Customer Reviews

White Sleeper

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really enjoyed this taut suspense tale with a great medical mystery and undercover excitement. I learned a lot about diseases and how vulnerable we might be to sabotage and attack. Loved the sexy vulnerable doctor who must rise to an extraordinary challenge. Highly recommended.

White Sleeper, written by David R. Fett, Stephen Langford, is a lightening-fast-paced story about two characters trying to stop a homegrown terrorist from unleashing a deadly virus on American citizens. Doctor Dave Richards was once a fast-rising star, solving cases that no one else could figure out. Known for finding the things that hide in plain site, his rise to the top came at a price- he developed a serious drinking problem and found himself catapulted to the bottom of the food chain and banished to the basement. Not even his best friend, Dr. Root, can save him. Agent Paula Mushari is an FBI agent who dreams of working counter-terrorism, but wonders if her ethnicity is holding her back in a country where all those of Muslim backgrounds are viewed with suspicion. Together, they unravel a plot to unleash a rare virus on unsuspecting American citizens, perpetuated by a white supremacist bent on revenge since the government killed his parents during an FBI raid.

The story moves extremely fast, a little too fast at times. At only 272 pages (in the ARC), I feel that the authors had plenty of time to slow down just a little bit and flesh out a few sections. The book starts out with the rain on Ben Curran's parent's house, jumps forward to the highlight of Richards' career, then leaps forward to almost present day, then one more time a few months later to actual "present day." This is a purely action-driven story, character development is limited to the two main players, and even then we only see glimpses of who they are and how they got to this particular point in their lives. I personally prefer a little heavier hand on the character back-stories, but I'll let it slide. Those who are looking for a straight-forward action story about deadly viruses (one of my favorite subjects) won't be disappointed.

PROS- First, I really like that, aside from the brief run-in with the plague, the viruses in the book aren't your typical fare. In my opinion, botulism and rabies (I wont tell you which of the three is the big bad of the book, I don't want to ruin anything) don't get nearly enough play these days. Second, Agent Mushari is a delight. She could be bitter and grumpy about the fact that she's stuck in the middle of nowhere because the upper echelon of the government is too scared to allow an Arab woman any sort of real power- but she's not. She's also not one of those fictional FBI types that is always shoving her title or jurisdiction in other people's faces. She's kind, considerate and helpful. Richards is also a likable character who cares more about saving lives than he does about saving his career. They make a good team.

CONS- While I found the pace a little fast, I'm not counting that as a con because many people enjoy that. My only real complaint is that occasionally the writing read a little too much like a screenplay. Stephen Langford is a screenwriter, so that may account this issue. A few scenes, like in the room at the hotel, seemed to be set up as though it was written in a way that would translate better to television than into the mind of the fiction reader. It's not blatantly obvious and doesn't detract from the overall story, but it did pull me out at moments. Again, a lot of this has to do with personal preferences, I like to a have enough information to form a full picture of the setting in my mind.

OVERALL- I enjoyed the story very much, although I do wish it was just a little longer and a little more fleshed out in some spots.

Dr. David Richards is a brilliant but flawed doctor. He is capable of insightful diagnoses of his patient's maladies, but he often celebrates his discoveries with drinking binges. His problems with alcohol have severely impacted his career to the point where he is clinging to a low profile job in the Center for Disease Control. Through an unexpected turn of events Dr. Richards is thrust into the middle of bio-terrorism scale that could leave millions of American dead. Teaming with a beautiful FBI agent Dr. Richards needs to find the source of the threat and keep it from being released.

Sound interesting... well it is interesting, the issue is that while White Sleeper has a strong concept it suffers from mediocre writing. There are numerous instances of poor/contrived dialogue that really knock the reader out of the story and make you question the author's use of words.

Another issue is the pacing of "White Sleeper" - it is rare to say that a book is too short or that it paced too quickly, but that is case with "White Sleeper". The book moves at such a pace that most of the characters are very one-dimensional (which adds to the contrived dialogue). It really felt like there was additional layers of story that was not being told. The stories climax occurs over about a 10 pages which (again) feels very rushed. Finally, the book ends with a bit of romantic awkwardness (are the authors planning a sequel?) that seems to leave a few threads hanging.

Final Verdict- I don't mean to be overly harsh, in truth "White Sleeper" would make a nice pool-side read. The plot was clearly developed under the careful eye of a practicing physician. It is just unfortunate because with the oversight of an experienced editor, "White Sleeper" could have gone from "Mediocre" to "Special".

3 Stars

White Sleeper is an eyeopening read of what can happen if someone or some group was planning on infecting the world with a virus. In this case it is as simple as contracting rabies. It is a race against time to catch the person who will unleash this killer on to the unsuspecting public. The CDC and FBI will be working nonstop until they find the person or persons responsible for this tragedy in the making. A very tense and suspenseful read. I liked it a lot and it was a quick and easy read.

Dr Dave Richards, after a bright start to his medical career, is now in disgrace and is hanging on to his position with the CDC by a thread. He is sent to Arkansas to explore a series of serious illnesses which have been drawn to the CDC's attention as possibly involving bioterrorism. If Dave Richards does a good job on this assignment, he knows that it may save his career.

When Dave Richards teams up with FBI agent Paula Mushari, he believes that they may be able to find the answers. But they need to move quickly: at least one of the three diseases unleashed will always be fatal if not treated quickly enough. And to save lives and prevent a potential catastrophe, they need to discover how the disease is being spread, and where it has been distributed.

