Crime

Lori Fulton is brutally awakened one night to find several armed men in her bedroom. The Fulton family is quickly bound and fitted with "suicide vests." The abductors force Dan to go into his bank branch and take $250,000 and tell him everything will be fine if he just does what he's told. But all is not what appears when one abductor tells Lori that her family deserves everything that is going to happen to them. Can the authorities and journalist Kate Page find the truth as the clock ticks down in Every Second by Rick Mofina?

The Fulton family appears to be a typical American family, hardworking parents with an elementary school-aged child and a devoted dog with no known enemies. Dan is the manager at a local bank branch. Lori works for an insurance company. Have they been targeted because of Dan's job? All Lori and Dan know is that their family's safety hinges on Dan getting the money the abductors want. Little do they know that their abductors have planned something major and the abduction of the Fulton family is only one minor part of their plan. Fortunately, one of Dan's bank employees realizes that Dan's actions aren't bank-sanctioned and tips off the authorities. What is initially presumed to be a bank robbery by a bank employee quickly becomes a search for the Fulton family and their abductors. Kate Page, a reporter based in New York, is on the story and tracks down leads that the authorities wish she hadn't found. Kate's search for background finds that Lori was a police officer in California before her family moved to New York and further investigation reveals that this abduction and robbery may be tied to Lori's past. Now the questions raised are who these abductors are and what exactly do they want? The answers raise even more questions and put everyone on high alert for a possible home-grown terrorist attack.

Every Second packs in a lot of action, suspense, and thrills. This fast-paced read has a home invasion, bank robbery, home-grown terrorists with possible international terrorism links, and government agencies that are two-steps behind in following through on potential terrorist threats. At one point one of the FBI agents on this case thinks ". . . the suspects were untrained, inexperienced amateurs, possibly homegrown, self-radicalized extremists . . ." and that only raises more questions. All of the action is packed into the span of only a few days, and the reader witnesses Kate and the FBI try to connect the dots between the Fultons and the abductors/terrorists. Now I could tell you what happens, but then you'd have no incentive to read the book. What I will tell you is that Every Second is a fast-paced and enjoyable read filled with plenty of thrills and suspense. I spent my late night-early morning hours reading rather than sleeping just to find out what happens next. Every Second is the third book in the Kate Page series, but it is possible to read it without reading the previous books (you'll want to read the previous books because they are just as good). If you've already read the first two books in this series, Whirlwind and Full Tilt, then you'll definitely want to read Every Second. ( )