Silent Thunder [Hardcover]

Iris Johansen (Author), Roy Johansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008

Number-one bestselling author Iris Johansen teams up with Edgar Award winner Roy Johansen and the result is an explosive, tour-de-force thriller. . . .

 

It was the assignment of a lifetime. . . .

 

Brilliant marine architect Hannah Bryson has been given the job of a lifetime. A U.S. maritime museum has just acquired the decommissioned Soviet submarine Silent Thunder for public exhibition. It’s Hannah’s job to make sure that every single inch of the legendary nuclear attack sub is safe for the thousands of visitors anticipated. Enlisting the aid of her brother, Connor, they examine the enormous vessel and delve into its long---and lethal---history.

 

But is it really a trap?

 

In the course of their investigation, Connor discovers a mysterious message behind one of the ship’s panels. But before he can figure out what it means, there’s a deadly assault on Silent Thunder. . . .

     Though the U.S. government tries to warn Hannah away, she’ll stop at nothing to find the ruthless mastermind behind her brother’s death. Even if it means joining forces with a mysterious man who may be even more dangerous than the enemy she has sworn to bring down. As Hannah finds herself in the crossfire of an epic standoff, her only hope for survival is to unravel the sub’s explosive secret. But someone’s willing to kill to make sure Silent Thunder stays silent. . . .

 

Brisk, exhilarating, and filled with authentic details, Silent Thunder is what you get when you team the biggest name in suspense with the stunning plot twists of an Edgar Award--winning author. Get ready for a page-turning thrill ride!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Johansen (Quicksand) and her Edgar-winning son, Roy (Deadly Visions), collaborate on their first thriller with entertaining results. Hannah Bryson, a top-notch submarine designer, and her brother, Conner, must make sure that a Russian nuclear submarine, the Silent Thunder, recently purchased by the U.S. government for use as a maritime museum, is safe for visitors. Working alone on the sub in a Maine harbor, the two make a strange discovery that's swiftly followed by a deadly attack. Others, both Russian and American, want what the Brysons have uncovered and will stop at nothing to obtain it. One Russian, Nicolas Kirov, has a special interest in the submarine as well as a growing interest in the feisty, beautiful Hannah. The constantly bickering Hannah and Kirov are forced to work together for a common goal as they fight various enemies and, of course, fall in love. The romantic subplot threatens to take over the action, but is thankfully reined in at the exciting finale. 12-city author tour. (July)
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From Booklist

The cold war heats up again in Johansen’s latest thriller, when marine architect Hannah Bryson’s brother, Connor, is killed in an explosion aboard a decommissioned Russian submarine they’re preparing for a nautical museum exhibit. Although the U.S. government official appointed to handle the investigation wants Hannah to believe Connor’s death was accidental, Hannah thinks otherwise. Just minutes before he died, Connor discovered cryptic symbols etched into metal panels hidden deep within Silent Thunder, and Hannah knows that if she’s ever to learn the truth about her brother’s murder, she’ll have to solve the code’s mystery. Doing so, however, involves her in a protracted feud between two Russian operatives, Kirov and Pavski, who have a blatant disregard for human life when their missions are threatened. It’s clearly a case of not knowing who one’s friends or enemies are, as Hannah has to decide if Kirov’s deep-seated hatred of Pavski equals her own need for revenge. Though the inherent distrust of all things related to Russia and its military complex has long been a staple of the international thriller genre—and, as such, runs the risk of appearing trite and stale—Johansen’s collaboration with her crime-novelist son imbues their saga with muscular characters and a brisk immediacy that keep it gripping and relevant. --Carol Haggas

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312367996
• ISBN-13: 978-0312367992
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Iris Johansen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pandora's Daughter, Stalemate, Killer Dreams, On the Run, and many more. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written story, July 9, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Thunder (Hardcover)

Marine architect Hannah Bryson is on top of her game when she's contracted to inspect the Soviet submarine, Silent Thunder, which has recently been acquired by a U.S. maritime museum. Her task is to ready the nuclear attack sub for public exhibition. Hannah's brother and frequent partner, joins her to complete the project.

It's a simple stop-gap job meant to fill a couple of weeks before she moves on to something else. Simple. Until it goes horribly wrong when Silent Thunder and all souls aboard suffer a deadly attack.

Determined to discover the identity and deal with whoever is responsible, Hannah finds herself straddling a fine line between Russian connections and the CIA, wondering who she can trust.

