The Passenger (Bookcassette(r) Edition) [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Patrick A. Davis (Author), Jim Bond (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 1999

Colonel John Quinn was a young, ambitious Air Force pilot who loved to fly - until an Iraqi missile nearly ended his career, and his life. Three surgeries and four years later, Quinn is functional, but not good enough to fly. Assigned to the Pentagon, he's prepared to spend the rest of his career in a series of boring staff jobs. Then a military Lear jet crashes shortly after takeoff in the rural farmlands outside Washington, and Quinn is called to lead the biggest investigation of his life.

With this crash there are no survivors - a fact that is particularly sensitive in the White House, as the jet carried just one passenger; the President's brother. The crash scene offers little in the way of clues, and while the White House is pushing pilot error as the cause of the accident, Quinn is uncertain. Too many Washington insiders, including Quinn's former wife, a Ph.D. with the National Transportation Safety Board, seem to have a stake in the outcome of the investigation. Too many dodge the hard questions - or turn up dead. Filled with great characters and told with pulsing narrative drive, The Passenger is further proof that, as W.E.B. Griffin says, "Patrick Davis is the real thing."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like his creator Patrick A. Davis, Colonel John Quinn saw some air time during the Gulf War. Unlike Davis (who came home unscathed and became an airline pilot, and then during an enforced layoff authored the bestselling The General), Col. Quinn caught an Iraqi missile. He went through several agonizing surgeries, only to find out that he'd never fly again. Now he's stuck inside the Pentagon as a lowly assistant to the Air Force Chief of Safety, writing reports on air crash statistics, mourning his failed marriage, and waiting for retirement. Then the president's brother is killed in the highly suspicious crash of an Air Force Lear Jet near Washington, D.C., and Quinn gets the kind of wakeup call Harrison Ford would die for.

Against all odds, Quinn is put in charge of this political hot potato of an investigation by a superior officer who up until now apparently hated him. Quinn's ex-wife, a washed-out pilot, turns up at the crash scene as a top official from the National Safety Board--and she seems to have connections to the president's chief wheeler-dealer. Everybody concerned wants a quick and dirty investigation blaming pilot error, but Quinn won't sit still for it. The pilot was a good friend and a top flier; Quinn's partner turns up lots of nagging details about sabotage; and a look at the life of the president's brother reveals a possible scandal of epic proportions. Davis might not be the most stylish writer in the world, but he knows how to quickly sketch in a solid background of Pentagon and flying minutiae against which he sets his shadowy tale. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Davis's sturdy, adrenaline-charged political techno-thriller sets a down-to-earth air force colonel against a deadly conspiracy involving formidable players in the White House and military. Medal of Honor-winner John Quinn is marking time at the Pentagon in a boring staff job, unhappy that injuries incurred in a mission over Iraq prevent him from flying again. Quinn is skeptical when his boss, scornful Major General Maxwell Cramer, suddenly gives him an auspicious assignment: heading the investigation of an air force Learjet crash in which the crew and the lone passenger, the president's half-brother, perished. Quinn picks outspoken fellow pilot Ted ChenAa highly competent but unpopular critic of the bureaucratic systemAto assist him. Mistrust escalates when Quinn learns the White House hasAagainst regulationsAassigned Quinn's ambitious, opportunistic ex-wife, Jennifer Johnson, as a civilian observer on the case. Then Johnson is joined by the equally power-hungry White House Chief of Staff McKenzie, and soon the investigation is out of Quinn's control. Crafty Johnson leaks ugly rumors to the media, but before Quinn can unravel Johnson's involvement in the insider intrigue, other complications shed light on the situation. A female photography student who may have been a witness to the plane crash is missing; the daughter of an African-American former governor framed in a sex scandal raises questions about videotaped evidence of a murder coverup. Covert agents abound and bullets fly as Quinn and Chen fight for justice. Fast moving, atmospheric and authentically detailed, this gripping second novel (after The General) firmly establishes DavisAan ex-air force pilot with Pentagon experienceAas a writer with a knack for white-knuckled suspense. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Bookcassette; Unabridged edition (August 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567404510
• ISBN-13: 978-1567404517
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,715,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put your life on hold for a few days and read this book., September 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Passenger (Hardcover)

I gave this book to my dad as a gift. He's retired Air Force. He loved it and insisted I read it... not my usual genre. (I'm more of an Oprah-type reader, actually.) Well, for the two days it took me to finish this book, the dishes were piled in the sink, laundry in the hallway... you get the picture. It was fascinating to "ride along" with an air crash investigation team. The action moves right along. The government corruption Davis writes about is so believable, sadly. I asked my dad if the often negative depictions of these high-ranking military officers bothered him, and if the foul language bothered him (my dad never swears). He laughed at me and said, "Sweetie, this book tells it like it is!" My dad is now reading Davis's first book, "The General," and I'm next in line to read that. So I give the book five stars, and since my dad isn't on-line, here are his for you, Patrick Davis: *****. We can't wait for your next book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick, Somewhat Plausible Conspiracy Thriller, February 13, 2001

By 

P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Passenger (Paperback)

Former Air Force pilot Patrick Davis has written another quick read that combines military technology with conspiracy and good police work. It reads quickly and while there are a few technical errors, which Davis, as a former serving officer should not have made, comes across as for the most part believable.

In this book, the Learjet carrying the half-brother of the President of the United States goes down under mysterious circumstances. An senior AF officer assigns a brand new Colonel, a former fighter pilot grounded by ejection injuries to the case. He hopes to embarrass this promising officer and lay the blame elsewhere to conceal his perfidy and inside connections with corrupt administration officials.

The officer in charge of the investigation must also deal with the fact that his former wife, now the Deputy Director of the NTSB has also been assigned to the investigation. Although the Air Force team also includes Lt Col Chen, friend of Colonel Quinn and a former civilian homicide investigator before he joined the Air Force, Jennifer's assignment leaves COL Quinn looking for the underlying motive behind insider attempts to blame the pilots for the crash.

Along the route of the investigation, innocent people die. Previous government scandals are brought back to complicate the mix. But the two lead AF investigators are men of integrity and honor and they deal with the incessant corruption in the media, the FBI, the White House and the Congress with the courage that only people who have seen real combat can bring to bear when the going gets tough.

As I said, this is a quick read. Davis is still a new writer and is sure to develop his story telling skills with each new outing. I look forward to his future efforts and recommend this book to fans of military and police procedural thrillers.

Paul Connors

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start early on a weekend morning...., May 11, 2000

By 

A. O. Pando (New York) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Passenger (Hardcover)

....and make sure there are no afternoon football, basketball or baseball games you want to watch either, because you won't go to sleep until you finish.

I made the mistake of starting on a Friday evening, read until two AM, woke up at five thirty and finished it off by breakfast.

If you like this genre of books, you will like everything about this book. The plot is familiar enough territory but the details are not -- by a long shot. You find yourself caring about the characters and their fate. The moment you think you have figured the plot out, a new twist appears. And no red herrings! (Well, maybe half of one). You'll hate the villans, love the good guys. You will become totally involved.

My only problem with Davis is that he's spending too much time flying airplanes, and not enough writing suspense novels. He's two for two in the novel department.