Terminal Event

by James Stewart Thayer

Book Overview

When Joe Durant gets news of an airplane crash outside Seattle, a "terminal event" with no survivors, the distressed former National Transportation Safety Board investigator rushes to the site -- his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684842106
• ISBN13: 9780684842103
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Complex Plot Lines with a Surprise Ending.

?Terminal Event? by James Stewart Thayer, Large Print, Beeler Large Print, Hampton Falls, NH, 2000.This book opens with a horrific scene: former NTSB investigator, Joe Durant, is running towards an airplane crash and encountering parts of human bodies. As a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator, Durant has seen many crashes, but this one is different: he knows that his wife was on Emerald Airlines plane called? Sacajawea?. Author James Thayer then develops three major plot lines in the investigation into the cause(s) of the crash and each plot line depends upon the kind of people, the characters, involved. The first centers on Joe Durant, the NTSB engineer, who develops an engineering theory based upon improper design or, perhaps, incorrect maintenance. The second revolves around the FBI and ATF agents, who scour the Northwest part of the Untied States for skinhead groups who are anti-government enough to shoot down commercial airliners. The third plot line introduces a Saudi Arabian prince, in the United States for treatment of alcoholism. His presence on the crashed plane is ascertained from identification of those attending funerals and memorial services, and determining why those individuals would be at these events. All three plots compete and it seems, to the reader, that each competing cause is plausible: engineering failure, or terrorist attacks or assassination of the Saudi. But then, not to give away the surprise ending, the main protagonist , Joe Durant, discovers the one important clue that leads to the actual killer. The discussion of technology is appropriate to this type of mystery, and the hint of romance, with the hotshot FBI agent, Linda Dillon, serves to lighten the book. Author James Thayer does know the Northwest part of the country. Read the book to find out ?who dun it?.

Fabulous page turner!

This book was gripping from the start. Thayer does a great job at detailing crash sites and the remarkable actions of the NTSB. The relationship with the female FBI agent adds an interesting dimension, without the typical tacked on love story feel, and certainly without the expected happy ending.It is an easy read, and I was also baffled by the nearly complete inaccuracy of the description on the back cover (there is never any suggestion of pilot error). However, if you can put aside the expectations of the story his publisher is advertising, this really is a great story.

Thayer has become a great writer now

Have read all of Mr. Thayer's books and I sincerely consider that he has become a great writer. He might have given you an impression that he's only a two-dimensional writer before his "White Star," but definitely not afterwards. Now he's a multi-dimensional and a more interesting writer. I appreated his in-depth research for his books, and it has really taught me a lot by reading his books. His books still got some inevitable flaws but those could be and would be improved if his editor(s) knew where to cut (less, mostly) or add more (not so often needed), especially in the middle of all his books. But all in all, Mr. Thayer is an endearing writer to me.

WOW!!! GLAD THAYER QUIT HIS DAY JOB! THIS IS GREAT!

have you ever wondered exactly what goes on behind the scenes of an airplane crash??? ever think about the actual investigations and who are the investigators??? wellllllll, this is the book for you because it goes into all of the sordid details that's totallly fascinating....if you thrive on minutiae, then this is it! thayer breathes life into his investigators on top of it....i just hope that we get to read more about joe, sarah and linda.........please......?

Aircraft disaster realism!

Joe Durant, former National Transportation Safety Board investigator, is drawn back into the gruesome world of airplane disasters when a plane en route from Haily, Idaho, to Seattle crashes in the Cascade Mountains with no survivors. Aboard the flight was Joe's estranged wife, Janie. Rushing to the scene, Joe lies and begs his way back onto the NTSB investigative team. Perhaps his toughest job is telling his 15 year old daughter Sarah that her mother is dead. The NTSB's suspected reasons for the crash vary from pilot error to a bomb planted aboard the plane to a rocket launched at the plane. The team searches through the wreckage, investigates the passengers and crew, and combs the airline's company records. Then a letter is received from someone claiming to be the bomber and threatening to bring down another plane in ten days. This poignant novel has it all: compassion, critical detail, and suspense. Whether you want high techonolgy or high tension anxiety, Terminal Event is the last word in compelling realism in an engrossing story well-told. Definitely aircraft disaster realism!