Under Review: An Academic Thriller

Doctor Rowena Halley hits rock bottom. Then she ends up on a terrorist hit list.

August 2016. Rowena Halley, PhD, is nursing a busted knee and a busted heart. Plus, her career path is on a toilet trajectory and the divisive politics of a particularly fraught election cycle are threatening to bust up her family, too. Then Madison, former student, (former???) drug addict, and troublemaker extraordinaire, comes bursting back into her life.

Rowena is afraid Madison will get her hauled in on drug and kidnapping charges. But the reality is even more dangerous. Madison has been digging into her family history. She’s unearthed a sordid story of Nazi collaboration in Eastern Europe. It’s not just in the past, either. Members of her family are carrying on the tradition, now using sophisticated social media tools to spread their message, and they want to bring Madison into the fold.

To make things even more fun, Rowena’s ex-fiancé, Russian investigative journalist Dima Kuznetsov, has riled up some very unpleasant mercenaries from the Caucasus. If she’s not careful, Rowena could end up in the crosshairs of both groups.

All this is forcing Rowena to undertake a serious review of her life choices. But even if she decides to change her life, it may be too late to save it.

NB: This book, like all the books in the series, contains some serious adult language. You’ve been warned!