Ben Curran, the son of a late white supremacist, has his own destructive agenda and bioterrorism may well be the most effective way to achieve it. Choice of the most effective infective agent and its effective distribution will be his key to success, and he has planned well.

There's a lot to like about this novel: it moves quickly; the threat of bioterrorism is a real enough; and Dave Richards and Paula Mushari work well together. This is a novel to read for the action rather than the characterization, and some aspects of the story flow better than others. Overall, it's an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours if you enjoy medical thrillers.

Note: I was offered, and accepted, a copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is a terrific, action-packed story with a timely bio-terrorism theme. It reminds me of some of the medical thrillers by Michael Connelly. I found it difficult to put down. I highly recommend it.

I love the cover but if I had read the first paragraph instead of the back cover, I never would have wanted to read it. Everything ties together nicely and I didn't feel rushed at the end. I grew to love the main characters and hope to see them in another book (White Lies is being written).

I enjoyed rooting for the underdog, yelling at the bad guys, shaking my head at moments and wanting to hit people upside the head. The boss is a perfect example of promoting civil servants through politics instead of performance and I absolutely loved him being described as "a C-list person in an A-list position". Dr. Root and Mr. Smith are a couple of my favorite characters.

Unbelievably engrossing and entrapping! White Sleeper is a story that takes the reader on a non-stop crazy and insane ride that doesn't let up until the very end.

As morbid as it sounds, I find stories centering on terrorism to be utterly fascinating. Perhaps part of that reason is because these actions are not so far-fetched and terrifyingly possible. White Sleeper focuses on Ben Curran, a young man whose father was part of the Knights of the White Order, who witnessed the murder of both his mother and father, as a teenager. His main goal is to avenge the death of his parents and take his hatred of the American government out on innocent Americans. He finds the perfect opportunity to carry out his plans using weapons of mass destruction, when he meets his new neighbors in New York City.

Dave Richards is a incredibly intelligent doctor whose past mistakes have injured his soaring career. He has the ability to spot things that many easily miss, making him a huge asset. It is this talent that leads the CDC to enroll Dave's help in solving a sudden outbreak of disease. Between Dave and FBI Agent Paula Mushari, it is a race against time and the destruction of America at the hands of a man bent on revenge and destruction.

Bio-terrorism is a very real fear in today's society and authors David R. Fett and Stephen Langford craft an excellent and terrifying scenario that is not hard to deny. For those who enjoy medical/terrorism thrillers, White Sleeper is the perfect read. The story is incredibly detailed and reads very quickly. This is one of those that once you pick it up, it is incredibly hard pressed to put down. I cannot wait to read more by this author duo!

Ever since 9/11, the US hasn't exactly been watchful in the ways it can once again be susceptible to another terrorist attack.

It all started when a white supremest named Harlan Curran and his wife were killed by ATF agents. Left standing in his parents blood, their young son, Ben vowed that he would enact revenge on the government that killed them. When lawsuits failed, he made plans that would give him recognition and that would involve taking out the people who deserved to die in the process.

Ben Curran found himself in a lucky set of circumstances when his new neighbors turn out to be a sleep cell operating out of New York. When he confronts them with their lack of skills and that he knows what they are up to, he bargains with them to join forces and really make people sit up and take notice.

Ben is a highly educated man who will use all his skills to run a test group to see which viruses will kill the most people with the highest success rate. When three families turn up in hospitals, with bubonic plague, rabies and botulism poisoning, it seems like the world is spiraling out of control.

CDC Dr. Dave Richards is on his way out due to his dependence on alcohol. Now waiting his final review, he is asked by his boss, Dr. Root to head out to Arkansas to find out what is going on with these three families and to see if there is a connection to a possible terrorist threat. He will find himself partnered with FBI agent Paula Mushari, who will form a two-person team to find the answers to this threat before a white sleeper is released on the American population and along with it, the threat to kill millions.

In the suspense thriller, White Sleeper by David R. Fett and Stephen Langford, the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride in a countdown against the clock not only to find the sleeper cell and its members, but also what virus they plan on using and how it will be disbursed before they run out of time.

I received this novel compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours for my honest review and could not put it down. This one will have you questioning just how plausible it is for something like this to strike in any city and just what would happen if it did. It will make you think twice about some things doctors recommend that are supposed to help us and can ultimately be used against us. I rate this one an exceptional 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait to see what these two amazing authors come up with next. Down right scary if you think about the possibilities!!!

I am happy to have had the chance to review this book. In all honesty, I didn't think I would like it. The cover just didn't appeal to me. I like a cover that looks as thrilling as the book sounds. But, this is a case of "you can't judge a book by it's cover", because, WOW! I really ended up enjoying this book. David Fett and Stephen Langford have coupled together to create a novel that is so realistic and thrilling and really makes the reader think about the world today.

White Sleeper. An interesting title for a book. But, it fits the story so well. A very scary look at the sadistic world of terrorism. A story of seeking revenge for a father's death, of a disease that starts to wipe out people, and classic good vs. evil. Dr. Dave Richards and FBI Agent Paula Mushari are out to redeem themselves by working this case and proving that they are capable. The rush of racing against time, the thrills of a roller coaster ride as each page brings a new twist, and the perfect flow of this novel of hateful supremacy, blend together to grip the reader from start to finish.

I definitely recommend this book. It's 4 stars worthy and will leave you thinking about it, and the world today, long after you've closed it's covers. I certainly am glad that I didn't judge this book by it's cover and gave it a shot. I truly enjoyed it, and the writing style of these two authors is brilliant. I can't wait to see what these guys have in store for their readers next!