Monday, March 10, 2014

A.F. Ebbers - Dangerous Past - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

Senior Airline Captain Frank Braden is being stalked in his home town of Austin, Texas, by unknown assailants who must arrange his death to look like a suicide or an accident before a specific deadline. The assassins almost succeed several times, in the air and on the ground. In fact, Braden’s surgeon wife, Nicole, saves his life twice from ground assailants. Both of them don’t know why people are trying to kill him.

Later, he receives a message warning him not to attend a forthcoming Senate hearing in Washington. If he agrees he will receive a million dollars and his wife’s life. When Braden turns to the FBI and local police for help, they doubt his stories since they have been led to believe he is schizophrenic and suicidal, exactly what his assailants want the authorities to think.

Dangerous Past is a story of a man who must choose between doing what ought to be done or keeping his family alive by allowing a murderous and powerful Washington VIP to escape his past.


My Review

Captain Frank Braden is a guy's guy. An airline pilot. A CIA covert agent. A hotblooded lover. But he sure knows how to stumble into dangerous situations. Does he tremble when a high ranking government official puts a target on his back? Not at all. The only thing that scares him is his fear of water. That's right. He can handle being roughed up by a trained hit man. He can bounce back from falling hundreds of feet out of the sky. Just don't dunk his head underwater or he's toast. Hey, every man has his kryptonite.

Frank's way of thinking is an interesting blend of old school rationale and modern yuppie suburbia. He's a sex-crazed man obsessed with his wife's body. In fact, he can't get her tight curves out of his head. But at the same time, he's okay with his little woman making more money than him. His wife is a surgeon, while he nearly bankrupted the family through some shoddy investments in the stock market. When he's put on suspension from his job, she's the one literally supporting him. It's a tough pill to swallow, but he's more concerned about her leaving him than having to downgrade their upper middle class lifestyle. He's okay with playing the role of stay-at-home spouse rather than give her up. He'll do anything to save their marriage because it's what he values above all else.

Frank is a romantic at heart, and his assailant knows it. It's not hard for him to pinpoint Frank's weakness when he abducts his lovely wife. The perp knows there's nothing Frank wouldn't do for her, and Frank plays right into his hands. It doesn't take much to lure him to an isolated, wilderness environment in the hope of finishing the two of them off. What the predator doesn't count on is that a woman in danger can be just as resourceful as the man in her life. Together, Frank and his wife work as a team to gain their freedom and thwart the evil intentions of a madman.

On a side note, Frank's wife, Nicole, is a pretty awesome chick. Since her father was a mechanic, she knows a thing or two about cars, and she's able to save Frank from disaster by repairing the damage done to her vehicle with her own two hands. She's gritty and tough, and assists Frank on more than one occasion as a capable partner and trusted ally. I'm a fan of husband and wife pairings that compliment each other and these two certainly are a good match.

***

Dangerous Past can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, Nook

Prices/Formats: $0.99 ebook, $10.00 hardcover
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9780978948238
Publisher: SilverHawk Books
Release: May 1, 2007
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

A. F. Ebbers, a journalism graduate of Ohio University was a reporter/writer for major newspapers, ad agencies, and in public relations for Cessna Aircraft Company. He also graduated from Army Flight School and flew for the Ohio and Kansas Army National Guards. Later he was called to active duty and served two flying tours in Vietnam. After retirement from the military, he flew for corporations and for regional airlines. A dual rated ATP pilot, he has written for numerous national magazines, Sunday supplements and trade and travel magazines and has written screenplays and short stories. Today he lives with his wife in the Austin, Texas area and, when not writing, enjoys tennis, flying and piano. Dangerous Past is his debut novel.

Links to connect with A.F.:
Web Site
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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