Zero Option [Mass Market Paperback]

P. T. Deutermann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1999

They call it "Wet Eye": a biological weapon that literally eats out the eyes of its victims. Now, deep within the belly of the U.S. military establishment, one small silver canister of Wet Eye is missing-lost because a career pencil-pusher has cut a million-dollar deal and signed it in blood.

For David Stafford, a Defense Department investigator, finding the missing canister means ripping through layers of cover-ups, bureaucracy, and one man's murderous determination to sell Wet Eye to an international arms dealer. But the military would rather silence Stafford than admit to a security breach. And now, the only person who can stop a biological conflagration is an innocent child-who has looked into the face of evil, and seen it with her own two eyes...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

P.T. Deutermann's latest is a topnotch topical thriller bursting with the expected expertise and insider knowledge he picked up as a Navy captain and arms control specialist. It's also something else: an unexpectedly resonant portrait of people, good and bad, who have been chewed up and spit out by military bureaucracies. Both the hero (an unlucky military investigator named David Stafford, whose career has been short-circuited by whistle-blowing and whose personal life is a disaster area) and the heavy (a career Army bean counter and petty thief, Wendell Carson, who suddenly gets the chance to move up and almost blows it at every occasion) are carefully drawn and fully credible. So are the underlings, officers and FBI agents who thread through their lives. This becomes especially important when Stafford--trying to track down a container of deadly biological nerve gas that Carson has stolen from an Army base in Georgia--crosses paths with a young girl who seems to have psychic powers. In less skilled hands, this kind of rogue element could send a vehicle skittering. But Deutermann quickly gives the girl and her keepers (a mysteriously intriguing woman teacher, a protective small-town policeman) such a strong presence that they become vital to the story's exciting and moving conclusion. Other of his excellent thrillers available in paperback include The Edge of Honor, Official Privilege, Scorpion in the Sea, and Sweepers. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Deutermann's latest (after Sweepers) is a topnotch topical thriller bursting with the expected expertise and insider knowledge he picked up as a Navy captain and arms control specialist. It's also something else: an unexpectedly resonant portrait of people, good and bad, who have been chewed up and spit out by military and government bureaucracies. Both the hero (an unlucky military investigator named David Stafford, whose career has been short-circuited by whistle-blowing and whose personal life is a disaster), and the heavy (bumbling Army bean-counter and petty thief Wendell Carson) are carefully drawn and fully credible. So are the underlings, officers and FBI agents who thread through their lives. This becomes especially important when Stafford?trying to track down a container of a deadly biological nerve gas that Carson has stolen from an Army base in Georgia?crosses paths with a young girl who seems to have psychic powers. In less skilled hands, this rogue element could send the vehicle skittering. But Deutermann quickly gives the girl and her keepers (a mysteriously intriguing woman teacher, a protective small-town policewoman) such a strong presence that they become vital to the story's exciting, moving conclusion. Author tour. Agent, Nicholas Ellison; editor, George Witte.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 421 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1st edition (September 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312970048
• ISBN-13: 978-0312970048
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Medical

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wham Zam Thriller Kadiller, June 28, 2005

By 

Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zero Option (Mass Market Paperback)

David Stafford is a disgraced government bureaucrat, recently consigned to Siberia (Atlanta). Wendell Carson is a government bureacrat in good standing, but definitely on the take. His latest scheme involves a cylinder of the deadly "Wet Eye"--weapon of mass destruction beyond your wildest dreams--which he has acquired and is somehow planning to sell. The girl in the airport is mute but communicates in sign language and--get this--she is psychic, especially around bad guys. Throw these characters together and you have the makings of Zero Option, an improbable but gripping thriller.

So, will Carson really sell the cylinder for 1 million dollars? Will Stafford rehabilitate himself? Will the government do what is right or just try to cover up the loss of the cylinder? What do you think? Is this America? But, you will just have to read the book to find out for sure.

Is it perfect? Not quite. There are a few too many characters, especially in the beginning, and a few too many acronyms for government agencies and programs. Does it matter? No. Start reading and you quickly figure things out. This is a book that, as they say, you can't put down. Author Deutermann knows how to hold your attention, and he has worked with these guys, so he knows what he's talking about. Recommendation: get the book and start reading. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite Chilling, June 1, 2002

By 

David A. Spearman (Harbor Beach, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zero Option (Mass Market Paperback)

Very descriptive of the Monster and its workings. Could have been a little overly stated. As the story progressed my interest perked and suddenly it turned into a full fledged rampant read.
The chenical weapons of the world could reek more havoc than any army in history has. The sad fact is most countrys have a great array of these killers and the ability to produce many more. Let us hope that this fiction never turns into fact for the sake of humanity. The last fifty pages will surely give a cold feeling up your spine.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but not too plausible, February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Zero Option (Hardcover)

Without giving too much away, I came to a point in this book where I said to myself, "OK, if she's a mind-reader I'm just going to put this book down right now!" Well, lo and behold, she was a mind-reader - one of the weakest methods of plot advancement around - but I didn't follow through on my threat. I finished and, primarily, enjoyed this book. However, there IS no book really without the "mind-reading" character and I found her inclusion to be solely to help our hero learn what was going on. Deutermann didn't reach very deep into his bag of tricks this time. Otherwise, a top notch thriller.