The mother-son Johansen writing team has put together an engrossing read. Detail and action, together with a solid plot, bring this well written co-effort together into a story that will absorb you. A few wonderful twists keep the forward propulsion working, and the interaction between Hannah and a dangerous, driven man with no compulsion to follow the rules, keeps the reader wondering.

Silent Thunder should be on everyone's reading list. It's sure to be on the New York Time's list.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full Speed Ahead Action Tale, August 7, 2008

By 

Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silent Thunder (Hardcover)

Iris Johansen fans know her for the Eve Duncan suspense thrillers and for the blistering reads she delivers with every book. I have to mark time on my calendar to sit down with a new book because I know I won't want to have to get up. SILENT THUNDER proved to be another grab-you-by-the-throat dash that pulled me along on a frantic chase for a deadly puzzle piece.

Although novelist Roy Johansen teamed up with his mother for this one, I couldn't tell much difference. Evidently Mom's taught son a lot of her moves and he can step right in without missing a beat.

I was intrigued by the choice of subject matter in the novel. I wouldn't have figured the author for having any real interest in or knowledge of nuclear submarines, but they obviously did their homework and had worked out they wanted to do. Johansen has researched many fields for her books, so this one shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Hannah Bryson is an architect specializing in marine vessels. Her work on the TITANIC brought her to national attention and catapulted her career into an international theater. The work she was doing on SILENT THUNDER, a decommissioned Soviet-era nuclear attack submarine, was supposed to be a short gig and didn't involve anything big. She finds out too late that the mystery and danger that followed the submarine and its commander through the last years of the Cold War haven't been completely eroded by time. That lesson costs Hannah more than she ever would have risked had she known.

Now, instead of walking away from a simple job, Hannah goes over the submarine with a fine-toothed comb and ferrets out crumbs of the much larger secret held within the craft. On the run for her life, not knowing exactly who she can trust, Hannah seeks revenge on the people that brought pain into her life.

As usual, Iris Johansen's characters are a little on the thin side, but evolving them any more would have slowed the breakneck pacing that moves from event to event and from locale to locale. She writes books that hammer her readers with curiosity and tension, driving them to keep turning pages.

My wife and I both read this one and enjoyed it a lot. The characters were fun, and we didn't mind Hannah's superhuman photographic memory (though she and I haven't met anyone with that ability yet). And we both stayed with the book until we turned the final pages. That's about the best compliment a reader can offer an author.

Roy Johansen is an established, Edgar Award-winning author in his own right, and Iris has delivered a steady stream of NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers. Iris usually writes a couple novels a year, one of them sometimes featuring series regular Eve Duncan. It'll be interesting to see if mother and son continue to write together, but if they do, they've definitely got a winning blend.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great way to get lost in political intrigue, July 17, 2008

By 

Literate Housewife "Jennifer" (Roanoke, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Thunder (Hardcover)

What could be held on an old Russian submarine that could be worth killing anyone who got in the way? That's what Hannah Bryson has to find out for herself, even if it put her in mortal danger. Her desperate search leads her on an adventure that keeps her heart pounding 24/7. Readers who love fast-paced mysteries and international espionage will really enjoy this novel.

Hannah is an intelligent and driven woman. She has a photographic memory. She uses that skill and her deep interest in submarines and other water vessels to create a unique niche for herself and her business. Her work on the wreckage of the Titanic caught the eye of the State Department when the Maritime Museum purchased Silent Thunder, a decommissioned Russian sub. When is accepts the job of verifying the safety of the sub to hold museum patrons, she's not given any idea of the danger that would surround her and her team. When tragedy strikes, Hannah turns her rage into action. she's not going to let the United State's government prevent her from seeking justice. She doesn't accept the State Department's warning when she teams up with the mysterious Kirov. She trusts her instincts and won't let anyone stand in her way of solving the mystery of the Silent Thunder.

Silent Thunder is written by a mother son team: Iris and Roy Johansen. I had never heard of these authors before receiving this book. I can't recall ever having read a novel written by multiple authors and I was intrigued to see how they would pull it off. I also made it a game for myself to try to discover parts of the book written by one versus the other. I can honestly say that there wasn't one part of this book that didn't fit with the rest. I was impressed by how they came together to write this story. I am also now looking forward to reading their solo work. I hope that those novels are just as much fun.

It took me less than 48 hours to finish this novel. The world of submarines and the former Russian navy came alive. This is the book for you if you are interested in mysteries involving political intrigue. If this isn't something you generally choose to read but you enjoy reading novels with strong female lead characters, don't let this book pass you by. Hannah is a wonderful character and I hope to meet up with her again in the future. I think you will, too.