a plant is fairly boring, and doesn't make for good story telling. And the author does acknowledge taking "liberties" with technicalities. It's just that I couldn't stop laughing at some of the descriptions, and at the "disaster" that the villains were trying to cause.

That being said, the story was entertaining, and well worth the $3.00 the book cost me at the local deep discount store.

P.S. In thirty plus years in the nuclear power industry, I have never heard the term "moonpool".

Fantastic storyline, razor sharp dialogue, nail-biting plot, vivid yet concise prose, 3 dimensional main characters. What a roller coaster ride like reading!!! Mr. P.T.D. is definitely getting better and never bothered by his age that I've found recently a major factor to ruin "The 47th Samurai" and "The Night Thunder"; I mean, no constant uncontrollable talking-to-himself babbling. This is the major reason why I never want to apply for an unit in any retirement condo even I am already qualified for.

Do you want a real beach read?? Well you got it in Deutermann's new novel
The Moonpool. This book is as good as his two previous books , and The Cat Dancers, and Spider Mountian ,were super. As good as any of his other works.But all of Deutermann books are the best. If you have not read P t Deutermann, you have missed one of the best writers in America today.!!!!

I have to say, it was the ending that stays with me. It was a great read as all of Mr. Deutermann's novels are, but the twist at the end (involving a waterbottle of all things) still stays with me to this day in that Cam Richter was humanized after his supposedly being beaten by the "villain".....well, read the book, it is a greatly entertaining "can't put down" read !

I have been a P. T. Deutermann fan for several years. His military-related novels are well done, but he does nice work in the civilian world as well. The Moonpool follows the first of his Cam Richter novels, The Cat Dancers. Richter is a former NC cop who now runs a private investigation group comprised of fellow retired cops, and two very capable police dogs. In Moonpool, they all are drawn into a series of increasingly disturbing security problems at a nuclear power reactor facility near the NC coast, beginning with the radiation-driven death of one of the firm's investigators while on a routine job that had no apparent relationship to the reactor. The descriptions of nuclear site security, the relationships among the various Federal and NC agencies, and the problems that emerge at the plant all seem pretty plausible to someone with some modest experience with such things. Richter has a sense of humor, sometimes self-deprecating, that reminds me a bit of Robert B. Parker's Spenser. The suspense level rises steadily, as does the danger to the reactor facility, but is eventually resolved in a satisfying way. Aside: I bought this novel for my Kindle, and found it to be a good read. Like most people, though, I think the pricing on a Kindle edition (with very low publication and delivery costs) ought to be lower than the paperback version (which I could later lend to my relatives who have similar reading tastes). Come on Amazon; swing a little muscle here with the publishers.

Allie Gardner had been with them since the beginning of Hide And Seek Investigations. Her specialty, and something that she went after with a certain fury, was cheating spouses. Her latest assignment was a simple case in Wilmington, North Carolina. It should not have gotten her killed.

But, it did.

For retired Lieutenant Cam Richter the news is a shock and a personal blow. After driving down and making the formal id of the body Cam wants answers. He isn't the only one. The state autopsy facility would like to know why her body is highly radioactive. She had to ingest something and the question is where did whatever it was come from? How did she get it? Who gave it to her? The search for answers for these questions and many others will take Cam up against the staff of a local nuclear power plant, the federal government, and other forces, as he begins to search for the truth as to what happened to Allie Lardner.

Building on "The Cat Dancers" and "Spider Mountain" this third novel in the series is another strong read through it does start very slowly. Character development is at a nill here as the recurring characters, especially Cam Richter, were fully established in the first two novels. The team is once again brought together to help Cam and there are also multiple appearances by Mary Ellen and discussion of their shared past as well as other events in the series. Therefore, readers are cautioned that the previous books in the series should be read before embarking on this novel.

A novel that is full of misdirection and deceit and political intrigue with frequent character commentary on the role of the FBI and homeland security criticism of both and a theme that many other authors seem to be mining in their fiction these days. The political commentary, though it may annoy some readers, does not take over the book. Instead, it is a piece of the book as are many other pieces that serve to entertain as well as confuse the reader.

The read as a whole is a novel featuring a complex tale full of nuance and innuendo, dark secrets and plenty of action. This is one of those books that it is not wise to start late in the evening or take to the beach because you will lose track of time and the real world.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

Length:: 2:03 Mins

Who will like "Moonpool" and why? In this video I do not re-hash the plot or give away the ending. Instead, I tell you who will like this book and who would like to receive it as a gift. Please join me! Frank Derfler author of "A Glint in Time" http://GreatGuyBooks.com

Ex-cop Cam Richter is called when one of his PI's is mysteriously murdered by injesting something poisonous. When the substance proves to be radioactive, everyone naturally looks to a local nuclear powerplant. Can Cam get to the bottom of what appears to be a conspiracy of epic proportions?

I enjoyed this novel at least mostly. Deuterman has a way of writing excellent beginnings but sort of goes a bit crazy 2/3rds of the way through. In this case, Deuterman's 'jumping the shark' point is when Cam is trapped in the cargo bin with the giant snake. Ummm.. okay.

I really ended up liking the Colonel (I kept imagining the guy from Mail Call), in this one. He is a great character. As usual Richter's dogs Frick and Frack feature prominently. While I liked the book, I would like to see a bit fewer crazy-evil villains. Richter makes enemies a lot by the way he goes overboard and acts like a bully. If for instance he didn't go overboard with Billy the kid in the beginning, he'd have less of a problem later.

This was a nice action story, and was entertaining in audiobook format, and I was pleased to see no hillbillies in this one.