2020-06-03
In a race against the clock, an air marshal searches for a brilliant missing engineer who may be a lone wolf terrorist.
On his flight back to Los Angeles from a visit with his goddaughter in Texas, air marshal and sometime investigator Seth Walker saves flight attendant Amelia from a threateningdrunk passenger. Before he can even get home, Walker, who narrates in a punchy first person, is buttonholed by FBI Special Agent Melissa Cooke and Tony Tranh of the San Francisco Police Department. The feds have recently been monitoring the movements of Iraq native Anah El-Amin, 26, who fled Saddam’s regime during the first Gulf War and now works as an engineer for the influential company Magnet. Walker rightly asks why make so much fuss about a single engineer. The reason: The vice president is making an unannounced trip and could be a target. El-Amin’s boss, Ajit Singh, seems concerned at first but turns unconvincingly nonchalant when Walker presses him. Intermittent flashbacks describe a second case from five years earlier, with Walker barely escaping with his life. Video helps the team track El-Amin to the San Francisco airport. Emptying the airport could allow him to escape with the crowd, so a methodical search begins, with time running out before the veep’s arrival. Cooke, meanwhile, questions El-Amin’s family, who seems genuinely ignorant of anything unusual in his behavior. An explosion, multiple shootouts, and an unexpected abduction help to answer all questions and lead to a final confrontation with a criminal mastermind.
Reid’s third Walker yarn is a by-the-minute thriller, with roller-coaster action and authentic airport atmosphere.
…it is narrator JD Jackson's fast-paced narration that makes the latest Seth Walker mystery so enjoyable… He uses an assured tone in the present, while channeling Walker's mistrust of the tech world with a measured hesitancy that gives the audiobook its memorable voice.”—AudioFile Magazine
“Reid’s explosive third Seth Walker novel (after 2019’s False Horizon)…maintains a frenzied pace throughout…Background about Walker’s previous career in high tech and what drove him away from the industry will please fans of the appealing Walker, who’s never short on opinion or emotion…” —Publishers Weekly
“Reid’s third Walker yarn is a by-the-minute thriller, with roller-coaster action and authentic airport atmosphere.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Joseph Reid delivers a Mach 3, edge-of-your-seat thriller with Departure. Strap in tight for a delightfully turbulent ride—Reid grabs you on the first page and doesn’t let go.” —Steve Konkoly, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Ryan Decker series
“Departure is the one-hundred-yard dash in book form. Joseph Reid fires the starter’s pistol on page one, sending Seth Walker and the reader on a delirious, lung-busting race to solve a mystery that ties together in a satisfying ending loaded with heart.” —Matthew FitzSimmons, Wall Street Journal bestselling author
“I fell for Seth Walker in Takeoff, the first of the series, and I think I love him more in Departure. What I love most is that Seth’s brawn, of which there is much to appreciate, is matched by his brain—imagine Clancy’s Jack Ryan combined with a young Steve Jobs. The combination makes Departure another hold-on-to-your-seat, don’t-even-try-to-put-it-down thriller. If you haven’t tried Seth Walker, you’re missing out.” —Danielle Girard, USA Today bestselling author
“Departure is sky-high entertainment. With barrel-roll plotting, an eye for detail, and a cast of characters flashing both brains and brawn, Joseph Reid’s latest Seth Walker adventure is one hell of a flight. Get on board now!” —J. Todd Scott, author of the Texas Border series
“Departure is a seriously thrilling ride! This action-packed techno-thriller starts with a bang and keeps the momentum going to the final page. Seth Walker is a fantastic hero, and Reid’s deft use of dual timelines ratchets up the tension all the way to the explosive conclusion.” —Ellison Cooper, author of Buried
